R.A. Montgomery was a bestselling author and avid adventurer. Whether teaching in a school, working in the administration of a top university, hiking in the Himalayas, or working in the Peace Corps in Africa, Montgomery took making choices seriously. Of his Choose Your Own Adventure series, Montgomery said 'more than anything else, everyone should have the freedom to express themselves. Second to that, everyone should take risks and be willing to fail. Picking yourself up off the mat is is the central business of life.'

Before Minecraft, before, indeed, any child became addicted to a Nintendo Switch, there was the Choose Your Own Adventure series, the cult "interactive" paperbacks that effectively chucked the kids the car keys and said, "You drive."... It's a brilliant format for kids who are more familiar with video games than chapter books