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Endgame: will take you down
Bestselling YA author Melinda Salisbury delivers a hair-raising thriller as Ruby, Freya and Ivy team up to take down the Ash Tree Foundation once and for all.
Ruby, Freya and Ivy are all survivors of the Ash Tree Foundation, an organisation that claimed to help teenagers deal with technology addiction but which was a front for a dangerously addictive augmented-reality platform, Novo Reality.
Novo Reality was the brainchild of tech-baroness Dagmar Nilsson, who disappeared without trace when the Foundation was busted. But now, a year later, just as the girls are all preparing to start a new chapter of their lives, it becomes clear that Dagmar is continuing with her aim of world domination.
Can the three friends draw her out of hiding and shut down the Foundation for good, or will Dagmar’s dream of controlling the world finally come true?
Because the Endgame is coming, and someone is going down …
Particularly suitable for readers aged 11+ with a reading age of 8.
Ruby, Freya and Ivy are all survivors of the Ash Tree Foundation, an organisation that claimed to help teenagers deal with technology addiction but which was a front for a dangerously addictive augmented-reality platform, Novo Reality.
Novo Reality was the brainchild of tech-baroness Dagmar Nilsson, who disappeared without trace when the Foundation was busted. But now, a year later, just as the girls are all preparing to start a new chapter of their lives, it becomes clear that Dagmar is continuing with her aim of world domination.
Can the three friends draw her out of hiding and shut down the Foundation for good, or will Dagmar’s dream of controlling the world finally come true?
Because the Endgame is coming, and someone is going down …
Particularly suitable for readers aged 11+ with a reading age of 8.
- GenresYoung Adult
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 2026
About the author
Melinda Salisbury
24 books1,389 followersMelinda Salisbury is the four-time Carnegie nominated and bestselling author of multiple teen and young adult novels, including the Sin Eater's Daughter series, Hold Back the Tide, and Her Dark Wings, a Guardian Children's Book of the Year 2022 and a Reading Agency Book of the Year 2022 pick.
Her debut teen novel, EchoStar, a tech thriller aimed at 12–14-year-olds, was published in March 2024 by Barrington Stoke, with AdelAIDE following in August 2024, The Foundation in January 2025 and Endgame in February 2026.
Her first novel, The Sin Eater's Daughter, was the bestselling UK YA debut novel of 2015, and collectively her books have been nominated and shortlisted for numerous national and international awards and accolades, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the YA Book Prize, the Branford Boase, the Edgar Awards, YALSA Best YA 2022, Eason's YA Book of the Month, and more. Her books have been published in sixteen countries to date.
Melinda works as a writing mentor and development editor, and volunteers at a local independent cinema on the East Sussex Coast. She also likes Surrealist art.
Her debut teen novel, EchoStar, a tech thriller aimed at 12–14-year-olds, was published in March 2024 by Barrington Stoke, with AdelAIDE following in August 2024, The Foundation in January 2025 and Endgame in February 2026.
Her first novel, The Sin Eater's Daughter, was the bestselling UK YA debut novel of 2015, and collectively her books have been nominated and shortlisted for numerous national and international awards and accolades, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the YA Book Prize, the Branford Boase, the Edgar Awards, YALSA Best YA 2022, Eason's YA Book of the Month, and more. Her books have been published in sixteen countries to date.
Melinda works as a writing mentor and development editor, and volunteers at a local independent cinema on the East Sussex Coast. She also likes Surrealist art.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 28, 2026
Last of this series of novellas centered around AI and evil technology.
Ivy, Ruby and Freya have escaped The Ashtree Foundation and revealed its true dark purpose.
But unfortunately its leader Dagmar managed to get away and she is living the life on a yacht.
The girls hatch a plan to lure her back to the UK and get her finally caught and punished.
These are super quick middle grade stories that portray the darker side of tech.
Ivy, Ruby and Freya have escaped The Ashtree Foundation and revealed its true dark purpose.
But unfortunately its leader Dagmar managed to get away and she is living the life on a yacht.
The girls hatch a plan to lure her back to the UK and get her finally caught and punished.
These are super quick middle grade stories that portray the darker side of tech.
Read
January 27, 2026I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
ENDGAME rounds up this thought provoking tech dystopia series.
Where the previous books looked at specific technological ideas that are being pushed at us and (using a degree of exaggeration) explored the potential pitfalls, this book looks at the power of big tech companies. The villain, Dagmar, has used her wealth to escape prosecution. Given various lawsuits in the world of late, it felt very timely to explain this so clearly to the next generation.
These girls really do feel like teenagers (and this is a book aimed at actual teens). They are making very impulsive decisions, pushed by a very strong moral compass that isn't yet jaded. I liked that their parents are actively trying to keep them safe (no absent and/or dead, or entirely incompetent, parents here!) But, being teenagers, the girls aren't listening and are having to work around their parents.
This is the Avengers-esque team up book (and I loved that it had a title that referred to that movie franchise too!) The three girls are working together in this book, though only Ivy narrates the book. I was a little surprised not to see Ruby and Freya's perspectives (but I don't think I've ever read a Barrington Stoke with multiple perspectives). However, it did make sense: Ivy has the most unfinished business with the Ash Tree Foundation (and a certain someone).
This is the series' final book, and the book that really ties it all together as a series. While THE FOUNDATION did feature all three girls, it still was possible to read as a standalone novel. This time around, however, you do need to have read at least THE FOUNDATION to understand the stakes. I really appreciated that there was a summary of the previous books at the start - this is something I think more series should have but is especially crucial when accessibility is key.
The tech in this series has felt a little too close for comfort. This has given the series an at times fatalistic feel but this book ended with a real thread of hope that makes the call to action feel more doable rather than depressing, which I liked. I think it's so easy to be scared about big tech right now - and we should be - but that needs to be balanced with optimism if you don't want to feel paralysed and unable to act.
ENDGAME rounds up this thought provoking tech dystopia series.
Where the previous books looked at specific technological ideas that are being pushed at us and (using a degree of exaggeration) explored the potential pitfalls, this book looks at the power of big tech companies. The villain, Dagmar, has used her wealth to escape prosecution. Given various lawsuits in the world of late, it felt very timely to explain this so clearly to the next generation.
These girls really do feel like teenagers (and this is a book aimed at actual teens). They are making very impulsive decisions, pushed by a very strong moral compass that isn't yet jaded. I liked that their parents are actively trying to keep them safe (no absent and/or dead, or entirely incompetent, parents here!) But, being teenagers, the girls aren't listening and are having to work around their parents.
This is the Avengers-esque team up book (and I loved that it had a title that referred to that movie franchise too!) The three girls are working together in this book, though only Ivy narrates the book. I was a little surprised not to see Ruby and Freya's perspectives (but I don't think I've ever read a Barrington Stoke with multiple perspectives). However, it did make sense: Ivy has the most unfinished business with the Ash Tree Foundation (and a certain someone).
This is the series' final book, and the book that really ties it all together as a series. While THE FOUNDATION did feature all three girls, it still was possible to read as a standalone novel. This time around, however, you do need to have read at least THE FOUNDATION to understand the stakes. I really appreciated that there was a summary of the previous books at the start - this is something I think more series should have but is especially crucial when accessibility is key.
The tech in this series has felt a little too close for comfort. This has given the series an at times fatalistic feel but this book ended with a real thread of hope that makes the call to action feel more doable rather than depressing, which I liked. I think it's so easy to be scared about big tech right now - and we should be - but that needs to be balanced with optimism if you don't want to feel paralysed and unable to act.
Review of advance copy
I went into Endgame: Will Take You Down expecting a sharp, thoughtful YA thriller about technology, power, and recovery. On paper, this is exactly the sort of book I want to champion in a school setting. In practice, it left me conflicted - and, at times, frustrated.
The premise centres on three girls reclaiming agency after surviving an exploitative tech organisation, which should feel timely and empowering. Yet the execution often slips into simplification. The Ash Tree Foundation is drawn so broadly villainous that it avoids meaningful interrogation of how real-world harm actually happens - through systems, complicity, and quiet normalisation rather than moustache-twirling masterminds. As a result, the book risks teaching readers that “bad tech” is something external and easily identified, rather than something they need to think critically about in their own lives.
Dagmar Nilsson, the tech “baroness”, is perhaps the most disappointing element. She falls squarely into the now rather tired trope of the powerful older woman as unhinged would-be world controller. Female ambition is again framed as excessive, dangerous, and in need of being shut down. For a novel positioning itself as feminist and survivor-led, this feels like a step backwards.
The friendship between Ruby, Freya and Ivy is clearly meant to be the emotional core, but their voices blur together, and moments of trauma recovery are rushed in favour of plot twists. Serious themes - addiction, coercion, psychological manipulation - are introduced and then quickly swept aside, making the book feel oddly superficial for readers aged 11+. The stated reading age of 8 only heightens this tension, as some of the concepts are either underexplained or ethically unresolved.
There is pace, and some readers will enjoy the thriller elements, but the moral messaging feels muddled. In trying to be dramatic, the book misses the opportunity to model nuance, reflection, and genuine empowerment. For young readers navigating technology-heavy lives, I would want something braver, subtler, and far more trusting of their intelligence.
The premise centres on three girls reclaiming agency after surviving an exploitative tech organisation, which should feel timely and empowering. Yet the execution often slips into simplification. The Ash Tree Foundation is drawn so broadly villainous that it avoids meaningful interrogation of how real-world harm actually happens - through systems, complicity, and quiet normalisation rather than moustache-twirling masterminds. As a result, the book risks teaching readers that “bad tech” is something external and easily identified, rather than something they need to think critically about in their own lives.
Dagmar Nilsson, the tech “baroness”, is perhaps the most disappointing element. She falls squarely into the now rather tired trope of the powerful older woman as unhinged would-be world controller. Female ambition is again framed as excessive, dangerous, and in need of being shut down. For a novel positioning itself as feminist and survivor-led, this feels like a step backwards.
The friendship between Ruby, Freya and Ivy is clearly meant to be the emotional core, but their voices blur together, and moments of trauma recovery are rushed in favour of plot twists. Serious themes - addiction, coercion, psychological manipulation - are introduced and then quickly swept aside, making the book feel oddly superficial for readers aged 11+. The stated reading age of 8 only heightens this tension, as some of the concepts are either underexplained or ethically unresolved.
There is pace, and some readers will enjoy the thriller elements, but the moral messaging feels muddled. In trying to be dramatic, the book misses the opportunity to model nuance, reflection, and genuine empowerment. For young readers navigating technology-heavy lives, I would want something braver, subtler, and far more trusting of their intelligence.
February 14, 2026
I loved how this was rounded off. A thrilling, technology-centred series with brilliant teenage girls at the helm. This book delivers the ending I always wanted and a smidgen of redemption. I love how the technology in this was used to help rather than hinder. Just brilliant as usual from Melinda Salisbury.
July 8, 2026
Endgame was good no gonna lie there to be honest.
The narrator voice was good throughout the audio, think next time gonna try the physical option to see how big the book is.
The characters were alright throughout the book, some a just couldn't really get along with.
Now my big question will a continue this series or not I wonder.
The narrator voice was good throughout the audio, think next time gonna try the physical option to see how big the book is.
The characters were alright throughout the book, some a just couldn't really get along with.
Now my big question will a continue this series or not I wonder.
Review of advance copy
A great, fast-paced conclusion.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
i think it should've been longerrr
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews