This captivating dystopian YA surprised me with how captivating it was. Using a unique narrative voice, Nicky Singer tells a story of resilience and hope against all odds. Atmospheric and haunting, I simply couldn’t put this book down. An uncomfortable and tragic tale which manages to relay the harrowing events without being overly graphic.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this powerful and important story.

Sadly I had to finish reading this book at around 20% ish. I found there was little to inspire me with the story, moving very slowly. The character of Mhairi showed little personality for me. I wasn't able to engage with or enjoy the story, especially the continued references to CASTLE in the copy with no explanation as to what this was.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Well I have to say for the first time ever I have ever read a book without understanding a word of what was going on. The chapters were so short that they jumped around a lot and I couldn’t keep up. I know it was a dystopian book but it didn’t make sense and about all I could figure out was that the main character was trying to get back to her grandmother in Scotland with a little boy and it wasn’t going well.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A really good book, if a bit chilling. Well written, and a good idea, but I was slightly surprised that it is a children's book! Perhaps only the more mature children?
The ideas were good, the execution also. I was slightly surprised at the ending - I don't want to say too much as I hate spoilers but I thought that other island would have been a good option that could have been suggested by the fisherman? I can't say that this was the favourite ending of the books I have read recently, but that seems like a rather picky comment so I haven't let it reduce the number of stars.

I mean who wouldn't love a sci-fi book, with a blurb like this one had I was really excited to read it. However it just fell short for me to be honest. It was a fantasy ya read that followed Mhairi Anne Bain - she only has a gun which has no bullets and identity papers - we already know this isn't going to end well. This is a dystopian fantasy read and to be honest I wasn't really enjoying it. I suffered through and managed to finish but honestly I can't remember much else about the book.

Great read. Suitable for children and adults alike. Kept me reading and would highly recommend. Important read.

I could not get into this novel and could not finish it. The story will appeal to fans of dystopian fiction and a younger readership.

The author's style is quite repetitive and she refers to 'castle', which is the place in the protagonist's mind where she keeps her worst experiences locked away. It's frustrating and I couldn't finish it or get beyond this. I'm sure it's powerful and as a mental coping strategy it's brilliant but to read it is draining.

The Survival Game is set in a dystopian future where our heroine, Mhairi embarks on a perilous journey home, back to the Isle of Arran. Both plausible and prophetic, Nicky Singer has created a fast paced and ultimately heartbreaking story. Highly recommended for all teenagers and YA fans.

A tough book to get into, but the payoff more than makes up for it. The premise is amazing and the writing style is wonderfully different.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

I loved this book. It follows the story of Mhari trying to find her way back to Scotland in a post apocalyptical world. Accompanied by a mute boy the book flashes back to the events that led her to being alone.

Vividly descriptive and uncomfortably enjoyable, I would definitely recommend.

What a fantastic read and an excellent example of what YA can, and should, be. The story starts in media res with timely flashbacks to the salient events that came before but it's not that part of the story that is most important - it's how the journey ends. The characters are excellently drawn - the hard nosed, driven, grimly determined MC and the little mute boy who changes everything are particularly impressive. With unsentimental messages about the notions of home, belonging and family, this is a powerful and moving novel with a heart breaking (but perfect) ending. It elicited genuine emotion from this stone hearted cynic rather than the cheap teenager-centric "feels" of certain lesser YA works. Great stuff.

This was a brilliantly original YA speculative fiction/apocalyptic YA read.
It was fast paced and terrifying yet with sprinklings of love and hope. This would make a great read for any youngsters looking to get into Spec-Fic or looking for something along the dystopian lines of The Hunger Games.

Despite giving a bleak vision of the future, this was beautifully written, with an engaging main character, I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book.

Mhairi Anne Bain lives in a future where the world is divided.
Mhairi is travelling back to Scotland alone when she meets a young, mute boy. She finds herself travelling north with him, risking breaking the law.
But the Scotland Mhairi knew has changed and, despite being home, survival might be harder than she expected.
Do Mhairi and the boy have a future in Scotland?

The Survival Game portrays a bleak future where the world is divided and isolated due to climate change and over-population.
Mhairi was an interesting protagonist. She had been through a lot and travelled a long way to get back home.
The setting was thought-provoking and scarily realistic - it's easy to imagine a future where countries are fractured and so isolated.
The plot was good but didn't grip me.
The writing style wasn't one of my favourites but it was easy to follow and unique.
The ending will definitely stick with me for a long time.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

DNF-25%
While I am sure this for some will be a worth-while endeavour The Survival Game is just not something I have been able to get into.
If it was just a case of me not being invested in the plot yet I would plod on here but I am finding the very abrupt style of writing hard to adjust to.
On top of that, the chapters themselves are really short and though the original premise is something I was intrigued by I just can't get over my disconnect with the writing style.
I also really wasn't a fan of the whole castle reference: I understood what Mhairi was doing with the whole separation and boxing away from all of her trauma: so it was an actual separate entity, apart even.
I just found it a bit weird as I didn't comprehend straight away what she was actually doing so was a trifle bemused originally.
There are plenty of glowing reviews here for this so just because this wasn't my bag isn't to say it won't be yours.
As I didn't finish I naturally won't be rating this particular title. on Goodreads
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of The Survival Game.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

In a world full of checkpoints and controls, can love and hope defy the borders? A searing, timely story, as arresting as it is beautiful.

Imagine a world ...

Where there are too many people on a too-hot earth and your only chance of salvation is to journey north.

Where you must prove yourself worthy of existence at every turn, at every checkpoint.

Where your instincts become your most powerful weapon - even more than the gun in your pocket.

Where you find out what it takes to survive.

An extraordinary story about survival and what it costs, about the power of small kindnesses to change everything

I was truly taken by surprise with this book.
Mhairi is just a young girl trying to survive in a bleak, dystopian future, she has been forced to see things nobody should have to endure and has hardened her emotions to get by.
When her journey crosses paths with a little boy who doesn’t speak, Mhairi’s world inevitable changes.
The characters in this novel are strong and likeable, you can’t help but feel their pain.
The depressing setting is atmospheric and almost hopeless in a claustrophobic way, it is something you can see happening in a bad futuristic world, if things continue as they are.
The plot is riveting, original and medium paced, never slow, always keeping me eager to turn the page, and the ending, oh the ending!
Be prepared for tears!

A beautiful haunting dystopian, with a climate change element that keeps the page turning.
I throughly enjoyed this book it was a beautiful story about relationship between two people and how they survive.