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A review by peneloperea
These Deadly Games by Diana Urban
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for providing the arc of These Deadly Games by Diana Urban in exchange for my honest review.
What would you do if you had to play horrible games for 24 hours, that hurt the people around you, all to save your little sister's life? Would you do it? In These Deadly Games, high schooler Crystal Donavan is forced into a lose-lose situation that will hurt everyone around her and drag all their secrets out into the open.
I had a very tough time with this book because the protagonist, Crystal is tough to like throughout most of the story and the surrounding characters are not fleshed out enough to make connections with. It is obvious that Crystal is struggling, I mean she’s sixteen and is put in a situation most adults wouldn’t know how to handle. And she’s sixteen, life sucks as a sixteen-year-old girl. I wanted to love this so much but I couldn’t stay attached. I found myself rolling my eyes and sighing too much to give this a rave review.
All that said, there’s a lot to like. There are several plot twists, some are solved quickly, others leave you questioning everything you know. You never know who to trust. The story is fast-paced and suspenseful. For most of the story, I had no clue where it was taking place, which I found odd. I wanted to picture the locations better, but I couldn’t figure out where to place them, which I personal frustration, something I’m sure most people won’t care about.
Readers who enjoy young adult thrillers with a double shot of gaming will enjoy this one. I have a couple of nieces who would devour it and I’ll recommend it to them. It just wasn’t right for me.
What would you do if you had to play horrible games for 24 hours, that hurt the people around you, all to save your little sister's life? Would you do it? In These Deadly Games, high schooler Crystal Donavan is forced into a lose-lose situation that will hurt everyone around her and drag all their secrets out into the open.
I had a very tough time with this book because the protagonist, Crystal is tough to like throughout most of the story and the surrounding characters are not fleshed out enough to make connections with. It is obvious that Crystal is struggling, I mean she’s sixteen and is put in a situation most adults wouldn’t know how to handle. And she’s sixteen, life sucks as a sixteen-year-old girl. I wanted to love this so much but I couldn’t stay attached. I found myself rolling my eyes and sighing too much to give this a rave review.
All that said, there’s a lot to like. There are several plot twists, some are solved quickly, others leave you questioning everything you know. You never know who to trust. The story is fast-paced and suspenseful. For most of the story, I had no clue where it was taking place, which I found odd. I wanted to picture the locations better, but I couldn’t figure out where to place them, which I personal frustration, something I’m sure most people won’t care about.
Readers who enjoy young adult thrillers with a double shot of gaming will enjoy this one. I have a couple of nieces who would devour it and I’ll recommend it to them. It just wasn’t right for me.