Labyrinth, by Israel Keats, is a juvenile fiction book in the science fiction genre that is fast paced and action packed.

The story begins with two teens, a boy from a dysfunctional family who feels that he has nothing to live for, and a girl from a caring home, but one in comparison where the parents schedule every minute of her day, picking classes and outside activities for her. Set in the near future of 2089, when a gaming company L33T C0RP has developed the next stage in virtual reality in which you are an actual player, their task is to work together to complete the game before either time or their lives run out. The stakes are high– win or remain in the game forever. 

Keats does a good job of working the different aspects of the teens’ lives such as the boy-girl dynamic, athlete/non-athlete, middle class/lower class, student/non-student in the short 117 pages of this reluctant reader style book.  The characters dive into the plot immediately, with action on almost every page. There are also riddles that the character(s) need to solve that may leave you stumped. The dynamic conflicts between the two characters are resolved as effectively as possible with little stereotyping or cliche.

This book is recommended to those who like video games as the setting is inside a video game, and fast-paced action stories.