In the mystery book The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the two main characters, sisters, Avery and Libby got a message one day that changed their lives. Avery and Libby Grambs meant everything to each other. Their mom died when they were at a young age and their dad left and never came back, leaving Avery’s half-sister Libby to take care of her. In the beginning of the book, Avery and Libby were not living the best life. They were living in a run down apartment with Libby’s controlling and abusive boyfriend, Drake. One day at school, a boy who turned out to be the grandson of the billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, delivered Avery a letter saying that she was invited to the reading of his will. Avery has never met Tobias Hawthorne before, and was very confused on why she got the letter to come to the will. When Avery and Libby get to the will reading in Texas, they meet Tobias’s whole family. In the beginning of the will reading, Tobias Hawthorne’s six grandchildren only got a couple hundred thousand dollars each while Avery got the rest of his forty six point two billion dollars. The only way Avery can keep the money is by staying at the Hawthorne mansion for a year. Throughout the whole book, Avery and the other jealous grandchildren solve puzzles and mysteries about why Tobias Hawthorne had given Avery all this money, when Avery didn’t even know him.

I really liked this book for three main reasons. The first reason was I liked how the author tied everything back into each other. For example, during the middle of the book when Avery was shot while she was in the forest by an anonymous person with an AR bullet. While suspecting Libby’s ex boyfriend Drake all along, they confirm it by describing his car getting searched and finding the exact same gun used to shoot her. The second reason I liked this book was because of the character development. I liked how the author took her time telling us about each character in the book, and by the end, I felt I really understood the characters.  The last thing I liked about this book is the detail she took explaining the difficulty of Avery and Libby switching lives overnight and becoming rich and famous. It took Avery a while to get used to how to handle the paparazzi and their offensive questions. For example, the paparazzi asked questions like, “Are you and Libby really sisters.” Also, “What happened to your mom?” Avery learned over time how to answer those questions instead of getting angry at them. 

Overall I really enjoyed The Inheritance Games and would recommend it to any teenager who is looking for a good mystery book that has a lot of suspense and surprises. If you are looking for a book with good characters you get to know really well and how the people in this book develop over time, then this is the perfect story for you! I would give this book a 10 out of 10!

Check out Inheritance Games from NBPL!