Arcade Adventure Incoming

I am still working on my 55K word middle-grade novel. It is to be the first of a three book series. I have the series arc outlined and I listened to a 5 book series that I would use as an “also bought,” or “If you enjoyed X, you’ll love my series.” I started listening to the first books in a second related series and I do not like it nearly as much. The first series hooked me by the end of the first or second chapter and it had an amazing opening line. On the negative side, it is written in first person. I do not prefer first person narratives. The second series is third person with a pair of POV characters who alternate chapters. I DO like that, but the overall story is less to my taste and lacks warmth and charm of the other series. Something that may be a factor is the narrators. Series one has a human narrator and he does a great job. Series 2 has an AI narrator and while the female voice is decent, there is a disconnect for me. The two POV characters are a brother and sister. Maybe I would prefer two AI voices, a man for him and a woman for her? I’m not sure. I have listened to multiple books with weak, default system robotic AI voices and enjoyed them far more than the other series, so I don’t think that is the issue. The tone of the two books is very different despite being about kids going into video games. I am striving to write more like CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) or George MacDonald (The Princess and the Goblin) or maybe even L Frank Baum who wrote the first 14 Wizard of Oz books. I feel like their writing respected kids and had fun with them and still was able to be beautiful and meaningful. That is what I aspire to. Instead of entering a wardrobe, I will have a kid entering and Arcade cabinet and finding a whole world in there that perhaps he doesn’t want to leave. I think I can do something magical with that story and I intend to.