May the Best Player Win

Kyla Zhao

$17.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Putnam
25 March 2025

A humorous and heartfelt MG debut about chess, girl power, and performance anxiety in elite sports.

For fans of Kelly Yang and Celia C. Perez!

A humorous and heartfelt MG debut about chess, girl power, and performance anxiety in elite sports.

For fans of Kelly Yang and Celia C. Perez!

Tick, toc . . .

Tick, toc . . . The clock is ticking for May Li, whose middle-school chess team just earned a victory at the state championship, kicking them into high gear in preparation for nationals. What's more exciting for May is that her win came with a special award for being the top female player in the tournament. An award that earns her a spot on a splashy Lingard Middle School campaign celebrating student achievements.

May should be thrilled. But some of her teammates, including her supposed-to-be-friend Ralph, aren't too keen on the special 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- She bets Ralph she can win Lingard's internal chess tournament and become team captain for nationals.

Under the pressure of her teammates and school's expectations, May starts to crumble under pressure. Anxious feelings begin to take the fun out of chess and even affect her game. Now finding the joy in chess may be just what May needs to do in order to win the bet.

The board is set. The game is on! The crown is May's for the taking.

By: Kyla Zhao
Imprint: Putnam
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: International edition
Dimensions: Height: 209mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 255g
ISBN: 9780593859605
ISBN 10: 059385960X
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 25 March 2025
Recommended Age: From 8 to 12 years
Audience: Children/juvenile , English as a second language
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

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.

Reviews for May the Best Player Win

"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 ""May Li is the type of fierce, loveable, larger-than-life heroine who stays with you long after the story ends. Readers will root for May and her friends from start to finish in their epic journey to nationals!"" —Katie Zhao, author of Last Gamer Standing and the Winnie Zeng series"