A Beginner's Guide to Leveling Up: A Graphic Novel

TRON meets sixth grade in this heartfelt and fantastical graphic novel where a pixelated quest helps one girl navigate grief, friendship, and the wilds of middle school.

Sixth grade. The game just got real.

For Lexie, this year was supposed to be all about joining clubs, claiming the perfect lunch spot, and gaming after school with her best friends. But shifting friendships and the grief of losing her beloved grandfather make middle school feel more like someone switched her life to hard mode.

Then Lexie discovers a mysterious journal tucked inside her grandfather’s things. It’s filled with cryptic notes and cheat codes from an unfinished video game he was creating: Warrior’s Quest. When Lexie and her older sister, Eunice, are suddenly transported into the game’s pixelated world, the line between reality and fantasy starts to blur.

Can Lexie and her sister level up and face the monsters in the game—and in real life—or is it game over for good?Elizabeth Agyemang writes and illustrates books that draw from folktales, history, and her African heritage. Her debut graphic novel, Fibbed, was a Parents.com Best Children’s Book of 2022 selection and a Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Kids 2022 pick, and her work has been featured in Ebony, Paste, and Girls’ Life and on Time.com and OkayAfrica. When she isn’t gushing over books, Elizabeth spends her free time dissecting classic movies and TV shows.

Find her online at ElizabethAgyemang.com