An “exciting fast-moving” ( School Library Journal ) middle grade fantasy about a girl who
must participate in a deadly game with a ragtag team of players to save her grandfather from a
terrible fate—perfect for fans of James Riley and Shannon Messenger! In the opulent sinking
city of Dantessa the Great Game rules all. Pia Paro believes that so long as you follow the
rules you always have a chance at winning. But after her beloved Gramps is sentenced to a life
of servitude Pia accepts a dangerous offer and joins a team of players seeking to win the most
perilous game of all: Noctis. The Seafoxes—Pia’s new teammates—are unlike anyone she’s ever
met. There’s brash bold Carlo macabre Serafina kindhearted Pasquale and their dashing
ringleader Vittoria. Each has their own reason for playing and soon Pia begins to question
all her long-held beliefs. Maybe the rules Pia once trusted to lift her up have only been
keeping her—and thousands of others like her—down. As she struggles with these revelations
Pia must survive a gauntlet of clockwork soldiers perilous underwater adventures and even a
game against Death herself. But with Pia’s grandfather’s life at stake Pia must finally decide
whether she’s brave enough to not just break the rules but to change the very nature of the
Game.
