These Deadly Games

December 1, 2021
A gamer is forced into the deadliest challenge she will ever engage in. When the first anonymous message comes through her phone, Crystal thinks she is being trolled again, but she soon realizes that her sister has indeed been kidnapped and is being held hostage, while the person who took her forces Crystal into playing a game of increasingly bizarre and violent tasks with a 24-hour time limit. Even though she and her sister seem to be at the center of it all, Crystal's best friends and esports teammates start to fall victim when her tormentor makes her choose between their lives and her sister's. As the hours pass, Crystal uses her gaming instincts to discover who is behind it all and why she and her friends are being targeted. She must succeed before her sister dies--and her own secret is unveiled. Urban's novel doesn't pull punches as readers follow a thrilling cat-and-mouse game between Crystal and an anonymous figure. A few predictable twists don't ruin the overall experience, as its strongest feature is Crystal's rich and complex relationships with her violent, alcoholic father; her friends; and her sister and the ways they intertwine with her own past mistakes and the secrets she and her friends are keeping. Crystal is assumed White; there is some racial diversity in the supporting cast. A chilling and engaging thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)

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February 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Misdirection during an intense opening scene launches readers into a twisting roller coaster of a narrative. Protagonist Crystal Donovan is desperate to win the upcoming video-gaming tourney in order to help her single mom pay off their substantial debts. But the competition puts a strain on her team; her friends also need to win for their own reasons. Then her little sister is kidnapped, and the villain makes it clear that she will be killed if Crystal doesn't play the twisted game he has planned or if she asks for any help. Secrets multiply, forcing past lies to the surface, and Crystal's list of suspects gets longer and closer to home. She can't trust anyone, not even herself. Crystal must keep these secrets balanced or face lethal consequences. Despite the fast pace, red herrings, and the many deadly plot twists, the mystery of what happened five years previous and the current kidnapper's identity is predictable from early in the story. Readers who finish will get less of an "aha!" moment and more a confirmation of what they've already solved. Crystal is wildly inconsistent in her both her capabilities and decision-making, a shortcoming that may leave readers confused and struggling to empathize with her. Some racial diversity is mentioned. VERDICT An abrupt, too-tidy ending makes this flawed mystery an additional purchase.-Kristen Rademacher

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February 28, 2022
In Urban’s (All Your Twisted Secrets) sometimes grim mystery, 16-year-old Vermonter Crystal and her six-person team of esports gamers prepare to compete in a statewide MortalDusk tournament. The stakes are high—a $3 million prize—but official rules stipulate that only five players may play, leading to an internal competition amid the group. As Crystal attempts to beat out the others, including Japanese American bestie Akira, she has bigger problems on her mind, including her parents’ divorce, a dark secret she holds, and, suddenly, a text message saying that her 13-year-old sister has been kidnapped and will be killed unless Crystal takes part in a deadly real-life game—“React to this, and she dies. Show this to anyone, and she dies.” Accepting the challenge, the teen begins a series of strange, frequently harmful tasks that target her friends. Crystal’s gaming skills prove useful as she works to understand who is behind the setup, but her tormenter is always one step ahead in this occasionally predictable but interpersonally strong, frankly told thriller that toggles between the present and the past. Main characters read as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.