Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson

Ten-year-old Ant - a nickname Anthony’s not 100 percent sure he likes anymore, since it just draws attention to his small stature - has lots of examples of what it means to be a man. In “Playing the Cards You’re Dealt,” he draws on that summer of study as well as his own love of spades to tell Ant’s story, a tale that also delves into themes of toxic masculinity, friendship and partnership. More: Austin writer Gloria Amescua on how Luz Jiménez's life inspired her picture book But he was also a fan of English class and creative writing, publishing his first book shortly after he and his wife moved to Austin in 2004 so she could attend graduate school.įast forward a few years and Johnson is the author of multiple award-winning middle-grade books, including the Coretta Scott King-honored “The Parker Inheritance,” the caper novels “The Great Greene Heist” and “To Catch a Cheat,” and the graphic novel “Twins,” illustrated by Shannon Wright. His love for STEM endured. Johnson earned his engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma, and designed bridges as a full-time civil engineer until 2016. It really opened my eyes as to how nuanced and multifaceted people are, and also how folks can seem really great on the surface, but maybe not underneath.” but then they would say something really mean toward women, or they would start to drink and start to act a little differently. “Some of them would have a great demeanor and be great to hang out with. It was easy to look up to those (college) freshmen and sophomores who were there for summer school,” he said in a phone interview. “It was really this eye-opening thing to be there and seeing kids my age sharing a dorm room with kids who were older. Part of Johnson’s inspiration came from a summer STEM program he and his twin brother attended at Florida A&M University when they were 16. It was a milestone trip from his hometown of Florence, S.C., in many ways. Registration is free, and signed and personalized books are for sale. 6 at BookPeople, in conversation with Newbery medalist Erin Entrada Kelly. He’ll launch it with a virtual event at 6 p.m. More: 9 new books for kids this fall, including exciting reads from Texas authorsĪustin author Varian Johnson spotlights Ant’s journey in his newest book for middle-graders, “Playing the Cards You’re Dealt” (Scholastic, $16.99). And then there’s the new girl in his class, Shirley.

Ant’s best friend Jamal sometimes veers from trash talk into mean talk. His father’s business isn’t doing well, and his dad’s been gone a lot lately. He wants to win the town’s spades tournament, just like his older brother did (twice).īut as fifth grade begins, Ant has tons to deal with besides cards.

Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson