Lounging on my bed. Covered in blankets of grey and purple. In my hands is a red paperback book. It’s halfway over, and I had only been reading it for a few days. The title had an intriguing ring to it, and I had to pick it up.

The Spite Game by Anna Snoekstra.

What was the game? Is this going to be like Pretty Little Liars?

My eyes drift up to the top of the book where a single sentence was written in small white font.

Getting even is a long game.

I was sold. This was a hard thing for a book to do. I had not read the back of the book yet, but I knew this was going to be an amazing story.

The story is focused on Ava who is mercilessly bullied in high school by a group of three girls—Cass, Mel, and Saanvi. Ava wants to put the past behind her, but something is holding her back. So, she decides that the only way to get rid of the horrid memories is to get revenge.

The genre that I would normally look at in a library or book store would probably be realistic fiction with a touch of adventure: the perfect book recipe for me. The Spite Game, on the other hand, is a psychological thriller which is a genre I have just started getting into. The way Ava’s mind worked through her problems captivated me, and I wanted to know what was going through her mind when she decided that revenge was the best way to go. 

While I was reading, I was unsure if I should like Ava or not. I can see the reasoning behind some of her actions, but other things gave me enormous serial killer vibes. Her story dragged me in; I was a fish on a hook. 

The author, Anna Snoekstra, did a phenomenal job displaying each and every character—especially Ava. Snoekstra did not make Ava just a psychopathic, revengeful enemy, she added dimension and gave her feelings. Ava even felt guilt after some of the things she had done. Snoekstra gave Ava real emotions and showed her struggles; she showed how many times Ava tried to forget about things. The topic of this book is an extremely hard topic to write about, but Snoekstra was able to write a book that played with my emotions, sending me on an emotional roller coaster

The only part that puzzled me a bit was that each part was skipping throughout time. One part of the book would take place during a certain year, then the next part would take place three years in the future. One minute Ava was in high school, and the next minute she was stalking her enemies. 

The Spite Game is a novel that I will bring up anytime anyone asks for a book recommendation along with The Uninvited series, The Silence series, The White Rabbit Chronicles, and so many others. (Yes, I love book series).

Overall, Snoekstra was able to captivate me, start to finish, and that’s why The Spite Game is one of my favorite book series to date.