Description

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The game is on in this fun-filled middle grade debut about chess, girl power, and performance anxiety in sports, perfect for fans of Kelly Yang and Celia C. Pérez!

The clock is ticking for May Li, whose middle-school chess team just earned a victory at the state championship—and with it, a ticket to nationals. What’s even more exciting is that May got an award for being the top female player and a splashy feature in the biggest chess magazine in the country.
        May should be thrilled. But some of her teammates, including her supposed-to-be-friend Ralph, aren’t too pleased with the attention she’s getting—and they’re even questioning her skills. Backed into a corner, but not one to back down, May makes a move as bold as any of her chess tactics: She bets Ralph she can win the school’s internal tournament and be chosen as team captain for nationals.
        The crown is May’s for the taking . . . except she’s starting to crumble under the weight of everyone’s expectations. Anxious feelings begin to affect her performance and, what’s worse, eat away at her love for the game. Now May is left to wonder: Can you still play for fun when you’re playing to win?

About the Author

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Kyla Zhao is the author of The Fraud Squad (Berkley, 2023). She had her first women's magazine byline at the age of sixteen. Since then, she has also written for the Singapore editions of Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Tatler. A native Singaporean, Kyla now works in Silicon Valley after graduating from Stanford University in 2021. In 2023, Kyla made Forbes Asia's 30 under 30 list. She’s still trying to understand why Californians adore hiking and Patagonia fleeces so much. May the Best Player Win is her middle-grade debut.

Praise For…

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Praise for May the Best Player Win

"A middle-grade Queen’s Gambit, May The Best Player Win is a realistic story of one girl's love of chess, and her journey to rediscovering the love of the game. It will resonate with any middle schooler navigating achievement, success, and the weight of expectations. Utterly believable and inspirational, May's story will have you on the edge of your seat and you itching to play a game of chess!" —Graci Kim, New York Times bestselling author of the Gifted Clans trilogy