5 Books Published by Granity Studios on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

Gus’s life is about one thing—swimming. He is determined to make it to the Olympics and he knows that the only coach in town who can get him there is Coach Marks. So it seems like a simple plan: convince Coach Marks to train him. Everything from there on in is just hard work and Gus has never been afraid of hard work.

But there are a few complications. For one thing, Coach Marks was Danny’s coach. Danny, Gus’s older brother, committed suicide after failing to make the national swimming team, a big step on the way to the Olympics. And for another thing, Gus and Danny didn’t exactly get along when Danny was alive. Gus never liked living in Danny’s shadow, and that shadow has grown even longer since Danny’s death.

In this powerful novel about the punishing and the healing nature of sports, Gus’s rage threatens to swallow him at every turn. He’s angry at his brother, his mother, his coach … even himself. But as he works through his feelings and toward his goal, Gus does everything he can to channel his anger into excelling at the sport that he and Danny both loved, finding solace in the same place he must face his demons: the water.

Kobe Bryant is a New York Times bestselling and an Academy Award-winning storyteller and content creator. He spends his days building stories to inspire the next generation of athletes to be the best versions of themselves. In a previous life, Kobe was a five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, NBA MVP, and two-time Olympic gold medalist. He hopes to share all he learned with young athletes around the world.

Wesley King is the bestselling author of eleven novels. His works include OCDaniel, The Vindico Series, and A World Below. His books have been optioned for film and television and translated for release worldwide. Besides writing, he is working on a circumnavigation via a 1967 sailboat. You can follow him on Instagram at @wesleykingauthor or on Twitter at @WesleyTKing.

Created by Kobe Bryant

From the mind of basketball legend, Academy Award–winning, and New York Times–bestselling storyteller Kobe Bryant comes a new tale of finding your strength against all odds.

Set in an alternate classical world dominated by sports and a magical power called grana, Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof is the story of two children: the lowly born Rovi and the crown princess Pretia who uncover and battle terrible evil and discover their inner strength along the way.

Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof takes place at the most elite sports academy in the land, where the best child-athletes are sent to hone their skills. When Rovi and Pretia arrive, each harboring a secret about themselves, they begin to suspect that something evil is at play at the school. In the course of their first year, they must learn to master their grana in order to save the world from dark forces that are rising.

From the mind of basketball legend and Academy Award–winning storyteller Kobe Bryant comes a new tale of finding your inner magic against all odds.

GAME. SET. MAGIC.

Game – Tennis means life and death for the residents of the magical kingdom of Nova, and for twelve-year-old Legacy, it’s the only thing getting her through the long days taking care of the other kids at the orphanage. That’s all about to change when she hears about Silla’s tournament.

Set – Silla, the ruler of Nova, hosts an annual tournament for the less fortunate of her citizens to come and prove themselves and win entrance to the Academy, where they can train to compete at nationals. The prize is Silla’s favor and enough cash to keep open the orphanage, and Legacy has her heart set on both.

Magic – What Legacy has yet to know is that the other players have something besides better skills and more money than she does. In Nova, tennis can unlock magic. Magic that Silla used to save the kingdom long ago and magic that her competitors have been training in for months already.

Now, with the world turned against her and the orphanage at stake, Legacy has to learn to use her passion for the game to rise above those around her and shine.

Additional Book Info

Conceived of by Kobe personally, and written by Annie Matthew (with the audio version voiced by Phylicia Rashad), Legacy spares no detail in using fantasy and realism to encourage young girls everywhere to celebrate and discover their own inner magic. The finished books will include extraordinary features like:

· illustrated endpapers with UV activated ink that gives the illusion of appearing ink;
· artistic renderings on each page which collectively function as a flip book animation;
· the revelation of a secret image when the pages are fanned out; and
· cords bound into the spine that serve as a placeholder ribbon.

In the magical world of Nova, tennis is more than just a game—for Legacy, it may just be life and death. Raised in a country orphanage run by her struggling single father, when open tennis trials are held by Nova’s beloved Silla “The Queen”,Legacy sees an opportunity to help. Against his wishes,Legacy escapes to the city and enters. AsLegacy outplays the competition, and her star soon rises, she finds herself thrust into a world of privilege and darkness she’s never known. As Legacy attempts to survive in this new place, she comes face-to-face with an unexpected destiny; ultimately understanding that, to win here, she will need to rely on her talents, her love of the game, and allow her own light to brightly shine. It’s Game. Set. Magic.

Debuted at #1 on The New York Times Bestseller list.

From the mind of basketball legend and Academy Award–winning storyteller Kobe Bryant comes this radically original portrait of five young basketball players, one enlightening coach, and the awesome transformative power of the game. Filled with insights about the mental stamina and emotional clarity that peak performance requires, this is an indispensable story for young athletes, coaches, educators, and anyone interested in the astonishing potential of team sports to unlock individual growth.

THE GAME WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Magic doesn’t seem possible for the West Bottom Badgers. They’re the lowest-ranked basketball team in their league, and they live in the poorest neighborhood in Dren. Nobody expects them to succeed at anything. Plus, every kid on the team has secret struggles of his own.
When a new coach named Professor Wizenard arrives on the first day of training camp, the Badgers can’t explain the magical-seeming things they see and hear. Every player experiences unique and strange visions?visions that challenge everything they thought they knew about basketball, and about their lives and their secrets off the court. To survive the increasingly intense ordeals of training, the Badgers will need to take unimaginable risks, learn to trust their teammates, and confront the darkness within themselves.