The Coin Slot Chronicles by Rashad Jennings

Arcade is an 11-year-old boy who has just moved to New York City. He loves books, libraries, crazy socks, and figuring out ways to help others. As he adjusts to a new city, school, friends, and parent’s work schedules, he encounters two bullies and must learn how to deal wisely and Biblically with them. Additionally, he is assigned a class project that hinges upon which career he will choose when he grows up. Arcade goes to the library to research career ideas, and he receives a mysterious, gold coin with three “Ts” on it, thus called the Triple T Token. He and his sister, Zoe, realize when the token starts to heat up, a gold elevator doors appear. When the coin is placed in the elevator coin slot, they go on elevator rides taking them to new places – past, present, and future. These “Arcade Adventures” help Arcade discover answers to his problems as well as expound upon the Bible.

In the second book, Zoe and Arcade spend time with their cousins in Virginia. They encounter the previous owners of the Triple T Token, work towards solving the mystery of the brother’s past, and rebuild their golf course along the way. They learn about humility, generosity, and forgiveness.

In book three, Arcade goes through trials to “test his mettle.” His friend moves away, he loses his dog, he encounters a new bully, and he is wrongfully accused and suspended for cheating on a test. Through his elevator rides, he learns more about the history of the Triple T Token and his own character.

In the final book, Arcade turns 12 and wishes to experience the “-ests” of life (e.g. best, longest, widest, deepest). Knowing how to “command” the token, he sets out on elevator rides to uncover the truth about the token and about himself.

Reading Level: 8-12 years old

Read A Loud Age: 7+

This series is engaging, fast-paced, and filled with various adventures that kids will be drawn to and will not want to stop reading. Arcade is refreshing as a main character, as he is unapologetically himself and makes going to the library, loving learning, and wearing crazy socks exciting and cool. I loved his quirky personality, and there was a lot of humor throughout the book which made him relatable. More importantly, this series integrates Scripture, Christian values, and prayer into the themes of these books which is hard to find in a middle-grade fiction series.

The first book of the series does a fantastic job emphasizing how Arcade is trying to honor God even in his dealings with bullies. Throughout this book, Arcade prays when he is worried, prays over his sister when she is struggling and recalls Bible verses that apply to situations. His father writes encouraging notes with Proverbs on them, and the verses are always applicable to Arcade’s situations. I especially liked how Arcade mentions, “I know God gives talents to everyone, but it’s hard to see it right away in bullies sometimes.”

As the series progresses, the focus progressively shifts from Bible verses and prayer to general morality and values. For instance, book two focuses on humility, generosity, and forgiveness. There is still an acknowledgment that God provides, but these values are far more emphasized than God Himself. This trend continues in the subsequent books where the focus is goal setting, and Arcade’s goal is to be compassionate while having fun.

However, the major theme that subtly starts in the first book and is increasingly more obvious as the series progresses is being the best version of yourself. This theme begins in book one in which Proverbs 27:17 is misapplied. Arcade takes this to mean he is the sharpener to help his bullies become better people. In the forward of book two, the author encourages the reader to become the best versions of themselves. Additionally, Ruah, Arcade’s spirit guide, teaches him, “with each discovery, you can help someone be their best self.” Book four ends with Arcade figuring out the truth about himself, which is that he wants to use what he learns to help people. He says, “And it’s not weird that I’m that way. God made me that way. The truth about me is… I’m an -EST….I’m God’s BEST, and I need to share with others they’re God’s BEST too.” His sister also agrees that she is an -EST, but it is in regards to her stubbornness, so she needs to figure out how to use that stubbornness to help people.

I can certainly appreciate what the author is trying to convey, but to avoid misunderstanding, a better distinction needs to be made about who we are apart from and in Christ. Without Christ, we are absolutely dead in sin, and many of our personality traits and proclivities are things to be repented of rather than figuring out how they can be used for good. We cannot assume that a natural trait must be from God and used for Him if it goes against what He defines as good and glorifying. As believers in Christ, we must rely on His Spirit to sanctify areas for redemption and are powerless to “be better people” in our own strength. We desperately need Jesus to redeem, sanctify, and sustain us, and we will fall short every time if the burden of being our best selves rests upon our own shoulders.

Language:
Duh, Dumb, Stupid, Stuck Up, Ugly, Loser, Four Eyes, Bookworm, Goofball, Book Nerd, “I’m such a Dork,” “I was a Doofus.”

Brother/Sister Related: Fish Face, Blenderhead, Fishbreath, Wombat, Bumblefoot, Aquarium Breath, Sloth Bear, Lame Brain, Zoo Breath, Flying Dork, Knucklehead, Noodle Head, Numb-Brain, Annoying, Dramatic

Questionable Behaviors:
Though you would never question the love they have for one another, Arcade and Zoe are constantly teasing each other throughout the books. They never do so in an angry manner, but there is a lot of squabbling including the name-calling above and actions like pushing, shoving, smacking, and flicking. Arcade deals with bullies who call him a loser, make the letter “L” on their forehead, push him, flick his glasses, give noogies, spit spitballs, throw a napkin ball at his face, squeeze his neck, and threaten to start ugly rumors to force him into during their schoolwork. Another bully is mentioned who has given someone a black eye in the past. Arcade’s cousin also exhibits “bully-like” behaviors such as throwing dirt at people, teasing them mercilessly, and pushing others.

Throughout the series, the Badger Brothers (adults) try to get the token back from Arcade. One brother ambushes Arcade and gets into a wrestling fight with him. Arcade fills out a police report at the station, and the perpetrator goes to jail; he later gets out on bail. He then begins to stalk Arcade again and conspires against him. They get into another physical altercation on the Golden Gate Bridge. Zoe frequently rolls her eyes, and two other characters do as well. One character follows Arcade around, and they call her a stalker. Lastly, Arcade conceals the Triple T Token from his parents and lies to them about it at times.

Sexual Content:
Implied Romance Comments: Zoe asks Aracade if he, “has met anyone cute. And nice. You know…like a girl?” Zoe says that Arcade’s project partner looks pretty. Elena clarifies she’s not interested in being Arcade’s girlfriend, and he shares the same sentiment.

Zoe’s Boyfriend, Michael: Zoe meets a boy named Micheal who has a girlfriend, but she still has a huge crush on him. When Zoe first meets Michael, he goes out of his way to help her, in which Arcade implies Michael has some romantic interest in her. Michael is referred to as Zoe’s, “hope-to-be-in-the-near-future-boyfriend.” Michael buys his current girlfriend flowers, but he and his girlfriend break up. He then plans a date with Zoe. During an Arcade Adventure, he grabs Zoe’s hand, and they end up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend and experience a fight while dating. There is a book chapter titled, “Boyfriend on Broadway.”

Arcade’s Love Interest, Jacey: Jacey shows romantic interest in Arcade and frequently flutters her eyelashes and winks at him. His friend group teases him about her. He says she’s a cute girl and perhaps his secret admirer, and Zoe calls them “lovebirds.” Arcade asks Jacey to golf, and she says, “it’s a date!” Arcade and Jacey end up holding hands, to which Zoe says they are such a cute couple. Jacey puts her arm around Arcade for a photo, and they hug twice during the series.

Parent’s Date: When traveling back in time on an Arcade Adventure, Zoe and Arcade see their parents on a date. Before realizing the teens are their parents, Arcade says that the “older teen boy’s date was a pretty girl who looked like Zoe.” The teen boy was paying so much attention to his girlfriend that he bumped into Arcade. Zoe makes a lot of comments about the couple being, “obviously in love,” and unable to take their eyes off each other. Arcade’s mom kisses the older teen boy on the cheek during this flashback.

Celeste and Doug: Upon arrival in New York, Celeste asks, “Is every boy in New York as good-looking as your friend?” She also asks, “Whatcha got going on in New York besides cute boys?” She also tries to sit and be near Doug, because she “likes him, he’s cute, and he’s fun.”

Puberty: Puberty is mentioned a couple of times as well as increased hormones. Arcade mentions his “pits” are smelly because he is almost 12. During one Arcade Adventure in the future, Arcade is an adult and has chest hair and stubble.

Other Things To Note:
Some of Arcade’s friends go through/have experienced deep suffering in life. For instance:

Carlos is in a wheelchair due to a drunk driver hitting him on his 9th birthday.
Doug is living alone at one point (age 12), because his grandmother has Alzheimer’s. They move her to an assisted living facility, and Doug has to meet with a social worker to talk about foster care. He is worried he will be homeless and lives with Arcade’s family during that time. His aunt wants custody, but he does not want to live with her.
“Scratchy’s” sister was bullied so badly that they had to move.
Derek and Celeste’s parents are divorced, and their dad does not come by often.
Timon has a father who stifles his dreams and discourages his creativity.

Skin Tone/Ethnicity is also mentioned to the following extent: dark-skinned, “lighter skin than mine,” light-skinned, African American woman, “children rush by us and they all look Chinese.”

Lastly, during one Arcade Adventure in the 1920s, baseball players are seen spitting “grey stuff” on the ground.

This review is written by Emily Russell. To read more about Emily, click HERE.

The Coin Slot Chronicles (4 Book Set)