Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2023) Featured Review of These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

These Deadly Games

by Diana Urban

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Imprint: 

Release date: 

ISBN: 9781250797193

16-year old Crystal Donovan is laser focused on the upcoming Mortal Dusk gaming tournament, which she will be competing in with her e-sports team.  Suddenly everything changes when she begins receiving frightening messages on an app that mysteriously appears on her phone. Someone has kidnapped her sister Caelyn, and to get her back, Crystal will have to play the most dangerous game of her life. Although the tasks seem harmless enough at first, it becomes increasingly clear that they are aimed at hurting Crystal’s closest friends and teammates. Could the person behind the app be a Mortal Dusk competitor? Or could it have to do with an event that happened five years ago that Crystal and her friends swore to keep secret? 

Urban constructs a fast-paced, contemporary thriller. Although the twists in the story are slightly predictable, the plot remains engaging throughout. Flawed characters and complicated friendships between Crystal and her teammates are realistic and relatable. The focus on games and technology will also appeal to today’s tech-savvy and connected teens. Librarians should be aware that the title contains contents dealing with  death, domestic abuse, panic attacks, anorexia, and racism.

Fans of fast-past thrillers and suspense, who don’t mind a bit of violence will enjoy this book.  Hand this to teens who enjoyed Two Truths and a Lie by April Henry, Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard, The Wild by Owen Laukkanen, or Out of the Fire by Andrea Contos.

— Julianne Novetsky

Other Nominated Titles

Two Truths and a Lie by April Henry  (May 24, 2022)

Live, Laugh, Kidnap by Gabby Noone (May 20, 2022)

Trigger by N. Griffin (March 29, 2022)

Counting Scars by Melinda Di Lorenzo (August 16, 2022)

Jumper by Melanie Crowder  (June 21, 2022)

Gold Mountain by Betty G. Yee (April 5, 2022)


The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.

Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2023) Featured Review of One True Loves by Elise Bryant

One True Loves by Elise Bryant
Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Publication Date: January 4, 2022
ISBN: 9780062982865

Lenore (fans will remember her from Bryant’s Happily Ever Afters) is on a European cruise with her siblings and parents the summer after high school. She’s NYU bound in the fall – as long as she can pick a major by the end of the cruise. Also, her brother’s acting weird, and there’s an annoying guy hanging around. As Lenore struggles to make a plan for her future, she realizes maybe she doesn’t need to struggle alone. 

Continue reading Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2023) Featured Review of One True Loves by Elise Bryant

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, June 24 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Layoverland cover art

Layoverland by Gabby Noone; narrated by Sophie Amoss
Publisher: Recorded Books
Release date: 01-21-20
ISBN: 978-1984836120

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, June 24 Edition

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, March 24 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Quick Picks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Layoverland by Gabby Noone       
Razorbill / Penguin Random House
Publication Date: January 21, 2020
ISBN: 9781984836120

Beatrice (Bea) Fox is dead. Stuck in purgatory (which looks a lot like a mediocre airport), Bea has been assigned to work in the Memory Experience Department, helping other souls move on to heaven. Her job gets complicated, however, when she’s assigned to assist Caleb, the cute teenage boy who caused her death.

Continue reading Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, March 24 Edition