Thanks, SimonTeen, for the arc!

By 31% we only know who is taking part in the tournament, but it hasn’t started yet. It’s only been in the three main girls' heads and their infighting in school, which is entertaining, but I expected, with it being the title, to be more of the book. I also think that a school for wealthy girls has a skills class that teaches them how to catch, kill, and skin prey for survival. It is descriptive in the class chapter (I skipped it) and going to come up later in the tournament because the sixth event is the Hunt and Preparing Prey, which they “go out into the fields to shoot wild rabbits that are forever multiplying, see how many you can bag within the time limit; then the following day, skin, butcher, and prepare your catch.” It just seems unnecessary animal cruelty in the book. I know hunting is necessary, but these wealthy girls are not going to be hunting, so it just seems odd to me. And I’m not that attached to the characters or storyline that reading more of this book entices me.

It has a good premise, but lacks execution.

I appreciated the sapphic representation, which makes me sad that it wasn’t a good read.

The story for this one just wasn’t my style. The more thrillers I read, the more I realize I’m quite picky about which ones I prefer and unfortunately this one didn’t make the cut for me. If you are a thriller fan though you will probably really enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this---it was a thrilling ride that kept me hooked until the last page. I also really enjoyed the way this was written, it was accessible and well-plotted. While the concept for the novel wasn't wholly unique, it was quite well done. I haven't read anything else by this author that I know of, but I am interested in checking out the other things the author has penned.

I was so excited to open The Tournament by Rebecca Barrow.
I’ve enjoyed her previous titles and this was no different.
A thrilling YA dark academia that kept me intrigued till the last page.
This book will keep you flipping those pages to the very end! Written amazingly and awesome detail and characterization. Kept me entertained through the whole story. It was so interesting I couldn't put it down. I read the book in one day.

A love triangle and a boarding school competition both take a wildly dark turn in this YA story featuring three queer teens.

This book was fairly slow-paced and full of character drama building the dynamics between Max, Nora, and Teddy. Max, a scholarship student desperate to prove herself. Nora, Max's former best friend who confessed to being in love with Max. Teddy, the new girl who has an unmatched darkness inside her.

Once the competition finally started, I was more invested, but then it was mostly glossed over. I spent the entire book being keyed up for the thriller aspect, but it didn't show up until almost the end. I actually enjoyed the way this ended, even though it wasn't exactly plausible. The messy Sapphics were so messy throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a ruthless dark academia. Premise of ambition + obsession + the terrifying cost of survival.

Thanks for the early read.

Dang, this was some YA mystery! I read it in like 1 day because I was so engrossed in this, let's face it, nasty story. The girls in this book were underhanded, devious, and I've rarely had such fun reading a mystery. I can't wait to see what the teens in my library think of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Hmmmm I’m not 100% sure what I felt about this one. Maybe 3.5 stars? And Don’t Look Back was one of my favorite books for 2023. I was so excited this author had another book coming out. While I love a good messy mean girl book, this one felt like it was missing something. We get a revolving POV between 3 girls. Max, Teddy, and Nora. Max and Nora have been best friends for years and their friendship has gone sour since Nora confessed her love for Max. Teddy is the new girl who has been suspended from multiple different schools and worms her way into the dynamic between Max and Nora. In the background there is a competition the school puts on every year for seniors where they must use their skills and survival training to prove they are the best of the best.

I felt like a lot of this book just didn’t matter because of the ending. Like what was the point of it? I kept wanting to figure out who I liked but honestly all 3 of the girls were just awful. One was worse than the others, but the other 2 weren’t great. Maybe Nora was the only one I felt really bad for. I didn’t like the way Max’s character ended up. Like it felt so flat. And while I saw a lot of people didn’t like the ending, I can really say that it was a wtf moment. I did want more coverage of the Tourney because it’s the main plot point of the book but was sidelined for friendship/relationship drama. After that the book went a wild different way.

I do enjoy this author’s writing even if this wasn’t my favorite book by her. This was an interesting read despite the randomness and flatness in some aspects of it. I’ll be looking for more books by her in the future!!

3.5
The Tournament follows three girls who attend an elite boarding school, Gardner, founded on the concept of teaching girls the skills they need for survival. Every year, the school hosts the Tournament, a competition in which students are to participate in a series of events to show that they’re capable of surviving out in the world. However this year, things start to get messy.

My favorite part of this book was how the students viewed the school. Nothing outside of Gardner mattered to the girls, making the Tournament a truly competitive experience. I also thought the dynamic between the girls was very interesting, especially Max and Nora. I do have two complaints about this book though, the first being that it didn’t feel as though it was marketed properly. When I first read the description, I thought Gardner would be a lot more demanding than it actually was. In reality, it felt a little bit more like if the Girl Scouts founded a boarding school, (Coming from someone who was one). I also felt as though half of this book was filler, just meant to create more tension between the characters. I did like the ending of this book. It felt like it came out of nowhere, but it was also so brilliantly hinted throughout the story.

I was pretty disappointed when I finished this book. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. Just based off of the title and synopsis, I thought I would be getting a lot of competition and tournament coverage between the girls. However, I was utterly disappointed when that wasn't the case. I was left feeling bored and disconnected from the friend group. I don't even know if the book knew what it was trying to portray when it came to focusing solely on the competition or friendship dynamics.

The story is told from multiple POV's which I didn't think was necessary, in my opinion. I think we should have focused on one character and dove deeper into their background. It was difficult to relate to some of the characters because they didn't feel "complete." They lacked certain characteristics that made them likeable or relatable and it left me, as a reader, not really caring for them. But, maybe that was the point?

The only character I could really connect to and had some substance to them was Max. She was pretty relatable and felt like a really thought-out character. For the others, I can't really say the same.

The ending was a little unexpected and I honestly felt a little annoyed by it. It left the book with so many unanswered questions and plenty of plotholes. I was hoping for a lot more, and unfortunately did not get that.

Rebecca Barrow’s “The Tournament” is a YA psychological thriller that takes place in an academic setting.

Trials and games? Boarding School? LGBTQ representation? Twists and turns? Yes! Yes! Yes!

I really enjoyed the characters and how Barrow teased out their personalities and lives. It felt a lot like I was in high school with them, getting to know them as they grew in both friendship and maturity.

I loved the ending, I did not see it coming and the plot was wrapped up really well. It will be staying with me for a little while.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes a villain story, morally grey characters, and YA drama.

Thank you @simonteen #partner for the gifted copy of this ebook.

Dark academia with a bunch of kids who’ve been kicked out of other schools? You know the drama is about to be next level — and this one definitely delivered. Add in some deadly games and survival skills no regular boarding school teaches, and you’ve got a wild ride.

I’m always down for a story with high-stakes games, and The Tournament delivered plenty of twists and chaos. I loved how Rebecca Barrow made each character distinct — some I rooted for, some seriously got on my nerves, but honestly, that’s half the fun in a book like this. Everyone’s messy, desperate, and making terrible decisions because, well… desperate times, desperate measures.

The author did a great job showing how the consequences of those choices came crashing down on everyone by the end. It’s intense, dramatic, and totally bingeable.

Heads up though — if you’re sensitive to animal death, this might not be the one for you. But otherwise, if you’re into cutthroat games, morally questionable characters, and dark boarding school vibes, go ahead and add this one to your TBR.

First of all, the way this book was described was pretty far off from the actual book. I’m not sure why this seems to be happening more and more lately, but please, publishers, can we be more truthful about what the book is actually about??
This is a love triangle between three high school senior girls at a fancy prep boarding school. It is told from the three girls points of view, however the only one who really has much substance and connection to the reader is Max. Bad girl Teddy is all over the place with her characterization–good girl, bad girl, which is it?--and Nora just comes across as a follower without a backbone. The Tournament, which is very much a side story in this plot, is a series of survival skill tests that seven lucky seniors get to take part in. Almost all events take place before there is any real drama in the Tournament (plenty of other drama however) and then no one dies until right at the end. Ultimately I think this would have been a better read if I hadn’t expected something different. Give to high school students who are into prep school girl-girl romance.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3 due to the crazy ending.

This was another excellent YA thriller from a writer whose work I really enjoy. This takes competitiveness to the next level with messy interpersonal relationships and a focus on toxic friendships.

*Thank you to Simon Teen and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I really wanted to like this book. It just didn't know what it wanted to be. The tournament and its rounds were captivating and I enjoyed the sapphic romance arcs throughout. However, it just got messy (and not in the fun way) after about 70% and lost the plot. The ending was a huge letdown, but also had little to no foreshadowing... Maybe I'm not the target audience, but ugh.

“You liked that I loved you and you liked that you could withhold your love from me because then that made you better than me, in some way.”

Thank you Simonteen for an earc!!

Okay wow, so much happened in this book and I honestly left with trust issues.

The Tournament follows three girls, Teddy, Nora and Max. And they all attend a private girls school that hosts a tournament for seniors that tests all their skills.

I went in quite blind to this book and I honestly recommend that. It’s dark, gritty and really highlights the toxic nature of jealousy.
The writing is immersive and each character is as unique as they are awful. Everyone wants to be the best and be seen as such and will go to any lengths to do that.

Overall, this was an incredible book that I really enjoyed. The ending had my jaw on the floor and it honestly left me quite mad, but I believe that was the intention.

the book had some suspense but the suspense kinda faltered at a few points, as the book meandered. it got back together well for the ending, but that didn't help it that much. 3 stars. tysm for the arc.

I am such a sucker for boarding school competitions! I loved the multiple POVs and how each chapter ended at JUST the right time where I needed to know more from that person specifically. Fast-paced and suspenseful with And Then There Were None vibes, this is a must for any dark academia thriller fan.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t capture my interest enough to want to finish. DNF at 36%

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

the tournament was such a fun twisty read. i love this dark academia setting and the school this takes place in. it felt so mysterious and made me want to keep reading to learn more about it. i loved the games in this, it was so cut throat that kept me turning page after page. i also had such a love hate relationship with these characters but in a really good way! this was thrilling, emotional, dark, & twisty and such a fun read that i really recommend.