TEAM CHU AND THE EPIC HERO QUEST

Tryouts for a reality TV series veer into realms of fantasy for a dedicated group of young gamers.

Having won chances in the 2022 opener to try out for an upcoming series based on a favorite video game, the racially and culturally diverse group of middle schoolers led by squabbling Vietnamese American sibs Clip and Sadie Chu fly to Ireland (families in tow) to join other young competitors in screen test challenges. As the tests take place on elaborately constructed medieval sets and come complete with costumed actors and dramatic but manufactured scenarios, both the contestants and readers have the option of taking them as games of pretend or (the fun option) as real and going with the flow. Actually, the challenges do turn out to be real tests of courage, intelligence, humility, teamwork, and determination, and Dao certainly has fun with them—concocting not only safe, but thrilling exploits for her multiple narrators to tackle, including a blindfolded zip line ride, decoding puzzles, and gathering magic substances from an orc-infested castle. She gives young cast members who are eliminated along the way further roles to play, too, so that no one is totally cut out of the action or made to feel like a loser. Ngo contributes comical if sparse vignettes.

Perceptive takes on the potential of role-playing games for building character as well as for fun and excitement.