I’m back with another book review, and this time I’m reviewing “Minecraft: The Crash” by Tracey Baptiste! Here’s a quick summary so we know what it’s about:
“Bianca has never been good at following the plan. She’s more of an act-now, deal-with-the-consequences-later kind of person. But consequences can’t be put off forever, as Bianca learns when she and her best friend, Lonnie, are in a terrible car crash.
Waking up in the hospital, almost paralyzed by her injuries, Bianca is faced with new questions she’s not equipped to answer. She chooses instead to try a new virtual-reality version of Minecraft that responds to her every wish, giving her control over a world at the very moment she thought she’d lost it. As she explores this new realm, she encounters a mute, glitching avatar she believes to be Lonnie. Bianca teams up with Esme and Anton, two kids who are also playing on the hospital server, to save her friend.
But the road to recovery isn’t without its own dangers. The kids are swarmed by mobs seemingly generated by their fears and insecurities, and now Bianca must deal with the uncertainties that have been plaguing her: Is Lonnie really in the game? And can Bianca help him return to reality?”
Character Development: 5 out of 5 stars
Bianca, Anton, and Esme are the main three characters, with the story being told in Bianca’s point of view. Another key character in the story is Lonnie, Bianca’s closest friend. Bianca and Lonnie’s friendship is mainly explored through flashbacks. The only scene we see of Lonnie outside of the flashbacks otherwise is right before the crash.
There is a heavy emphasis on Biana working through her own denial and grief over the crash. This is especially the case since she was the reason it happened in the first place. As she processes her grief, she learns to deal with a lot of other inner demons. There is the external plot of trying to make it to The End in Minecraft. However, the real emphasis of the story is on Bianca’s grieving and development to move forward.
Anton and Bianca also have their fair share of development. Both ended up in the hospital for reasons separate from Biana and Lonnie’s crash. Each of them grow in their own ways. However, it’s not as significant as Bianca’s journey. Given that they’re supporting characters, however, I’m fine with this.
Plot Development: 4 out of 5 stars
Without giving away too many spoilers, I did notice that the book deals with a lot of survivors’ guilt, processing grief, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
I mentioned earlier that the story mainly focuses on Bianca’s grief and her processing the trauma of the crash to move forward. It makes itself clear in the external plot in some ways, too. There’s an Enderman with a noticeable scar that keeps following her around, and there are other elements that haunt her too. The book does a great job of showing how the characters’ repeated interactions with these elements influence their inner and outer journeys throughout he book.
Overall, I’m rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars!
For those who enjoy Minecraft and stories about healing from trauma and moving forward, this is for you!
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