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gggina13's review against another edition
3.0
This was a perfectly fine YA thriller and I think it's on the more well-done side of YA thrillers tbh.
Crystal and her friends are novice streamers and they spend a lot of time playing a competitive video game, and are gearing up to enter a competition the next weekend. But before they get to that, Crystal has to drop her little sister off at school for an off-the-grid ski trip. She drops her off with no issue. Until she gets a message a little bit later that contains a picture of her sister, kidnapped, with the sender blackmailing her into doing tasks. If she doesn't do the tasks, it means danger- or worse- for her sister.
What happens next is Crystal following an increasingly dangerous list of tasks that put her friends at risk. As the story unravels, something that happened to Crystal and her friends at 11 is slowly revealed. It's something kind of... not good lol and Crystal wonders if it may be linked to what's happening to her now. But she doesn't know who's behind it, and there's quite a lot of options.
The stakes in this story get really high, almost uncomfortably so. The big friend group means that there is a lot of people that bad things can happen to!!
There's also some issues in the story, some that feel just a little shoehorned in. Crystal's mom is poor because their dad left. He wasn't always abusive, but he started drinking after his job went south, and drinking turned him abusive, and eventually he left. His leaving is treated as a mini mystery with a reveal later on in the book about what really happened. Crystal's best friend Kiki had an eating disorder, which seems to only be mentioned for some PC credit. I'm pretty sure Kiki being Asian American is the only diversity in the story, and it's used as a plot point because a "troll" comments on their streams asking if Kiki's boyfriend is only dating her because he has a fetish.
I'm not the biggest fan of Crystal's story line with her dad, only because of the end of it. The representation is good, the way her mom just deals with it and tries to explain it away is good, and the way she fears her father and he tries to guilt her for it is good. But, it may reflect some peoples' stories but it just didn't sit right with me.
I also am not the biggest fan of.
But overall, especially reviewing this in the scope of teen readers, it doesn't feel extremely harmful in any way, and the mystery is pretty enticing. It's a good comparison title for One of Us is Lying. This might not be my very first thriller recommendation for a kid who asked, but I wouldn't feel bad recommending it, either.
Crystal and her friends are novice streamers and they spend a lot of time playing a competitive video game, and are gearing up to enter a competition the next weekend. But before they get to that, Crystal has to drop her little sister off at school for an off-the-grid ski trip. She drops her off with no issue. Until she gets a message a little bit later that contains a picture of her sister, kidnapped, with the sender blackmailing her into doing tasks. If she doesn't do the tasks, it means danger- or worse- for her sister.
What happens next is Crystal following an increasingly dangerous list of tasks that put her friends at risk. As the story unravels, something that happened to Crystal and her friends at 11 is slowly revealed. It's something kind of... not good lol and Crystal wonders if it may be linked to what's happening to her now. But she doesn't know who's behind it, and there's quite a lot of options.
The stakes in this story get really high, almost uncomfortably so. The big friend group means that there is a lot of people that bad things can happen to!!
There's also some issues in the story, some that feel just a little shoehorned in. Crystal's mom is poor because their dad left. He wasn't always abusive, but he started drinking after his job went south, and drinking turned him abusive, and eventually he left. His leaving is treated as a mini mystery with a reveal later on in the book about what really happened. Crystal's best friend Kiki had an eating disorder, which seems to only be mentioned for some PC credit. I'm pretty sure Kiki being Asian American is the only diversity in the story, and it's used as a plot point because a "troll" comments on their streams asking if Kiki's boyfriend is only dating her because he has a fetish.
I'm not the biggest fan of Crystal's story line with her dad, only because of the end of it. The representation is good, the way her mom just deals with it and tries to explain it away is good, and the way she fears her father and he tries to guilt her for it is good. But
Spoiler
in the end he calls and says "I've been sober the past few months and I feel so bad for what I did!! Love ya'll" and she's like :) which I find a little insulting tbhI also am not the biggest fan of
Spoiler
fucking mysteries where the bad guy turns out to be the guy the main character is romantically interested in. It's very trite and also derivative of the only true valid instance of this story: the 1996 horror classic film Scream. It's so frustrating and sort of demeaning to teen girls to watch them be so vulnerable and then get shit on or like literally have a murder attempt from their boyfriend???? Why do we never get a girl who manipulates boys? Like idk it's a decent real-life parallel I guess bc men do manipulate us all the time but why can't our fiction be our escapism once in a while lmaoBut overall, especially reviewing this in the scope of teen readers, it doesn't feel extremely harmful in any way, and the mystery is pretty enticing. It's a good comparison title for One of Us is Lying. This might not be my very first thriller recommendation for a kid who asked, but I wouldn't feel bad recommending it, either.
librarianryan's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
95% of this book takes place in 24 hours. There is a group of six teenagers who are on an E-sports team, but they need to be down to five. They are having a contest to decide which get to play in next week’s tournament. Big prize money is on the line. However, nothing goes according to plan when Cristal gets a message from a special app on her phone saying play my game or your sister dies. What proceeds is 24 hours of Cristal playing a game of life and death. A game of choosing who is more important, your family or your best friends. This is a thriller that moves quickly. While it is well done it, it’s more of a “why done it" then a “how done it”. Mainly because it’s obvious from the beginning what is bringing about this game. I also think it’s easy to tell who the real dangerous one is. However, it was still a fun read that many teens will find exciting. And while it does not exactly end on a cliffhanger, it does leave itself wide open for a sequel. I really thought this would be much more about a group of people playing a deadly game rather than one person, but it works together well and fits within its tropes decently.
jaydenhartley's review against another edition
5.0
YOU NEED TO READ THIS!!!!
SPOILER SECTION
A good quote- “The thing about toxic friendships is eventually they will poison you.”
Great quote. “ but you never know the links you’ll be willing to go to to protect the people you love.-even if it means sacrificing on humanity”
Next quote- “game over you son of a *beeep*
LASTLY I LEAVE YOU WITH
“ there was a monster in each of us the question is whether you manage to stifle it”
SPOILER SECTION
A good quote- “The thing about toxic friendships is eventually they will poison you.”
Great quote. “ but you never know the links you’ll be willing to go to to protect the people you love.-even if it means sacrificing on humanity”
Next quote- “game over you son of a *beeep*
LASTLY I LEAVE YOU WITH
“ there was a monster in each of us the question is whether you manage to stifle it”
danie_faye's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child death
cscaleb_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
krytygr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Cool concept but Crystal pissed me off. She could’ve easily solved her issue if she had just stopped for a second and thought it through. She was so caught up in her own head that she couldn’t see it for what it was.
whitneymouse's review against another edition
3.0
**Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday/St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my rating**
This is my first finished book in 2022 that wasn't a rollover. I was feeling really bummed after finishing China Room (capital D depressing) and thought back to All Your Twisted Secrets and how fun and twisty that book was. I can't say I liked this one nearly as much, but there are elements I liked.
To begin with, I really liked Crystal. I, too, have a younger sister (not as big of a difference between Crystal and Caelyn), so I relate to wanting to do whatever I could to protect her as an older sister when we were younger. She's put between a rock and a hard place as she's forced to play horrific games that will hurt her friends if she goes along with it, but will kill her sister if she doesn't. You really feel her emotions as she's forced to pick sides and is gaslit into thinking maybe she misremembered something or is remembering inaccurately. This makes her an interesting POV character. The friends weren't super fully fleshed out, so I won't really delve into them. I think there are a lot of aspects that could have been explored more thoroughly (Crystal's relationship with her dad, the dynamics between the group, etc.). Just like AYTS, Urban's writing and clues give you pause while you try to parse them out.
That said, I had narrowed it down to two characters early on in the book and had figured out who the person was behind the games by 15% of the way in. Less than 100 pages. So that took some of the fun out and left me wondering how this would be revealed more than it left me wondering "whodunnit". I'm not a super huge Thriller reader, so if I figured it out, it was probably too easy. The twist in AYTS genuinely took me by surprise, so this one was a let down when it was so early on. Figuring that out also lead to some pacing issues in the middle for me, where I was starting to feel like there really was no way it could get any higher stakes and like we should be wrapping up about 50% of the way in. I did enjoy the second half more, but it still left some weird pacing for me.
I would read another of Urban's books as I do enjoy her writing and her debut showed me that she's capable of writing things that surprise me. I just didn't like this one as much. I'm chalking that up to the easy identity of the person behind the games and personal preference. I'm sure there are many readers who will like this and have fun figuring it out.
3.5 stars
This is my first finished book in 2022 that wasn't a rollover. I was feeling really bummed after finishing China Room (capital D depressing) and thought back to All Your Twisted Secrets and how fun and twisty that book was. I can't say I liked this one nearly as much, but there are elements I liked.
To begin with, I really liked Crystal. I, too, have a younger sister (not as big of a difference between Crystal and Caelyn), so I relate to wanting to do whatever I could to protect her as an older sister when we were younger. She's put between a rock and a hard place as she's forced to play horrific games that will hurt her friends if she goes along with it, but will kill her sister if she doesn't. You really feel her emotions as she's forced to pick sides and is gaslit into thinking maybe she misremembered something or is remembering inaccurately. This makes her an interesting POV character. The friends weren't super fully fleshed out, so I won't really delve into them. I think there are a lot of aspects that could have been explored more thoroughly (Crystal's relationship with her dad, the dynamics between the group, etc.). Just like AYTS, Urban's writing and clues give you pause while you try to parse them out.
That said, I had narrowed it down to two characters early on in the book and had figured out who the person was behind the games by 15% of the way in. Less than 100 pages. So that took some of the fun out and left me wondering how this would be revealed more than it left me wondering "whodunnit". I'm not a super huge Thriller reader, so if I figured it out, it was probably too easy. The twist in AYTS genuinely took me by surprise, so this one was a let down when it was so early on. Figuring that out also lead to some pacing issues in the middle for me, where I was starting to feel like there really was no way it could get any higher stakes and like we should be wrapping up about 50% of the way in. I did enjoy the second half more, but it still left some weird pacing for me.
I would read another of Urban's books as I do enjoy her writing and her debut showed me that she's capable of writing things that surprise me. I just didn't like this one as much. I'm chalking that up to the easy identity of the person behind the games and personal preference. I'm sure there are many readers who will like this and have fun figuring it out.
3.5 stars
alongreader's review against another edition
4.0
It starts out as a normal day. Crystal and her esports team are training for an upcoming tournament they're determined to win. Shortly after dropping her younger sister off for a school trip, though, Crystal receives a photo; her sister tied and gagged in a chair, clearly terrified. The photo comes with a list of demands, starting simple but escalating quickly into terrifying and life threatening.
Terrified, paranoid and alone, Crystal will need to figure out who's behind this, who she can trust, and whether it has anything to do with the thing that happened five years ago, the thing she and her friends never talk about...
Diana Urban is very much establishing a niche for herself; fast paced thrillers with some kind of game element and plenty of twists. This is her second, and it's every bit as good as her first. The game element is even more obvious here than it was in her first, with Crystal being a gamer and the antagonist taunting her with games and rules all the time. There's even a get out of jail free card.
I did suspect the person it turned out to be, but that's not saying much, because at one point or another I suspected everyone, including Crystal herself! Diana is very skilled at giving the reader just enough information to come to various conclusions without being able to settle on one, although as the novel went on I was increasingly convinced of my guess. Highlight for spoiler: it was the thermos that convinced me.
Now, the down side, and please remember this is just my own, personal opinion; I don't usually like books where the timeline skips back and forwards. I have a hard time keeping things in order when they're not presented to me that way. I did like the flashbacks in this one, but I felt like there was too much set in the past. A lot of it, in my opinion, wasn't necessary. However it was all beautifully written, just like the rest of the story, and I know some readers will really enjoy seeing Crystal and her friends a little younger.
Overall I loved this book, enjoyed trying to figure out whodunnit, and I'll enjoy rereading to see all the hints and clues that I no doubt missed this time around!
Terrified, paranoid and alone, Crystal will need to figure out who's behind this, who she can trust, and whether it has anything to do with the thing that happened five years ago, the thing she and her friends never talk about...
Diana Urban is very much establishing a niche for herself; fast paced thrillers with some kind of game element and plenty of twists. This is her second, and it's every bit as good as her first. The game element is even more obvious here than it was in her first, with Crystal being a gamer and the antagonist taunting her with games and rules all the time. There's even a get out of jail free card.
I did suspect the person it turned out to be, but that's not saying much, because at one point or another I suspected everyone, including Crystal herself! Diana is very skilled at giving the reader just enough information to come to various conclusions without being able to settle on one, although as the novel went on I was increasingly convinced of my guess. Highlight for spoiler: it was the thermos that convinced me.
Now, the down side, and please remember this is just my own, personal opinion; I don't usually like books where the timeline skips back and forwards. I have a hard time keeping things in order when they're not presented to me that way. I did like the flashbacks in this one, but I felt like there was too much set in the past. A lot of it, in my opinion, wasn't necessary. However it was all beautifully written, just like the rest of the story, and I know some readers will really enjoy seeing Crystal and her friends a little younger.
Overall I loved this book, enjoyed trying to figure out whodunnit, and I'll enjoy rereading to see all the hints and clues that I no doubt missed this time around!
blackthorn2221's review against another edition
1.0
This book sucked. It was all I can do this myself. Oh no my sister is kidnapped and being tortured but I'm kind of turned on by how smart the kidnapper is. Also at the end she ended up not feeling guilty about hurting her best friend and killing another one all because she was being forced to do it so it wasnt her fault. This book annoyed me so much...
sebinsangel's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like I have so many thoughts to organize after reading this one. To be honest it has been some time since I read something defined as a thriller/mystery so I was going in to this with very empty expectations, since I can't remember the last time I read something like this to base any expectations off of. I am going to do my best to summarize my thoughts without giving any spoiler though, as it is a mystery, and to be honest I didn't figure out who the culprit was until shortly before our main character did herself. Although I did have an ever growing list!
My full review can be found at Seoulless Readers if you want to check it out!
My full review can be found at Seoulless Readers if you want to check it out!