Wander Lost by Laura Martin

Wander Lost features hidden worlds within a variety of board games, and twin brothers launched on a desperate rescue mission.

Wander Lost by Laura Martin. Harper, 2024, 357 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-14

Rhett Benson and his twin brother Nash are starting seventh grade at a new school, which Nash is more excited about than Rhett. “I was the look and Nash was the leap,” Rhett reflects on his brother’s headstrong nature. Today’s leap was borrowing a board game from the school library, which would seem innocent enough except that their mom has always strictly forbidden board games. Soon, though, both boys are facing a real crisis with news that their mom has been in some kind of accident and their grandfather is on his way to pick them up—a grandfather they haven’t seen for years.

This lanky individual takes them to his remote cabin where they discover an entire room filled with board games. Their grandfather, known as Ace, reveals the Benson family gift (or curse). They are “Bounders.” with the capacity to enter the real world of any board game and “play” for real stakes. These stakes are no game; their mom had a twin brother who long ago disappeared in a game called Pirate’s Wrath and is presumed dead. Before disappearing herself, she left her dad a tense phone message consisting of “He found me.”

This villainous “he” is a Wander Lost, a character who won his own game and now has access to all the others. Ace enlists the boys to help him search for their mom among the dozens of games in the cabin. But they must play by the rules of each, as well as the general rules of bounding, or the consequences can be dire.

Thus launches a wild adventure featuring pirates, fairies, giant bugs, candy goo, jungle animals, and every possible danger. With the rapidity of a revolving door, characters from the games pop into the real world as Rhett, Nash, and Ace pop into the games. It can be a bit confusing, but adventure lovers who can keep rules and storylines straight will have a great time, with no objectionable elements except crocodiles.

Bottom Line: A fast-moving, fun adventure with a special appeal for boys.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Review: Pirates are the subject of David Harrison’s collection of poems, with gripping, realistic illustrations by Dan Burr.
• Review: We give high marks to The Ranger’s Apprentice series, another adventure classic. And The Book Scavenger series features protagonists who pop in and out of–you guessed it–books.
• Reflection: Portrait of a Reader: The Adventurer.  

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