As soon as I started this book, I knew I was going to scream at some characters. Adina’s scholarship and life gets turned upside down because of a white classmate’s lie. In order to get a chunk of her life back, she joins a high stakes contest called The Finish.

When I tell you this contest gives racist Hunger Games, I am not exaggerating. This book was a pageturner. I felt like I was going through these trials with Adina.

If you are a lover of a good thriller like Ace of Spades, you will love this.

I read an eARC of Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington. Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

This book falls neatly into what I dub the “Death Game” genre. Where, for whatever reason, our protagonist is in a deadly game that is probably aimed to end in all but one of the contestants’ deaths. Whether they know this going in or now.

In this book, Adina is unaware of the deadliness of the game she is entering. All she knows is that if she can get invited to the Remington’s Finish school and win in their three competitions, they’ll not only put their support behind her (getting her accepted again into Yale, something she lost due to a mistake near the of her senior year) but also their support which will catapult her career into becoming someone of importance and not just the “token black girl from suburbia”. When she catches the eye of the Pierce who graduated with her, she finds herself invited to join eleven other girls.

While getting to grips with her place in the game, and trying to ignore her old friend turned bully, one of the contestants starts choking and dies in front of a room full of people, and no one but her seems surprised.

It turns out that this competition isn’t just tough, it’s deadly, and there’s no backing out. Now Adina must quickly learn the skills needed to pass every trial, or literally die trying.

This book is a ride, and the commentary throughout is rather in your face, but easily accessible. I would have liked a little more depth to it, to be honest. While the competitions and general wordplay between the girls was interesting, it often failed to really hit the mark. It was entertaining, certainly, but missing something crucial in order to make it really poignant.

Without giving any spoilers away though, the ending is magnificent and worth all the buildup in the previous chapters.

This was an absolutely incredible read - fills the Hunger Games hole that develops in my life sometimes. Also reminds me a little bit of The Menu, Ace of Spades, and The Inheritance Games.

Their Vicious Games pulls no punches, and it's a great addition to the YA collective in terms of addressing race, class, and intersectional feminism. I devoured this book in an afternoon.

This was a messed up book. In a good way though. It's violent at times and definitely pay attention to triggers.

Adina lost her Yale placement after getting into a fight with an ex friend, Esme. Adina only goes to her private school because her parents work there. They are not rich like everyone else. And those families all have power and they use it. Adina knows that the Remington family hosts a type of game that could get her back into Yale. She doesn't know much about it and needs to talk to the son, Pierce, to place hints for him to invite her. Only twelve girls are picked each year. Adina gets in and is thrilled. But Esme is also there and that causes problems. She makes a new friend in Saint and starts talking to Graham, the older Remington son. It's quickly revealed that the game is different this year. The winner becomes part of the family and the girls are willing to kill or die to try. There is a ton of backstabbing and secrets. No one is safe, not even the favorite, Pen.

There is a lot of racism and classism in this book.

I gave this book 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

Well, this was a wild ride! Adina made one mistake, and she lost it all, her scholarship to Yale, her friends, and her precarious status within the school she goes to. At her prestigious, school, known for grooming, the extreme upper class, that one mistake labeled her an outcast. She is determined to get back her acceptance to Gail and the life that she thought she was making for herself. She knows that the best way to do this is by going to The Finish, a competition held by the strange and extremely wealthy Remington family. The only problem is she doesn’t really know what this competition entails, and when she gets there, she wishes, she didn’t know. Goodreads describes this book as a cross between ace of spades and squid games and I’ve never read a more accurate description lol. I finish this book in one day because I couldn’t stop turning the pages because each thing was more disturbing, more ridiculous, and made me, more anxious for our main characters. It was a great read!

So I actually first heard about this book from my sister, who shared that her colleague’s daughter would be publishing a YA novel. I was so excited when I got approved for this ARC because I couldn’t wait to support a young black author. Joelle Wellington did a thing with 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚅𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜!! Check out my review below and make sure to preorder!

Adina Walker is one of the few Black students who attends Edgewater Academy, a prestigious institution for the white and wealthy. After a fight with a fellow classmate leaves her stripped of her Ivy League acceptances, Adina is desperate for any opportunity to win back the future she sacrificed so much for. She knows the only way that she can fix her mistake is by competing in and winning “The Finish”, a contest hosted by the rich and powerful Remington family, in which the winner will be rewarded with the family's “full financial and emotional support”. But soon after her jarring entry into the dangerously competitive world of the Finish, Adina realizes that she only has two options— win or die trying.

This book takes you for a wild ride as it explores race, gender, class, power, and white privilege in the context of a very high-stakes "game". Wellington’s writing is descriptive and enticing, keeping your heart racing and throwing all expectations out the window. There were so many moments that had me giving side-eyes, yelling at characters and asking “Did that really just happen?!” Adina is such a well-developed MC and she navigates her circumstances with wisdom and confidence despite starting out at the bottom of the social ladder. You’ll have to read on your own to get to know her and all the other 𝚃𝚅𝙶 characters that make for such a crazy story. Adina is cool and all, but Saint is my girl!

If you enjoy YA drama, high-stakes thrillers, and dark academia with a side of societal critique, you will love 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚅𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜!

Rating: 💎💎💎💎/5

Thank you to Joelle Wellington and Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing me with this e-ARC via NetGalley.

*All opinions in this review are 100% my own*

I love all kinds of deadly game stories, so this seemed totally perfect for me. I enjoyed the crazy ride pretty much from start to finish. The writing and the characters were solid. Recommended.

Phew! This was a whirlwind. The writing was fantastic. There was so much going on and I was on the edge of my seat, bracing for it all to collide. A white-knuckle read.

Steady yet pace book. Really enjoyed the main character and the moral around the story. The story does a great job at detailing class & racial issues. I enjoyed every moment of this book.

this was a nice debut, the author's writing was captivating and managed to capture my attention from start to beginning but i have to confess that i felt like there were a lot of ideas, themes, and characters but that none of them were fleshed out completely. if the writing hadn't been good and i wasnt curious to see how it would all end i probably would not have kept reading it, but i know this is subjective, and i do believe that this book will probably find the audience it aims to.

arc provided by netgalley and simon and schuster children's publishing in exchange for an honest review.

very very personal side note: should've been gayer !

What if "The Bachelor" played out like "The Hunger Games"?

The one time she steps out of line - and it was justified beyond all belief - has to be the time that costs Adina Walker her entire future. Her early admission to Yale and the respect of her prestigious peers gone, Adina gets desperate enough for one last-ditch effort at reclaiming it all: The Finish. A time-honored tradition where the wealthiest of wealthy families, The Remingtons, pick one girl above the other eleven pooled to earn a spot amongst the elite. This year, Adina decides it will be her. It has to be her.

But what if The Finish, and the Remingtons, aren't what they seem? What if Adina has to do more than just compete against the other girls? Is Yale really worth putting her life - and the lives of others - in danger?

I thought this book was utterly fantastic. I loved The Finish and how it worked like a deadly contestant show. Adina was such a great MC. I loved her perspective of the world of the wealthy and the white, and I was so behind her wanting to "even the playing field". She did a superb of bringing that energy, as well as giving The Finish a hefty dose of long overdue, own-flavored medicine. Joelle Wellington's writing is sharp and twisty, and at times tugs at your heart - making you want to sympathize with characters that are super-flawed and you'd possibly hate in real life. The way she reaches out with a string of pearls and chokes you with them the entire time you're reading... She's a complete master.

I highly recommend this book and would love to read another of Wellington's very soon!

Deeply twisted and brilliantly written, it's a slow descend into a furthering chaos that never seems to peak until it's over and you're left feeling slightly nausea. So, a truly incredible experience.

One of the most captivating and thrilling reads of the year, no doubt! I’ve never seen comp titles so perfectly pitch a book, and these are stellar! I’d love to see Adina’s story on the big screen someday!

This book is one part Squid Games, one part old money shenanigans, and sprinkling of The Bachelor. It all adds up to a book that kept me captivated from page one. Adina is an amazing heroine and the cast of characters had me rooting for people I probably shouldn't have. I loved it beyond all reason!

This is not for me! I think this suffers from debut book syndrome, in that it presents a lot of interesting ideas without a lot of follow through.

But! I have seen so many positive reviews that I do think that this will do well with a broader audience. I think that it's hitting its target readers and being really successful with that. I was anticipating something different, something more along the lines of Ace of Spades, but really this is just a high camp YA romp with plenty of tropes and twists and turns.

I also can't buy being attracted to Pierce OR Graham, and would have honestly preferred Adina being into Pen or Saint. But that's a super biased, not helpful review, so ignore that.

I think this'll be really beloved and hope for the best for the book and its author.

Adina was such a well written character, I adored everything about her. She also made a fantastic final girl. The storytelling and action was impeccable and this was one of the more unique books I've read this year.

Wow. This novel was amazing. Adina will probably go down as not only my favorite final girl, but probably the most well written character of 2023. This YA novel took me on a thrilling journey of fear mixed with comedy and I’m genuinely jealous of the reader who gets to experience this for the first time. The author did an amazing job with the dialogue and pacing. Well done!

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.