Gr 10 Up—Adina loses her Ivy League acceptance due to fighting, but competing in the Finish is a way to regain her
future. A rich family with sinister secrets, competitors willing to kill, and a competition that is not what it seems make
this a must-read thriller.

DNF at 24%. I was feeling nostalgic for YA dysotopias and always enjoy books that examine class and race but this didn't quite land for me. A bit heavy-handed and ridiculous in the way YA often is.

A scholarship black girl at a prestigious, private high school loses her admission to Yale when she aggravates a classmate from a powerful, white family. She wants to get invited to The Finish, sponsored by the super powerful and rich family in the state, a competition from which the winner would get support for her goals - such as readmission to Yale or Harvard, fully financed. But she doesn’t know what The Finish entails. It is a bloodthirsty competition to become the winner. I think it would appeal to fans of The Hunger Games. ( )

Tension and high-stakes mix with the world of the insanely wealthy and arrogant in a deadly game, which makes the book hard to put down.

Adina had finally reached her hard-earned goal and gained acceptance into Yale...until her temper ruined everything. Refusing to let one mistake determine the rest of her life, she takes a huge gamble and tries to get herself invited to the Finish. Twelve of the most promising girls known to the Remington family are given the chance to participate in a three round competition. The winner is taken into the powerful and wealthy family as one of their own and given the education and such befitting a family member. It's a legitimate chance, and Adina's only one. Little does she know that the game changes whenever an 'heir' of the Remington family happens to be turning eighteen that year. Adina might have found a way to take part in this elite game, but she has no idea what she's getting herself into...and she might not survive to spread the truth of what the Finish truly means.

This is a very well-woven read, which keeps the tension high from one page to the next. While the first chapter or two set the stage and give the reader an impression of Adina, the rest allows the game to unfold. There is an entire chapter devoted to Adina's 'downfall' as a flashback retelling, which could have been needled in a bit smoother, but that's the only hiccup for most of this read. The stakes are insanely high, the psychological aspect dives into the deeply disturbed, and the truth behind the characters' desires is laid as nicely as a gripping mystery. Once I got lost in this read, there was no coming up for air until the end.

Actually, the blurb already gives away the main plot line—Squid Games meets Ace of Spades. It fits this read perfectly...which also kills some possible surprises, since the stakes are clear from the get-go. Still, it's well written. Even the characters gain depth, which allows their twisted (and not so twisted) logic to shine through in an understandable way. It makes each one easy to like or to hate. Adina also isn't without her shadows and sharp edges, but the author gives her a well-formed character arc. She might not be perfect, but she definitely grows in her own way. If the ending game hadn't me with a slightly-off twist, I would have counted this one to one of my favorites of the year. Even then, it's a very close runner up and definitely worth picking up for anyone who believes they might enjoy the mix. I certainly did. I received an ARC and found it hard to put this one down. ( )

I had high hopes for this book. It was a bit of a disappointment. The concept was fantastic, I just found myself bored throughout. It wasn't bad, I just didn't hit for me. ( )