Avery is just trying to get by. Her half sister, Libby, took her in two years ago when Avery’s mother died. Libby and Avery share a father, a father neither of them has anything to do with, so it was super nice of Libby to take on the responsibility of a 15 year old teenager. As much as Avery appreciates all that Libby has done for her though, she can’t help wishing Libby would get better at picking boyfriends. Or rather, get better at not returning to the same dead beat abusive boyfriend. Which is what Libby tells Avery when she gets home after a pretty lousy day at school. That the old boyfriend is back to the current boyfriend. Avery decides she would rather spend the night in her car than deal with Drake.
What she doesn’t expect is to see Libby at her school the next day, after being pulled out of her English class and sent to the principal’s office. And what she really doesn’t expect is the young man in a suit who says her presence is required at the reading of his grandfather’s will. His very, very, VERY, rich grandfather’s will. Avery has no idea why she is needed at this will reading since she’s never even heard of the man who died. But she learns very quickly that the young man is one of four brothers and all of them have secrets and that the reading of the will is just the beginning of how Avery’s life will change.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is an engaging suspense book that will keep the readers wondering what Avery’s connection is to the Hawthorne family. Because it is the beginning of a series though, don’t expect all the answers in this first book.
Recommended for 8th grade and up.
Books in the Middle: Reading for Middle School 