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Last Chance Live!
Squid Game meets Dear Justyce in an explosive young adult novel about a teenage girl on death row who competes on a reality show in hopes of winning her freedom.
A 2025 Booklist Editors’ Choice
Last Chance Live! is the most popular reality show in America—and eighteen-year-old death row inmate Eternity Price’s last chance to live. Getting cast on the show could win her clemency preventing her execution… if she can convince the viewing audience she deserves a second chance. The catch? If America doesn’t vote for her, she loses the chance to appeal her sentence, and she’ll be executed within a week of being eliminated from the show. And since Eternity’s been unpopular her whole life, she’s terrified America won’t pick her. But any chance of getting out of prison and back to her little brother Sincere, no matter how slim, is better than rotting away in her cell.
Eternity never expected to find her first real friends in a reality TV house full of people battling for survival after being convicted of capital crimes, but that’s exactly what happens. So when she gets the opportunity to sabotage them and secure her own victory, she has a choice to protect the friendships and acceptance she’s always longed for at the cost of her own life, or sacrifice her newfound community. Eternity must ultimately decide what forgiveness, family, and freedom mean to her, and how far she’ll go to win a game where the stakes are literally life or death.
A 2025 Booklist Editors’ Choice
Last Chance Live! is the most popular reality show in America—and eighteen-year-old death row inmate Eternity Price’s last chance to live. Getting cast on the show could win her clemency preventing her execution… if she can convince the viewing audience she deserves a second chance. The catch? If America doesn’t vote for her, she loses the chance to appeal her sentence, and she’ll be executed within a week of being eliminated from the show. And since Eternity’s been unpopular her whole life, she’s terrified America won’t pick her. But any chance of getting out of prison and back to her little brother Sincere, no matter how slim, is better than rotting away in her cell.
Eternity never expected to find her first real friends in a reality TV house full of people battling for survival after being convicted of capital crimes, but that’s exactly what happens. So when she gets the opportunity to sabotage them and secure her own victory, she has a choice to protect the friendships and acceptance she’s always longed for at the cost of her own life, or sacrifice her newfound community. Eternity must ultimately decide what forgiveness, family, and freedom mean to her, and how far she’ll go to win a game where the stakes are literally life or death.
532 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
September 22, 2025
ARC for review. To be precise blushed October 7, 2025.
4.4 stars
This was really, really good. I don’t know if it’s YA…it deals with young people but the subject matter is a bit intense. I would let my YA read it, if I had one, but I’m also the type that would have a mobile made of rusty nails and broken glass, so you can’t trust me.
Eternity Price is 18 and she’s been sentenced to death row in Texas. Rather than go through years of appeals, likely to no avail she ignores her lawyer’s advice and opts for applying to “Last Chance Live!” a reality TV show that pits ten death row inmates between the ages of 18 and 21 against each other to compete for America’s votes. The single winner gets a commutation of sentence, the rest are put to death the week they are voted off.
So, yeah, it’s the feel good story of the year, obviously, made no better by the fact that I’m terrified we are headed in just this direction here in our society today.
Eternity’s parents died when she was young and she and younger brother Sincere are being reared by their Nana, a fairly unsympathetic character. Eternity is an incredibly vivid character. I felt I understood her throughout. When she opines, “At some point you can only let someone hurt you so much before you wanna hurt them back,” I felt that in every fiber of myself.
This was sometimes a painful read but so worth it. Highly recommended. the only thing that kept it from a 5 star rating was a producer so evil he was a bit cartoonish. But I might still revise to a five.
4.4 stars
This was really, really good. I don’t know if it’s YA…it deals with young people but the subject matter is a bit intense. I would let my YA read it, if I had one, but I’m also the type that would have a mobile made of rusty nails and broken glass, so you can’t trust me.
Eternity Price is 18 and she’s been sentenced to death row in Texas. Rather than go through years of appeals, likely to no avail she ignores her lawyer’s advice and opts for applying to “Last Chance Live!” a reality TV show that pits ten death row inmates between the ages of 18 and 21 against each other to compete for America’s votes. The single winner gets a commutation of sentence, the rest are put to death the week they are voted off.
So, yeah, it’s the feel good story of the year, obviously, made no better by the fact that I’m terrified we are headed in just this direction here in our society today.
Eternity’s parents died when she was young and she and younger brother Sincere are being reared by their Nana, a fairly unsympathetic character. Eternity is an incredibly vivid character. I felt I understood her throughout. When she opines, “At some point you can only let someone hurt you so much before you wanna hurt them back,” I felt that in every fiber of myself.
This was sometimes a painful read but so worth it. Highly recommended. the only thing that kept it from a 5 star rating was a producer so evil he was a bit cartoonish. But I might still revise to a five.
July 21, 2025
Help I don't know how to feel anything anymore.
Ok.
So.
This book is super complex, y'all. The characters are so well written and they are all pretty terrible people. Which is great. Everyone in this book committed some of the worst crimes imaginable. Yet by the end of the book you are like. Do they deserve to die though?
Honestly this book paints a very harsh view of humanity that I don't agree with. At every turn everyone does the worst action possible. I kind of thought this was just because we see the world as it is through Eternity's eyes, but after seeing the end author's not I am not so sure. After reading this book take a moment to look at all the good things going on in the world. It is easy to feel like everything, all the time, is horrible. I promise you it is not.
The books themes about race are very heavy-handed at times but I don't really mind that. Sometimes that is what is needed to make people listen.
A big point made in this book is how people's brains aren't fully developed until 25 or whatever. And with most crimes I could get down with that excuse. Like yeah, your poor impulse control and inability to think clearly about the outcomes of your decisions made you steal that purse or whatever. But I think at 18 you can probably know that hey. Maybe I shouldn't kill that little girl. You know?
Like, Eternity is such an interesting character, and by the end of the book you really do care for her, but I think it may be less than how the author cares for her. Yes, she had a horrible life. Yes, that sucks. No, I don't feel that bad for her. I am sorry but like again a lot of people go through horrific things and don't kill children about it.
HOWEVER I am also like hey maybe it is kind of crazy that the state of Texas gets to kill her. Like, maybe don't do that.
IDK man this book made me sad. It is very well written. It is so bleak and I don't think I would read it again. I do think you should read it though! I am so excited to start seeing reviews come in with people's opinions!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC! All opinions are my own.
Ok.
So.
This book is super complex, y'all. The characters are so well written and they are all pretty terrible people. Which is great. Everyone in this book committed some of the worst crimes imaginable. Yet by the end of the book you are like. Do they deserve to die though?
Honestly this book paints a very harsh view of humanity that I don't agree with. At every turn everyone does the worst action possible. I kind of thought this was just because we see the world as it is through Eternity's eyes, but after seeing the end author's not I am not so sure. After reading this book take a moment to look at all the good things going on in the world. It is easy to feel like everything, all the time, is horrible. I promise you it is not.
The books themes about race are very heavy-handed at times but I don't really mind that. Sometimes that is what is needed to make people listen.
A big point made in this book is how people's brains aren't fully developed until 25 or whatever. And with most crimes I could get down with that excuse. Like yeah, your poor impulse control and inability to think clearly about the outcomes of your decisions made you steal that purse or whatever. But I think at 18 you can probably know that hey. Maybe I shouldn't kill that little girl. You know?
Like, Eternity is such an interesting character, and by the end of the book you really do care for her, but I think it may be less than how the author cares for her. Yes, she had a horrible life. Yes, that sucks. No, I don't feel that bad for her. I am sorry but like again a lot of people go through horrific things and don't kill children about it.
HOWEVER I am also like hey maybe it is kind of crazy that the state of Texas gets to kill her. Like, maybe don't do that.
IDK man this book made me sad. It is very well written. It is so bleak and I don't think I would read it again. I do think you should read it though! I am so excited to start seeing reviews come in with people's opinions!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC! All opinions are my own.
February 1, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
December 25, 2025
Review coming soon.
July 6, 2025
Last Chance Live! follows Eternity Price, an eighteen-year-old death row inmate as she’s cast on a reality game show that could win her clemency. However, if America doesn’t vote for her, she forfeits her rights to appeal her sentence and will be executed when she returns back to prison. But Eternity is desperate for any chance to get out of her sentence and go home to help her little brother. Not everything goes according to plan and Eternity has to decide how she wants to play the game: sacrifice new friends or do whatever it takes to win.
This was a very interesting book with a great premise. The author brings up a lot of important, topical themes and discussions that I really enjoyed. It’s a very prevalent novel to today’s political and societal climate. It’s a very heavy story but one I think will impact a lot of people and also be relatable to teens. That being said, I really wanted to love this more than I did. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style. It was very stream of consciousness, and it’s hit or miss for me if I really enjoy that style. Unfortunately, I found Eternity’s narration tedious at times. The book was also quite long, and I think it could’ve been shorter.
The characters were very well written. The author did a great job of humanizing them and making you forget that they’ve all killed someone and done some very bad things. Eternity is a very interesting main character. She’s very flawed and dislikeable but you can’t help but feel bad for her. She’s a product of her environment and she’s gone through so much. This really isn’t a redemption story, and I enjoyed that because I find that isn’t super common.
Overall, if you love books that have a lot of important commentary on race, the penal system, and reality tv, I think you’ll really love this one.
Thank you to Penguin Teen CA and Netgalley for the arc!
This was a very interesting book with a great premise. The author brings up a lot of important, topical themes and discussions that I really enjoyed. It’s a very prevalent novel to today’s political and societal climate. It’s a very heavy story but one I think will impact a lot of people and also be relatable to teens. That being said, I really wanted to love this more than I did. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style. It was very stream of consciousness, and it’s hit or miss for me if I really enjoy that style. Unfortunately, I found Eternity’s narration tedious at times. The book was also quite long, and I think it could’ve been shorter.
The characters were very well written. The author did a great job of humanizing them and making you forget that they’ve all killed someone and done some very bad things. Eternity is a very interesting main character. She’s very flawed and dislikeable but you can’t help but feel bad for her. She’s a product of her environment and she’s gone through so much. This really isn’t a redemption story, and I enjoyed that because I find that isn’t super common.
Overall, if you love books that have a lot of important commentary on race, the penal system, and reality tv, I think you’ll really love this one.
Thank you to Penguin Teen CA and Netgalley for the arc!
not-my-cup-of-tea
November 26, 2025Yeah, I won't be touching this book. Because, hoo boy, there's a lot to unpack about the problems with this. I know I'll make a video on why, but not sure if I'll share it here. I may sum up the reasons in an update though once I have a chance to share.
Update: I made a video on my YouTube channel about it, but the reasons I'll list in summary for not picking this up is digging its heels into harmful anti-Black stereotypes. This is not a story teens would want to pick up, especially Black kids/teens. There are other stories that have more appeal and respect to the audience like Deadman Wonderland, The World Ends With You, Hunger Games and others that don't condemn the identity of its protagonist before the story ever starts. (Even the narrative Squid Game, which this work is comped to, doesn't do that.) It's not appealing when you have a dark-skinned fat Black girl protagonist vilified before you even turn the first page and condemn her existence in a story which has kids killing other kids. It's just not my cuppa at all.
Update: I made a video on my YouTube channel about it, but the reasons I'll list in summary for not picking this up is digging its heels into harmful anti-Black stereotypes. This is not a story teens would want to pick up, especially Black kids/teens. There are other stories that have more appeal and respect to the audience like Deadman Wonderland, The World Ends With You, Hunger Games and others that don't condemn the identity of its protagonist before the story ever starts. (Even the narrative Squid Game, which this work is comped to, doesn't do that.) It's not appealing when you have a dark-skinned fat Black girl protagonist vilified before you even turn the first page and condemn her existence in a story which has kids killing other kids. It's just not my cuppa at all.
February 24, 2026
I know this is a YA Dystopia where criminals on death row take part in a reality tv show to have another chance at life. I kinda expected a Squid Game meets reality tv show vibe with intense action and drama. But I think this is more reality tv show junk food, where the viewers get to watch you interact with the house mate and vote you off based on if they like you or not.
Readers should know upfront: this story isn’t really about the game or the show. This story focuses on our main character Eternity Price. We see the game show through her eyes, her thoughts, and get to read about her struggles. Some of the chapters are in the past where it touches on her childhood and the bullying she experiences. With the past POV we get to see her environment and ultimately the choices that she made that put her in jail.
Since this hits too close to reality it makes you question if death row for teens is worth it. Especially when I think Eternity didn't mean to murder anyone but her anger, years of being bullied, and resentment towards how she was being treated exploded in one moment. This story leans into a lot of difficult themes and realities that kids are experiencing right now. A lot of under underprivileged teens and kids live in an unstable, neglectful, dangerous environment and they can only make the best choices that they can make in that moment.
She obviously loves her brother but years of being of bullying and neglected exploded in that one moment and I don't think she knew what she did until the end. I think that’s what makes this story so haunting.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Nancy Paulsen Books for the ARC.
Readers should know upfront: this story isn’t really about the game or the show. This story focuses on our main character Eternity Price. We see the game show through her eyes, her thoughts, and get to read about her struggles. Some of the chapters are in the past where it touches on her childhood and the bullying she experiences. With the past POV we get to see her environment and ultimately the choices that she made that put her in jail.
Since this hits too close to reality it makes you question if death row for teens is worth it. Especially when I think Eternity didn't mean to murder anyone but her anger, years of being bullied, and resentment towards how she was being treated exploded in one moment. This story leans into a lot of difficult themes and realities that kids are experiencing right now. A lot of under underprivileged teens and kids live in an unstable, neglectful, dangerous environment and they can only make the best choices that they can make in that moment.
She obviously loves her brother but years of being of bullying and neglected exploded in that one moment and I don't think she knew what she did until the end. I think that’s what makes this story so haunting.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Nancy Paulsen Books for the ARC.
October 21, 2025
**Thank you to Penguin Teen and Libro.Fm for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my rating**
This was…a slog. All of the characters were horrible. It was hard to want any of them to get a better situation or solution to their situation. I don’t believe in the death penalty, so I wouldn’t wish death on them, but I didn’t want them to get out of jail, either.
Our main character, Eternity, is whiny as hell. Everything is everyone else’s fault always. She doesn’t take any accountability for her own actions. She’s mean to everyone. Additionally, I have a really bad taste in my mouth from the author being a light-skinned, thin woman who wrote a fat, dark-skinned FMC who constantly says she’s “ugly” or calls herself a “gorilla”. It’s giving colorism hard. Especially when the other Black female contestant, Malleah, is light-skinned and thin and so constantly described as “beautiful”.
The pacing is not it. This book is 512 pages. That’s 150-200 too long. It drags and drags and makes a mockery of the teens getting killed. The book wants to make comments on gang violence and its effect on families, reality shows, and the prison system but it doesn’t have anything to say on any of it. They’re just things that happen. It reads more like Big Brother than Squid Game or Chain-Gang All-Stars. It’s mostly reality show drama with very little commentary on the prison system or the barbarity of using death row inmates as entertainment.
Honestly, if you want to read a book that has a similar premise but does it well and actually has some commentary, I would recommend you check out Chain-Gang All-Stars or Deadman Wonderland. Don’t bother with this one.
This was…a slog. All of the characters were horrible. It was hard to want any of them to get a better situation or solution to their situation. I don’t believe in the death penalty, so I wouldn’t wish death on them, but I didn’t want them to get out of jail, either.
Our main character, Eternity, is whiny as hell. Everything is everyone else’s fault always. She doesn’t take any accountability for her own actions. She’s mean to everyone. Additionally, I have a really bad taste in my mouth from the author being a light-skinned, thin woman who wrote a fat, dark-skinned FMC who constantly says she’s “ugly” or calls herself a “gorilla”. It’s giving colorism hard. Especially when the other Black female contestant, Malleah, is light-skinned and thin and so constantly described as “beautiful”.
The pacing is not it. This book is 512 pages. That’s 150-200 too long. It drags and drags and makes a mockery of the teens getting killed. The book wants to make comments on gang violence and its effect on families, reality shows, and the prison system but it doesn’t have anything to say on any of it. They’re just things that happen. It reads more like Big Brother than Squid Game or Chain-Gang All-Stars. It’s mostly reality show drama with very little commentary on the prison system or the barbarity of using death row inmates as entertainment.
Honestly, if you want to read a book that has a similar premise but does it well and actually has some commentary, I would recommend you check out Chain-Gang All-Stars or Deadman Wonderland. Don’t bother with this one.
Read
June 2, 2025I, don't even know what to say. This book is absolutely brutal, and I mean that as a compliment.
September 9, 2025
Received as an ARC via my former employer Barnes & Noble. Started 9-6-25. Finished 9-9-25. Eternity Price, an 18-year-old in prison on death row for a murder charge, is offered an opportunity to be a contestant on the most popular TV show, Last Chance Live. If she wins, she goes free--if she loses, her death sentence is carried out within a few days. Sounds a lot like Hunger Games, but she and the other contestants are all young-adult murderers. Book poses lots of questions to ponder: Do any of these inmates deserve a second chance; how did their lives turn into disasters; what could they have done differently; are they telling the truth about their crimes; are the producers of the show treating the participants fairly; can the contestants develop friendships to save each other when they've had few friends in their lives; and lots more. I had a 35-year career as a juvenile court probation officer so many of these issues were very relevant.
May 2, 2026
Awful. Hated it. Disturbing.
March 19, 2026
Billed as Squid Game meets Dear Justyce and I would say that's fairly accurate for this book about a reality show that gives 10 contestants, death row inmates between age 18 and 21, the chance to win freedom. It's an exciting premise but is flawed in execution. It's incredibly long, nearly 500 pages and the pacing definitely drags. The character development is limited, almost like watching a reality show where everyone except our MC is depicted as fairly one-note with some stereotyping. I think teen readers will be interested in Eternity as an unreliable narrator. She's not likable, but it's easy to empathize with her given the hardships she's faced and the world that shaped her. Teens are so attuned to injustice, so I'm sure that teens will be interested in/outraged by the unfairness of the justice system (in this book algorithms help determine innocence and guilt), of the show itself, and how race and physical appearance play into it all. Overall it's a problematic but thought-provoking read. I'd recommend this to older teens (a lot of swearing, detailed descriptions of violence) who enjoy authors like Angie Thomas and Nic Stone (though admittedly their books are better).
June 16, 2025
Did not finish - 23%
I will really intrigued by the concept of this book - kids on death row get a chance to compete on a reality TV show to earn the chance to live. Felt like a unique concept.
However the downside with this book was the narration style. It felt somewhat stream of consciousness and I just felt like I was dragging myself through wet concrete trying to get through each chapter.
I will really intrigued by the concept of this book - kids on death row get a chance to compete on a reality TV show to earn the chance to live. Felt like a unique concept.
However the downside with this book was the narration style. It felt somewhat stream of consciousness and I just felt like I was dragging myself through wet concrete trying to get through each chapter.
Read
February 20, 2026I don't really know how to rate this book, and I also don't quite know how to review it. This is not a "read for entertainment" book, it's more of a "read to really think about some very difficult and complex issues, then never read it again because it was so brutal that you can't put yourself through that again" kind of book. I'm also not quite sure who this book is for. Because it's a YA book about teens, but I don't know a lot of teens who would want to pick this up, even if parts of this are a reality for many.
Eternity is one of the most complex protagonists I've ever read. I sympathize with her because a lot of awful things have happened to her (her parents both died when she was young in separate tragic accidents and then her grandmother neglected her) that were outside her control. She was denied a loving home, good nutrition, and just general care by a lot of the adults in her life after her parents/ death. It's not explicitly stated, but I suspect Eternity has ADHD, and I can see ways that possible neurodivergence affected her. Absolutely the trauma of losing her very caring parents and then ending up with a caregiver who gave zero care affected her brain. She worries about her little brother, especially when he becomes close to their cousin, who treats Eternity poorly and is affiliated with a gang.
But at the same time, Eternity makes a lot of terrible decisions that hurt other people. I don't think I've ever read another pov character whose thoughts are so vividly and descriptively violent. A large point the book makes is that teens' brains aren't fully developed, but the degree of violence Eternity turns to, both in real life and in her head, is quite shocking. I sympathize with her, but also, yeah, I can tell she killed people. She's also smart, calculating, manipulative, impulsive, all things that both get her in troubl and very nearly save her.
One thing that I think will go underrated in discussions of Last Chance Live is the reality tv aspect. Obviously there are connections to The Hunger Games and Squid Games, but I feel like a lot of people are going to glance over the show in order to focus on the death penalty of it all. Just days before I read this book, Netflix released a documentary about America's Next Top Model that included the racism of network executives, designers, and beauty squads, as well as the abuse of the producers. There have been other reality show documentaries showcasing equally evil abuses. Shows like Unreal have also shown the dark underbelly of reality tv. Countless reality stars and contestants have shared how unforgiving these shows are. By far the ugliest character of Last Chance Live is the creator and producer Evan. This fucking guy. He's abusive to his family. He's abusive to the contestants. He is also cold, calculating, manipulative. He created an entire show turning the deaths of young people into entertainment, and like a lot of abusive monsters, he thinks he's a god. He genuinely thinks he's doing these young people a favor, by dangling absolution above their heads like a carrot on a stick, then coldly murdering 90% of them. He thinks he's some kind of savant provacateur, he's edgy, he's innovative. But really, he's an evil man with more money, more ego, more privilege than sense or regard for his fellow humans. Remind you of anyone?
But also.... that's what a lot of reality tv does, even if it's not actual life or death. Evan is evil, but audiences are why reality tv has become what it has. We audiences cheer for the spectacle, the "most dramatic season ever", the jumped gates, the breakups, the crying confessionals, the downfall of so many. We know that not only are clips manipulated and sentences spliced out of context, we then meme-ify EVERYTHING. We cancel contestants for misspoken words, for going against our favorites, for being attractive, for being ugly, for being skinny or fat or smart or dumb or a person of color or queer, for dating someone, for not dating someone, for being good or being bad at [insert activity here]. For daring to exist on our televisions. We live tweet, we write articles, we create gifs of all these people, often in their worst moments. For all Last Chance Live will make you think about the intricacies of the legal system and the morality of the death penalty, it is also holding a mirror up to society and the way we laud reality tv and turn the suffering of real people into entertainment.
It's very heavy handed, but Last Chance Live does show how various marginalizations and privileges can intertwine. Eternity realizes very early on that four Black teens don't have much of a chance, but they can team up to empower one another. We also see many examples, in the show house and in Eternity's life before, how just existing in the world as a fat person and especially a fat woman makes you a target for constant abuse. Jimena and Jake show us that just being kind of annoying can isolate you from others. We see characters like Brenna and Dasha make good use of pretty privilege. Part of me wishes we could have seen more conflict between the two of them because who would America have chosen between a pretty girl and a pretty boy?
As for the death penalty issue, Last Chance Live is very unique in its storytelling. I appreciate that the show made a rule for the contestants to not really discuss their crimes. Thus the show audience and the reader get to know the characters without automatically knowing their crime (UGH the way the show talks about the biggest fans looking up info & calling it spoilers. So callous. So TRUE). We get to see beautiful things about most of the characters. Darnell and his dad jokes. Ramon and his faith, his kindness. Malleah and her thoughtfulness. Terrence. Eternity. Even Brenna. But then we learn about their crimes, and then like a mwmber of the jury, you inevitably will find yourself weighing the lives of these characters against the lives of others. Mothers, children, cousins, strangers, neighbors, grandmothers. I felt a little bit like I was reading the trolley problem. Are some lives worth more? So that means others are inherently worth less? If you add up the cost of a trial and room and board and restitution, is it more or less than the cost of a human life? And then, if we're talking about brains not being fully developed until they're 25, is it even ethical to allow young people, even if they're legal afults, to agree to be on a social experiment tv show where they gamble with their lives? (I mean, of course not. The show is insanely unethical)
I feel so conflicted over this book. I wouldn't say I was entertained, but I wouldn't say I liked or disliked it. I did not enjoy the experience of reading it because I was uncomfortable (which can be a good thing) and horrified, but I also appreciate that it gave me the opportunity to think. Would I recommend this book? Honestly, not to most people. I think there are probably better ways to consider privilege and the inequalities and injustices of the justice system without spending a few hours immersed in an unrelenting story that is heavy handed and relentlessly brutal. Your mileage may vary.
Eternity is one of the most complex protagonists I've ever read. I sympathize with her because a lot of awful things have happened to her (her parents both died when she was young in separate tragic accidents and then her grandmother neglected her) that were outside her control. She was denied a loving home, good nutrition, and just general care by a lot of the adults in her life after her parents/ death. It's not explicitly stated, but I suspect Eternity has ADHD, and I can see ways that possible neurodivergence affected her. Absolutely the trauma of losing her very caring parents and then ending up with a caregiver who gave zero care affected her brain. She worries about her little brother, especially when he becomes close to their cousin, who treats Eternity poorly and is affiliated with a gang.
But at the same time, Eternity makes a lot of terrible decisions that hurt other people. I don't think I've ever read another pov character whose thoughts are so vividly and descriptively violent. A large point the book makes is that teens' brains aren't fully developed, but the degree of violence Eternity turns to, both in real life and in her head, is quite shocking. I sympathize with her, but also, yeah, I can tell she killed people. She's also smart, calculating, manipulative, impulsive, all things that both get her in troubl and very nearly save her.
One thing that I think will go underrated in discussions of Last Chance Live is the reality tv aspect. Obviously there are connections to The Hunger Games and Squid Games, but I feel like a lot of people are going to glance over the show in order to focus on the death penalty of it all. Just days before I read this book, Netflix released a documentary about America's Next Top Model that included the racism of network executives, designers, and beauty squads, as well as the abuse of the producers. There have been other reality show documentaries showcasing equally evil abuses. Shows like Unreal have also shown the dark underbelly of reality tv. Countless reality stars and contestants have shared how unforgiving these shows are. By far the ugliest character of Last Chance Live is the creator and producer Evan. This fucking guy. He's abusive to his family. He's abusive to the contestants. He is also cold, calculating, manipulative. He created an entire show turning the deaths of young people into entertainment, and like a lot of abusive monsters, he thinks he's a god. He genuinely thinks he's doing these young people a favor, by dangling absolution above their heads like a carrot on a stick, then coldly murdering 90% of them. He thinks he's some kind of savant provacateur, he's edgy, he's innovative. But really, he's an evil man with more money, more ego, more privilege than sense or regard for his fellow humans. Remind you of anyone?
But also.... that's what a lot of reality tv does, even if it's not actual life or death. Evan is evil, but audiences are why reality tv has become what it has. We audiences cheer for the spectacle, the "most dramatic season ever", the jumped gates, the breakups, the crying confessionals, the downfall of so many. We know that not only are clips manipulated and sentences spliced out of context, we then meme-ify EVERYTHING. We cancel contestants for misspoken words, for going against our favorites, for being attractive, for being ugly, for being skinny or fat or smart or dumb or a person of color or queer, for dating someone, for not dating someone, for being good or being bad at [insert activity here]. For daring to exist on our televisions. We live tweet, we write articles, we create gifs of all these people, often in their worst moments. For all Last Chance Live will make you think about the intricacies of the legal system and the morality of the death penalty, it is also holding a mirror up to society and the way we laud reality tv and turn the suffering of real people into entertainment.
It's very heavy handed, but Last Chance Live does show how various marginalizations and privileges can intertwine. Eternity realizes very early on that four Black teens don't have much of a chance, but they can team up to empower one another. We also see many examples, in the show house and in Eternity's life before, how just existing in the world as a fat person and especially a fat woman makes you a target for constant abuse. Jimena and Jake show us that just being kind of annoying can isolate you from others. We see characters like Brenna and Dasha make good use of pretty privilege. Part of me wishes we could have seen more conflict between the two of them because who would America have chosen between a pretty girl and a pretty boy?
As for the death penalty issue, Last Chance Live is very unique in its storytelling. I appreciate that the show made a rule for the contestants to not really discuss their crimes. Thus the show audience and the reader get to know the characters without automatically knowing their crime (UGH the way the show talks about the biggest fans looking up info & calling it spoilers. So callous. So TRUE). We get to see beautiful things about most of the characters. Darnell and his dad jokes. Ramon and his faith, his kindness. Malleah and her thoughtfulness. Terrence. Eternity. Even Brenna. But then we learn about their crimes, and then like a mwmber of the jury, you inevitably will find yourself weighing the lives of these characters against the lives of others. Mothers, children, cousins, strangers, neighbors, grandmothers. I felt a little bit like I was reading the trolley problem. Are some lives worth more? So that means others are inherently worth less? If you add up the cost of a trial and room and board and restitution, is it more or less than the cost of a human life? And then, if we're talking about brains not being fully developed until they're 25, is it even ethical to allow young people, even if they're legal afults, to agree to be on a social experiment tv show where they gamble with their lives? (I mean, of course not. The show is insanely unethical)
I feel so conflicted over this book. I wouldn't say I was entertained, but I wouldn't say I liked or disliked it. I did not enjoy the experience of reading it because I was uncomfortable (which can be a good thing) and horrified, but I also appreciate that it gave me the opportunity to think. Would I recommend this book? Honestly, not to most people. I think there are probably better ways to consider privilege and the inequalities and injustices of the justice system without spending a few hours immersed in an unrelenting story that is heavy handed and relentlessly brutal. Your mileage may vary.
January 11, 2026
After sitting with my thoughts for a few days, I am updating my rating. This has stuck with me. This was a tough read. Sad and thought provoking. I've read several other books that have used prisoners as contestants on a reality show. Each of them a little bit different. the reality displayed in this is so close to our current state that it doesn't seem unreasonable for something like this to happen. The twist is that the characters in this novel are adults but very young adults. They are 18-21. This book and the author have a lot to say. There is a lot of exploration of big themes about incarceration, the death penalty, justice, mercy, forgiveness. The author's note at the end is a must read. This is a well written and entertaining (that feels icky to say) novel. Beyond the reality show aspect, this provides scenes and a real look into life in prison.
Eternity Price is 18 and living on death row. She committed a terrible crime, but also was given a lawyer who didn't have enough time to fight her battle. Looking at years on death row, Eternity jumps at the chance to join a reality show. If she wins, she gets to live. If she is voted off, no more appeals. She dies within a week. Make no mistake. the "kids" in this novel committed terrible crimes. It takes awhile to get the details for each member of the show. Eternity's life and crimes are slowly revealed. he author expertly reveals information about Eternity so that she is a person not just a felon. Did she have the opportunity to make different choices? yes! Easy to think if you were in her shoes that you would have done differently, but would you?t he author's note at the end carefully explains how each of us have made errors in judgment. Some more deadly and costly than others.
Eternity's life is hard. Her parents have died, her Nana kind of cares, she is bullied at school, overweight and her little brother is slipping away into a gang. Without resources, a support network or coping strategies; it was easy to see how she got into the position that sent her to prison.
Make no mistake, the kids in this novel committed despicable acts. That's the hard part of this novel.
The author tries to show the downfalls of death row: cost of appeals, etc.
Outside of the parts about prison, death row, there's also plenty to think about in regards to a reality show. We aren't that far away from something like this from happening.
This would make an excellent book club selection. While it's a smidge over 500 pages, it moves quickly. plenty of white space and dialogue on page. The only perspective presented is Eternity's which worked really well.
Highly recommend!
Eternity Price is 18 and living on death row. She committed a terrible crime, but also was given a lawyer who didn't have enough time to fight her battle. Looking at years on death row, Eternity jumps at the chance to join a reality show. If she wins, she gets to live. If she is voted off, no more appeals. She dies within a week. Make no mistake. the "kids" in this novel committed terrible crimes. It takes awhile to get the details for each member of the show. Eternity's life and crimes are slowly revealed. he author expertly reveals information about Eternity so that she is a person not just a felon. Did she have the opportunity to make different choices? yes! Easy to think if you were in her shoes that you would have done differently, but would you?t he author's note at the end carefully explains how each of us have made errors in judgment. Some more deadly and costly than others.
Eternity's life is hard. Her parents have died, her Nana kind of cares, she is bullied at school, overweight and her little brother is slipping away into a gang. Without resources, a support network or coping strategies; it was easy to see how she got into the position that sent her to prison.
Make no mistake, the kids in this novel committed despicable acts. That's the hard part of this novel.
The author tries to show the downfalls of death row: cost of appeals, etc.
Outside of the parts about prison, death row, there's also plenty to think about in regards to a reality show. We aren't that far away from something like this from happening.
This would make an excellent book club selection. While it's a smidge over 500 pages, it moves quickly. plenty of white space and dialogue on page. The only perspective presented is Eternity's which worked really well.
Highly recommend!
March 9, 2026
Squid Games meets Dear Justyce in this YA speculative fiction debut.
🚔
18-year-old death row inmate Eternity Price gets one final shot at freedom by competing on Last Chance Live!, America’s most-watched reality show. If she can win over viewers, she’ll earn clemency and escape execution, but if she’s voted out, she’ll lose her final appeal and be put to death within a week. As Eternity forms unexpected friendships with the other contestants, each convicted of serious crimes, she’s forced to confront impossible choices about loyalty, survival, and what redemption truly means in a game where every vote could mean life or death.
🔫
This book is deep and complex. The characters are incredibly well written and honestly, they’re all pretty terrible people, which somehow makes it even more compelling. Every contestant on the show has committed horrific crimes, yet by the end you find yourself wrestling with the uncomfortable question: do they deserve to die for them? That moral tension is what really drives the story. The book paints a very bleak view of humanity, where people often make the worst possible choices. At times it felt like we were seeing the world through Eternity’s lens, but the author’s note made me realize that darkness might be more intentional. Still, the story forces readers to sit with difficult ideas about justice, race, trauma, and redemption. I appreciated how the book pushes readers to confront the uncomfortable reality that even when someone has done terrible things, the question of whether the state should have the power to take their life is far from simple. It’s the kind of book that leaves you thinking long after you finish and would be great for a high school book club.
CW: body shaming, fatphobia, murder, death, child death, gun violence, confinement, imprisonment, death of parent, adult/minor relationship, homophobia
🚔
18-year-old death row inmate Eternity Price gets one final shot at freedom by competing on Last Chance Live!, America’s most-watched reality show. If she can win over viewers, she’ll earn clemency and escape execution, but if she’s voted out, she’ll lose her final appeal and be put to death within a week. As Eternity forms unexpected friendships with the other contestants, each convicted of serious crimes, she’s forced to confront impossible choices about loyalty, survival, and what redemption truly means in a game where every vote could mean life or death.
🔫
This book is deep and complex. The characters are incredibly well written and honestly, they’re all pretty terrible people, which somehow makes it even more compelling. Every contestant on the show has committed horrific crimes, yet by the end you find yourself wrestling with the uncomfortable question: do they deserve to die for them? That moral tension is what really drives the story. The book paints a very bleak view of humanity, where people often make the worst possible choices. At times it felt like we were seeing the world through Eternity’s lens, but the author’s note made me realize that darkness might be more intentional. Still, the story forces readers to sit with difficult ideas about justice, race, trauma, and redemption. I appreciated how the book pushes readers to confront the uncomfortable reality that even when someone has done terrible things, the question of whether the state should have the power to take their life is far from simple. It’s the kind of book that leaves you thinking long after you finish and would be great for a high school book club.
CW: body shaming, fatphobia, murder, death, child death, gun violence, confinement, imprisonment, death of parent, adult/minor relationship, homophobia
October 14, 2025
Thank you for the free book @penguinteen.
Title: Last Chance Live!
Author: Helena Haywoode Henry
Genre: YA
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
CW: Death, Racism, Fat shaming
My 💭:
This was such a thought provoking story! Eternity Price is 18 years old and on death row. She gets a chance to be a on reality tv show to win her freedom and a second chance at life. This story really made me think more about the death penalty especially when it comes to teenagers.
Throughout the story the author did a great job bringing each character to life and it was sad to see the outcomes for them as the story progresses.
“At some point you can only let someone hurt you so much before you wanna hurt them back. And if you're hurting all day every day
'cause of what they did, you want them to hurt all day too.
But it's hard to hurt people who don't care about you unless you
hurt them big.”
Phew.
My feelings when it comes to Eternity are conflicted. At times I wanted to shake some sense into her, focus on her goals and cut the crap. Then I wanted to reach into the book and give her a big hug and tell her it would be okay. Her upbringing was tough, but that still didn’t give her the right to do what she did at all. I really wonder if Eternity had just one person in her corner, if her life would have ended up differently.
Audiobook people the narrator did an excellent job and I recommend that format as well. Definitely one of my favorite audiobooks of the year!
Title: Last Chance Live!
Author: Helena Haywoode Henry
Genre: YA
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
CW: Death, Racism, Fat shaming
My 💭:
This was such a thought provoking story! Eternity Price is 18 years old and on death row. She gets a chance to be a on reality tv show to win her freedom and a second chance at life. This story really made me think more about the death penalty especially when it comes to teenagers.
Throughout the story the author did a great job bringing each character to life and it was sad to see the outcomes for them as the story progresses.
“At some point you can only let someone hurt you so much before you wanna hurt them back. And if you're hurting all day every day
'cause of what they did, you want them to hurt all day too.
But it's hard to hurt people who don't care about you unless you
hurt them big.”
Phew.
My feelings when it comes to Eternity are conflicted. At times I wanted to shake some sense into her, focus on her goals and cut the crap. Then I wanted to reach into the book and give her a big hug and tell her it would be okay. Her upbringing was tough, but that still didn’t give her the right to do what she did at all. I really wonder if Eternity had just one person in her corner, if her life would have ended up differently.
Audiobook people the narrator did an excellent job and I recommend that format as well. Definitely one of my favorite audiobooks of the year!
October 27, 2025
I remember when Suzanne Collins once talked about her inspiration for "The Hunger Games" being modern American reality TV, and how much that struck a chord in me. "Why not just write THAT book, then?" I wondered. "Wouldn't that have more impact and mean something honest, something more?" But maybe it didn't feel as plausible then, that we would live in a country so openly divided and hateful, so chronically online and emotionally gluttonous. But we do now, and Helena Haywoode Henry did it. She wrote the book I wanted "The Hunger Games" to be all those years ago, and she did it with bravery and boldness through the voice of Eternity Price, a young, fat, black teenager whose odds, like those of her fellow contestants on Last Chance Live!, a game show in which America votes young people on death row out of a mansion (and off to their execution) week by week, have never, ever been in her favor. Exploring themes of economic, racial, political, body, geographic, and legal poverty and privilege, violence, forgiveness, and family, this book is also can't-put-down readable, and equal parts sad and funny. I was riveted, outraged, and fascinated for the entire ride. This is definitely a book to read, think about, recommend to friends, and talk about for a long time to come.
September 17, 2025
*Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review!*
Eternity Price seizes her chance to escape death row by applying for America's hit reality TV show Last Chance Live! For Eternity, the risk of being executed by failing to secure America's vote is better than the alternative: waste away for decades in a cell while appeals paperwork moves through the system. Beside, she needs to get out so she can be with her younger brother.
Through a series of flashbacks and the nail-biting present of Eternity's experience on Last Chance Live!, we get the full picture of how Eternity ended up on the show. She's never had real friends before, and is both pleased and conflicted that she's finally found community. After all, there's only one winner. The rest will be executed. Helena Haywoode Henry raises a lens to race and the justice system in America. Readers who long for high-stakes dystopian lit with serious topics will enjoy this title. A great purchase for high school libraries.
Eternity Price seizes her chance to escape death row by applying for America's hit reality TV show Last Chance Live! For Eternity, the risk of being executed by failing to secure America's vote is better than the alternative: waste away for decades in a cell while appeals paperwork moves through the system. Beside, she needs to get out so she can be with her younger brother.
Through a series of flashbacks and the nail-biting present of Eternity's experience on Last Chance Live!, we get the full picture of how Eternity ended up on the show. She's never had real friends before, and is both pleased and conflicted that she's finally found community. After all, there's only one winner. The rest will be executed. Helena Haywoode Henry raises a lens to race and the justice system in America. Readers who long for high-stakes dystopian lit with serious topics will enjoy this title. A great purchase for high school libraries.
September 3, 2025
Oof. This book hurt my feelings and made me angry. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a painful way. I understand the author’s choices in a lot of instances to leave things vague and open-ended. But it was really difficult to read at times. I did love that it made me think. I’m not sure what I wanted it to be, but sometimes I felt that it fell short of my hopes for it. I was irritated by Eternity sometimes because I couldn’t actually figure out who she was. She was naive sometimes and then other times felt wise in ways that didn’t make sense with the information we already had about her thought processes.
For the sake of protection from spoilers, I will just say… the ending was SOMETHING.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
For the sake of protection from spoilers, I will just say… the ending was SOMETHING.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 1, 2025
Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.
This is not a happy book. If you're looking for a feel good story or a happy ending you won't get it here. This book is a gut punch and shows all the flaws of the american system. Throughout this book I both hated Eternity and rooted for her. None of these contestants really won though. They were always pitted against each other since day one. I felt sorry for them even though they did kill people. If this really was a show I don't know if I could watch. You're putting people's lives in danger just for entertainment. Overall it was a great storyline that made me really think, it just dragged for a bit too long. Too many details that I didn't need or cared about.
This is not a happy book. If you're looking for a feel good story or a happy ending you won't get it here. This book is a gut punch and shows all the flaws of the american system. Throughout this book I both hated Eternity and rooted for her. None of these contestants really won though. They were always pitted against each other since day one. I felt sorry for them even though they did kill people. If this really was a show I don't know if I could watch. You're putting people's lives in danger just for entertainment. Overall it was a great storyline that made me really think, it just dragged for a bit too long. Too many details that I didn't need or cared about.
February 3, 2026
3.75 rounded to 4. Very upsetting. Henry writes the teenage perspective so well. Eternity thinks and acts her age and, at times, I was torn between rooting for her and rooting against her. This is a devastating look at the justice system and at kids that are too often overlooked or dismissed by society. I was confused on what this book was trying to say about religion and it felt like some subplots were left hanging (). It reminded me of Survivor, Big Brother, and Danganronpa.
May 4, 2026
Wow. This was a difficult read but a very important one. Shout out to my library for putting this book on one of their displays.
This book was phenomenal. It’s an interesting premise, the characters are complex, and I loved the writing style. At points it reminded me of poetry which I loved. The author does a fantastic job at developing the characters and touched on so many important topics. This was a great read on racism, systemic inequality, and our criminal justice system. This book will definitely stay with me.
This book was phenomenal. It’s an interesting premise, the characters are complex, and I loved the writing style. At points it reminded me of poetry which I loved. The author does a fantastic job at developing the characters and touched on so many important topics. This was a great read on racism, systemic inequality, and our criminal justice system. This book will definitely stay with me.
Did Not Finish
May 16, 2026I wanted to finish this book, I really did. But I realized that the main character was kind of…. Insufferable. I could not connect with her, I felt she was really selfish and I just couldn’t get with it. I think I kept reading because there was random moments where I felt something for her. But those moments were few and far between. I dnf at 55%… in all of those pages I felt like nothing was happening. The concept of the story is what had me interested in the first place. But, I’ve finally decided to get off this train.
August 10, 2025
Wow, I have so much I'd like to say about this book. It was a hard but, in my opinion, very important read. Some people might be turned off by what seems almost like a sensationalized topic--a reality show for young adults on death row. But it poignantly covers issues like capital punishment, our criminal justice system, racism, and fatphobia. Henry creates a very complex character in Eternity Price. I will be thinking about this one for a while.
September 12, 2025
Wowww!! As a reality tv and true crime fanatic, this book was perfect for me.
A group of young adults who are on death row go to a house for a reality tv show with the chance to win freedom. They compete and vote each other off each week where you’ll learn about the crimes they committed. This book was a lot more dramatic and tense than I imagined.
So so good!! I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know especially if they like hunger games or squid games!
Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and talented author for this ARC!
A group of young adults who are on death row go to a house for a reality tv show with the chance to win freedom. They compete and vote each other off each week where you’ll learn about the crimes they committed. This book was a lot more dramatic and tense than I imagined.
So so good!! I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know especially if they like hunger games or squid games!
Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and talented author for this ARC!
March 17, 2026
This is the mother of all page turners--gripping, disturbing, and really, really sad. While technically YA, it tackles intense themes and doesn't talk down to the reader, leaving complex moral decisions and unreliable narration up to interpretation.
It's too long and contains a few too many classic YA tropes (unnecessarily twisty and oversimplified villains), but I would recommend this to any dystopian fiction fan, young adult or otherwise.
It's too long and contains a few too many classic YA tropes (unnecessarily twisty and oversimplified villains), but I would recommend this to any dystopian fiction fan, young adult or otherwise.
January 6, 2026
this book makes me wish i was a high school teacher, so i could teach this book to my students. quite a bummer of a way to start the year, but a really great read about propaganda and challenging who we afford empathy to. should be a required read for all teens, but that opinion would probably get me arrested in some states.
December 9, 2025
Phew, this is a heavy story. Grotesque like Hunter Games, but more haunting because of the reality of America's prison system and society. Recommended for mature readers. Author's notes are highly recommended to read.
October 21, 2025
the ending nearly broke me. very much recommend!
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