Greed and the cruelty of human nature mixes with emotions, survival, and the fragile balance called friendship to create a gripping read.

Eden just wants to have an exciting time during her last years of high school and party with her friends...and avoid the losers. When a chance to win a million dollars each through a contest among groups at schools hits, she's on board to apply, and when the group at her school wins, she doesn't even have a chance to digest the moment before she's shipped off to the area, where she's to live for a year in order to maintain her million bucks. It should be a piece of cake, but after one load of food and water, the participants are on their own...something she didn't know. Soon, it becomes clear that this isn't going to be the vacation her and her friends dreamed about, but rather, a survival game, and everyone has their eye on increasing their own pot of cash by taking from the others. Plus, there's one more rule Eden wasn't aware of before she agreed to enter the contest; there's only one exit before the end of the year, and that is death.

Hunger Games kind of is a nod in this direction, but unlike that read, this one deals with the basic desire of greed, betrayal, and selfishness. There doesn't have to be one winner; all could win. It makes the story cut like a sharp knife at humanity and illustrates the disgusting mess of selfish desires inside. The tale is raw, hits quite a few themes, and leaves no one unscarred. Add brutal deaths...not overly gory...with a lack of compassion, and it's not a light read.

Eden is hard to like, especially in the beginning, and she's an unusual heroine in that she keeps many of her sharp corners until the very end. Her view of others versus herself walks as thin a line as those around her, and yet, she does gain enough insight and understanding to make her not impossible to root for. As the first book in the series, this is building up an interesting character arc, which promises to carry an unique twist throughout the series.

Fans of gritty reads, which expose the worst side of humanity and bring tons of food for thought, will enjoy this one. The pacing is fast, keeping every flip of the page engaging and never lets up, even at the end. I did enjoy this one quite a bit and will be looking forward to grabbing up book two.
I received a complimentary copy and was surprised how grabbing this tale is. ( )