Tag, You're Dead

Starred review from October 15, 2023
Four teenagers with ulterior motives endure a deadly game of cat-and-mouse through the bustling streets of London. Nine months after his collaborator, Rose Tavistock, died in a mysterious accident, "disgraced teenage millionaire" and video game creator Anton Frazer stages his comeback. He announces a competition with a �100,000 prize in which 100 hand-picked recruits will use augmented virtual reality goggles and GPS devices to pick each other off, while also vanquishing virtual ghosts and completing side quests. Four participants, however, have darker motives for taking part: Quiet Grayson vows to avenge ex-girlfriend Rose's death, fanfic writer Charlotte is determined to win Anton's undying affection, social media star Erin is desperate to escape her blogger mother's clutches, and student reporter Emma is dead set on getting a scoop that catapults her to journalistic stardom. All bets are off, however, when an avatar of Rose hijacks the game, claiming there's a murderer among them and setting off a deadly chain of events. Though the multifaceted main characters in this impeccably paced, pulse-pounding page-turner are terribly flawed, their humanity will keep readers rooting for them. This unusually deft, compulsively readable blend of mystery, thriller, realistic fiction, and horror with a bit of science fiction sprinkled in features incredible plot twists and will appeal to a broad range of teen readers. Most major characters read white; Emma's surname cues Japanese heritage. An unputdownable, deliciously unsettling read. (Thriller. 13-18)

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December 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 Disgraced teen influencer Anton Frazer stages a comeback competition: a game of tag across London with 100 contestants selected from thousands of applications. The contestants are fitted with enhanced virtual reality glasses and special wristbands to tag out as many people as possible, ""exorcise"" ghosts, and complete separate challenges. The last person standing wins �100,000 and the chance to be one of Frazer's ""accomplices."" Four of the contestants have secret motivations: Grayson wants revenge for his dead ex-girlfriend, Rose; Erin wants the money to escape her stultifying mother; Charlotte wants Anton's love; and student journalist Emma seeks the story that will launch her career. There is a glitch in the game, though--Rose's ghost keeps appearing and disrupting the game. Each chapter is unreliably narrated in first person by one of the four characters, and the fast-paced plot has dizzying twists and turns. Character development doesn't get lost in the plot whirlwind; there is plenty of room for nuance. Readers should clear their schedules before opening; it's impossible to put this one down.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Super-famous teen streamer and influencer Anton organizes a massive, high-tech game of tag in London with a �100,000 prize. This fast-moving thriller rotates between the first-person perspectives of three handpicked contestants, each with a different reason for entering-Grayson plans to avenge ex-girlfriend Rose, one of Anton's collaborator "Accomplices" who was found dead in his swimming pool; Charlotte, a massive Anton fan (she writes fanfiction under the username AntonsGirlXOXO) and stepsister of another Accomplice, wants to date him; and Erin, the daughter of an influencer, wants the prize money to escape the social media spotlight. Descriptions of the game are exhilarating as GPS-enabled wristbands randomly designate participants as runners and chasers and smart glasses enhance it all. But then the tech gets hacked, and an AI version of Rose takes over, saying she was murdered and revealing suspects one by one. This Rose forces a core group to play her warped game, abducting Anton to ensure cooperation, as what happened that fateful night she died is slowly unraveled, and readers learn more about each character and their motivations, including Charlotte's stepbrother Matthew and his girlfriend Beatrix, Anton's fiercely loyal younger sister. The characters are multi-layered and well-developed, and unhealthy relationships-familial, romantic, parasocial-abound. Overall, it's creepy and mysterious in the best ways, as Foxfield propels the novel forward over the course of one night. VERDICT Truly unputdownable. Readers who enjoy books like Lauren Oliver's Panic and anything by Karen M. McManus will devour this one.-Amanda Mastrull

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