Their Vicious Games
“A brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale…exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully…a dark delight.” —Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades
A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this “spine-chilling thriller” (Publishers Weekly).
You must work twice as hard to get half as much.
Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.
And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious events: the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.
But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her fellow competitors, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.
Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.
A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this “spine-chilling thriller” (Publishers Weekly).
You must work twice as hard to get half as much.
Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.
And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious events: the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.
But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her fellow competitors, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.
Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
A brilliant dark satire, Their Vicious Games is perfect for fans of Ready or Not and Hunger Games, pitting girls against one another for the chance of a lifetime.
Their Vicious Games follows Adina, a black girl at Edgewater Academy, a school full of privileged white students. When she is blamed for a racial incident, and her Yale acceptance is rescinded, Adina feels lost. But Adina has a plan. Fueled by her anger, Adina finds a way to enter The Finish, a competition hosted by one of the most influential families, the Remington’s. But she soon discovers the competition is deadlier than she thought.
Storytelling
I absolutely loved the story here. The Finish is a competition where twelve girls are handpicked to complete three challenges, all for the opportunity to join the Remington family. But it is a competition where their lives are on the line, and only one can survive.
The girls are pitted against one another, the games deadly and dangerous, and each other is stuck with facing the way society has groomed them for this, has groomed them to give up their humanity and tear each other down all for the hand of a boy.
Because that’s what the competition is. Kill the competition and marry the youngest Remington boy, the only way to join the family and get everything handed to you for the future.
The satire, the structure, and the way the story tears down the accepted social conventions and focuses on rebuilding it is impressive. Through Adina, we face the reality of how women are manipulated and turned against one another. We see how the rich like to wear down those they can and how power corrupts.
But Adina refuses to let her humanity and brilliance be diminished. She flips the game on those above her, tearing down the system, one bloody weapon at a time.
The girls here are cunning, brilliant, and manipulative in such a way that reminded me of Regina from Mean Girls. And to see them use their brilliance against one another instead of against the regime says a lot about society. Sometimes, it is easier to tear others down rather than lift them up, and it is made easier when society pits women against one another.
Final Thoughts
Their Vicious Games is a brilliant, fast-paced book like nothing I had expected to read. It is thoughtful, bloody, and has an oh-so-very satisfying ending.
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A brilliant dark satire, Their Vicious Games is perfect for fans of Ready or Not and Hunger Games, pitting girls against one another for the chance of a lifetime.
Their Vicious Games follows Adina, a black girl at Edgewater Academy, a school full of privileged white students. When she is blamed for a racial incident, and her Yale acceptance is rescinded, Adina feels lost. But Adina has a plan. Fueled by her anger, Adina finds a way to enter The Finish, a competition hosted by one of the most influential families, the Remington’s. But she soon discovers the competition is deadlier than she thought.
Storytelling
I absolutely loved the story here. The Finish is a competition where twelve girls are handpicked to complete three challenges, all for the opportunity to join the Remington family. But it is a competition where their lives are on the line, and only one can survive.
The girls are pitted against one another, the games deadly and dangerous, and each other is stuck with facing the way society has groomed them for this, has groomed them to give up their humanity and tear each other down all for the hand of a boy.
Because that’s what the competition is. Kill the competition and marry the youngest Remington boy, the only way to join the family and get everything handed to you for the future.
The satire, the structure, and the way the story tears down the accepted social conventions and focuses on rebuilding it is impressive. Through Adina, we face the reality of how women are manipulated and turned against one another. We see how the rich like to wear down those they can and how power corrupts.
But Adina refuses to let her humanity and brilliance be diminished. She flips the game on those above her, tearing down the system, one bloody weapon at a time.
The girls here are cunning, brilliant, and manipulative in such a way that reminded me of Regina from Mean Girls. And to see them use their brilliance against one another instead of against the regime says a lot about society. Sometimes, it is easier to tear others down rather than lift them up, and it is made easier when society pits women against one another.
Final Thoughts
Their Vicious Games is a brilliant, fast-paced book like nothing I had expected to read. It is thoughtful, bloody, and has an oh-so-very satisfying ending.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
So… young women from influential families were dying/going missing after participating in the Finish at the Remington estate for centuries and their families were accepting of this?????? Like did no family get suspicious at all when they never heard from their daughter/sister???????? And the worst part of it all, the girls were fighting to death to marry a man and could leave in body bags or emerge the victor. *bombastic side-eye from me*
This book is… not good at all. The adults during the Finish failed the girls, and the Royale “game” at the end was horrendous. Adults were hunting kids down and kids were fighting each other to their deaths. The kids were failed by the adults and everyone was annoying AF. I could not handle how some off the names of the kids were a huge tragedeigh. The only upside of this was Adina was wise enough to ghost Graham once she got out.
This book is… not good at all. The adults during the Finish failed the girls, and the Royale “game” at the end was horrendous. Adults were hunting kids down and kids were fighting each other to their deaths. The kids were failed by the adults and everyone was annoying AF. I could not handle how some off the names of the kids were a huge tragedeigh. The only upside of this was Adina was wise enough to ghost Graham once she got out.
I NEED HELP.
This was so damn good, but I’m too busy crying to collect my thoughts right now. I’ll have to write out my full thoughts later with the support of a full keyboard.
Briefly: This was the definition of a thriller to me. I had no clue where we were going and was so tense for 85% of the book. The characters were so dynamic and interesting. This is definitely one of my top reads of the year.
This was so damn good, but I’m too busy crying to collect my thoughts right now. I’ll have to write out my full thoughts later with the support of a full keyboard.
Briefly: This was the definition of a thriller to me. I had no clue where we were going and was so tense for 85% of the book. The characters were so dynamic and interesting. This is definitely one of my top reads of the year.
The premise of this book was absolutely insane. I feel like the intense bloodlust from 90% of the characters was a bit unrealistic but overall, an intriguing and entertaining story.
I’m sharing 3️⃣ reviews from our moderators; Fallon, TyaNeka & Deidre.
Also if you enjoyed the September selection, Joelle Wellington published another, The Blonde Dies First.
📚 Here are Fallon’s thoughts~
🖊️ I will start off by saying that this book will not be everyone’s cup of tea. It genre bends but ultimately is a satirical horror laced with a bit of eat or be eaten out here in this world and don’t let them folks steal your Black Girl Magic realism.
Adina has found herself in quite the conundrum when she loses her acceptance into the Ivy Leagues. In order to regain entry she has to compete against 11 other girls in a competition set up where only one winner will come out alive. Between bowing down to actual white monsters and having to slay several dragons, Adina realizes that her wealthy classmates were always given the extra boost to make it to the finish line and that she will not only have to work harder but also smarter than them to come out on the other side alive.
I enjoyed this book and the many underlying messages and social commentary embedded in the gory descriptions of what all occurred while Adina was competing against her classmates. It started slow, but once it gains momentum I found myself up all night trying to finish. If you want to read something quirky and totally not what you would have expected, give this one a try and remember it is SATIRE. Otherwise, you’re going to be infuriated the whole book…
📚Here what TyaNeka had to say~
🖊️ Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington hooks you from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the end. This story follows Adina Walker, a young Black girl at a predominately white high school trying to secure her future after one mistake by her puts it all in jeopardy, including her admissions to Yale. In the vein of the Hunger Games, Adina has been invited to participate in what is known as The Finish for a chance at a life she has only imagined. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat and rooting for Adina to succeed. What a debut novel from Joelle Wellington and I look forward to reading more.
📚Closing out with Dee’s thoughts~
🖊️ Well! Well! Well! We have a new YA Dark Academia horror to enjoy!
“That’s what makes you so dangerous, don’t you know” You see all of this, and you still want. When has a girl ever been able to want?”
Adina worked hard to get into Yale and in moments flash it is taken away. Just when all hope is lost, she was invited to the infamous “Finish”. There seemed to be hope in getting what she wanted after receiving a letter to “The Finish” by the Remington’s a wealthy family with an abundance of generational wealth.
We follow Adina Walker journey to the “Finish” a completive game of life or maybe death.
In this game there are a total of 12 girls who participate in “The Finish” to reach status, wealth, and higher education. Little did Adina know it would cost more than she was willing to pay.
Be prepared, to experience full action pack games that you will not forget. Hold your horses and keep your deck in tack. These games are not for weak!
If you liked the dark academia of Ace of Spades or the characters in Legend born, Their Vicious Games does not disappoint!
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