KARUNA RIAZI is a born and raised New Yorker, with a loving, large extended family and the rather trying experience of being the eldest sibling in her particular clan. Besides pursuing a bachelor’s in English literature from Hofstra University, she is an online diversity advocate, blogger, and publishing intern. Karuna is fond of tea, baking new delectable treats for friends and family to relish, Korean dramas, and writing about tough girls forging their own paths toward their destinies. The Battle is the companion to The Gauntlet, her debut novel.

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Salaam Reads

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Simon & Schuster, New York

Also by Karuna Riazi

THE GAUNTLET

Copyright

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2019 by CAKE Literary LLC

Jacket illustration copyright © 2019 by Mehrdad Isvandi

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Jacket design by Krista Vossen

Interior design by Hilary Zarycky

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Riazi, Karuna, author.

Title: The Battle / Karuna Riazi.

Description: New York : Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2019. | Sequel to: The gauntlet. | Summary: A virtual reality game freezes time in New York City and thrusts twelve-year-old Ahmad Mirza and his classmate, Winnie, into the game world of Paheli, where they must overcome the Mastermind and the Architect.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019001351 (print) | LCCN 2019002746 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534428720 (hardback) | ISBN 9781534428744 (eBook)

Subjects: | CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Virtual reality—Fiction. | Games—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Bangladeshi Americans—Fiction. | Muslims—United States—Fiction. | Upper East Side (New York, N.Y.)—Fiction. | New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic. | JUVENILE FICTION / People & Places / Middle East. Classification: LCC PZ7.1.R498 (eBook) | LCC PZ7.1.R498 Bat 2019 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23