I really enjoyed The Competition, was hooked from the beginning. The characters are well developed, the setting is well written and overall is was a very enjoyable read.
The deep connection the author was able to make between the characters and the readers through trauma is amazing, something I can't really say I see very often. I was happily surprised.

Such a food surprise. The competition aspect of the book is excellent and the diversity of the characters and their backstories were all very enthralling. I loved the friendship, the romantic parts and how heartwarming it all felt.

The competition wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. I loved the idea of the story, the group of teenagers who are taking part in a writing competition! Loved that part too, and I actually really enjoyed reading about the characters.

I struggled throughout the book because we follow 4 of the characters and there were parts where it got confusing and I had no idea who we were following for a couple of paragraphs. I wish that we could have focused on maybe just 2 of the MCs because I feel like that would have worked a little bit better! But even though it was a little confusing I kept reading because I did want to know how everything ended!

Overall I enjoyed reading The Competition and it was definitely a character driven book rather than plot driven. I gave it 3/5 stars.

And huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an ecopy to read in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked this story. I voluntarily reviewed an Reader Copy of this book which I received through
Netgalley.

A book about a writing competition would engage all writers out there, right? Unfortunately, the plot didn't hold my interest. Starting with the poor and rich students (Jada and Mary Sofia), and the boy (Michael) who looked at Mary Sofia differently on the bus (is romance coming already), and the typical "I don't care how he looks at me" line... It is all too bland and predictable.

And why is a rich girl (Jada) competing for a full scholarship, anyway, thus robbing the poor student (Mary Sofia) of the opportunity? Obviously, Mary Sofia is a much better writer and there is no way that the author is going to give the scholarship to a rich girl, but still...

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.

The cover almost sent me out of the application page, and I should have let it...
I'm not a religious person, in the traditional sense so when something like 'allegiance to the catholic school' is something important to the protagonist, it makes it hard for me to connect.
Well written and great character growth, just not the title for me.

The Competition was well written and Cecily Wolfe did a wonderful job juggling multiple POVs. I know it is a struggle (lord knows I can't do it) and you have to give huge props for that.

A group of teenagers meet to compete in a writing competition for free tuition. Each person has to struggle with their own issues during the writing exercises. The make friendships and solve a mystery. Interesting read, very predictable towards the end. The mystery felt rushed and out of place.

Thank you net galley for the advance read copy of this novel. This was a contemporary YA novel that centers on four teens in a writing competition to earn a scholarship for college. I liked the twist of cheating in this as it have a needed boost at that point in the novel. The four main characters each have a different background that comes out in the experience of the writing competition. I found the story a bit hard to follow with the author's layout. It would have been easier if each chapter would have been told by one person. I liked how the author resolved the cheating issue.

Amazing book about how many overcome many obstacles to achieve what they want life. Wonderful story.

I really liked this book, it's incredibly diverse, written well, and handles multiple POVs very well. The only issue I had was that we didn't get to see any of the student's writing.

I did not like this book. The only reason I finished it is because it was an ARC and I didn't want to leave anyone hanging with a DNF review.

  The Competition is about a writing competition, and four of the students taking part in it. Each student has a different reason for wanting to win, and it doesn't involve the scholarship prize.

  I was excited to read a book about a writing competition. It was an idea I don't think I've heard before. But I just couldn't get into the book. It wasn't a very exciting book, and the writing didn't flow very well. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book, but this book was not for me.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Dangerous Hope Productions for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is a story about four high school students who are competing in a writing competition where the grand prize is a full ride college scholarship. All four are from different walks of life and have secrets that are hidden and are coming to light during their writings. Nerves are running high when they struggle between wanting to win and knowing if they do that their story will be read to every student in the competition.

This was a great story for teens or just anyone who have difficult situations to overcome. I liked how the contestants did not give up and to laid everything out there. I was really rooting for all four of the contestants because they all deserved to win. This story takes a major twist towards the end that changes the whole dynamic of the story. This was a well written story and a clean read. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Choppy, often confusing story. The plot is boring. Just didn’t catch my attention. Won’t read a book by this author again.

Honestly, it was a bit slow. Theres not a whole lot of action, so don’t go into the story expecting any. This book revolves around a handful of students who are attending a large writing competition. The piece jumps between viewpoints of the students. There are so many characters, if you take to long between readings, you will be confused who is who.
Also the dialogue is sometimes very difficult to understand who is speaking... and I dont mean just with Julia. Im not sure it maybe my copy had extra line breaks that made it seem as if the character speaking had changed.
All in all, not a great book but a nice little distraction.

What a unique book. It tracks four high school students, and their friends, as they engage in a writing competition that awards college scholarships. The author introduces the characters as they are traveling to the college campus where the competition will take place, so the reader essentially gets to take the whole journey with the characters. This works so much better than just plopping them down in the middle of everything and trying to play catch up with their backstories. Each of the four mains (Mary Sofia, Camara, Michael, and Raiden) have their own reasons for wanting to excel, and this is where the author herself excels. While some may consider them to be stereotypical, I felt that the author did a good job of differentiating them. The secondary characters are memorable as well. The author also perfectly captured the atmosphere of such a competition. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, but I very much enjoyed taking the journey with the characters regardless. I also would like to give special appreciation for the homeschooling shout out; I particularly loved those moments. A solid 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Dangerous Hope Productions, and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I did enjoy the last 20% of this book, nothing happened in it. The writing was clunky, the characters were... fine. But I didn't care about any of them and I had no interest in finding out what the outcome was. Something sort of interesting happened towards the end but it wasn't explored properly. The only reason I liked the book was because of the idea of a writing competition. It was more of a character study, I feel like, but the problem was that none of the characters were interesting.

The Competition by Cecily Wolfe is a very well written young adult novel. The story had solid characters with intriguing backgrounds and histories to reveal as The Competition unfolded. The characters are engaging and have depth and storylines that readers may be able to identify with on some level. As the story unfolds, you can't help but read faster, and you want to see what happens because there is an intense buildup of the action involving the writing competition, the characters and forming friendships, and their personal stories. Cecily Wolfe does an excellent job of capturing and revealing the lengths some will go to get back at people, and also the tenderness of being friends. There are several instances where there is exposition (head-talking), but it's written well and passionately as if you are sitting there with the character having a conversation.

At times the story can get confusing on who is talking as there is some head-hopping between characters and there are not enough dialogue tags to signal which one is talking, but overall this is a great young adult book that transcends all ages. I liked the ending also, and it did really need that epilogue.

A good solid novel and one I would recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.