In 2021 Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston was published. This was the first instalment in a new series about a black American teenager who happens to be able to see the supernatural world and also happens to possess magic. After reading it, I’ve rated this book the well-deserved 5 stars. I couldn’t wait for the next book, but I had to be patient for a little while. In fall 2022, the waiting was over and Amari and the Great Game got published. However, it took me a while to pick it up because I had several other books with deadlines et cetera. My expectations were high, would this sequel meet them?

Title: Amari and the Great Game
Author: B.B. Alston
Series: Supernatural Investigations #2
Publication date: August 30, 2022
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
ISBN: 9780062975195
Number of pages: 432
Genre: Middle-Grade, Fantasy

Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.

After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze.

But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She’s got enough to worry about!

But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League. This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers’ successor and determine the future of magiciankind.

The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner’s magical rewards is Quinton’s last hope—so how can Amari refuse?

The story picks up a year after the ending of the previous book. This is logical as the new summer camp at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs is about to start. However, a day before camp, something happens which brings Amari in major trouble and therefore is absolutely not certain she can attend camp. Her best friend Elsie is very inventive and creative. Everything seems to turn out fine…… However, some opponents are chasing after Amari. But that’s not the only thing she has on her plate as newly Junior Agent at the Bureau. She found her brother, but he has been cursed and the curse gets worse. Furtermore, the leader of the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to save their kind by becoming a leader. Amari refuses this offer, which gives someone the chance to step up and take it. However, that person has dangerous plans. Both rivals are challenged in a competition: The Great Game. The winner of the game receives the crown and will lead the League. Is Amari able to save the supernatural world once again or is this adventure just a little too big for her?

This book is just as good as the first. The characters are interesting and are excecuted very well. They face issues minorities in society unfortunately face as well. Alston manages to write these issues down in such a way that it’s not too heavy and therefore attractive to the younger reader. Amari is not fazed that easily by difficult situations and issues such as racism. She always finds a way to deal with setbacks. Elsie supports her through all of it and never leaves her side. You can’t say that about all characters though. Some of them set the reader off in the wrong direction. This makes the book even more intriguing, as Amari is set off in the wrong direction multiple times as well without even noticing. All characters are excecuted well, also the new ones that are introduced alongside many familiar faces. I’m really curious how they will develop in the next book.

The writing is fast-paced and therefore very easy to read. This suits the genre and target group really well. This series is targeted towards the younger audience since this book falls into the middle-grade genre. Personally, I already had the English Kindle copy, but I wanted to continue reading on my commute so I switched to the Dutch audiobook and listened to a good chunk of the story that way. For me, this worked very well. The language used is not too difficult which makes it, again, attractive for the middle-grade reader.

However, not only the younger audience will enjoy Amari’s adventures. These are intriguing and tensive, which makes readers continuously curious on how the story would evolve. Sometimes, I had a feeling that the plot got a little repetitive in comparison to the previous book though. More in terms of structure as it’s becoming somewhat predictable. This fits a middle-grade book though and the events in this book are extremely different from the first one. Is this predictability bad? No, not at all. The plot itself is so tense that you’re hooked from start to finish.

Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston is the long awaited sequel to Amari and the Night brothers. I rated that book 5 stars and this one gets that rating as well. The characters are excecuted well, the writing is fast-paced and easy to read which makes it attractive for the target audience. Moreover, the plot and therefore Amari’s adventures are all tensive. The structure of the plot is getting a little predictable though, but that doesn’t increase the enjoyment. Because the book is very tense, you want to continue reading and are constantly intrigued. The ending was quite unexpected and provides a huge cliffhanger. This makes me curious for tthe next book in this series, because there is a lot at stake. The books about Amari will be enjoyed by a wide range of age groups, from the middle-grade readers to adults.