The Last Lottery Pick

He’s a future lottery pick—until a machine in his basement drops him into the heart of the Mali Empire.

Chicago teen Malik Johnson is riding high after a breakout game when reality hits: an eviction notice on his apartment door and a neighborhood disappearing to “revitalization.” Down in the basement, a humming steel cage—more heartbeat than machine—rips him across centuries to a kingdom of gold, power, and peril.

In 14th-century Mali, Malik is dragged before a king, weighed by a council hungry for profit, and aided by a clear-eyed queen mother and a scholar who believes him—maybe. Offshore, unfamiliar sails darken the horizon. Malik has seen the future those ships carry: guns, chains, and a trade that will steal generations. To stop it, he’ll need court vision off the court—out-thinking rivals, rallying villages, and learning that courage is a team sport.

The Last Lottery Pick is a high-stakes blend of time-travel thriller and historical epic about community, choice, and the price of power. Perfect for readers who love propulsive YA with heart, vivid world-building, and a hero who refuses to accept the future he was handed.