I really enjoyed this. It reminded me of Station Eleven a bit, which surprised me because I didn't expect that going into it. But it gave me that same sort of end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-these-characters-have-to-move-on-somehow vibes. I think a lot of people won't like the ambiguity of the ending, but it worked for me.

Enjoyed this unusual combination of satire and adventure. Full of distinctive characters and edge of the seat drama. The parts of the plot that dealt with the TV crew were entertaining as was he final resolution. Given the many end of the world plots in books today the ending was fun.

A game of intense survival. A must-read if you're a fan of Survivor. My only complaint about this book is a wish it was longer.

This is thrill ride, an amazing look into survivalist and wannbe survivalist cultures, and a great novel about personal change and recognition. A reality show flies contestants to a remote location, and when the cameramen and other crew disappear, it's up to the contestants--including a survivalist instructor--to survive and find other people again. The reason for the disappearance isn't explained, and it doesn't need to be, because Braverman keeps a tight focus on the protagonist and other characters, and keeps all of the attention on getting through each day, each challenge, each bit of hope and each tragedy. I loved it.

I loved this book!! I'm a fan of survival shows like Alone, Naked and Afraid, Survivorman, etc. I would definitely die if left to fend for myself, so it's always very impressive to see people show off their survival skills. Small Game is like the book version of one of those shows. What happens when a survival show goes wrong? What happens if the safety net that the contestants expect suddenly disappears? Braverman is such a good writer. I was so surprised to find out this is her debut novel. I will be recommending this to everyone.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

Braverman has a unique faculty for language that sneaks up on the reader in pleasant ways. The plot and twists were pretty original. The pacing sometimes was uneven, and I don't think the appeal of Ashley was sold at all -- I didn't understand Mara's attraction or Ashley's motivation. But overall, I thought the texturing of the other characters was well done, and Mara was compelling even as she was presented as the quiet, contemplative, nearly bland version. I kind of wish we could have seen the flip side -- what, if anything, was aired; what the true reason was (Tom's frantic attempt to reach Mara makes less sense if this was just a case where they were packing up, but thought someone else would pick up the contestants), but I'm nitpicking. And the final chapter tense change was stirring, and worth the cost of learning more of an epilogue.

The synopsis is interesting and I was excited to dive in. The story itself was meh. It was very different than what I was expecting. It was very slow in a boring way, then it will pick up but by then I lost focus.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a briskly-paced and adventure-filled tale of survivalists--tailor made for fans of Survivor.

Our narrator is a survival instructor called Mara, who grew up living off the land with her prepper and increasingly paranoid parents. Looking to get away from her loser boyfriend, Mara auditions to be a part of a reality show called Civilization, where cast members are left to their own devices in the wilderness for 6-weeks in order to create a new way of life. However, when the crew stops showing up to film, it is clear they have been abandoned and now Mara, Ashley, Kyle and Bullfrog must find out what it truly means to survive.

Mara is confident and self-assured, despite anything that is thrown her way. I loved her as a strong, female lead taking on these brutal conditions and remaining steadfast through it all. I enjoyed seeing her and all the characters grow and develop throughout the story while still remaining true to the core of their characters. As a survival tale alone, the novel does a great job of depicting the harrowing, isolating and gritty conditions of wilderness survival. The pacing in the first half of the novel is a little slow, but I didn’t mind because Braverman was doing an excellent job of building up the suspense.

As the pace picked up in the second half, I couldn’t put the books down or figure out what had happened that led to the team’s abandonment. Despite the grizzly (ifykyk) conditions, I was enraptured with watching them navigate their situation, even when it made my skin crawl. I was enjoying reading this book and on the edge of my seat to know what happened.

HOWEVER, this book literally did not have an ending. There is no resolution whatsoever and I have so many questions. After all we have seen this group go through, I wanted to see their journey come to a conclusion and for them to get the closure and answers they deserved–because literally how did this even happen. Instead, there is literally a single paragraph broadly describing what they did next. We don’t get to go with them, feel their relief, triumph and grief, or ever get a single answer as to what the heck happened.

Please add in an epilogue. It will be worth it.

I love books about the outdoors. I love books featuring strong female characters. I love weird books. I should have loved this book, but it left me wanting more. What was most frustrating was the ending - it had no resolution, in an incredibly frustrating way. The slow build of tension is well done, and the premise is novel, interesting, and relevant to our reality-TV obsessed culture. A quick read.

Five people are dropped off on a island to take part in a new reality show called "Civilization" They must learn to survive to win a $100,000 prize. The concept of this book really intrigued me right from the beginning. This was a really quick read and although I did enjoy it, I was disappointed with the ending. It felt somewhat like the author put in a lot of thought and detail throughout the story but then glazed over the payoff for me. I feel like a brief epilogue with some explanations would have added that ending I was expecting.

As an avid reader of books about women in the outdoors (fiction and non-fiction), I am always prepared to be disappointed, but wow, I loved this book. Survival type reality show, but everyone who lasts, wins cash. The contestants, 2 women and 3 men, are brought to the remote north woods, allowed to pick one tool, and are then left to survive, all under the watchful eye of the camera crew. When the game takes a turn, real survival becomes the goal. The story is fast paced and engaging and doesn't rely on petty drama which is the downfall of many an outdoor novel. The information about nature is accurate and not sensationalized. The female characters are inspiring and realistic. For those looking for diversity, this does include an LGBTQ+ relationship.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book. The book was an extremely easy to read book that kept me wanting more and more. The only critique I have about the book is that it didn't end the way I was hoping and I never figured out why the camera crew really left. Maybe it was implied, but I would have like more closure if it were explained. Overall, it was an amazing book. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read it ahead of time.

I love a good survival story. This was a good survival story. Braverman, making her fictional debut, has created a thoroughly immersive world – a middle of nowhere set to be televised for the amusement of the reality tv addicts and five people driven to be cast in the show for very different reasons.
Mara, the main protagonist, is there for a fresh start that the prize money would afford her. She’s so very young and yet already tired of her life. A child of survivalist/prepper off-gridder parents turn survival retreat guide for the people with too much money and not enough sense, stuck in a dead-end relationship, no plans, no savings, Mara sees this show as an opportunity to buy a new life.
Her teammates/costars are in it for fame, recognition, opportunity to prove themselves. It’s all about second chances, really.
The show’s premise isn’t a wildly original one, just another spin on the Survivor. The producer is a creep. But it’s moving along…until it comes to a stop. Suddenly, the cameras are gone, and the cast of the show find themselves alone, abandoned, deliberately or on purpose.
Now the real survival begins.
All the drama, all the excitement, all the dangers, all the creativity and the desperation come out in cinematic vividness once the camera stop rolling. Once it is no longer a game.
Exciting, engaging, entertaining…all the Es of good and great reading, this book is a terrific literary adventure in the wilderness. The writing, the pacing, the characters…all done so well, most impressive for a debut. You won’t want to put this book down and coming in at just under 300 pages and being dynamically paced, you won’t really have to, not much anyway. I read it in one sitting with one pause for lunch and enjoyed it very much. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

As soon as I saw Small.Game pop up.on NetGalley, I put in my request. I've followed Blair Braverman on Twitter since her rookie Iditarod race and was hooked by her witty, fun Tweets and all the dog photos. I was hoping that her debut fiction novel would hook me as well - and it did.

Our main character, Mara, is off to participate in a survival based reality tv show with four other contestants. They've all been selected for the different personas they bring to the show and each is there for a different personal reason. Mara knows that she has the skills to make it six weeks and leave with cash - she has plans to reboot her life once the show is over. However, things take a turn when the contestants find themselves alone in the woods - the crew has disappeared and no one seems to be looking for them... Survival for the money quickly turns into actual survival for their lives.

I thought that Braverman did a great job showcasing actual outdoor survival skills and improved the collaboration that occured between the characters. There were some unexpexted twists that kept the pages turning and while I know some readers felt the book ended too abruptly, I actually really liked how the ending was not dragged out and how it unfolded. I admit that I was left with some unanswered questions but I wasn't upset about it either.


This was a fast read because I didn't want to wait to see what happened next. Kudos to Blair Braverman one a great debut novel - I looked forward to future books!

As an avid follower of Braverman's Twitter account, I was very excited for her fiction debut. She brings the same gift for language, banter, and emotional depth to SMALL GAME. The story moved along quickly, with short chapters and proper cliffhangers. While the ending wasn't my bag, I understand and respect that it was a deliberate choice. As a committed homebody, I enjoyed the descriptions of actual outdoor living and how it compares to one's expectations.

Small Game by Blair Braverman is a riveting & thrilling novel about a survival reality TV show turned into a showcase of actual survival for one’s life. What would happen if a small group of people were on a remote island location with basically only the clothes on their backs to film a survival reality show, but then one day the filming crew doesn’t come back?! Read Small Game to find out!
For some reason, I thought this was going to be survivor show turned slasher, but really it’s more just survival against the elements, nature & everything that entails. It’s less suspense based but still a very intense & interesting read.
I love reading thrilling books that are different & this one was definitely something I would have never come up with, so I enjoyed reading it!
It’s a fascinating depiction of learning to work with what life gives you & how to adapt. It’s riveting & heartbreaking all in one.
The ending felt unnecessarily super rushed & then there were several big unanswered questions, which made the end feel unsatisfying. I was bummed because overall, I did enjoy this book & found it very unique, but I’m docking my rating down to 3 stars because I feel like the lack of quality ending let down a good book!
Small Game by Blair Braverman comes out November 1, 2022!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Ecco for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains hunting & killing of animals, gore, violence & human death.

I will post to my Instagram as it gets closer to release date & will publish my review on Amazon after publication.

This book ended up being very different from what I was expecting. The blurb had me expecting a survival thriller but the first half in particular was so slow with not much happening. The pace picked up about halfway through, but I kept waiting for some mystery or conspiracy to be revealed to explain what was going on. The rushed ending also left unanswered questions.

I was very invested in this survival game book, until the very end.
The plot greatly details contestants brought to a remote environment to see who can last the longest at surviving.
The author did an excellent job with character development. However, the ending was rushed and several questions were left unanswered.

Small Game is briskly-paced and well-realized; both Braverman and her husband Quince Mountain were on the reality show Naked and Afraid, so the reality television details are extremely well-observed and help make the first half of the book so immersive. Not only that, but Braverman uses the inherent performativity of reality television to her advantage; Mara is not sure, at times, what reactions from her fellow contestants are real, and which ones are them acting or exaggerating their responses for the camera. It keeps her off-balance and unsteady, and as someone who already struggles to trust others, Mara has perhaps underestimated how much the TV component will make it even harder for her to bond with anyone else.

As mentioned, things go wrong, and I don’t want to spoil the how and why; suffice it to say that it gets harrowing, and I don’t want to go backpack camping anytime soon. But the harrowing material comes from the hardship of life in the wild, and not from Mara’s fellow contestants. While they struggle to get along and work together, this isn’t because any of them are bad people: they’re flawed, but not vicious, and they’re all desperately yearning for some kind of change in the real lives that they’re escaping. I was grateful for this, because hunger and horrible injuries are bad enough; interpersonal or sexual violence would’ve been too much.

Braverman also effectively raises real questions about ethics and morality in these survival situations, one without simple or easy answers: this is a situation where good intentions don’t keep people from getting injured, nor does it put food in their bellies. And the way in which Mara and her fellow survivors navigate these situations are poignant, flawed, and messy. (And while good intentions can’t save you, they’re sure a lot better than bad intentions.) If I wished for anything, it was just a little more emotional depth from Mara and in her connections to the other main characters: I still felt held somewhat at a distance all the way through, and the situation was compelling enough that I wanted to feel nearer and more engaged. But it’s a promising debut, and I totally recommend it when it comes out in November, especially if you were the kind of kid who loved stories like The Far Side of the Mountain or Hatchet when you were younger: this is definitely a novel for grown-up you.