• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

In the real world, Leon isn’t built to be a hero, but he must become one when he gets trapped in a cutting-edge virtual-reality game.

Twelve-year-old Leon loves video games. When he plays, he feels confident and amazing for just a little while. The rest of the time he feels like a loser. So Leon is shocked when Nico, the coolest kid ever and the son of a video-game developer, invites him over to test out the newest game at his dad’s high-tech lab.

To play, they must submerge themselves in giant tanks filled with nanobots, which are programmed to interact with the players and form the physical gaming world. It sounds perfectly safe. But a glitch causes the tiny robots to start behaving oddly, putting the boys in real-life danger. Now it's up to Leon to slay a dragon, to beat the game and save Nico and himself...before the timer runs out.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Glitterature writer Paul Coccia is the author of Cub, The Player, I Got You Babe, Leon Levels Up, and On The Line (co-authored with Eric Walters). Paul has a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. You can often find him baking in his Toronto kitchen with his three dogs, nephew, and a parrot who loves spaghetti and French fries. Follow him @pauljcoccia on Instagram and Twitter.

Paul Coccia's profile page

• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standard Selection

“Themes of belonging, finding your people, and social acceptance, combined with a gaming-focused plot, will resonate with tweens… Since Leon negatively compares himself to others, this book could be used (…) in a unit about body shaming, as well as in discussions about the social-emotional effects of poverty, isolation of technology, anxiety, and the value of real friendship.”

School Library Journal (SLJ)

“Gives voice to young people who question who they are and whether they are good enough, [with] all the excitement of a video game adventure… Paul Coccia takes us for a wild ride in Leon Levels Up, all at a lower reading level than typical for the middle grade reader, but never forgets to remind us that Leon never needed to advance to a higher level of self. For a twelve-year-old, he was already there.”

CanLit for Little Canadians

“Leon Levels Up is a must read. There are many important lessons to learn about friendship, self-worth, what it means to be a hero, as well as a few cautionary notes about tech and the crossover between reality and the virtual world. Highly Recommended.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials