Epoca: The River of Sand

#1 New York Times Bestseller

A People Kid Pick of the week

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.

Kobe Bryant’s legacy of uplifting and inspiring young athletes continues in this highly anticipated follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller Legacy and the Queen.

Legacy Petrin is a national tennis champion, but she doesn’t feel like one. At the orphanage where she grew up, far from the city where she learned to shine, Legacy struggles to focus on her training. Her famous magical inner light dims and darkens until she barely recognizes herself.

Then a girl who looks exactly like Legacy—same burlap dress, same signature glow—starts playing in Legacy’s name. She wins matches in the city, makes charming speeches in support of “Queen” Silla, and gains a devoted following. Soon, Silla issues a decree against impersonating champions, which means that the real Legacy could be arrested simply for looking like herself.

To reclaim her name and her identity, Legacy has no choice but to compete in disguise . . . until she can rise through the ranks, face off against her imposter, and prove that she is the one and only Legacy Petrin—a champion who was born to shine.

#1 New York Times Bestseller
A USA TODAY Bestseller
A People Magazine pick

Reggie has never felt destined for greatness. He dreams about basketball brilliance all day and night, but the hard truth is that he's a benchwarmer for the West Bottom Badgers, the worst team in the league. Even their mysterious new coach, Rolabi Wizenard, can't seem to help them end their losing streak.

Reggie is willing to train tirelessly to improve his game, but the gym itself seems to be working against him in magical ways. Before Reggie can become the player he dreams of being, he must survive the extraordinary trials of practice.

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant presents this illuminating follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller The Wizenard Series: Training Camp—a story of strain and sacrifice, supernatural breakthroughs, and supreme dedication to the game.

#1 New York Times Bestseller

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.

“Packed full of emotion. . . . An influential read with a powerful message.”—Booklist


Whether goose or swan, I have wings. And I'll fly.

Gus's life is about one thing—swimming. And he knows that the only coach in town who can get him to the Olympics is Coach Marks. So it seems like a simple plan: convince Coach Marks to train him, and everything from there on in is just hard work. 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 brother, committed suicide after failing to make the national swimming team—a big step on the way to the Olympics. And for another, Gus and Danny didn't exactly get along; Gus never liked living in Danny's shadow. A shadow that has grown even bigger since his 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 toward his goal and through his feelings, Gus does everything he can to channel this burning intensity into excelling at the sport that he and Danny both loved, and finds solace in the same place he must face his demons: in the water.

In addition to Gus's incredible narrative, there are four pieces of original art featured in Geese Are Never Swans. The art was curated by TaskForce, a creative agency that collaborates with the most influential nonprofits, brands, and people taking on the most pressing challenges facing our nation and our world. TaskForce builds capacity and community for those shaping a more empathetic society through public opinion and policy. The artists' interpretations of their work are included in the book.