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@Logan: Your reference to “the cold open” to Chapter One still has me giggling. Well played. Also, good pickup on “the onion room.” Simple detail but it immediately transports the reader into Carter’s current living situation.

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Chapter Two

@Jade: I made the same mental note about Carter’s quick introduction to the realities of life in a wheelchair. I hope he gains some lifelong empathy from the experience.

The Zoom virtual attendance is such a time marker for this book. It wouldn’t have been believable back in 2019—when LEVEL 13: A SLACKER NOVEL was released—and probably will be the same type of archaic reference as cassette tapes and floppy disks in another five or six years. (I’ve got to think there’ll be purpose-built virtual school software/apps instead of jury-rigging Zoom for the task.) But in 2025, it’s not even a question that Carter could continue his classes from the (relative) comfort of home.

I enjoyed a genuine laugh from Carter and Ethan’s discussion, in which Carter has to point out regarding two broken legs: “It’s not all fun and games, you know.”

I’ve read enough Korman capers to know Mr. Grimes’s yawning and revelation that his brother is staying with him will come into play sometime in this story. (@Jade, I wrote this before seeing your similar observation!)