By Joelle Wellington, Simon and Schuster, 2023
Joelle Wellington grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where her childhood was spent wandering the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Her love of the written word led her to a B.A. in Creative Writing and International Studies. Wellington is the author of Their Vicious Games and The Blonde Dies First. Their Vicious Games is her first book.
Wellington’s debut novel introduces the reader to protagonist Adina Walker, a scholarship student who is smart, tenacious, and one of the few Black girls at her prestigious private high school, Edgewater Academy. Though she runs with the popular crowd, she doesn’t quite fit in with the uber-white-and rich upper echelon. Nonetheless, Adina’s future looks bright with an early acceptance to Yale—until everything falls apart.
After a run-in with Esme, the most popular—and vicious—girl of all, Adina’s “outsider” status becomes painfully clear. Ostracized and isolated, no longer a member of the in-crowd, Adina must rely on her intelligence to escape an inescapable situation.
Desperate to change her fate, Adina seeks to remedy the implosion of her dreams through the Finish, a mysterious challenge that promises participants all that they desire, and more. A time-honored tradition hosted by one of the most powerful families in New England, the Remingtons, the Finish is an invite-only experience that guarantees success—if you win.
What Adina doesn’t know is that an opportunity of a lifetime comes with a steep price to pay, and a shot at her future may be something far more sinister than she could have ever imagined.
Without being heavy-handed or preachy, Their Vicious Games asks vital questions of a post-modern capitalist society: How far would you go to achieve your goals? What is the price we pay when we valorize wealth?
A takedown of class, racism, and the elite, Wellington’s debut is a suspenseful thriller where nothing is as it seems. Taking the reader deep into the underbelly of the upper class, the story is full of twists and turns, jump scares, and surprises that the reader won’t see coming.
What works: Wellington’s exploration of privilege and power is inventive, suspenseful, and thoroughly entertaining. Adina is given the space to be imperfect yet powerful, flawed and human.
What doesn’t work: While full of surprises and intrigue, there are moments within the plot that feel a bit longer than necessary, especially amidst the scenes of edge-of-your-seat suspense and quick pacing. At a little over 400 pages, some of the scenes could have been cut.
Pass It OR Grab It? Grab it! A deviously thrilling ride, Their Vicious Games is best for public library collections. Recommended for readers who enjoyed Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide and Out of Body by Nia Davenport.
Content Warning: Strong language and violence.
Black Cotton Reviewers 