Seventeen-year-old Mallory Rosenbaum and her college tour group have been kidnapped, shot full of nanobots, and forced to play a deadly game called Vermilion all across the Midwest. Mallory's prudish twin sister Davina, a Jewish animal rights activist, must infiltrate an outlaw motorcycle club of Swastika-clad hunters to score an invite to The Game to rescue her sister. Can Davina become an unlikely hero and save Mallory before she's eliminated - and disintegrated - from The Game?
Review: Let me begin this review by noting that I did complete this book and stuck it through to the end; however, I would have really liked to DNF at about 30%.
One in a Vermillion May Live by Jennifer Jaxxon-Louis is a sci-fi thriller with big ideas, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite come together for me. While the book seems aimed at a YA audience, the tone and content send mixed signals...especially with its extremely violent “game” plotline that lands somewhere between Hunger Games and Battle Royale in its brutality.
The story introduces some interesting elements: a game with life-or-death stakes, mysterious tech that can take over your body from the inside, and a world that feels like it could be rich with detail. However, the execution lacked clarity. There’s a lot of tech talk and futuristic jargon, but much of it isn’t well explained. I found myself wishing for more worldbuilding early on to ground the plot and help me understand the stakes.
The main characters, Davina and Mallory, navigate pressure from very robotic (no-puns intended)-feeling parents, and while their Jewish identity is mentioned quite a few times, it didn’t seem to play a meaningful role in the story. The subplot involving Snake, the accident, and a trial felt overcrowded and somewhat rushed, without the seriousness the subject matter might deserve. Especially once Snake and Davina had to pair up to help Mallory. While the seriousness around this collaboration is lacking, there is also a attitude shift from Mallory once the game has started. At the beginning she is this strong, annoyed and biting in attitude dancer with flair, but in the game she is coming to terms with not being #1... that should have had more weight and character development and the plot felt a bit too rushed to really hone in on it.
Additionally, the visuals in the review copy, which looked a lot like clipart-style graphics, felt oddly mismatched to the intense tone of the book. It gave the impression that the story might be geared toward a younger audience, though the content clearly isn't. There were also illustrations of the girls, which I think were fine but again - I am not sure they were needed since the book is supposed to be for older readers.
One logistical issue: accessing the game rules from the PDF review copy wasn’t as easy as suggested, which was frustrating given how essential those rules are to the plot.
Overall, while the premise had potential, the story struggled to deliver a cohesive, compelling experience. Sci-fi thriller fans who enjoy, fast-paced, high-stakes survival plots might still find aspects of interest, but it wasn't a hit for me.
