Overview

The prize: $10 million The rules: Be the first to complete ten tasks assigned by the Benefactor. Do not ask questions. Do not tell anyone what you're doing. Do not fail. The consequences: Unknown Ana has three choices: One, stay with her abusive foster parents and watch her little sister, Izzy, get hurt. Two, expose their abuse and risk being separated from Izzy. Or three, join the Contest, win the prize money, and escape together. No matter what Ana chooses, the odds are against her. But the Contest may turn out to be the most dangerous option of all.

Full Product Details

9781467781022

Table of Contents

Reviews

This second in a series of five novellas following a single storyline focuses on Latina Ana, who is trying to escape her abusive foster father. Ana Rivera and her little sister seem to be lucky: they are the foster children of a wealthy and powerful couple. However, their foster father secretly beats the girls, and Ana has managed to get proof that she hopes will expose him. Her main goal, however, is to escape, and she has saved almost enough money to get away. When she encounters an online contest run by an anonymous 'Benefactor' that promises to pay her $10 million if she can be the first of the contestants to complete 10 tasks, she enters. Her first task makes no sense to her, but she sneaks out of the house and does it. As the tasks become ever more dangerous and clearly criminal, she begins to want out. However, the Benefactor appears to know everything about her and seems somehow to be watching her every move. Now desperate to escape the contest, she approaches the final tasks and meets the other three contestants, hoping that somehow they can regain control of their lives. All the novellas fit together like a well-crafted puzzle, each following a different contestant. Although the storyline clearly leads to a conclusion in the fifth book, the preliminary volumes can be read in any order. Compelling suspense delivered in a small dose. --Kirkus Reviews --Journal These are the first three novellas in the series The Contest; they need to be read in order. The mysterious Benefactor ropes in teens across a multicultural spectrum, each with a dire financial issue, by promising a prize of $10 million to the first one to complete a series of ten tasks, some less threatening than others. James's grandfather is dying from cancer, and only an expensive experimental drug offers hope in Stay in the Game. Ana and her sister are living with wealthy foster parents in a mansion, but they are psychologically, verbally, and physically abused in Beat the Odds. Colin needs to raise money to pay for his sister's transgender surgery in Raise the Stakes. The Benefactor plays each teen against the others and uses their dreams of helping themselves and their families as blackmail. The books create a thrill-seeking sense of impending disaster, and readers will root for the characters as they begin to unite to discover who the Benefactor is and what he/she really intends to do with the information they steal. The series offers a perfect choice for adolescents who struggle to find easy-to-access plots with believable characters. The last two books in the series are Break the Code and Turn the Tables. --VOYA --Journal

These are the first three novellas in the series The Contest; they need to be read in order. The mysterious Benefactor ropes in teens across a multicultural spectrum, each with a dire financial issue, by promising a prize of $10 million to the first one to complete a series of ten tasks, some less threatening than others. James's grandfather is dying from cancer, and only an expensive experimental drug offers hope in Stay in the Game. Ana and her sister are living with wealthy foster parents in a mansion, but they are psychologically, verbally, and physically abused in Beat the Odds. Colin needs to raise money to pay for his sister's transgender surgery in Raise the Stakes. The Benefactor plays each teen against the others and uses their dreams of helping themselves and their families as blackmail. The books create a thrill-seeking sense of impending disaster, and readers will root for the characters as they begin to unite to discover who the Benefactor is and what he/she really intends to do with the information they steal. The series offers a perfect choice for adolescents who struggle to find easy-to-access plots with believable characters. The last two books in the series are Break the Code and Turn the Tables. --VOYA -- (4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM) This second in a series of five novellas following a single storyline focuses on Latina Ana, who is trying to escape her abusive foster father. Ana Rivera and her little sister seem to be lucky: they are the foster children of a wealthy and powerful couple. However, their foster father secretly beats the girls, and Ana has managed to get proof that she hopes will expose him. Her main goal, however, is to escape, and she has saved almost enough money to get away. When she encounters an online contest run by an anonymous 'Benefactor' that promises to pay her $10 million if she can be the first of the contestants to complete 10 tasks, she enters. Her first task makes no sense to her, but she sneaks out of the house and does it. As the tasks become ever more dangerous and clearly criminal, she begins to want out. However, the Benefactor appears to know everything about her and seems somehow to be watching her every move. Now desperate to escape the contest, she approaches the final tasks and meets the other three contestants, hoping that somehow they can regain control of their lives. All the novellas fit together like a well-crafted puzzle, each following a different contestant. Although the storyline clearly leads to a conclusion in the fifth book, the preliminary volumes can be read in any order. Compelling suspense delivered in a small dose. --Kirkus Reviews -- (11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)

These are the first three novellas in the series The Contest; they need to be read in order. The mysterious Benefactor ropes in teens across a multicultural spectrum, each with a dire financial issue, by promising a prize of $10 million to the first one to complete a series of ten tasks, some less threatening than others. James's grandfather is dying from cancer, and only an expensive experimental drug offers hope in Stay in the Game. Ana and her sister are living with wealthy foster parents in a mansion, but they are psychologically, verbally, and physically abused in Beat the Odds. Colin needs to raise money to pay for his sister's transgender surgery in Raise the Stakes. The Benefactor plays each teen against the others and uses their dreams of helping themselves and their families as blackmail. The books create a thrill-seeking sense of impending disaster, and readers will root for the characters as they begin to unite to discover who the Benefactor is and what he/she really intends to do with the information they steal. The series offers a perfect choice for adolescents who struggle to find easy-to-access plots with believable characters. The last two books in the series are Break the Code and Turn the Tables.--VOYA -- Journal (4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM) This second in a series of five novellas following a single storyline focuses on Latina Ana, who is trying to escape her abusive foster father. Ana Rivera and her little sister seem to be lucky: they are the foster children of a wealthy and powerful couple. However, their foster father secretly beats the girls, and Ana has managed to get proof that she hopes will expose him. Her main goal, however, is to escape, and she has saved almost enough money to get away. When she encounters an online contest run by an anonymous 'Benefactor' that promises to pay her $10 million if she can be the first of the contestants to complete 10 tasks, she enters. Her first task makes no sense to her, but she sneaks out of the house and does it. As the tasks become ever more dangerous and clearly criminal, she begins to want out. However, the Benefactor appears to know everything about her and seems somehow to be watching her every move. Now desperate to escape the contest, she approaches the final tasks and meets the other three contestants, hoping that somehow they can regain control of their lives. All the novellas fit together like a well-crafted puzzle, each following a different contestant. Although the storyline clearly leads to a conclusion in the fifth book, the preliminary volumes can be read in any order. Compelling suspense delivered in a small dose.--Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Megan Atwood lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she teaches creative writing at a local college and the Loft Literary Center. She has an M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available