*Spoiler* A YA "thriller" of the worst sort. It was not very thriller or scary as you would guess from the cover ~ "one deadly weekend". A group of over privileged rich kids who rule the school find entertainment in harassing the loners and outcasts (shocking!) and then invite 3 such students for a weekend of "sport hunting". Apparently these upper class snobs are part of some elite secret cult that hunts children for sport (ok, kind of interesting plot twist) however there are only two deaths cited due to the annual hunts going back decades and just a bunch of traumatized teenagers who never spill the beans on a handful of bullies. The story just never really fulfills any expectation of being scary, thrilling or, in the end, a satisfying tale of good over evil. Its just kind of, meh....

I couldn't even get past the first few chapters. The writing was just not for me. Way too much telling, instead of showing. A HUGE pet peeve of mine.

I was very excited for this. There was some fist-pumping action going on when I got the approval email. But I figured out quickly that this wasn't going to be for me. I made it about a third of the way in before I couldn't read any longer. The biggest problem I had was the voice, with the main character having a penchant for running off into tangents. I also thought the dialogue was laughable when it wasn't supposed to be. I'm sad because I like YA thrillers a lot, and I liked this concept, (and I loved the cover!), but this just didn't work for me at all.

Any story set in a British boarding school automatically grabs my interest, and has done since my childhood reading Enid Blyton and Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. So points for that, to start. And this one, in one of those old (centuries old) schools with incredibly outdated uniforms and traditions, coupled with a fish-out-of-water student's experiences? Ok, let's go!

That's all the good stuff: the descriptions of the school, the students, the traditions, the Heritage That Is England stuff. The plot, and the characters, however, don't quite live up to that. They're predictable and oh so stereotypical, right down to the "plot twist" at the end. Sigh.

When I read the description, I thought of Pretty Little Liars. Students who are thrown together in a bad situation that just keeps on getting worse. Starts out at S.T.A.G.S - St. Aidan the Great School - a very elite boarding school where the perfect students - The Medievals - host a traditional "huntin, shootin, fishin" weekend.. Several unpopular students, Greer, Shafeen and Nel (AKA Channel) are invited to attend. They are constantly bullied at school so they are thrilled, or so we think, to be invited to this elite weekend adventure.

Quick read. Fun, somewhat predictable but a fun read.

Greer MacDonald is an outcast at her fancy boarding school. When the equivalent of the Mean Girls (plus boys) invite her for a weekend of blood sports, she eagerly agrees. What ensues is a mysterious psychological game, as Greer has to decide whether she is predator or prey in this strange world that the popular kids have created.

I'm giving this book 3 1/2 stars. It is definitely gripping; I was dying to know exactly how the Medievals were going to execute their game of torture. I found the ending... problematic. I also found myself thinking that some of it was just too crazy to be believable. Also, Greer's obsession with movies was fine.. until I realized that she was subtly giving away major spoilers to some classic films. Overall, this is an enticing read. It's fun, creepy. but just enough ridiculous to remind me that's YA.

Well I loved this book! One of my favorite kind of YA books are boarding school books. It’s a terrific way to get those pesky parents out of the way! This book was a terrific boarding school mystery with a side of psychological thriller. I only hope there will be a second book.

I love boarding school/secret society type books, so I was all over this one.

I liked Greer well enough. She is a bit wishy-washy, but she’s smart and resourceful and I loved that her dad’s profession gave her some seemingly random information. I didn’t quite see the appeal of Henry or his friends. Their enviable qualities appeared to be wearing whatever tights they wanted and I’m not sure what else.

Plot wise, I loved the idea. I won’t go into detail because possible spoilers, but it had a lot of potential. My main complaint was that I didn’t feel the terror or even the tension I would expect with this type of story.

Overall, it did keep me interested and I loved the epilogue, especially the ending. I’m not sure if this is going to be a series, but I was satisfied when I was finished.

**Hugs thanks to Delacorte Press for providing the arc free of charge**

A thriller that's less of a thriller, although it is a page-turner on the 50% mark.

The only downside to this book is reading the POV of Greer. There's just too much movie references in one book. Then again, I can't help but make a "hurrah!" when I understand the reference.

Pick up this book if you're into books with conspiracy theories, boarding schools, cults, and horrible people reminiscent to some characters from The Secret History. This is certainly a book you don't want to miss. Even if I wouldn't say I loved it, I like it enough to read the sequel if the author decides to write one.

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: This one was full of Young Adult tropes that we have seen again and again.

Check out author's other books or related books? Maybe, it would depend on wither or not the story was something new.

Recommend this book? If you like Young Adult tropes and a thriller with not a lot of thrill check this one out.

Notes and Opinions: I am sad to say that this is one of those books with an amazing cover but a story that falls short of expectations. It had the same story we have heard before. Poor gets scholarship at an amazing school only to find out that not is all as it appears to be. This one says its a thriller but its more of a contemporary with a light thriller feel. The characters were great but the story just fell very flat for me. The setting was the same old same old. It didn't really have a unique feel to it at all and I really wished that this book would have. I wanted to love it so much.

Go Into This One Knowing: Young Adult tropes we have seen over and over and over as well as little thrill in this thriller.

*This book was reviewed by: Lauren

This story is a contemporary twist on Richard Connell’s famous short story “The Most Dangerous Game” set with English private school teens and a twisted ending that will having you tearing your hair out, flopping your mouth like a gasping fish, and wincing as a wrench of both frustration and admiration twist your gut.

Fantastic. That’s all I have to say really. This book was fantastic.

A thriller that will freeze the blood in your veins against a fiercely pounding heart, S.T.A.G.S. whets your appetite before filleting your mind against its cleverly spun trap of prose and guts you with the twist of its conclusion. This is a story that will stick with you for time to come.
-pooled ink

This story was beautifully written and pulled the reader from the first paragraph to the last word. It is a highly suspenseful mystery set in an "old school" boarding school in Northern England where class divisions and social status are very prevalent and important. This is a must read for teens and adults alike.

Such a good book. I loved the concept and the characters. It was suspenseful and I pretty much devoured it.

If you have read much or watch movies and TV much, there are no big surprises in this book other than the fact that the Medievals are content to injure their prey rather than going for the kill in every situation. But just because you know what's going to happen, that doesn't mean it's not a fun ride along the way. There were plenty of times where I gave myself a self-satisfied pat on the back for guessing a plot twist as well as times I shook my head about how oblivious Greer seemed to be. Even after she bonded with the other misfits she was still blinded by the slick ways of the Medievals! It's often interesting to get a glimpse behind the slick mask of an evil person or, in this case, to be unsure if a person truly is evil. Although I wouldn't count this title as a deep, meaningful read, I enjoyed it for what it was and I know that it will not be predictable to my students who haven't been exposed to as many similar stories as I have. A definite winner for teens!

Along the lines of "The Most Dangerous Game" and reminiscent of the Gilmore Girls and the "Life and Death Brigade" this novel is sure to find an audience with teens and young adults. Boarding school novels have been done better and there is nothing really new here, but it is an enjoyable quick read.

I was immediately hooked on S.T.A.G.S and finished in in a few hours. It broke me out of the 'everything I read is boring' mode, and started me back on a reading binge. Completely bliss.

Funky, emo-type Greer MacDonald is sent to extremely prestigious S.T.A.G.S. to be surrounded by wealthy students whose families attended S.T.A.G.S for generations. As an outcast, and without a window to the outside world, Greer is alone until she's invited to a legendary party thrown by an elite group of students.

Of course, nothing is as it seems.

I'm hoping there's a sequel in the works, and I'm definitely going to be looking out for any books by M.A. Bennett.

I enjoyed this one.

Yes, what's really going on is a little too obvious from the start. The minute the Medievals send the invitation only to a certain select group of students, anyone with a brain should have immediately known what was going to happen next.

Yet, obviousness and all, it was still fun to read.

I was rooting for our little trio of outsiders and enjoyed reading about what happened at our little holiday weekend. It was over the top, suspenseful, and fun.

A popcorn read, to be sure. But highly entertaining!

I loved this book. As a middle school teacher, I find it difficult to find “middle grade” novels that I enjoy and would truly recommend to my students. Not only was this book a conversation starter about socioeconomic status and technology, it was genuinely interesting and suspenseful.

This was intensely gripping from start to finish. although the morbid person in me would have liked the 'huntin' shootin' and fishin' to have started much sooner.

My only niggle was...
There were just too many damn movie references. I'd maybe understand it if the book had any relation to movies somehow but it didn't.
Half of the references I didn't understand or referred to films I hadn't seen and so I had to Google them in order for the reference to even have the desired effect which dropped the pace faster than the elevator in Speed.

(see my point)

Not only that but theyll also date the book MASSIVELY overtime.
I probably wouldn't have minded one or two references every few chapters but there seemed to be one on almost every other page and no one should have to rely on references that much to get their point across.

Movie references aside, I thought the book toed the line on some issues but overall the book was darkly enjoyable. Like a wolf prowling around your house, the Medievals were lethal but you couldn't help but let them in anyway.