The Escape Game (Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss, Penguin)

The Escape Game is the new, immediately captivating YA mystery by Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Renegades) and Tamara Moss (Lintang and the Pirate Queen), set in the world of reality television, where teens solve escape-room riddles for a cash prize. After Season 4 ended with the murder of a star contestant, Team Helsing – Sierra, Carter, Beck and Adi – enter Season 5 as underdogs, only to find themselves moving from deciphering codes to landing in the crosshairs of a murderer. A suspicious Game Master host, along with his Aussie surfer-boy sidekick, rounds out a cast of questionable characters, throwing out red herrings and layers of subterfuge that will leave readers with emotional whiplash while remaining completely riveted. Meyer and Moss have created an absorbing, propulsive read, with narration shared between the four central characters that feels authentic and fully realised. Their distinct voices are strong, each shaped by quirks and insecurities that drive the story towards an energetic denouement. Exceptional gender and cultural representation will appeal to a wide range of teenagers, though the propensity to describe body shapes felt unnecessary and anachronistic. While the novel sensitively touches on grooming, unreliable adults, trauma, and socioeconomic struggles, it ultimately reassures readers that every dork, outcast, or misfit will find their people. This highly entertaining romp will suit readers aged 13 and older, particularly those who loved Amy Doak’s wonderful Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Marissa Kyriakopoulos lives in Naarm and is an osteopath, bookseller and reviewer. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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