If you’re looking for an action-packed fantasy and coming-of-age novel, Jordan Ifueko’s The Genie Game is a perfect next read. The book follows Valentine Adesanya, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in a dystopian Los Angeles after three corrupt corporations, known as the Trio Trust, have taken over every industry in the world. They manipulate citizens and hide the existence of magic to increase people’s dependence on them. Valentine dreams of becoming a famous filmmaker, which clashes with her parents’ goal of her working for the Trio Trust so she can have a stable future.

The book opens with Valentine suddenly remembering her older sister Vanessa, whom Valentine calls Mango, even though Valentine and her parents had mysteriously forgotten her. While searching for Mango, Valentine is lured to a boba shop, where she discovers she has been selected to be the newest player in the magical “Genie Game.” In the game, genies like Valentine receive immortality in exchange for being confined to a living store called a “bottle” which exists in a physical realm connected to the real world. They are only allowed to leave the bottle when granting other people’s wishes. Genies can buy freedom from the game, which is run by the Trio Trust, only after granting enough wishes to earn sufficient points. They also cannot use the corporations’ magic to help them to do so.

I found the book very interesting and well-crafted. It is thought-provoking and constantly draws parallels to modern day concerns about how society is misled into certain beliefs. For instance, citizens think the Trio Trust’s Meal Inhalers are an excellent invention that helps them to survive with severe food allergies. However, it is later revealed that the Trio Trust produces all of its food with corn, so anyone allergic to corn is unable to eat anything without purchasing expensive Meal Inhalers. Valentine is also a fun character to read about. She is kind, confident, and unpredictable, and her determination to rescue  her sister and escape the Game makes the story more exciting.

The Genie Game never ceases to add more creative and sometimes shocking elements as the story continues, whether this is through the description of the Apathy Garman, a monster who terrorizes genies and steals people’s wishes, or the suggestion that Mango has been captured by the Trio Trust because of her activism. Ifueko introduces side characters who truly contribute to the story, especially Merced, a genie who wants to defeat the Apathy Garman, and Derek, a social media personality and genie whose intentions toward Valentine are unclear.

Valentine’s development over the course of the story is both detailed and inspiring. Although she is shown to be  stubborn and resistant to change, she experiences much growth through the challenges that she faces. From learning to use her love for directing to expose the Trio Trust’s cruel treatment of laborers to realizing the importance of staying away from negative influences like Derek, Valentine proves that people can use bad circumstances and situations to make differences in their own and others’ lives.

However, there were some parts of The Genie Game that didn’t resonate with me completely. I felt that Chrys, who is Valentine’s best friend and the only person who remembers her due to Chrys’ immunity to magic, wasn’t developed with much complexity. I thought she deserved to have just as much, if not more, complexity as the other supporting characters in the text. I would have liked to learn more about Chrys and to see her individually, rather than just as Valentine’s sidekick. Additionally, I think that at times, the novel tried too hard to resonate with younger audiences by using consistent references to social media, considering that it was meant to be set in a more dystopian setting.

All in all, The Genie Game is a well-written and captivating novel that expertly intersects the dystopian and fantasy genres. Ifueko’s ability to use symbolism to draw connections to real-world issues and the individual development of characters like Valentine and Derek make the book engaging and interesting. Overall, I would recommend this fun and creative read for lovers of tales of adventure, the supernatural, coming-of-age, and everything in between.