An inheritance at stake
An inheritance at stake —The Inheritance Games— is the first novel in the eponymous saga for young adults written by American author Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The work was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on September 1, 2020, and has enjoyed great commercial success ever since. In addition, the title has received outstanding reviews from portals such as Kirkus Reviews or Publishers Weekly.
In 2021, An inheritance at stake was nominated for the Edgar Award for Young Adults, and won the Teen Buckeye Book Award the same year.. The Molino publishing house was in charge of its publication in Spanish. Since its launch, it has been one of the literary titles with the most reviews on platforms such as booktok, a network that has been extremely important in making the novel known in foreign countries, where it has been enthusiastically received by the reading public.
Synopsis of An inheritance at stake
an unusual decision
The old man Tobias Hawthorn, an eccentric magnate and head of a powerful family, has died. The man has left a will what happens to be the center of the intrigues that give rise to the plot. The document is accompanied by several letters with enigmas that must be solved by the beneficiaries - his two daughters, his four grandchildren and the bone of contention - if they wish to be part of the fortune of the deceased.
for relatives —characters whose behaviors leave much to be desired— there is something more terrible than the death of Tobias, a fact that disturbs them and triggers chaos: the grandfather left -theoretically- almost all his fortune to a stranger.
A stranger who is clear with what she wants
The potential future major heiress of the Hawthorn estate turns out to be a young woman named Avery Kylie Grambs. She is a very intelligent girl who likes to play poker, provide food to the homeless and sleep in her car to avoid at all costs the jerk of her unstable sister's boyfriend. Avery works very hard to build a future for himself, trying to fulfill her work and college duties at the same time.
Her whole life changes when she finds out that she was chosen as the top heir. Although she doesn't know why she has been chosen, she is willing to solve the enigmas imposed by the elderly and deceased Tobias Hawthorn in order to establish herself as the owner of most of the fortune.
Avery is clear: she will play it all because the money not only would ensure his future closer, but it would open other paths that will bring you peace of mind. However, to her misfortune, when she is forced to move into the mansion where the secrets live—and meets the other beneficiaries—she will understand that everything is not as easy as she thinks.
A house full of weird people
The first that Avery finds after his arrival at the Hawthorn house is the family of the deceased. It is worth saying that these are very strange people, and that, beforehand, they do not have good intentions with the person responsible for the possible economic decline of the current members of the clan.
The protagonist is an intruder, and they need to know who she is, where she came from, and why her grandfather chose her as his heir. However, the arrival of Avery is not the most complicated.
The will is a puzzle
During the reading of Tobias's will, both Avery and the Hawthorn family realize that the letters are a puzzle. They are a puzzle that they must solve if they want to obtain the grandfather's fortune.
That is to say: the old man did not leave his money set for one of them, but will make them compete for it. The one who is able to solve all the puzzles will get everything, the rest will leave with nothing: that's the deal.
From then on, a game full of mysteries and dangers begins, because sometimes they will have to work together. But, in reality, they cannot trust each other. An inheritance at stake is precisely that: the story of seven intelligent people who participate in a random competition where they don't know very well how things are going to end.
A race against time in favor of romance
The aforementioned could make the reader think that An inheritance at stake it's a complex thriller Juvenile. However, Jennifer Lynn Barnes's pen makes this title somewhat light and easy to read. The book's chapters are short, and written in a simple, direct, and humorous style.
The labyrinthine puzzles imposed by grandfather Tobias Hawthorn are not so difficult to solve either.. And besides, there's a bit of romance between Avery and one of the family's grandchildren.
Being a trilogy, The end of An inheritance at stake is ambiguous, conducive to a continuation. Therefore, the secrets behind the intentions of Tobias and the other people in the family are left in a gray area.
To know the resolution of this story it is necessary to read The Hawthorne Legacy (2021) and The Final Gambit (2022) the following volumes of the saga that, like the first, are already a point of reference in contemporary literature for young readers.
About the author, Jennifer Lynn Barnes
jennifer lynn barnes
Jennifer Lynn Barnes was born in 1984, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The author herself did a BA in Cognitive Science at Yale University, where she also did a Ph.D. in the same area. As for her literary career, Barnes wrote his first play at the age of 19. While studying, he sold about five books, but it wasn't until his Inheritance trilogy at stake who became an international icon.
In addition to his profession in letters, the writer is a fellow at the University of Oklahoma, where she works as a professor of psychology and professional writing. Over the years she has received several awards for her work as a teacher. One example of this is the Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation Presidential Chair award, awarded to her at the college in her hometown.
Other books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
debutantes
- Little white lies (2018);
- Little deadly scandals (2019)
The natural
- The natural (2013);
- Murderous instinct (2014);
- All inside (2015);
- Bad blood (2016);
- Desserts (2017);
The fixer
- The repairman (2015);
- the long game (2016);
Raised by wolves
- Raised by wolves (2010);
- Sweet sixteen (2015);
- Fireproof (2011);
- taken by storm (2012);
The escuadron
- perfect cover (2008);
- killer spirit (2008);
Tattoo
- Tattoo (2007);
- Destination (2009);
Gold
- Gold (2006);
- Platinum (2007);
Independent novels
- The Enchantress and the Lost (2019);
- Anyone (2013);
- Every two days (2011)