November 15, 2015
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. (Thriller. 12-18)
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July 1, 2016
To win $10 million from the mysterious Benefactor, four teenagers must complete a series of ten tasks. Questioning the contest or contacting other contestants brings immediate consequence, and, worse, threatens their families, who desperately need the prize money. As the tasks grow increasingly sinister, the contestants work to outsmart the Benefactor. Despite some editing issues, these hi-lo books are nonetheless thrilling page-turners.
(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)