Reviews

The Survival Game by Nicky Singer

Only show reviews with written explanations

maddoxx's review

5.0

I felt like I was prepared for what would happen. I was not.
Not in the way that it was some kind of unforeseen plot twist that made me cry. It was the raw emotion, expressed with so little words.
This is one of those books that, I think, will stay with me for years to come.

carolyn0613's review

Go to review page

5.0

Mhairi has left the Sudan while the world is in turmoil due to global climate change. She is trying to get back to Scotland, to the Isle of Arran where she was born and where her grandmother lives. She loses everything and sees death first hand. This book is terrifying. It asks such powerful questions like - what will the world be like when climate change makes everything different? What rules and laws will be put into place to prevent anarchy and will anarchy happen anyway? The book is about how a young person copes with severely traumatic events by divorcing herself from her feeling but how her human nature cannot be put aside. She knows that looking after the young boy she finds along the road is foolish but she can't help looking after him just as he can't help needing her. I would highly recommend this book for the older young adult reader and adults also. It is very well written and I couldn't put it down.

drsldn's review

Go to review page

5.0

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time (YA or adult). It deals with complex issues in a nuanced and thoughtful way. It is carefully plotted, and beautifully written. I think it should be required reading at all schools and I am going to recommend it to everyone I can think of.

miamelone's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Ich mochte die kurze Art die Kapitel zu halten aber die abgehackte Art zu schreiben fand ich etwas anstrengend. Ich finde das Buch hätte noch viel mehr zum Nachdenken anregen können aber die mini Society auf der Insel hätte auch in einer komplett anderen Dystopie spielen können ohne wirklich einen Unterschied zu machen und das fand ich ein wenig schade... Ja das war bei einigen Themen des Buches so.. Sie hätten noch mehr auf das Klimawandel Thema eingehen können (meiner Meinung nach)

alongreader's review

Go to review page

4.0

A terrifyingly plausible look into our future. Mhairi is a great heroine, and I love Mo.

I always enjoy reading apocalypse books, mostly because I'm fairly sure I'd never make it in that kind of situation. I would never be able to make the kinds of decisions Mhairi makes in this novel, and I really enjoyed watching her go through them. She was resourceful and clever and I'd love to read more about her and this world.

Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.

carolineroche's review

Go to review page

5.0

About 40 years in the future and global warming has made much of the equatorial regions uninhabitable. Hordes of refugees are travelling north and the northern countries have closed their borders. Mhairi’s parents were working in Sudan so they try to make their way back to Scotland where they have rights of residence. But it’s a tough world and her parents die. Mhairi has to make it through on her own facing danger with every step. A taut and engrossing dystopian novel about an all too real future.

chloebloom's review

Go to review page

5.0

This captivating dystopian YA surprised me with how captivating it was. Using a unique narrative voice, Nicky Singer tells a story of resilience and hope against all odds. Atmospheric and haunting, I simply couldn’t put this book down. An uncomfortable and tragic tale which manages to relay the harrowing events without being overly graphic.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this powerful and important story.