Playing Games 5: TRANSGENDER, CANADA, Realistic

“I used to dream I could pause the game. Now I just want to press play.”

The highly anticipated fifth installment of the Playing Games series delivers an unforgettable, emotionally charged journey through truth, transition, and teenage resilience.

Now fully out to her family, Dayana Dennison is living her life as the girl she’s always known herself to be—but that doesn’t mean the game is over. In fact, it’s only getting more complicated. With her art featured in a prestigious student gallery, her first LGBTQ+ support group under her belt, and a confusing (but kind of thrilling) invitation from a boy at school... Dayana’s life is anything but quiet.

But just when it feels like the world might finally be opening up to her, it slams back in her face.

At a tense family dinner, a cruel outburst from her grandfather threatens everything. Her parents, James and Catalina, fight for her with a ferocity she never imagined. Yet the sting of being rejected by her blood still lingers. Can unconditional love from siblings Evelyn and Shane—and a ragtag support group of queer teens—be enough to help her heal?

At school, Dayana learns to balance her new identity with old fears. Her art becomes her anchor, and her humor her shield. From hallway run-ins to unexpected apologies, she starts realizing that she doesn’t need to erase the past to step into her future.

And maybe, there’s something more than friendship waiting at that Halloween party…

Featuring 12 beautifully crafted illustrations this a heartfelt continuation in a series beloved by readers exploring their own reflection in a gendered world.

If you’ve ever wished the fantasy would last a little longer… or that you could be the girl just one more day… this book was written for you.

Emotionally rich, vividly illustrated, and unflinchingly real—Playing Games 5 is your next must-read.

Scroll up and grab your copy now—because the story only gets better from here.