Countdown

by M.J. McIsaac

Myles has it all: he’s popular, has an amazing girlfriend and won a full athletic scholarship to a top university. But on the day of his high school graduation ceremony, while he struggles to write his valedictorian speech, Myles receives a text that changes everything. Somehow, through text conversations in the next six hours, Myles has to discover the identity of the person threatening to reveal his darkest secret: his role in a rugby team hazing. And with so much to lose, Myles is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery

80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2023

Reviews

[TIFFY ⭐️🥂 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn’t to bad a short read read like a big text message and someone wasn’t happy that he was valedictorian to give a speech but I liked it for what it was.

[Jonathan (Jon) · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️

𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙮 𝙈𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.

📍 Read if you like:
• YA Mysteries
• Quick Reads
• Dark Secrets
• Blackmail Stories

This book is about 80 pages so it was such a quick read I finished it in like an hour. When I requested it, I didn’t realize it was this short!

The premise sounded so interesting. Blackmail stories are always so intriguing and I like stories that follow school students, specifically a valedictorian.

I didn’t love this book, I found it a bit dull and the mystery aspect was a bit lackluster. I did like that the story took place for a few hours, before the big valedictorian speech.

However, the book itself wasn’t something I enjoyed. I understand what the author was doing, but I found so moments to be over the top.

While this book wasn’t for me at all, I can respect what the author did. I did enjoy the pacing and quick story that I could read in one sitting. I liked the graduation and valedictorian part of it!

Thank you so much Orca Book Publishers and NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Aly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like an outline of a book, not the full thing. There's an idea there about a guy being blackmailed and realizing that he's been a bully most of his life, but it's bare bones and not fleshed out at all. If the author redid this and added more details to the plot and characters, it could have been much better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Orca Book Publishers and NetGalley for the copy

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't often leave reviews, but I'm feeling a little defensive of this book!
I believe most of the reviewers are not familiar with this publisher and why this book was written. Orca, Saddleback, HIP, High Noon, etc. publish short, high interest books with low reading levels. These are books written for youth who have learning disabilities, are just learning to read, are learning English, or struggle to read for other reasons. These are not meant to be great literature or complex texts - they are intended to be engaging stories that allow struggling readers to practice decoding, basic narrative skills, recognize vocab, etc. You will be hard pressed to find compound sentences or words more than two syllables. For people to complain that the dialogue felt stilted or that the plot needed to be fleshed out is a bit like criticizing Hop on Pop or Green Eggs and Ham for the same reasons. That's part of why the book is easy to read, which is why this book exists at all.
I purchased multiple copies to book talk to the low level reading and SPED English classes, and I expect it to be very popular.
I did not give 5 stars because I think the formatting could've been improved to make it clearer who is texting/speaking. This may have been intentional, to maintain mystery about who some of the characters are.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think a lot of reviewers didn't understand that this is a high-interest/low-level book, which Orca Publishing is known for. As a Special Educator, I've used many of their books in the past with my middle schoolers.

I am giving five stars because I can't, in good conscience, give lower. It was VERY difficult for me to read this e-ARC though, due to formatting. It was very hard to comprehend because it was not formatted properly for my Kindle. I'm not sure if this is/will be fixed elsewhere.

I think the story is very high-interest, especially for a high school level. The reading level also seems appropriate for those who need low-level stories. Some of the issues I've had with Orca books in the past is the length and the hefty paragraphs. This one appears to be more of a mixed-media type book, which I think would be very conducive to high schoolers needing a lower level book.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC, and my apologies for not getting this review up sooner!

[Agd]

11.11.25 7/8+. Lang occasional. sx, drg referenced. not explicit.

present day Canadian suburb day of graduation from high school

Myles is sitting in his school gymnasium, frantically trying to write his valedictorian speech. Graduation is in just 6 more hours. But then he receives a text from an unknown number that includes a file image. Of that party. When the hazing happened. And kids got expelled. The one Myles told the cops he wasn't at. But there he is in the photo. And if he doesn't want it posted right before graduation, he's got to complete a scavenger hunt taking him around all the places in town he wronged someone. And the clock is ticking.

told thru texts and a grad speech. HiLo book. super fast read

[Susan Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giving Countdown five stars. This is a high-interest, "short book" for a YA audience. Some readers are intimidated by what they call "long books." At 67 pages, in larger font, and with a lot of white space on every page, readers reluctant to pick up books are engaged here. Since they will read it within a day or two, they can feel successful.

[Atticus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was this written by AI? The text-conversation format is terrible - it reads like that old Hooked App. The plot had potential, very Karen McManus, but was not executed properly and had a disappointing ending that relied on foreshadowing that was barely set up.

[Clete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty good for something so threadbare.

[Mr. Johansson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like a tense, quick read, this book is for you!

[genavieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good and i like the way it was written with the text messages but it was easy to figure out and slow.

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! I love a good YA novella.

[Bambee Hendricks · Rating 1 out of 5]

New generation of teenage books I guess. Read like a very long group text message. Good idea, very dry, very quick to read. Just wish there was more to it.

[Shaina Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, good message. Great for teens that are not big readers, looking for something that's a page turner and maybe get them hooked into reading. I enjoyed it.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better than I expected it to be with the annoying texting, but not one of the best in the series.

[Becky M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in about 30 minutes. Good short story, but I do feel it could have been a bit longer to explain certain things a bit more.