This whip-smart coming-of-age novel sees a group of boys embark on a madcap, high-stakes adventure of survival and friendship.
Lumush and his three friends live with their families in Railway Estate, spending their free time in the countryside or in the yards behind the estate, playing a game of chance called pata potea next to the wreck of an old car. When the boys’ attention begins to wander farther, they discover a deserted house believed to be haunted. As they explore the house, they learn that it’s not ghosts they have to fear but the malevolent Mwachuma. By day he works in his junkyard, but by night he and his accomplices steal coffee from the railway yard and smuggle it into the “ghost house.” As the young boys are drawn into this criminal underworld, they face a mounting danger that threatens both themselves and their families.
With rich storytelling and gripping adventure, Playing a Dangerous Game is a brilliant debut set in 1970s Kenya from a talented new voice in children’s fiction.
Topics Friendship. Smuggling. Twentieth-century history of Kenya. Black people. Adventure and adventurers. Africans.
Lexile 850L
Trim Size 8 3/5" x 5 2/5"
JLG Span Spring
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2021-08-16
JLG Release Date Apr 2022
Minimum grade 6
Maximum grade 8
Reading level Middle
Format Print
Advanced Readers (Grades 6-8)
Advanced Readers
Advanced Readers (Grades 6-8)
For Grades 6-8
Your pre-teen and teen readers won't be able to get enough of these selections. The 12 books here are a bit longer than our B category titles, with more challenging storylines and a wealth of thought-provoking nonfiction.