Yasmin Bandara Levels Up!

From comedy superstar Romesh Ranganathan comes a second unique and hilarious middle-grade story, perfect for readers of David Baddiel, Little Badman and Adam Wins the Internet!

Like many 13-year-olds, Yasmin Pathman doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up.

Her parents want her to be a doctor, and expect her to focus on school--the only computer game they allow her to play is purely educational (yawn!).

Yasmin gets so good at it that the game's company invite her to play at a national competition. Her friends, teachers, and family are mega excited about the opportunity, but Yasmin's not!

So when her best friend Zane introduces her to a cool football game called FifPro, Yassmin's ready for some fun! She can't get enough of it, secretly playing matches whenever she can, hiding Zane's spare console from her parents, and spending her lunch hours swapping stats with her friends about an anonymous FifPro superstar called The Goat.

Before long, Yasmin's gaming talent means she's smashing every match and is desperate to become as great, if not greater than her hero. But when she receives an exciting invite to the national FifPro tournament she faces a dilemma--it's on the SAME day as the other competition!

Playing computer games might have taught Yasmin how to be a brilliant problem-solver, but this puzzle might be a level too far. Can she make everyone proud, beat The Goat, and convince her parents that she wants to be a professional gamer?

Author: Romesh Ranganathan
Publisher: Puffin Books
Published: 08/12/2025
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.48lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.10w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780241493281
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2025
Booklist 08/01/2025

About the Author
Romesh Ranganathan is a comedian, actor and writer. A former math teacher, he is now known for his award-winning series The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, his weekly topical show The Ranganation, his sitcom The Reluctant Landlord and the BAFTA nominated Asian Provocateur, which features Romesh's mom.

Amongst all of this, he still manages to squeeze in time to record his award-winning podcast 'Hip Hop Saved My Life', to write his regular Midlife Crisis column for the Guardian, and to pen his bestselling autobiography, Straight Outta Crawley. DJ Muffin drops the mic is his first children's book and gave him an excuse to write about two of his favorite things--hip hop and cake.