Review Detail

What worked: If you have seen the move, I Know What You Did Last Summer, then you have a great description for this book. It is also very heavily game influenced which I love seeing in a novel like this. Video Games are a huge part of kids' lives and esports/streaming have become so big that is was nice to see it represented in a book. A close group of friends hold a terrible secret and are trying to compete in a huge esport tournament. The prize money means something different to each of them, but for Crystal it would be life changing. After her father left, her mother is having a hard time paying for the mortgage and if Crystal doesn't win that prize money, they'll have to move. But as the weekend of the tournament arrives, and Crystal's sister, Caelyn, goes off to a school weekend trip, Crystal is pulled into a game she never expected to play. Someone has kidnapped her baby sister and will kill her if she doesn't play along. The catch? She can't tell anyone or call the police or her sister dies. This is a fast paced thriller with fire consequences if Crystal doesn't complete each task. And soon, she discovers each "game" has serious repercussions but she can't risk her sister's life. As the story goes on Crystal tries to narrow down who An0nm0us1 is all while trying, and failing, to protect her friends.

What left me wanting more: There are a lot of Young Adult books that older adults can enjoy just as much, but this book seemed geared for younger teens. The writing style really reflected current teen trends and slang such as "yeet" and shortened words to IRL even when they were thinking which might feel a bit off for older readers. It was a bit easy to figure out the identity of An0nmy0us1 within a few chapters. I understand as a teen Crystal must have been very afraid to do anything that might get her sister hurt, but it was a bit frustrating that she didn't really even try to stop the game or An0nmy0us1. It was a bit frustrating that her friends weren't better to Crystal and were so busy blaming her for every mistake instead of trying to figure out why they were seeming to be targeted.

Final Verdict: I absolutely think that the stakes are going to draw in teen audiences as Crystal desperately tries to figure out how to outplay An0nmy0us1. Sprinkled throughout the book are the details of the tragic accident that happened 5 years early. And there is good representation in this book as well. I really appreciated the plot itself, but would recommend this book for younger teen audiences who enjoy suspenseful thrillers.