Playing the Cards You're Dealt

by Varian Johnson

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Fifth-grader Anthony Joplin has one goal: to follow in the footsteps of the men in his family and win his local spades tournament. However, he quickly learns that in both cards and life, sometimes you have to make your own rules. Playing the Cards You’re Dealt is a moving novel about family, empathy, and the culture of toxic masculinity that is sure to spark important conversations.

“With a deft hand, Johnson shows us there's no such thing as "too young" when it comes to questioning big ideas like manhood, or even family.” –Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Look Both Ways and Stamped

Literary powerhouse and Coretta Scott King Honor- and Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor-winning author of The Parker Inheritance Varian Johnson explores themes of toxic masculinity and family legacy in this heartfelt, hopeful story of one boy discovering what it really means to be a man.

SECRETS ARE ALWAYS A GAMBLE

Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table.

Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. And Shirley, the new girl in his class, isn't exactly who he has in mind. She talks a whole lot of trash — way more than his old partner. Plus, he's not sure that his father wants him playing with a girl. But she's smart and tough and pretty, and knows every card trick in the book. So Ant decides to join forces with Shirley — and keep his plans a secret.

Only it turns out secrets are another Joplin Man tradition. And his father is hiding one so big it may tear their family apart...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338348538
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	45,609
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.70(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Varian Johnson is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards, The Great Greene Heist, an ALA Notable Children’s book, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, and a Texas Library Association Lone Star List selection, and the graphic novel Twins co-created with Shannon Wright, an NPR Best Book. He lives with his family near Austin, Texas. You can visit him on the web at varianjohnson.com and @varianjohnson.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/20/2021

Johnson (Twins) addresses themes of toxic masculinity, family, and legacy in this vividly told novel centering Black 10-year-old card shark Anthony “Ant” Joplin. As he starts the fifth grade in South Carolina, Ant is preparing for the Oak Grove annual spades tournament. The game is a family tradition in the Joplin house, and Ant, whose play was “less than satisfactory” the previous year, wants to live up to his champion brother’s success and make their father proud. Ant practices with the help of his trash-talking best friend, Jamal, and meets new schoolmate Shirley, from Texas, who proves to be just as good at spades as Ant. But as Ant’s father, who holds a limited view of masculinity, begins to spiral into online gambling and alcohol abuse, and Jamal’s teasing becomes hurtful, Ant teams up with Shirley for the game, juggling compassion and disappointment as things grow worse on all sides. Via an omniscient, “mostly hands-off” narrator who dynamically breaks down the “great African American institution called spades,” Johnson deftly and realistically portrays family, friend, and classroom dynamics alongside lively descriptions of the beloved game. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Playing The Cards You're Dealt:

An Indies Next selection

Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year

* "A compelling story of cards, courage, and compassion." — Booklist, starred review

* "A story about showing great courage and persevereance when life gets shuffled." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Johnson addresses themes of toxic masculinity, family, and legacy in this vividly told novel." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Playing the Cards You're Dealt, is a necessary tale about how some traditions are worth upholding, and others—especially those that harm people—aren't. More importantly, Johnson with the deft hand indicative of all his work, gives us Anthony Joplin to show us there's no such thing as "too young" when it comes to questioning big ideas like manhood, or even family.” — Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Look Both Ways and Stamped

“Reading a well-written book is akin to watching an acrobat on a tightrope. And Varian Johnson is the best of acrobats—he’s made the task look effortless with an air of compassion, tenderness, humor, and a dab of magic realism.” – Christopher Paul Curtis, Newbery Award-winning author of BUD, Not BUDDY and The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963

"Definitely lives up to The Parker Inheritance. Nicely rounded characters facing believable issues in a supportive, but not always perfect, community setting. This fills a good need—early middle grade books with smart boys learning how to be great men." —Rosie Lee-Parks (Readers' Books) for Shelf Awareness

Awards and Praise for The Parker Inheritance:

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner

A Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor winner

Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year

BookPage Best Books of the Year

Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year

NPR Best Books of the Year

New York Public Library Top Ten Books of the Year

Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year

Boston Globe Best Books of the Year

Parents Magazine Best Books of the Year

"Powerful... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve... Their adventure is also a quest for dignity and justice and a journey to understand each other. In a novel marked by scenes of pain and rage, their friendship, genuine and sustaining, is a great achievement." — The New York Times Book Review

* "A candid and powerful reckoning of history." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Johnson's Westing Game-inspired tale is a tangled historical mystery, a satisfying multigenerational family story, and an exploration of twentieth-century (and contemporary) race and racism." — The Horn Book, starred review

* "Part historical fiction, part critical problem-solving exercise, part suspenseful mystery, this story weaves through the past and present of one town's struggle with hatred and racism." — School Library Journal, starred review

* "Johnson takes his readers on a whirlwind expedition with two exceptionally bright kids as they connect the dots of this mystery and gain insights into their own families' secrets. The author flashes back to earlier eras to fill out the backstory of the town and the treasure, creating a vivid portrait of the cultural and demographic changes in a South Carolina town, and he creates a narrative that's both a compelling mystery and a powerful commentary on identity, passing, and sacrifice. Fans of The Westing Game, which gets several textual shoutouts, and other puzzling mysteries such as Balliett's Chasing Vermeer will appreciate the twists and turns of this meaningful tale." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"A clever puzzle, a hidden treasure, and a couple of kids you'll wish were your friends... Dive in!" — Sara Pennypacker, author of Pax

"Varian Johnson delivers once again with this rewarding mix of relevant history and challenging mystery!" — Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hattie Big Sky

"With a nod to The Westing Game, Varian Johnson has penned a smart mystery that deftly explores the history of racial segregation in the South, modern-day discrimination, friendship, love and bullying... beautifully written, this complex story will captivate an adult audience as well." — BookPage

"Realistic and complex." — School Library Connection

"A dazzling and emotional read that deals with serious topics such as bullying, racism, and divorce." — Booklist

"A gripping mystery." — Publishers Weekly

"The Parker Inheritance is a clever puzzle wrapped in an urgent and compassionate novel that will capture readers from the first chapter." — Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

★ 12/03/2021

Gr 4–6—Anthony "Ant" Joplin is just starting fifth grade. This year, he really wants to impress his dad by winning a local spades tournament. Last year he and his partner Jamal lost, and he has been teased about it ever since. On the first day of school, Ant and Jamal meet new student, Shirley, who is able to beat Ant and Jamal handily. This sets up a rivalry between Jamal and Shirley for Ant's friendship, as well as a burgeoning crush for Ant. Meanwhile, Ant's dad is struggling with alcoholism and a gambling addiction. Ant decides that winning the tournament with his dad watching will solve everything. Trash talk, strategy, and the rules of spades are deftly interwoven into the narrative so the uninitiated can understand how the game works. The self-aware narrator serves to explain Ant's decisions while making clear that Ant may have unrealistic expectations of the consequences of winning the tournament. Ant grows as a character; he learns what real friendship looks like, and there are nice moments where the characters tackle toxic masculinity in kid-appropriate ways. For example, Ant receives support from adults in choosing a girl for his spades partner even though he is teased, Ant's older brother is interested in things other than sports and shrugs off negativity from his peers about his hobbies, and Ant sees the value in talking about his family situation with people who care about him. The characters are well developed, and a difficult story is told with tenderness and humor. Most primary characters are Black. VERDICT A first-rate contemporary realistic fiction title that centers a Black boy and his community, and offers expansive notions of masculinity.—Kristin Lee Anderson

School Library Journal

★ 2021-07-27
Spades is as much a game of partnership and trust as it is about cunning and trash talk, but when the deck seems stacked against Anthony, he’s forced to consider what it means to be a good card player as well as a good (young) man.

Ten-year-old South Carolina native Anthony Arnold Joplin prefers Ant; to his chagrin, however, the nickname “little man” has stuck. He’s short. He gets it. But when his spades partner and best friend Jamal’s constant ribbing leads even to Shirley, the cute new girl from Texas, teasing Ant about his height, he starts questioning his skills, his relationships, and how his so-called best friend makes him feel. Eventually, Ant and Shirley hit it off despite Ant’s being too shy to admit it, but issues in the Joplin household and Jamal’s own volatility put a lot of stress on this budding relationship. Ant’s father is an alcoholic and gambler with a lot of reductive opinions on masculinity that confuse the naturally compassionate and thoughtful Ant. Spades becomes a way for Ant to prove himself to his father and hopefully mend some familial wounds, as well as a compelling allegory for the ways he must navigate some uniquely thorny setbacks. A charismatic omniscient narrator explains the intricacies of the game and its venerable position in Black American culture. Realistic character and community portrayals give a difficult story a great amount of heart. Main characters are Black.

A story about showing great courage and perseverance when life gets shuffled. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews