Review Detail
Kids Fiction
226
An Alternate Los Angeles
(Updated: June 12, 2026)
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
4.0
Characters
4.0
Writing Style
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Valentine Adesanya lives in Gloss Angeles in a world where everything is controlled by three big companies, called the Trio Trust. Her older sister, Mango (aka Vanessa) has gone to college and gotten a job, like their Nigerian parents could wanted her to, but didn't study business. She's been missing, but her parents seem to have completely forgotten about her. When Valentine gets a text to go to a boba shop, she meets the strange Gabe, who says he can grant her a wish. Valentine wishes for her sister to be here, and before she knows it, Gabe is leaving and she is held hostage by The Boba Bubble, or Bubby. She's now in thrall to GENIE, the General Employee Network of Immortal Engineers, and the only way she can be released is to grant wishes and gain points. She really wants to get back home, especially since Mango is nowhere to be found, and return to her parents even if they don't support her career goals of being a filmmaker. Instead, she is drawn into the world where she must earn points to furnish her "bottle", and to eventually be free of her contract. She works to get points, and when she reaches her 300,000 point goal, spends them on something that surprises the organization that runs the game. This ends on a cliffhanger, so there is definitely more to the story.
Good Points
The magical world into which Valentine is thrust has lots of delightful details. It is very gamified, and at times was a bit like a magical version of the Sims games my children loved fifteen years ago, especially when Valentine is trying to furnish her bottle. It's interesting that her parents forget Mango, and even Valentine! The competition is interesting, and Valentine is very clever in using her points. It will be interesting to see what the next book in the series is like.
Like Riordan's The Lightning Thief and related books, The Genie Game has a ton of characters that pop up during Valentine's travels. While the author's note outlined her reasons for making a fun, magical world, the world has a rather sinister underlayment that makes this a little edgier than the cover would indicate.
This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Saunders' oddly dark The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop or Giles's The Last Last-Day-of-Summer.
Like Riordan's The Lightning Thief and related books, The Genie Game has a ton of characters that pop up during Valentine's travels. While the author's note outlined her reasons for making a fun, magical world, the world has a rather sinister underlayment that makes this a little edgier than the cover would indicate.
This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Saunders' oddly dark The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop or Giles's The Last Last-Day-of-Summer.
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