Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson
Published: 2021
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Content warning: Alcohol and gambling addiction
Summary (from Goodreads): 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 what 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...
Review: 
Much of this story will be relatable to our upper elementary school students. Ant deals with the normal growing pains (do his parents really have to walk him to school on the first day? so embarrassing!) and friendship issues. But he also understands that something isn't quite right at home. When he sees his dad gambling on his brother's computer, Dad asks him to keep it just between them. This leaves Ant struggling with who he should be loyal to. Loyalty also comes up when Ant's long time best friend is in a fight and subsequently placed on in-school suspension and forbidden from playing in the spades tournament. Should Ant have stepped in to help his friend in the fight? Is it wrong to play in the tournament with a new partner? The story is compelling and Ant's inner struggles are well narrated. Which comes to one of my issues with the book. The narrator is only identified at the very end. I actually went back and reread the first two chapters because I thought I had missed something. My other issue is that the story is heavily based on the card game Spades and assumes knowledge of the game. Sometimes the author explains game terms, but not always. I think the book could benefit from an appendix that thoroughly explains the game and how it's played. I did appreciate the Resources for Readers that provides information about organizations that provide family support for addiction and mental health issues.
0 Comments.