DUNGEON RUNNERS

With good friends in your corner, you don’t have to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest to win.

It’s time for the season final of the Dungeon Run, a televised game in which teams compete in a race to escape a dungeon. Kit, a diminutive young gnorf—“part gnome, part dwarf”—is content to merely watch until, in a thrilling twist, one team meets an untimely end and a spot opens up in the competition. Backed into a corner by a bully named Breg, Kit decides to enter despite having no experience, no magical powers, and no team. With the application deadline looming, Kit scrambles to pull together a group, eventually meeting a gnorf named Sandy, whose magical claim to fame is making sand castles, and Thorn, a vegan vampire who knows first aid: a ragtag group of misfits if ever there was one. Upon entering the dungeon, the three quickly learn that their friendship and loyalty to one another are their greatest strengths and may just give them the edge they need to beat out the competition. Humor, relatable characters, a fast and fun storyline, and some interactive elements will hook young readers from the start. Todd-Stanton’s illustrations are charming and plentiful, an asset both for new chapter-book readers and those who typically prefer graphic novels. This series opener will leave kids eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Friendship and gamesmanship form the core of this heartwarming underdog adventure.