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.

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 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.

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.