Lauren Oliver's Panic
Although I've enjoyed all of Lauren Oliver's books, I was really glad to see her make a return to contemporary YA (as opposed to more fantastical/dystopian YA), because Before I Fall is seriously one of my favorite books. I actually wasn't sure what this would be like--the description says something about high schoolers playing a high-stake game, which I worried would be Hunger-Games-y, but it's just a serious of increasingly intense (and dangerous) challenges dreamed up by bored and reckless small-town teenagers. The story alternates narration between Heather, who enters on a whim after her boyfriend dumps her, but then realizes how much the winnings could help her change her life, and Dodge, who enters for REVENGE!!!!!!!! (The caps and exclamation points are justified.) The teenagers are all really well-done characters and the games are believable, though most of the adults in the story are not. But they're not really the focus here. In all, this was a quick and somewhat insane read, though I mean that in the best possible way. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in January.
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