Book Review: The Game

It's been a hot minute since I've been in this little corner of the world, but I have been insanely busy. We've had summer school, college program for one kid, another kid working two jobs, trying to clear out unused toys and too small clothes, another round of summer school, rounds of covid, my first dance with lice in a kid, dealing with depression and PTSD with Lucy turning six on Monday, and then trying to keep up with mom duties? It's been....stressful. 

The Game - Scott Kershaw

To save their life, you have to play.

Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.

THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.

To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.

IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.

But what is The Game – and why have they been chosen?

There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING.

Do you remember that show Squid Games? Maybe Squid Games and Saw had a baby and boom, we have The Game. I felt like this book was kind of like that, but also not really? Instead of playing a game for a lifetime of financial stability, these people receive a text saying that in order to save a loved one, they need to play. That makes complete sense, doesn't it? I don't want to give you too many details because you really need to let this unravel the way the author intended. I will say, this book has quite a few characters, and while sometimes I struggle to keep stories like that in order, I had zero issues with this one. Why? Because there is SO much going on that you literally cannot put this down. None of the characters are particularly likeable but that was kind of a key point of the story for me. 

I loved that I couldn't predict where the heck this book was going, there are nonstop twists and turns. The book reads quickly due to the chapters being rather short, so that's pretty great for the reader who maybe doesn't have a ton of time to read or the attention span to read for long periods of time. The only issue I had with this book was the inclusion of the topic of sexual assault (also rape and a dead dog...sorry, friends) and the use of it within the story. I know this is a debut for the author, and while I'm interested in reading his next book, I do hope using a topic such as that is avoided. Interestingly, this book ends with a hint of a book two, so I'm interested to see how that would possibly develop. 

Overall I thought this was a good read, definitely kept me on my toes and entertained. A huge thank you to HQ Stories for sending me a copy for review!