The Inheritance Games

By: Prisha

1st year, Economics Hons.

Design: Ragini

I distinctly remember the day I picked up this book, it was a February morning and I had been eagerly waiting for my exams to be over so I could dive in. I am oh so glad I waited because there was no way I could have focused on studying if I had read it before.

That day, my expectations for future books changed forever as I found one of my all-time favourites– ‘The Inheritance Games’ by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. A book so full of mystery and tension that I finished it in one sitting.

We follow the main character, Avery Kylie Grambs, a 16-year-old girl trying to survive high school after her mother’s tragic death. She had a plan to get through school, it was quite simple actually– win a scholarship and get out. But her future changed in a matter of seconds when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne died and left Avery virtually his entire fortune (a whopping 46.2 billion dollars), making her the youngest billionaire in the world.

“He left you the fortune, Avery, and all he left us is you.”

Seemed like Avery had won the lottery. The catch, though? Avery had no idea who Tobias Hawthorne was or why he would do this, and to receive her inheritance, Avery had to live in the Hawthorne House for a year. The same Hawthorne House that was still occupied by the late Tobias Hawthorne’s four grandsons and two daughters, who expected to receive the fortune Avery did. Surely that wouldn’t leave one in anger and with a need for revenge, right?

“Sometimes things that appear very different on the surface are actually exactly the same

at their core.”

We see Avery trying to navigate her way through this unexpected turn of events in her life and solving a series of riddles and puzzles to find out the real reason behind everything, leading to her discovering more about herself than she ever thought possible.

This book is perfect for those who, like me, eat up books with mystery, suspense, secrets all around and just the right amount of romance. The author delves into the complexity of life, as seen in all the traps, puzzles and riddles that Avery faces. Filling Avery’s life with literal and figurative mystery due to all the mind games and the actual secret passages and mazes in the Hawthorne House.

“Traps upon traps, and riddles upon riddles.”

Avery goes from living in her car to a world that is the epitome of the old money aesthetic (and the danger associated with it). The Hawthornes, being one of the richest families in the US, could afford anything and everything but when Avery inherits their money, she also attains the power and connections of the family. She witnesses the allure of money and power, and the Hawthornes’ struggle to cope with their lack thereof because as Jameson Hawthorne said, “As awful as it sounds, money is power, and power is magnetic.”

This book is a rollercoaster of events, and truly a dream for anyone who adores dark academia, a romance compared to a lovely fire, secret doors everywhere and old money family drama. “Everything’s a game, Avery Grambs. The only thing we get to decide in this life is if we play to win.” What do you think? Who would play to win in the game of reading this book? A healthy sleep schedule or “just one more chapter?”