GAME

A young woman’s foreign adventures lead her to psychological turmoil, healing, and independence in Vance’s coming-of-age novel.

Billionaire heiress Brooke Neville fell apart completely after her brother’s suicide. Shortly thereafter, she spends the summer traveling through Europe (prior to starting her year studying abroad), closely watched by her controlling mother. As she takes in the sights of Berlin and Prague, she explores her anger at her family. She blames her parents’ perfectionism and impossible expectations for her brother’s death and her own struggles (Brooke feels stifled by her “endlessly boring and privileged family”). She yearns to avoid her seemingly predetermined fate of becoming a high-society trophy wife and, instead, pursue her dream of playing professional tennis. Though she initially feels isolated, thanks to a cloistered upbringing, Brooke slowly opens up and develops friendships with a colorful group of fellow travelers, including a charming Australian named Patrick. Patrick and Brooke bond over their roles as athletes and their troubled relationships with their parents. But he has secrets of his own, and it’s up to Brooke to see if she can trust him and forge her own life independent of her family’s control. Brooke’s mixture of strength and vulnerability reads as distinctive and credible, and her gradual progress is authentically portrayed. Her friends are lively characters, and Vance’s descriptions of both the pleasures of Europe and Brooke’s billionaire lifestyle—private jets and penthouse hotel suites—are vivid and diverting. The romance plot is fun and often frothy, but the stakes still feel high. The story’s darker notes don’t always ring true: Discussions of extreme trauma often seem too easily resolved, and Brooke’s mother is too much of a one-dimensional villain. But the plot is so engrossing readers will most likely forgive these quibbles. The first installment of a planned trilogy, the book ends on an intriguing cliffhanger, and it promises more entertaining storylines to come.

A dark, tender coming-of-age story that delivers breezy pleasures and engrossing drama with a captivating Old World backdrop.