It’s that time of year again! The snow is fresh on the ground, the air is buzzing with holiday cheer, and you know that your friends at The Beat are here to inspire some magic. Our good friends at Scholastic are offering you the chance to win books from their AFK line. AFK aka Away From Keyboard allows readers to explore their favorite video games through comics, novels, and much more!
So how do ya get your mitts on this bounty of video-game related goodness? It’s easy! Write us at [email protected] with your name and address (sorry… this contest is only open to US residents. One entry per email address) for a chance to win! The contest ends on December 20th.
And while you’re at it, maybe take a moment to subscribe to The Beat’s newsletter. You’ll be glad you did.
One winner will take home all of the following books:
HALO: Official Spartan Field Manual by Jenneth Peters and Kiel Phegley
For the first time ever, Halo fans of all ages can join the ranks of the most powerful super-soldiers in the galaxy with this in-world military handbook.
Spartans. Humanity’s first—and last—line of defense in a hostile 26th-century galaxy. You have been selected to join their ranks.
The Official Spartan Field Manual is a guide to every element of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) SPARTAN-IV program, disseminated to all newly augmented Spartans. Inside these pages is the guidance you’ll need to put your enhanced strength, speed, and skills to use in both War Games training simulations and, ultimately, joint combat operations. This manual is essential for getting to know the weapons and vehicles you will be using on the battlefield, as well as the allies and enemies you can expect to encounter.
Compulsory reading for all Spartan-IV Fireteam Leaders and Commanders!
HALO: Battle Born by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Don’t miss the first-ever young adult fiction novel based on the megahit Halo video game series!
Saskia, Dorian, Evie, and Victor aren’t exactly friends at their small high school on the middle-of-nowhere colony world of Meridian. Each has their own problems, from absent parents to supporting their family, getting into a good college to making the next hit holo-film. But those problems were nothing next to the threat now facing their world: The alien alliance known as the Covenant is laying siege to Meridian, for reasons that aren’t so easily explained.
With their village in flames, the four teens find themselves stuck aboveground, locked out of the town shelter where the rest of the survivors are gathered. Together, Saskia, Dorian, Evie, and Victor are thrust into battle with nothing but a few scavenged weapons and an injured Spartan, one of the UNSC’s super-soldiers. What’s forged from the destruction will determine the fate of Meridian, and tilt the battle for humanity’s survival.
Cassandra Rose Clarke’s work has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Pushcart Prize, and YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults. She grew up in south Texas and currently lives in a suburb of Houston, where she writes and serves as the associate director for Writespace, a literary arts nonprofit. She holds an MA in creative writing from the University of Texas at Austin, and in 2010 she attended the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop in Seattle.
Hello Neighbor: Missing Pieces by Carly Anne West
Lock your doors! From the creators of the blockbuster horror video game Hello Neighbor comes the story that started it all. Unravel the mystery in this gripping prequel novel!
Nicky Roth has always been a lonely kid. But that all changes when he and his family move to Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons. Nicky befriends the Petersons’ son, Aaron, bonding over their talents for tinkering. Soon the boys are inseparable and using their skills to pull pranks on the townspeople.
But something about Aaron bothers Nicky—people seem almost afraid of him and his family. Through snippets from Aaron and a lot of sleuthing in the town’s archives, Nicky discovers a dark past haunting his neighbors, a streak of bad luck they can’t seem to shake. Aaron thinks that’s all behind them now, but Nicky has a feeling the Petersons are fated for another tragedy…
This pulse-pounding prequel novel to the hit video game Hello Neighbor includes two-color illustrations throughout, to help readers unwind the mystery at the heart of the game.
Carly Anne West is the author of the YA novels The Murmurings and The Bargaining. She holds an MFA in English and Writing from Mills College and lives with her husband and two kids near Portland, Oregon. Visit her at carlyannewest.com.
Hello Neighbor: Waking Nightmare
Don’t miss this pulse-pounding original story, the sequel to Hello Neighbor: Missing Pieces, based on the hit video game from tinyBuild!
It’s been four months since Nicky Roth has seen his best friend and neighbor, Aaron Peterson. Aaron’s father, a reclusive theme park designer, told the town that Aaron and his sister Mya are living with a relative far away, but Nicky can’t seem to accept it.
Plagued by terrifying nightmares of robotic mannequins, rotting theme parks, and a dark basement, Nicky teams up with his friends from school to find out what really happened to Aaron and Mya. Together, they start piecing together a picture more disturbing than they could have imagined. The screams coming from the neighbor’s house can’t be nothing, and Nicky is determined to get to the bottom of where his friends went, and what-if anything-can be done to save them.
This pulse-pounding prequel novel to the hit video game Hello Neighbor includes two-color illustrations throughout, to help readers unwind the mystery at the heart of the game.
Carly Anne West is the author of the YA novels The Murmurings and The Bargaining. She holds an MFA in English and Writing from Mills College and lives with her husband and two kids near Portland, Oregon. Visit her at carlyannewest.com.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Collection by Scott Cawthorn and Kira Breed-Wrisley
Collection includes: The Silver Eyes, The Twisted Ones, The Fourth Closet
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of Five Nights at Freddy’s, don’t miss this three-book boxed set, which includes an original print inspired by the trilogy!
It’s been 10 years since the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza tore the town of Hurricane, Utah, apart. Charlie, whose father owned the pizzeria, reunites with her childhood friends on the anniversary of the tragedy, and together they revisit the abandoned pizza place. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have a dark secret…one that sets Charlie and her friends on a path to unravel the many mysteries her father— and his twisted partner—left behind.
Scott Cawthon is the author of the bestselling video game series Five Nights at Freddy’s, and while he is a game designer by trade, he is first and foremost a storyteller at heart. He is a graduate of The Art Institute of Houston and lives in Texas with his wife and four sons.
Kira Breed-Wrisley has been writing stories since she could first pick up a pen and has no intention of stopping. She is the author of seven plays for Central New York teen theater company The Media Unit, and has developed several books with Kevin Anderson & Associates. She is a graduate of Cornell University, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Good luck!
