The Revenant Games

Gr 9 Up–Seventeen-year-old Bly lives in the Gap, an impoverished village caught between enemy kingdoms of vampires and witches. Blood is currency in the Gap since vampires need it to live and witches need it for spells; the humans in the middle are the foundation of an uneasy truce, kept miserable and desperate enough to sell it. But for two weeks each year the truce is suspended, giving humans the chance to change their fate: capture a vampire or witch to win immortality or raise someone from the dead. After a recent tragedy, Bly is determined to win, but her farfetched plan is complicated first by the involvement of Emerson, a close friend and central figure in Bly’s dreams of a better future, and then by the vampire who unexpectedly saves her life. Though the concept of changing one’s fate via a deadly game is not new in YA literature and paranormal central figures like vampires and witches are common as well, this is a fresh take on the idea. The opulent, sly vampires and cottagecore witches are novel enough to remain appealing, and their relationships with each other, as well as with humans, help drive the plot. The dogmatic hatred between the three groups is sometimes frustrating, but multiple plot twists keep readers engaged while Bly’s battle against her own innate compassion leaves them wavering between desired outcomes. Readers will be eager for a sequel.