ARC, 352 pages
Release Date: July 9, 2024
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Read from: June 20-July 9, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Texas Library Association Conference
Content Warning: Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Death of a Parent, Fire/Fire Injury, Grief, Animal Cruelty, Mental Illness, Panic Attacks
For Readers Interested In: Thrillers, Romance, 2slgbtq+, YA, Gaming, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Stand-alone,In this twisty, fast-paced YA thriller, a dangerous game becomes all too real when Marina and her friends are framed for murder.
When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her-not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can’t resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.
Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. Whoever killed him plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game. A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina’s worked so hard to build…. A game that she might not survive.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was a hard ass review to write. I have so many feelings about this book. I loved it so much and I’ve already put this on a list to use this for our ToB book list for 2025…..
Ok so first things first. The teens are going to EAT THIS UP! There’s gaming, there’s romance, there’s fighting, there’s some schmurder! And a dog! That sounds like a weird ass mix, but it really worked so well together. I don’t want to say anything else because spoilers, but there is so much happening in this book and I was sucked into it and I wanted to read it every chance I got.
The rep in this was something serious too. There’s family diversity because Lordt, there’s racial/ethnic diversity because the MC was Chinese, and there’s 2slgbtq+ diversity because its sapphic. And the MC is also unhoused and living in a restaurant. There’s so much rep in this book and tho I am none of the things listed, I am saying it was ok rep until I hear different. Also the author is also Chinese, so it is own voices in that aspect.
The writing style was so cool! Idk how Yu got us to help her solve the mystery in the real world and the world of her game! And I really enjoyed seeing the papers with the threats that her friends got too. I was glad we got to see it all. I also liked the way she went back and forth in time to explain what happened. it really did help to tell the story.
I do wish there was a bit more to the ending. it was this whole buildup and the end conflict is so short lol I wanted so much more for it. Whoever edited this did it a bit of a disservice. Idk I wanted so much more. And Idk if that’s a me thing and I’m just being dramatic, or if it was actually ok. Whatever the reason, I wanted more.
The main character grew on me. When i first started this book I’m not gonna lie, she was annoying lol I felt like we didn’t know anything about her and we weren’t getting to know her. And the little glimpses we get from the past was like scraps. But as we got more and more into the story, it began to make so much more sense. Usually I don’t like books where I don’t know anything about the characters, but this one just worked for me.
So if nothing else, I hope y’all read this one! The gaming, the mystery, the everything was just so good! So y’all go get it! I need someone to talk to about this! This book was so good! Read it and get back to me lol
Overall, I give this
