Game of Mass Destruction by Chloe Gilholy

There were elements mentioned: she didn’t like violence, she loves Sakura, she loves her “Aunt Kiki” – a robot, and she has a son who wasn’t mentioned much. Even the protagonist, Yuzuko, is only glanced at briefly. With such a large, named cast, we don’t have time to really get to know the characters. Yet, while the pace of the story lent itself to the game, making each seen move with the anxiety and intensity of an adrenaline-fueled game, it falls the characters short. Characters tried to rationalize what she did, but the reality is simple: Sia Bucks is evil for the sake of it, and it is fun to watch! Each time she appeared, I reveled in her chaotic evil and melodramatic diatribes. A unique villain with curly purple hair and a lust for chaos, she commands the story. Sia Bucks makes the game even more fascinating. This in itself is the beauty of the novel: Gilholy writes it in such away that you keep reading, even as the bodies pile up, just as what would happen if the Game was broadcasted on national television. It is almost impossible to look away as the players succumb to violence and desire, racking up points as they destroy the robots. With a diverse and large cast of twenty characters, used as Sia Bucks’s pawns in the Game of Mass Destruction, Chloe Gilholy draws us into an addictive world of violence reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Battle Royale. But can knowing that stop the game for good? She soon discovers her family history is more entwined with the game than she ever imagined. When Yuzuko and her partner, Sakura, are nominated, her entire world is turned upside. The goal is simple: kill robots or be faced with certain death. Every year, twenty contestants are “nominated” for the popular television show, Game of Mass Destruction.

Game of Mass Destruction by Chloe Gilholy