THE GENIE GAME, by Jordan Ifueko, Harry N. Abrams, April 21, 2026, Hardcover, $19.99 (ages 10 and up)
A girl is tricked into entering a magical game where she has to grant wishes to win her freedom in The Genie Game, by Jordan Ifueko.
Valentine Adesanya has two missions: 1) become a Feared and Fabulous Film Director and 2) find her missing big sister, Mango. She suspects The Trio Trust, a collection of creepy mega-companies that now rule the United States, made Mango disappear.
A text lures Valentine to a magical boba shop, which comes to life and tells Valentine she is now a GENIE: a member of the General Employee Network of Immortal Engineers, an underground workforce run by the Trio Trust. Genies may only leave their bottles to grant the wishes of mortals. With each granted wish, The Trio Trust gains more magic, and so the Trio hosts a glamorous wish-granting competition, rewarding top players with fabulous prizes. The twist?
The greedy Trio forbids genies from using magic. Genies must grant wishes using nothing but smarts, luck, and elbow grease.
To free her sister Mango and escape the Genie Game, Valentine must score more wish-granting points than any other Genie. But how did the Trio Trust get so powerful in the first place? Why is a magical monster stomping through her home city of Gloss Angeles?
And why does the Trio Trust seem so afraid of 13-year-old Valentine Adesanya? —Synopsis provided by Harry N. Abrams
The Genie Game is the first book in a planned middle-grade fantasy series by Jordan Ifueko.
The story follows Valentine as she tries to save both herself and her sister. Valentine is a driven protagonist who knows who she is and who she wants to be. She’s clever, and learns to play to her strengths.
One of the places Ifueko excels is in her imagination of a future world where three corporations have basically taken over the world. There are explanations (and products) for every sort of problem (real or imagined). And sticking Valentine inside a SIMS-like game will resonate with young readers.
There are a lot of moving pieces and people in The Genie Game, but if you give into the idea, it’s a fun read nonetheless. The book ends with a cliffhanger that portends more action in the future. The Genie Game is a good option for kids who like realistic themes mixed with fantastical elements.
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