Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

A 2021 Family Choice Award winner, Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats is the second book in the Alicia Connected series. You may read my review of the first book Alicia Connected: The Big Gift here. Now learn about the new book below and enter to win a signed copy!

About the Book:

Book Title: Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats by Derek Fisher
Category: Middle Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 86 pages
Genre: Middle School Fiction
Publisher: Securely Built
Release date: July 2021
Tour dates: November 22 to December 10
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.

Halloween is here, and it is Alicia’s favorite time of year. What's not to like about dressing up in a costume and getting free candy? But there is something even more exciting happening this year. For the first time, Alicia and her friends are throwing a virtual party in TullyTown!

Putting together a party in TullyTown isn't easy, and Alicia and her friends want to do the best they can to make sure it is enjoyed by plenty of avatars in TullyTown. For one of Alicia's friends, getting ready to throw a TullyTown party leads to looking for easy treats. But what if it's a trick?

Alicia has been using her tablet for a while and is getting more used to how to use the technology. However, there is always something new for her and her friends to learn.

My Review:

In this new installment of the series, Alicia has already become an experienced user of the tablet gifted to her in book one, as well as an advanced player in her favorite online game TullyTown. Her online life and her real one get intertwined now and then since she's been playing the game together with her friends from school. As she creates her DIY costume for Halloween with the help of her dad, she is also busy assisting her bestie Cathy to get her TullyTown house ready for their first-ever virtual party. After the free treats Cathy gets from a suspicious website turn out to be a malicious trick in disguise, Alicia has to come up with a contingency plan to save the day.

Middle graders continue to gain practical knowledge about online safety from this easy-to-follow, realistic chapter book. It suggests that etiquette applies to both virtual and real worlds. Rude comments, whether made face-to-face or behind the mask of an avatar, can be equally hurtful and inexcusable. Kindness and respect are very much needed in cyberspace as well. The harmful impacts of cyberbullying on a child's wellbeing should not be underestimated.

Through fun and vivid examples, the story teaches young Internet users about useful tips to help enhance their online security, such as how to make strong passwords that are not easily compromised, how to protect privacy by avoiding video chatting in the bedroom, and how to stay away from phishing websites soliciting personal and confidential information.

Written with light-hearted humor, the book depicts characters and scenarios that are believable and easily relatable. Besides its central topic of cybersecurity, it offers thoughtful implications about what may constitute a healthy friendship. While one is expected to be kind, honest, supportive to their friends and be sensitive to their feelings, being a loyal friend doesn't mean trying to please others by giving up your principles. Despite all the issues and concerns about security, the book does make technology sound fun and fascinating. It encourages youngsters to become tech-savvy while exercising caution, good judgement and self-control, and to consult their parents whenever they feel unsure about how to make a smart choice via their electronic devices.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

About the Author:

Fisher is an award-winning author who has spent decades in the computer engineering field, with the last 10 years in cybersecurity as a leader, speaker, and instructor. His passion has been to take complex security topics and make them simple and easy to understand. He holds several security certifications and teaches cybersecurity at Temple University, where he is also an external advisory board member to the cybersecurity program. Alicia Connected: Tricked With Treats is the second book in the Alicia Connected series. The first book, Alicia Connected: The Big Gift, was a second-place recipient of the prestigious Purple Dragonfly Award in the STEM category.

Connect with the Author: Website | Facebook | Instagram

One lucky reader will win a signed copy of Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats!

Giveaway ends 12/17. Open to US only. Please enter below. Happy Holidays and Good Luck!

ALICIA CONNECTED: Tricked with Treats Tour Giveaway

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to facilitate my honest review. All views and opinions expressed are my own. icefairy's Treasure Chest is not responsible for winner selection or prize fulfillment.