Welcome to a new year of middle grade book reviews where hopefully you’ll find my new recommendations useful. View the alphabetical list of the over 1,000 middle grade books I’ve reviewed the past 12 years.

I’m playing catch-up first with a few titles from 2024 that I liked but never posted a review. First up is MAY THE BEST PLAYER WIN by Kyla Zhao.

You won’t find many books for young readers with the game of chess front and center in the plot. Even better is you don’t need to know anything about chess to enjoy the engaging characters and story in MAY THE BEST PLAYER WIN.

May is a 12-year-old 7th grader who started playing chess at age 6. She loves the game and her middle school team has won the state competition and are headed to the nationals.

Everyone at school and in the broader chess community is noticing May and her player strengths. The problem for May is some of her teammates are jealous. Two of her best friends may not be friends anymore. Others are hinting at whether she is really that good. This leads to a bet that she will become the team captain for the final competition. May will have to beat her teammates to succeed. The pressure mounts and May begins to question herself. Does she really love chess that much anymore?

May’s first person narration is spot on with the emotional journey she takes. There are scenes of gender bias sure to hit home with many readers. Writing about friendships in middle school is hard to get right, but here it is spot on.

Although this is the first middle grade book by Kyla Zhao I hope there are more to come.

BOOK BIRTHDAY: September 17, 2024 PAGE COUNT: 240

FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: MAY THE BEST PLAYER WIN by Kyla Zhao

1. Even if you are a newbie as to how to play chess, you’ll be learning as you read. Each chapter is titled with a chess move and explained. I haven’t played chess since my first year in college but now yearn to give it another try.
2. The themes explored will be familiar no matter what sport you enjoy. Constantly thinking about winning can begin to erode one’s enjoyment of the sport. You also struggle with the balance of time playing and practicing versus doing other things. Great discussion topics.
3. Mario who is a soccer goalie becomes a new friend for May. Even though they play in two very different games, the parallels and differences in approaching their game add much to the plot. Mario provides support for May as does her other friend, Becca.
4. Both parents are there for May and talks with her mom are especially helpful. Great to also see the adult characters shine.
5. If you like puns there are plenty of them. Had me smiling throughout.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After graduating from Stanford University in 2021, Kyla Zhao is a Silicon Valley techie by day and an author by night. Her books have been featured by CBS, NBC, Good Morning America, Vogue, Elle, Buzzfeed, South China Morning Post, and more. Kyla was also selected as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, a Tatler Leader of Tomorrow, and awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the California State Assembly for her contributions to Asian media representation. While she writes for various age groups and in various genres, her books all star women and girls of color challenging stereotypes in traditionally male-dominated spaces.

(For more visit Kyla’s author website)

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COMMENTS ARE WELCOME BELOW! AND BE SURE TO VISIT ALL THE OTHER BLOGGERS ON TODAY’S MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY!