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twylapeabody's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I received an eARC through Edelweiss
You know how The Hunger Games is frequently used as an example of perfect pacing? I think The Champions will be too. Seriously, I think this is the best paced mystery/thriller I've ever read. In addition to the excellent pacing (I'll shut up about it now, but I need you to know it was great), the character work was also strong. I thought Hadley was a great character, but I'm more impressed by how believable (sadly) a lot of the side characters were, particularly the football players, dance team members, and school faculty and administration.
If you've read any of Kara Thomas' previous work, you'll guess that The Champions will also deal with serious topics. Although, I think The Cheerleaders is darker than this book, as in that book Monica had personally been affected by those things, and here, Hadley is an outsider. I'm going to put content warnings at the end of this review and I will be putting a spoiler tag on one of them because it's revealed so far into the book. However, if you can not handle reading about assault, skip this book.
If you've read The Cheerleaders there is some crossover in the topics handled and those topics are mentioned in this book. Hadley is new to town, so she discovers some of what happened in The Cheerleaders. I don't think you have to read The Cheerleaders before The Champions, there's some easter eggs with some characters that show up in this book too. There is one plot point that carries over a little bit, but I don't think there would be any confusion if you haven't read the first book. However, if you pick The Champions up before reading The Cheerleaders you will be spoiled for it.
CW: abuse of power, cheating (both in school and on people), poisoning ,seizure, hit-and-run, domestic violence, hazing, drinking, andgang rape
You know how The Hunger Games is frequently used as an example of perfect pacing? I think The Champions will be too. Seriously, I think this is the best paced mystery/thriller I've ever read. In addition to the excellent pacing (I'll shut up about it now, but I need you to know it was great), the character work was also strong. I thought Hadley was a great character, but I'm more impressed by how believable (sadly) a lot of the side characters were, particularly the football players, dance team members, and school faculty and administration.
If you've read any of Kara Thomas' previous work, you'll guess that The Champions will also deal with serious topics. Although, I think The Cheerleaders is darker than this book, as in that book Monica had personally been affected by those things, and here, Hadley is an outsider. I'm going to put content warnings at the end of this review and I will be putting a spoiler tag on one of them because it's revealed so far into the book. However, if you can not handle reading about assault, skip this book.
If you've read The Cheerleaders there is some crossover in the topics handled and those topics are mentioned in this book. Hadley is new to town, so she discovers some of what happened in The Cheerleaders. I don't think you have to read The Cheerleaders before The Champions, there's some easter eggs with some characters that show up in this book too. There is one plot point that carries over a little bit, but I don't think there would be any confusion if you haven't read the first book. However, if you pick The Champions up before reading The Cheerleaders you will be spoiled for it.
CW: abuse of power, cheating (both in school and on people), poisoning ,seizure, hit-and-run, domestic violence, hazing, drinking, and
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Bullying
Moderate: Infidelity, Death, Racism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Car accident, and Physical abuse
Minor: Abortion
cbashore's review
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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