Author: Renji Ooki
Illustrator: Mohiro Kitoh
Status: Complete
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction
LNDB: http://lndb.info/light_novel/Bokurano_-_Alternative

On the DNA podcast, @sam-pinansky mentioned that he got actually into learning Japanese via Narutaru. Which reminded me that one of Mohiro Kitoh's other works, Bokurano, also has a LN adaption. It is an alternative retelling of the manga (which is published by Viz [who for some reason geo-block their site?]), with new characters and changes to the story, but with the same setting. The manga also had an anime adaption by Gonzo in 2007.

I don't want to spoil the story, so here's a very short summary:

Some kids are in summer camp, where they meet a strange man who invites them to play an exciting new video game. In that game, they would control a giant robot to protect earth from aliens. The kids agree. Unfortunately, the “game” turns out to be real,