My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 2.98 with 51 ratings (as of 8/3/2020)

Every year the senior class at Lincoln High plays Assassin. Lia Prince has been planning her strategy for years and she’s psyched that not only does she finally get to play, she’s on a team with Devon Diaz. But this year, the game isn’t any fun–it’s real. Abby Ascher, Ben Barnard, and Cassidy Clarke have all turned up . . . dead. Can Lia stop the ABC killer before he reaches D? …Synopsis from Goodreads

200 Word Review

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

The game is known by many names – Assassin, Tag, Human vs. Zombies. The ways to “kill” vary greatly – water gun, dart gun, steal a spoon, steal a rag, etc. The one constant is the concept of the game – people join a game in which someone is ordered to “kill” either a specific target or a different team. The winner is the one left standing.

The Game by Linsey Miller is a YA version of a 1982 movie, Tag: The Assininasion Game. In both, the game becomes deadly, when one of the players decides to “kill” the players in real life.

Miller moves the age group to High School seniors playing the yearly game before graduation. Lia has been following in her brother’s shadow and knows Assassin is her opportunity to outshine her brother’s record in the game. She has been planning this for years by following and gathering information about her classmates’ schedules, hobbies, paths to school, etc. She makes the perfect fall guy for a killer who uses Lia’s detailed notes to track down their targets.

Readers in middle school would enjoy the story. While enjoyable, the story felt short and would need “more” to attract older YA readers.

This review was published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and Barnes and Noble on 8/3/20. When available, the review will be published on Scribd.com, Amazon, and, using Overdrive, will be rated in 9 libraries.

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Print Length: 240 pages
ISBN: 9780593179789
Publisher: Underlined
Publication Date: August 4, 2020

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