Members of a basketball team and their cheerleaders experience a plane crash that leaves few survivors on an island in this Lord of the Flies–esque survival thriller originally published in the U.K. as The Trial (2021).What happens on tour, stays on tour-until a horrific plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico leaves only seven teens still alive and secrets come spilling out. Basketball players Jason, Brian, and Elliot and cheerleaders May, Jessa, Shannon, and Hayley must quickly learn to work together, foraging for food and water and securing shelter in their new environment. Popularity and social hierarchies don't matter when you're struggling for survival. The plot intensifies as someone falls (or is pushed) and the crash survivors contend with incidents involving leeches and a terrifying shark attack that are clearly not accidental. Is there someone else on the island who is trying to hurt them, or is it one of their own? Hayley takes charge, holding a trial to get to the bottom of things during which multiple events from the party the night before the plane went down are revealed. Themes of consent, toxic masculinity, elitism, misogyny, feminism, and the meaning of justice emerge as Bates creates conversations among the group members that are sobering and thought-provoking. Most characters default to White; May is Japanese American, and Jessa is Black.An engaging, fast-paced narrative with real-world implications. (content warning, author's note, resources) (Thriller. 14-18)

Gr 9 Up— Hayley knew something was seriously wrong, and that was before a plane crash stranded members of her high school's touring basketball team and cheerleading squad on a deserted island. Teenage social hierarchy falls apart when a battle for survival takes precedence, and Hayley watches with interest as her peers' personalities and relationships change on the island. When a series of incidents hurts and frightens members of their group, the teens question whether someone else is on the island or if they are being targeted by one of their own. Hayley believes the attacks are connected to an end-of-tour party that happened the night before the plane crash, and she orchestrates a trial for the whole group to learn the truth. A lyrically descriptive narrative paired with a simmering plot creates a riveting work of suspense. What starts as a tale of survival quickly morphs into a thriller, and then into an examination of gender, sexuality, and consent. While some of the issues come across a bit heavy-handed, the debates that take place in the final act are thought-provoking and morally complex. Five of the seven teens present as white, one girl is Japanese American, and another girl is Black. Some characters seem designed to fit certain stereotypes, but others are given real depth. This novel would provide a nice contrast when paired with classics like Lord of the Flies and And Then There Were None . VERDICT An exciting tale of desert island survival becomes a shrewd commentary on women's survival in a patriarchal society. A riveting choice for most collections.— Elizabeth Lovsin