Crash. (The Game, Book 3). Eve Silver. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books (Distributed in Canada by HarperCollins Canada), 2015. 358 pp., trade pbk., & Ebook, $21.99 (pbk.). ISBN 978-0-06-219219-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-06-219225-7 (Ebook). Grades 7-10 / Ages 12-15. Review by Ann Ketcheson. *** /4

excerpt:

“I’m starting to think I know where this is going, and I’m a hundred percent certain I don’t like it.”

“Because you can’t hear what I think. Not without my permission.”

Or so they claimed when we had this discussion before. They choose not to enter without permission, not to force their way in and steal my thoughts and memories, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t if they tried.

“We require that permission now.”

So Lizzie was right. What else was she right about? My mouth goes dry. “Why? I answered your questions.”

“There may be details that you feel are unimportant or that you have forgotten. We required those details. All of them. We require you to grant us access to see events through your eyes.”

I tap my fingertips against my thigh, beating a rapid tattoo. “And if I don’t want you to do that?”

“Your desires are irrelevant.” I gasp and brace myself, expecting them to just shove their way inside.

“But we would prefer your cooperation. What is it you fear?”

Other than the fact that they are aliens who will know my every thought, that nothing will be private? And the more disturbing possibility that what they find might make them decide to kill me? But I don’t offer those arguments. Instead, I say, “Jackson was in agony when you forced your way inside his brain. I’m not exactly rushing to sign up for the same treatment.”

“Understood. You fear the pain. There is no need. As we have explained before, you need only permit us access and there will be no pain.”

What feels like icy needles poke at my brain, worming deep into my temples and the base of my skull.

“Wait!”

The needles withdraw. “Do you decline us entry?”

I can almost hear Lizzie whispering in my ear, warning me to be careful. “I---” Emotion. Pure emotion. Let it consume me. That’s what Lizzie told me to do. Am I supposed to trust her, a girl who probably isn’t even Lizzie at all, who may well be a Drau hidden under human skin? Or am I supposed to trust the Committee?

Maybe in the beginning I did, but every moment that passes in the game makes me wonder if they have an agenda I know nothing about, one that has little to do with the good of mankind or keeping the Drau from destroying Earth the way they did the Committee’s home planet.

“I didn’t say I’m declining you entry, but what you just did....that hurt. You said it wouldn’t hurt.”

“You must allow us entry and there will be no pain.”

Again they prod at my thoughts. I panic, not knowing what emotion to choose, what will be strong enough, all consuming enough to confuse the Committee. I need to buy myself time to thing. “Fine. Then give me a chance to prepare,” I blurt.

Once again, Eve Silver takes her readers into the shadowy world of the Committee and the Game in this third volume of “The Game” trilogy. However, there are changes in Miki’s world. Something seems to be wrong with the Game. Miki and her team are pulled into missions more often, and she can never shake the feeling that someone, somehow, is always watching her. It may seem extreme, but Miki begins to sense she can never leave The Game, regardless of how many points she may score. The only sure way to get out is simply to die, and that isn’t an option. Meanwhile, the stress in Miki’s real life continues as her dad and her best friend Carly are still in hospital after their car accident. Her dad seems to make some improvements, but Carly remains in a coma. Miki cannot help but wonder if somehow she could have prevented it all from happening.

     Silver’s dystopian world of time travel and mind melds continues, but, if anything, she ramps up the action in this third volume. The worlds of the Game collide, crash as per the title, and then seem to collapse, and, even in this bizarre environment, nothing is as it used to be. The scene of Miki, Jackson and the rest of the team attempting to cross a suspension bridge while under fire from the Drau is just one of the times readers will be on the edge of their seats. Jackson and Miki can often speak with only their minds, and they realize how dangerous it would be to allow The Committee access to their thoughts. By the end of the book, they realize that this ability to communicate only with ideas can be extended to the other teams involved in The Game, and Miki and Jackson make good use of this gift in the final climactic scenes.

     As a main character, Miki grows stronger and braver throughout the series. Not only does she understand herself and her motivations better, but she has more empathy and understanding for those around her as well. This gradual change shows not only in Miki’s involvement with her team and fighting with the Drau but also in her relationship with Jackson. Like any good couple, each one has personal assets, and the sharing of them makes both people better and stronger.

     Thematically, Silver presents an interesting look at the entire question of how differences can be settled among groups of people. Who truly is the enemy? And who has convinced us that we actually have an enemy whom we need to fight? The Drau are not what they seem nor is the Committee, and all of the hints about them from the last books finally come together and make sense in this final volume. Silver brings the Game world and the real world full circle in a finale that is interesting, exciting and satisfying.

Recommended.

Ann Ketcheson, a retired teacher-librarian and high school teacher of English and French, lives in Ottawa, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

CM Home | Next Review | Table of Contents for This Issue - February 27, 2015 | Back Issues | Search | CM Archive | Profiles Archive