Locked In is an engaging, fast-paced thriller that pulls readers into a high-stakes challenge with four very different teens. When a new owner of the escape room business offers prize money to anyone who can successfully escape, it draws together Tony, Bea, Anna, and Devin—each with their own personal struggles and reasons for wanting to win.

What makes this story intriguing is the diverse cast of characters. Tony, the star athlete, seems to have it all together, but as the game unfolds, we learn that each teen has hidden depths. Bea, who uses puzzles to cope with her social anxiety, is particularly relatable for readers who have experienced the pressure to retreat from overwhelming situations. Anna’s concern about the rise of anti-Semitic attacks gives her character a sense of urgency, while Devin’s secret of being homeless and living in the mall adds a raw, emotional layer to the group dynamic.

The escape room premise offers plenty of tension, and the book keeps the reader on edge as the teens navigate the increasingly bizarre and challenging puzzles. The real twist, however, is how the escape room begins to reveal more about the group than just their puzzle-solving skills—it exposes their biases, fears, and the need to rely on each other despite their differences. This underlying theme of breaking down prejudices and working together adds a meaningful layer to the fast-moving plot.

One of the book’s strengths is how it tackles important social issues in an accessible way. It touches on mental health, homelessness, and the impact of hate crimes, all while maintaining a pace that will hold the attention of reluctant readers. The short chapters and simple sentence structures make this a great choice for teens who might struggle with longer, more complex books, but the story itself has plenty to offer to readers of all levels.

Though the book is relatively brief, the themes are impactful, and the escape room’s sinister twist adds to the stakes. As the teens begin to realise that not everything is as it seems, the tension ramps up, leaving readers wondering if they’ll manage to escape in time—and what it might cost them if they don’t.

In conclusion, Locked In combines a fun, puzzle-filled escape room scenario with important themes about trust, prejudice, and survival. It’s a compelling read that will resonate with both reluctant and avid readers, offering a mix of adventure, character development, and social relevance.

This is a nice little YA read. Some life lessons are introduced. Fun theme with the Escape Room theme. Not too bad.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a very quick, simple read. I liked the characters, even if they weren't exactly the most developed ones I've read. The story moved along quickly and was easy to follow.

I think middle grade readers would like this one. The idea of an unlikely group coming together to solve an escape room really would've appealed to me when I was younger. This book deals with some fairly heavy topics that are handled in an age-appropriate way.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Good book! Love the escape room, interesting having the pysch experiment as a part of it. The characters were well done, each was distinct and easy to follow.

Read on July 21st, 2024. Written on August 1st, 2024.

~2.5~

A short story that is good if you want a quick read with escape rooms and multiple POVs.

The mix of different character backgrounds was quite interesting, though some of the "problems" that occurred between characters were a tad bit too obvious and a little bit lacklustre.

The writing could also be a little better, with the different POVs marked a little bit more clearly (at least for me), sometimes I couldn't understand whose POV I was reading, and with 4 different people almost at all times together, confusion ensued. There were also moments where I found myself thinking "why am I reading this? I don't care/understand", which did affect my interest in the story.

Not sure what else to say but the character development was somewhat good at the end, though some things could feel a little less forced into the narrative. I am glad it is a small book, because if it was longer, I'm not sure I would finish it.

Signing off,
B.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and North Star Editions | Jolly Fish Press that I chose to review after reading)

I think I enjoy the idea of escape rooms more than actually reading about them. I am not the target audience, but we aren't given time to really care about the characters. And I wish there had been a more thriller or horror vibe. I think many will enjoy Locked In. It's just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and North Star Editions | Jolly Fish Press for providing me with a review copy.

Very quick and easy read. Geared towards children 2nd grade to 14 years, and I would say that is a good fit. Nothing too scary, although I wasn’t sure how I felt about the racism and anti semantics, until I saw how it all come together in the end. 4 teens apply and are “chosen” to test out a new escape room company before they open their doors to the public. These 4 teens know of each other, but never would have chosen to work together by choice, but are forced to if they want to earn the $. I can’t say anymore without giving something away.

I think this is a good little novelette for middle grade students. I like that it has a fun premise (completing an escape room), but I thought that there would be more of a horror element to it. It was a nice surprise that it was more of a drama about knowing you’re the self -whether good or bad. This story did a decent job handling the issues students (and everyone, really) are dealing with in todays climate.

short and sweet with a nice message at the end. i really enjoyed the puzzles in it too
writing was engaging and super quick to read too!

Thank you so much to Jolly Fish Press and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Tony, Bea, Devin and Anna are all very different, living different walks of earth, but each one signs up for the new escape room tester job, where they have to figure out how to work together to solve the puzzles. Whilst there they learn more about each other and themselves then they expected to be learning.

I liked the escape room and how they added in human experimentations, the two things actually work together so well. You are trapped in this room with no way out but to solve it all but along the way get tasked with hard hitting scenarios or questions that make you question everything. I honestly loved that part being added into it, I liked seeing how they reached these bumps, these things that weren’t relevant to the solving of the room but they had to deal with these issues in front of each other anyway.

They all judged each other instantly, they all had issues, each one eventually learnt so much and it carried out after the experiment. The group were interesting, not quite who i expected personality wise to be added together, from the way it started I expected they’d have nothing similar or in common, but they all had a lot of similarities. Though the combination put together within this story did work, well. They were able to figure out each of the puzzles by working together, they even got past the experimenting with the added drama they were given.

I liked this book it was different and a fun read, I liked the conceit with strangers in the escape room and it being a social experiment that they were unaware of. I did enjoy this story it was so fascinating and fun to read.

3.25
I noticed after reading that this is part of a series (each one is a standalone), and each is written by a different author. All releasing on the same day.

The concept of this one grabbed me immediately. A new owner testing an escape room wants to make a twist to the test, turning it into a social experience. Each book seems to address very pertinent and sometimes hard themes that are relevant to teenagers.

The four teens picked to participate in the test work as representative of different themes to address as well: racism, prejudice, poverty, anxiety, and more... it even includes a gun...
When confronted with each other's perspectives, they act, suffer, and get to redemption. Good concept, and I think these books could be reworked into plays for teens to do in schools.
A book that names/speaks of relevant things is a good start.

As promised, LOCKED IN is a quick, entertaining read with an easy-to-follow plot that addresses issues relevant to teens. Gomez develops her characters well and provides tension and curiosity as they interact. The Escape Room story line is the perfect setting to keep the reader guessing. LOCKED IN is great for reluctant readers but any reader will enjoy the story and find the characters relatable!

It was a quick read, and didn't really feel like you got to know the characters well enough. More time could have been spent on world building and character development for sure.

I like the concept of this book, but I'm not sure how it will perform with my lower readers who are a picky group. I do think that readers looking for a quick read will pick this up.

I really enjoyed Locked In by Halli Gomez. I wish it had been a little longer to better get to know the characters.

Locked In follows four teens as they navigate testing a new escape room. The owner is offering prize money to the applicants that test the room—four very different teens. Tony is an athlete and honor-roll student. Bea is a socially anxious mega fan of escape rooms. Anna is a good student but is concerned with the anti-Semitic attacks rising in her town. Devin is currently homeless and living in the mall, desperate for no one to find out. They all have to work together and put aside their differences to complete the room as the clues begin to be personal and ulterior motives bloom.

At about 160 pages, this book is super duper fast paced, but so good! It’s a Hi-Lo book, so aimed at reluctant teen readers, but this didn’t damper my enjoyment of the novel. Although, it is a really, really great book for those reluctant readers. There are short chapters, not too complex sentences, and is really digestible and easy to read. Even though it is aimed a lower reading level, it’s still a really enjoyable YA mystery.

I loved that it was set in an escape room. Those scenes were so fun and it was a bit eerie when the clues started to shift to be very personal. I enjoyed the twist at the end and I thought all the characters were really well done. There’s a really great message of tolerance and not listening to your parent’s prejudices and learning to think for yourself.

Overall, a really great, short read with a lovely message! Perfect read if you're looking to get ahead or catch up with your reading challenge goal or if you're a reluctant reader!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not sure how I feel about this one.
I can see what the authors intended message was. And they did manage to get it across in a creative way. But it felt a little lacking for me.

Thats enough of the negatives. On the upside, Gomez has created a work that shows Escape Rooms perfectly, the puzzles, the themes, the showmanship. More people should do them.
Locked In is easy to read and fast paced. A short read that will make you think.

This book was great! I really enjoyed seeing her social experiment and the aftermath, and how the four completely different [people were able to become friends! It was so cool to see how everything played out. This was a very unique book idea, and I loved it!

Thank you to the author/publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for a review.

I think I went into this book with a completely different idea than what it was. I was looking forward to a short story but I was thinking it was going to be more on the thriller side. I personally don't really like when things get super political so that was something I didn't enjoy. Normally this plot would be something that I would dive right into but this one just wasn't my cup of tea unfortunately.

Thank you again for the chance to read the ARC.

Four very different teens are each hired to test a new escape room opening in their town. All four attend the local public high school but they aren’t friends. When the escape room turns out to be more than expected, they still need to work together to find clues and solve the puzzles.

Each of them has a secret that comes out in the tension of solving the puzzles under time pressure, turning some of them into allies and some against each other. Their secrets bring out tough social justice issues faced not only by these characters but also affecting real teens in their daily lives.

Author Halli Gomez uses the short timeframe and limited space of an escape room to bring the teens’ differences into focus, making the characters address their differences head-on.
Locked In is unflinching. A great story for teens who are interested in escape rooms or are working through tough interpersonal conflicts and social justice issues.

This book is high-low, high engagement, low reading level, so it’s also perfect for teens who are reluctant readers or struggling to read on grade level.

Thanks to Jolly Fish for providing me with an ARC of Locked In in exchange for an honest review.