“Everything’s a game, Avery Grambs. The only thing we get to decide in this life is if we play to win.”
Avery Kylie Grambs was unremarkable; She lived in Connecticut with her older half-sister, Libby, her next of kin after the death of her mother. She juggled a job and challenging high school classes, scraping together as much as she could to pay for college and her dream of traveling the world. Avery was almost there when her world–and Libby’s–stopped. She discovered that she had been named in the will of a wealthy Texan, Tobias Hawthorne, and was needed for the reading. When she arrived at Hawthorne house, Avery met his four young grandsons and their intimidating parentage. At the end of the reading, Avery discovered that she alone–not the Hawthorne family–had inherited the entire estate worth billions. But why her? With cameras in her face and targets on her back, Avery set out to solve the puzzle of the century alongside the Hawthorne brothers who had tricky intentions and even trickier wit.
The Inheritance Games elevates some staple YA tropes such as enemies to lovers, rags to riches, and your standard love triangle to masterful levels. While this story at times felt far fetched and messy, it rarely felt predictable. The endless plot twists and elaborate puzzles crafted by Barnes leave readers feeling outwitted, but not outpaced. The love triangle slowed down the story, not always for the better, but I have hope it can be salvaged in the following books in Barnes’ series.
While at times the quality of the writing didn’t match up with that of the plot, and the set up felt a bit messy, The Inheritance Games was a deserving winner of the 2021-22 North Star YA award. This award is given to books that encourage young adults to read for fun, and I think that The Inheritance Games is an incredibly deserving recipient. Barnes created a story that I was sad to put down and excited to dive back into, which I find especially rare. This book is great for anyone who enjoys a story rich in escapism, mystery, and tantalizing drama.