Level 13

Gordon Korman's Level 13 is a 2019 middle grade novel that continues the story of Cameron Boxer as he tries to distance himself from his club president duties to become a gaming streamer. A sequel to Slacker (2016), Level 13 delves into themes of expectations, reality, community, and identity as Cameron and his friends navigate new relationships, challenges, and the realization that not everything is as it seems. Gordon Korman, a Canadian author, is best known for his children's and young adult fiction.

This guide references the 2019 Scholastic e-book edition.

Plot Summary

Level 13 begins where Slacker left off. Cameron (Cam) Boxer, an eighth grader and self-proclaimed “slacker,” changes his life goals after competing in a gaming competition with his sister, Melody, a sixth grader and brilliant gamer. Instead of professional gaming, Cam sets his sights on game streaming, intending to reach 50,000 paying subscribers. However, a knock on his door, followed by multiple phone calls from various “paggers” (members of the Positive Action Group or P.A.G.), interrupts his first stream. Another student is hosting a P.A.G. party, and everyone is pressuring Cam, who is the P.A.G. president, to attend. Cam tries to get out of it but receives a concerning phone call from one of his best friends, Pavel Dysan. Cam, Pavel, and Chuck Kinsey are best friends who call themselves the “Awesome Threesome.” Pavel tries to tell Cam something about Chuck, but the music is too loud for Cam to hear.

Cam abandons his stream and attends the party, looking for Pavel. Everyone is thrilled to see Cam. Chuck intercepts Cam and tells him he is now in a relationship with Daphne Leibowitz. Cam breaks his phone and sees his followers complaining about his stream. Cam decides the P.A.G. takes up too much of his time and plans ways to distance himself from the club.

Cam, Pavel, and Chuck meet after school at their favorite hang-out, the local candy shop Sweetness and Light. Cam and Pavel are upset when Chuck announces he invited Daphne to join them. They plan to tell everyone that Cam is failing his classes and needs to step down as P.A.G. president. Pavel and Cam pressure Chuck to keep the lie a secret from Daphne because she spills secrets. When Daphne arrives, they tell her Cam is failing, and she offers to take over his P.A.G. duties.

Cam does not need to worry about spreading the news that he is failing, as Daphne has already told most of the school. The Awesome Threesome crafts a new streaming identity for Cam: GameFox229. Cam wears a Zorro mask to hide his identity and stuffs his mouth with gummy worms. Once again, someone bangs on the door as Cam starts streaming. This time, it is Chuck. He is concerned because Elvis, a beaver the P.A.G. built a habitat for, has not regained his winter weight. Chuck brings Elvis to show Cam. Cam makes them leave and resumes his stream.

Chuck goes to Pavel’s house, terrified because he lost Elvis. Pavel shows Chuck Cam’s stream. Elvis is there, perched on the back of Cam’s couch, watching him play video games. Elvis’s presence brings more followers, and Cam decides he needs Elvis for all his streams. Melody disagrees because the beaver is messy and smelly, but Cam pays for her silence by offering her 20% of his profits.

The guidance counselor and P.A.G. faculty advisor, Mr. Fanshaw, lectures Cam on missing so many P.A.G. meetings and reminds him of the club’s fundraiser on Saturday. Cam attends the fundraiser but is very late because of his stream and must take Elvis with him. Daphne places Cam in charge of book sales, where he finds an old copy of Guardians of Geldorf (Guardians). He purchases the game right before Elvis breaks out of his carrier and destroys the tables at the fundraiser.

Other students, worried about Cam’s grades and his missing involvement with the P.A.G., start completing assignments for him. Cam feels guilty but still uses their work.

Pavel and Chuck argue over Elvis. Chuck argues that they are exploiting the beaver. Cam discovers he has an old version of Guardians with a Level 13, which resulted in the game being banned in 47 states due to inappropriate content.

Pavel feels like the Awesome Threesome is falling apart between Chuck’s relationship obsession and Cam’s streaming obsession. Cam gains 30,000 followers but realizes they all want to see Level 13, which is too challenging for Cam to reach. Draja Dubrovnik, a legendary gamer and Cam’s hero, never reached Level 13.

Cam attends a P.A.G. fundraiser and freaks out when a tall, thin man stares at him for several minutes. Cam’s streaming becomes a full-time job and affects Cam’s health. Cam again sees the tall, thin man outside Elvis’s habitat. Daphne struggles to find new fundraising ideas when students fighting over a GameFox229 t-shirt gives her an idea. They make over $20,000 for the library from the t-shirt sales.

The tall, thin man knocks on Cam’s door, but Cam and Melody do not answer. Cam explains that the man is stalking him, and Melody makes him promise to tell their parents if the man shows up again. Pavel decides to quit the stream, and Cam reaches 50,000 subscribers. Pavel and Cam find the stalker at Elvis’s habitat. Later, the stalker leaves a comment on the stream with a picture of him holding Elvis and requests that Cam talk to him. Cam stops streaming with Elvis.

Daphne sees the picture of the stalker holding Elvis. Rather than betray Cam, Chuck breaks up with Daphne. Due to his classmate’s help, Cam becomes valedictorian, and all his classmates turn on him. They chase Cam and realize he is GameFox229. Tension builds as his classmates surround him, but the tall, thin man interrupts them. He tells Cam he is Draja Dubrovnik and wants to work with Cam to reach Level 13. Cam faints due to stress and illness. Doctors diagnose Cam with leptospirosis, a disease transmitted to humans from rodents. Both Cam and Elvis are treated and start recovering. Everyone at school hates Cam. Cam receives his royalties from the streaming service. Cam donates the entire amount ($186,274) to the P.A.G. library fund. The public sentiment at the school shifts, and everyone now believes Cam started the stream as a fundraiser.

Cam refuses the valedictorian position, which goes to Pavel. Cam stops streaming and is grateful for it. Draja comes over, and they try to reach Level 13. Eventually, Melody stops them and shows Cam and Draja that beating level 12 requires strategy rather than brute force. They reach Level 13 and realize it was banned due to copyright infringement.