Game of Stars (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #2)

by Sayantani DasGupta

Overview

The sequel to the critically acclaimed debut-fantasy The Serpent's Secret!

Saving the multiverse is no game

When the Demon Queen shows up in her bedroom, smelling of acid and surrounded by evil-looking bees, twelve-year-old Kiranmala is uninterested. After all, it's been weeks since she last heard from her friends in the Kingdom Beyond, the alternate dimension where she was born as an Indian princess. But after a call to action over an interdimensional television station and a visit with some all-seeing birds, Kiran decides that she has to once again return to her homeland, where society is fraying, a terrible game show reigns supreme, and friends and foes alike are in danger. Everyone is running scared or imprisoned following the enactment of sudden and unfair rules of law.

However, things are a lot less clear than the last time she was in the Kingdom Beyond. Kiran must once again solve riddles and battle her evil Serpent King father -- all while figuring out who her true friends are, and what it really means to be a hero.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338185737
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/26/2019
Series:	Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond Series , #2
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	123,800
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sayantani DasGupta grew up hearing stories about brave princesses, bloodthirsty rakkhosh, and flying pakkhiraj horses. She is a pediatrician by training, but now teaches at Columbia University. When she's not writing or reading, Sayantani spends time watching cooking shows with her trilingual children and protecting her black Labrador retriever Khushi from the many things that scare him, including plastic bags. She is a team member of We Need Diverse Books, and can be found online at sayantanidasgupta.com and on Twitter at @sayantani16.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Game of Stars:

"A must-read for every aspiring Demon Slayer!" -- Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil

* "DasGupta once again wittily meshes Bengali folktales, intergalactic science, and a spectacular world of her own creation in a yarn that is part hero's quest, part immigrant coming-of-age tale." -- Kirkus, starred review

* "Action-packed." -- School Library Journal, starred review

"Game of Stars [is] a fun, funny adventure, more exciting than an auto rickshaw ride across dimensions. More Kiranmala, please!" -- Tracy Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of The Jumbies

"I love this series." -- Adam Gidwitz, Newbery Honor winning author of The Inquisitor's Tale and A Tale Dark and Grimm


Praise for Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1:

* "Will appeal to those who like their adventures fast and furious." -- School Library Journal, starred review

* "This is a series starter that rivals Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief. A breathtaking adventure." -- Booklist, starred review

"A refreshing take on the hero's quest... laugh-out-loud funny and extremely engaging." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Never a dull moment for our ordinary-girl-turned-demon-fighting-princess Kiranmala in this hilarious, action-packed romp. Also, there is snot. It's, like, everywhere. This combination of crucial elements is everything I love in a book. A brilliant beginning to a fresh (and potentially sticky) new series!" -- Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of The Unwanteds

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2018
Gr 4–7—In this sequel to The Serpent's Secret, Princess Kiranmala is back, ready to face her nemesis, the Serpent King Sesha, who also happens to be her father. Kiran's friend, Prince Neel, has been kidnapped by Sesha's minions and is being held prisoner deep in an underwater prison; something weird is going on with Prince Lal. Worst of all, Sesha has engineered a game show ("Who Wants to Be a Demon Slayer?") to entice Kiran into his trap. His ultimate aim: to capture the two magical stones that will allow him to vanquish Kiran and achieve immortality. Luckily, there's an array of characters inspired by Bengali folklore, literature, and pop culture to help Kiran complete her quest. Rakkhosh demons on skateboards make an appearance and new figures such as Bangoma and Bangomee (giant pigeons with the heads of humans) are also enlisted to fight the bad guys. Character development is somewhat limited by the sheer number of chase scenes, monster fights, and near misses, but readers who enjoyed the first book will continue to root for Kiran as she finds her true self and stands up for what's right. VERDICT This action-packed sequel is a must-buy where the first book is popular.—Elizabeth Friend, Wester Middle School, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2018-09-30

In this sequel to DasGupta's middle-grade debut, The Serpent's Secret (2018), readers learn that Parsippany, New Jersey, middle schooler Kiranmala has not returned to the Kingdom Beyond Seven Oceans and Thirteen Rivers for months.

In fact, none of the Indian-American's friends from the Kingdom Beyond—especially princes Lalkamal and Neelkamal, their cousin Mati, and the bird Tuntuni—has contacted her since her departure. But after she is visited by the Rakkhoshi Queen under the cloak of night and prompted by an interdimensional television station to enter Who Wants to Be a Demon Slayer?, a multiverse reality game show, Kiranmala sets off to the Kingdom for another rollicking roller-coaster ride of an adventure, featuring a fork fight with a demon school dropout, an intergalactic auto-rikshaw ride, and a mind-boggling series of riddles with a ghost. In this outing DasGupta draws inspiration from American and South Asian pop culture in addition to Bengali folk and children's literature, and an extensive author's note provides readers with additional context for many of the cheeky references peppered throughout the book (the "Dead and Lovely" cream hawked in interdimensional TV ads is inspired by fairness creams that are ubiquitous on the Subcontinent, and "Samosa Drones" are a nod to Amazon's suggestion that they might use drones for book deliveries). Kiran's smart, funny voice will win new fans and gratify returning readers.

DasGupta once again wittily meshes Bengali folktales, intergalactic science, and a spectacular world of her own creation in a yarn that is part hero's quest, part immigrant coming-of-age tale. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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