Johnnie Christmas explores what a balanced relationship with technology looks like in upcoming graphic novel
Gamerville will be out on July 16, 2024
Known for his illustrations of Margaret Atwood's Angel Catbird and for his book Swim Team, Johnnie Christmas is back with a new middle-grade graphic novel called Gamerville.
In Gamerville, Max Lightning is destined to compete in a video game championship when his plans are thwarted by his parents, who decide to send him to a camp where electronics are not allowed. Stuck in Camp Reset, Max is forced to spend time outside in nature with other people and longs to escape and level up once again.
"Many of us, myself included, seek a balanced relationship with the technologies all around us (video games, social media, smart phones etc.)," Christmas told CBC Books in an email. "We seesaw between rationed order and heedless indulgence. It got me thinking of the juxtaposition between these technologies and the natural world."
We seesaw between rationed order and heedless indulgence.- Johnnie Christmas
That's why he created the character of Max, a boy who fills his entertainment and emotional needs through gaming culture, and put him in Camp Reset, where spends time in the natural world, said Christmas.
At Camp Reset, he meets Zanzi, the most enthusiastic camper. "Zanzi is Max's opposite: A budding naturalist who is terrified of the world of technology, its pitfalls and virtues alike."
"Gamerville is ultimately a book about balance, friendship, the joys of the natural world, and yes, the joys of video games too!"
Gamerville is ultimately a book about balance, friendship, the joys of the natural world, and yes, the joys of video games too!- Johnnie Christmas
Christmas is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, raised in Florida and currently based in Vancouver. CBC Books named Johnnie Christmas a Writer to Watch in 2022.
Gamerville will hit the shelves on July 16, 2024.
