A thrilling middle grade fantasy about a girl who must participate in a deadly game with a ragtag team of players to save her grandfather from a terrible fate—perfect for fans of James Riley and Shannon Messenger!
In the opulent, sinking city of Dantessa, the Great Game rules all. Pia Paro believes that so long as you follow the rules, you always have a chance at winning. But after her beloved Gramps is sentenced to a life of servitude, Pia accepts a dangerous offer and joins a team of players seeking to win the most perilous game of all: Noctis.
The Seafoxes—Pia’s new teammates—are unlike anyone she’s ever met. There’s brash, bold Carlo; macabre Serafina; kindhearted Pasquale; and their dashing ringleader, Vittoria. Each has their own reason for playing, and soon, Pia begins to question all her long-held beliefs. Maybe the rules Pia once trusted to lift her up have only been keeping her—and thousands of others like her—down.
As she struggles with these revelations, Pia must survive a gauntlet of clockwork soldiers, perilous underwater adventures, and even a game against Death herself. But with Pia’s grandfather’s life at stake, Pia must finally decide whether she’s brave enough to not just break the rules, but to change the very nature of the Game.---from the publisher
320 pages 978-1665930192 Ages 10-13
Keywords: fantasy, contest, social class, believing in yourself, main character female, teamwork, magical powers, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old
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You better play to win because if you don't, you'll lose your standing and if you get to zero - you become - a pawn.
Pia is good at games. She learned everything she knows from her grandfather and the two of them fight to survive on the streets every day. Every day they check their number - do they have enough of a standing to stay in the city or will they drop to the dreaded zero and be consigned to the land of the pawns.
Then that dreaded day comes when Pia's grandfather loses - because he can't afford a pair of glasses - and loses so badly that the dreaded zero appears. Pia knows she has 24 hours to fight to save him but it seems her world no longer plays by the rules and her grandfather is taken.
What do you do? How do you save the man who saved you? For Pia that is about to come in the form of a contest. She is selected to be part of a team that will go up against the royalty and all the intrigue and machinations that power behind the scenes can wield. Do they stand a chance? Is there any honor or integrity left - even in the underworld where Death rules?
This band of outcasts comes together to decide if they can trust each other and better yet, trust themselves to be able to beat the system that holds them and those they love as prisoners.
An edge of darkness, characters with secret pasts, power wielders you'll love to hate, and honorable warriors set in a world where they aren't expected to win, you'll be rooting for these worthy contestants and somewhere inside you'll believe if they can win, so can you.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge abookandahug.com
