I am honored to be one of the first to read B.B. Alston's "Amari and the Great Game".
I discovered B.B. Alston through book 1 "Amari and the Night Brothers" in the summer of 2021. After reading this book, I knew immediately it had to be a read aloud in my 3rd grade classroom. My students LOVED it. More than any other book with any other class across 26 years of teaching. It was almost surreal.
"Amari and the Great Game" does not disappoint. The story begins where "Amari and the Night Brothers" leaves off. Amari is struggling with being a magician, wanting her brother Quinton to be healed from the curse, and returning to be a junior agent with the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Luckily she has a cadre of friends surrounding her, even as she has new challenges to face. And Amari does so largely on her own.
I wondered if B.B. Alston could come close to the joy, wonder, and magic that he started with "Amari and the Night Brothers". I hoped he could. And of course, "Amari and the Great Game" is wonderment. Simply perfect. With twists, cliff hangers, and moments unlike any I could even have begun to imaging.
"Amari and the Great Game" is worth the wait. Thank you B.B. Alston for Amari. She is the heroine we all knew we needed and have now found.