Small Game

A Novel

By: Blair Braverman

Narrated by: Kristen Sieh

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

A gripping debut novel about a survival reality show gone wrong that leaves a group of strangers stranded in the northern wilds

Four strangers and six weeks: this is all that separates Mara from one life-changing payday. She was surprised when reality TV producers came knocking at Primal Instinct—the survival school where she teaches rich clients not to die during a night outdoors—and even more shocked to be cast in their new show, Civilization. Now she just has to live off the land with her fellow survivors for long enough to get the prize money.

Whisked by helicopter to an undisclosed location, Mara meets her teammates: The grizzled outdoorsman. The Eagle Scout. The white-collar professional. And Ashley, the beautiful but inexperienced one who just wants to be famous. Mara’s unusual, rugged childhood has prepared her for the discomforts and hard work ahead. But trusting her fellow survivors? Not part of Mara’s skill set.

When the cast wakes one morning to find something has gone horribly wrong, fear ripples through the group. Are the producers giving them an extra challenge? Or are they wrapped up in something more dangerous? Soon Mara and the others face terrifying decisions as “survival” becomes more than a game.

A provocative exploration of the comforts, rituals, and connections we depend upon, Small Game is a gripping and poignant story about finding the courage to build a new life from the ground up.

©2022 Blair Braverman (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

As a huge fan of Blair...

I genuinely enjoyed the story! Blair Braverman writes from a place of something she knows a lot about it, survival and how scary nature can be. I also love how there is no big mystery, there are no monsters; because life is scary sometimes even in the mundane.

The reason I rate the story 3 stars is because the ending never felt satisfying. The whole book causes the reader to care about the characters, to invest in their dreams and reasonings only to have that go nowhere. I get maybe that's the point, that sometimes (especially with tales of survival) stories don't have a satisfying ending. But this is fiction, I want a some sort of closure.

HOWEVER!!! Blair is an excellent writer and the story is really well crafted. The characters are believable, unlikeable at times, and yet you, as the reader, care for them. You want them to succeed, even if you don't agree with them.

Definitely give this one a listen, the reader is fantastic!

its got what it takes

listened to this straight through. entertaining, enjoyable, and exciting. Felt like I was in the woods with them and had me yearning to be out in the north woods as soon as I can again.

Never really pulled me in. Didn’t connect with any of the characters. Didn’t hate it but didn’t love it.

Never really pulled me in. Didn’t connect with any of the characters. Didn’t hate it but didn’t love it.

Engrossing character in an interesting story.

Characters were interesting and their development and self discovery following the experience of civilization was engaging. The plot had unexpected moments and was well written with nicely rendered insights. I lived entering the wilderness through Maura’s perspective and inhabiting her perception. Ending was rushed and deserved more development.

Ending was a letdown

When the crew left, I was ready for an exciting twist to come -- but it never came. The ending was a real letdown. What really happened to the crew? Did the crew know what happened to the survivors?
I was waiting for some detailed retaliation by the survivors.
Did Ashley and Moira continue any kind of relationship?
Way too many loose ends!

Left me wanting…

I enjoyed the story overall, however, I’m just shallow enough to have wanted more things tied up in a bow at the end. Too many unanswered questions. I felt let down by the ending.

Loved the story, didn’t like the ending

The story is interesting and entertaining. The ending was odd. It was as if the author got tired and just stopped writing. I am surprised the editor didn’t fix this. The ending was abrupt and left too many loose ends.

"Slice of (survival) life" character exploration!

For a book that really wants to dig in on character and exploring a situation, I thought the pacing was great! I finished it in a day. This was clearly more literary than many readers wanted- questions ARE answered but never 100% definitively, the character journey and exploration of survival situations on people are more the point than why precisely things happened or the nitty gritty of resolution, etc- but the book also had a great sense of humor and never lectured its audience. I picked up the book bc I enjoyed Blair Braverman's guest episodes on You're Wrong About but I wasn't sure she would write such a good novel. I'm glad I gave it a chance and I hope she writes more!

Breathtaking Read

I haven’t read a book this breathtaking, heartbreaking, or inspiring in a long while. The way the author paints this story is so vivid and human—I got lost in it. A poignant look at the stubborn goodness of humanity in the beauty and fierceness of nature.

Anticlimactic

There were some makings of a good story here, and some decent character development. Definitely good with suspense however, they never really tied up the story with why they were abandoned there in the first place.