Invitation to the Game

by Monica Hughes

Hardcover, 1991

Genres

Young Adult

Science Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (1991), Edition: Book Club (BCE/BOMC), 183 pages

Description

Unemployed after high school in the highly robotic society of 2154, Lisse and seven friends resign themselves to a boring existence in their "Designated Area" until the government invites them to play The Game.

Media reviews

even several years later and many forgotten details later i still believe this is one of the best books for teens to read

User reviews

LibraryThing member Bibliotropic

Whenever I read this book, I am reminded of the fact that short summaries, even the back of the book itself, simply do not do this story justice. It's one of the few books that I would recommend without hesitation to be on a school's reading curriculum, since not only does it tell an engaging story

about unemployed life in a dystopian future, but it also has the thread of hope running through it that tells people that no matter what, they have useful skills, even if they don't yet know what use those skills are.

The story is told from the perspective of Lisse, who has just graduated from school and found herself with no employment prospects. This is far from unusual, as she came from one of the top schools in the country, which had a 10% job placement rate in a world essentially run by robots. Along with her friends from school, Lisse starts out her new life as an unemployed.

The world Hughes set up is an interesting one. Unemployed people are taken care of, in a basic sense, by the government, given shelter and enough credits to buy food and cleaning supplies. Anything else they want they must get by scrounging materials from garbage cans, anything throw away or to be recycled. They may not work, except at "indie" things like selling art to the employed who have money to spare. They may not travel, and they are limited to their Designated Area. Gangs essentially rule the streets, the goverment's first line of defense is the thought police, and overcrowding is a major problem.

Then when the tables turn and they find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings, they are forced to exercise every one of their individual talents to the utmost in order to survive as a society. That, in a nutshell, is what this book is about. Society, whether it be overcrowded and terrible or tiny and held together by only the bonds of friendship and necessity. What makes a society, and what makes a good or bad society? Monica Hughes is not afraid of asking the big questions, nor of posing them to young people who most of us would deem incapable of truly understanding such broad concepts. Most adults couldn't properly answer what makes a good or bad society, after all, and I enjoy coming across good YA novels that don't dumb the issues down for children, but instead present the questions in an entertaining and provocative way.

And like Michael Grant's Gone, this book doesn't flinch away from the fact that life involves death, killing, and other unpleasant things, especially when one is in exceptional circumstances.

I could read this book a hundred times over and never get bored of it. I highly recommend it to, well, just about anybody, really, be they young or old. It's the kind of book that makes you want to think, that makes you want to be productive, and makes you examine yourself and your place in the world.

I know I, for one, feel pretty confident that if I were in the same situation as Lisse, all my friends would have plenty of clothes to wear. Most people would consider skills like making a drop spindle, spinning yarn, and knitting to be quaint hobbies at best in this modern world, but when I read this novel, it's easy to remind myself that there are plenty of situations in which my "quaint hobbies" could be the difference between barely surviving the cold and being comfortable and warm.

Read this book for yourself and then take an inventory of your skills. You'll be surprised at what you don't even know you know.

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LibraryThing member stang50logan

Great little book to read. Can read in about a day and not want to put the book down. The story is fast paced and doesn't lag at all. Very enjoyable!

LibraryThing member clarient

Juvenile young adult novel but enjoyable nonetheless.

LibraryThing member andtara

I read this book because it was on the North Carolina Battle of the Books list for 2009-10. I actually liked the story, it was a quick and easy read that I will recommmend to my students. I thought the story would be something like Ender's Game -- and I was right. Invitation to the Game is like a

shorter, more accessible version of Ender's Game.

Eight students finish school and end up as permanent unemployeds in a dystopian future society. The only hope is to join The Game, a mysterious rumor floating around their Designated Area. After months of waiting, the invitation finally arrives and the eight learn about The Game...leaving them with more questions than answers.

What is The Game? Is The Game really a game? Is it a dream?

What I did not like about the book was the narration style. I felt the author went straight into the story, and almost went too quickly for my taste. I would have liked to have known more about the society, the main charater (Lisse), and her past. Major things are happening in the story, and I felt the narrative was too light, like something was missing. Overall, though, I found it difficult to put down.

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LibraryThing member debnance

When I was in junior high and high school, my favorite subgenre was the group of books where the story takes place after the Apocalypse, after Earth has self-destructed and people are beginning to rebuild. This story would fall into that category. Lisse has just graduated from school and is hoping

to be placed in one of the few jobs available in the world, but this does not happen. Instead, she is sent to live with a group of other unemployed young people in an old building in the dying inner city. Then the group receives an invitation to the Game and everything changes.

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LibraryThing member dasuzuki

This book sounded so great in the premise but I think the execution was a little lacking. Despite that it was an enjoyable read but does not top my list of favorite dystopias.

The Characters

The characters in the book were my main issue with the story. There is not much build up of any of the

characters. You know what area of studies they focused on in school and that some of them were more physically aggressive while others are more passive but you never really get deep into who they are and what makes them tick. Even the main character, Lisse, is rather flat and alternates between being whiny and sounding much older than her actual age.

The Story line

I really enjoyed the world Hughes built. Robots have become so advanced that they are taking over the all the jobs of human beings thus increasing the number of these “unemployables”. Living in a world like that is not so unbelievable and you have to wonder what would life be like in that situation? We have already seen how people are laid off as machines become more sophisticated and can be more efficient and accurate at certain jobs that their human counterparts. Right now we have unemployment but what will happen as that number rises?

A warning here is that to enjoy this story you really have to suspend belief and go with the flow. These young men and women behave so much older than they are and I find it hard to believe even in the extreme situation they found themselves in that they would behave in that manner. They also utilize skills they learned in school in ways I cannot imagine normal youngsters would be able to do so without any practical experience or the mentor-ship of someone more experienced.

I cannot go much more into my favorite parts of the plot without giving away spoilers but if you go into this book with an open mind it is an enjoyable read.

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LibraryThing member shalinih

The book the Invitation to the game is written by Monica Hughes, this is a fascinating science fiction book and the main character of the book is Lizzie.

This book is essentially about the year 2154 and all jobs are done by robots. Lizzie and her friends are unemployed and when they graduate they

are assigned to an unemployed neighborhood. They form a life of their own and doing art and other jobs to earn extra money. The invitation to the game is the other part of the city which shows up and they find a virtual world which they explore. Every time they play the game in seems more and more realistic, until they find themselves actually on the planet in the game, having to hunt, suffer through sickness and build up their own society.

This book is a great book since this book is a cliff hanging book and there are many different chapters where the book becomes very interesting and doesn’t allow the readers to leave the book. This book is appropriate for the age group from 12 and above and preferably enjoyable for both genders. To find out what is going to happen to Lizzie and her friends read this book, this book will make your eyes glued until you don’t find out.

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LibraryThing member MerryMary

Interesting story of young people in a dystopic Earth, fighting for survival in the ruined city. The group of ten find themselves invited to a game, wherein they explore a paradise looking for a treasure. The game has another function, of course: to find groups of young people with enough

imagination, team-work, and ingenuity to qualify for a much more serious mission.

The story is quite enjoyable. The characters work well together, and the main narrator is sensitive and compassionate; observant and intuitive. My only quibble is the last chapter or two, which jump forward a bit in time - but in my opinion not far enough in time! - where we see the situation a little too settled, all the problems a little too well solved. It is a YA, after all, but still...

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LibraryThing member Jellyn

The copy I read did not have this exciting a cover. Though its cover was more accurate than the one showing here. I think this is a book I would've really liked to have read as a kid. Unfortunately, the timing was a little off. I was already 15 or 16 by the time it was published. I don't think I

was reading a lot of new books then. Unless it was a Star Trek novel.So it's the future and robots have taken over most of the jobs, so it's a really big deal to be able to have a job. This is decided upon your graduation (if you were lucky enough to go to school). The main character joins the ranks of the jobless. Though they're provided with a place to live, clothes, and adequate food. And allowed to scavenge for other things they might need or want -- like mattresses. She bands together with other classmates who also didn't get a job and they set up house together.Then they hear about The Game and wonder what it's all about, how to get invited to it. But these are no 'fight other jobless to the death' type games. It's more a puzzle game. A game you have to explore and figure out. But how much of it is real? Is it all a hypnotic trance? Drugs? Technology? Real, unreal? Hmmm.I really liked that the focus seemed to be on teamwork and cooperation. And it's an interesting premise overall.I saw the twist, if you can call it a twist, coming a mile away. Which is why it definitely would've been a different experience for me to read it as a kid. Before I've gotten all sophisticated and jaded. Though maybe I would've guessed it even then. I had read a lot of science fiction by 1990.There's a dated feel to the whole thing. Not really because of the mention of hypnosis, which was a big thing in sf decades ago and not so much now. But just.. hmm.. the 'niceness' of it, perhaps? The 'innocence'? Neither of those is quite the right description of it. But you wouldn't mistake it for a YA novel of 2010. You might mistake it for 1960, 1970, or 1980. In fact, I wouldn't have guessed 1990. For the same reason it feels dated to me, it also feels like a Marion Zimmer Bradley book to me.I read this book because a friend listed it as one of her favorites. And I'm really shocked that I had never before heard of Monica Hughes or any of her books. There's a lot of them! And they look right up my alley.They reissued this, possibly to cash in on The Hunger Games mania. But it's not a bad idea. If you liked The Hunger Games, there's a definite chance you'll like this one too. If you're worried about the brutality of Hunger Games, then this is a good alternative.

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LibraryThing member ithilwyn

Great concept that would have been improved by better writing and development.

LibraryThing member rgruberexcel

RGG: Set in a dystopian world, in which teenagers graduate from high school with no opportunity for employment, a group of teenagers participate in a "game" of survival. While character development is weak, the description of the settings and an urgency to know what's really happening make this a

good read. Reading Level: 12-YA.

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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing

In a future dys/utopia, Lisse and her friends have all just graduated from school. But there are too many people and not enough jobs, and they are each left unemployed, on the dole, and at a loss for how to live in a highly regimented society with no place for them. They quickly learn hard lessons

about dumpster-diving and squatting, and even faster, they lose interest in the hard-partying lifestyle of their fellow unemployed youths. When the group is invited to play a free virtual reality game, they jump at the chance to escape the grime and social stigmas of their daily lives. Living on an alien planet within "the game," each of the group finds new purpose to their lives. But when they disconnect, they're still just as poor and unwanted as ever.

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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV

Too short, not in-depth enough for YA - better for MG (ages 10-12 especially, I'd say). Cover totally misleading because one of the points of the 'mystery' is whether they're in a game or not - they aren't wearing electrified VR goggles in the book. Still, a provocative read, with several

discuss-able themes, developments, and characterizations.

Would be great for when the 6th-graders break into small groups, each group choosing a book. Other groups might choose Tuck Everlasting or The Giver, but this might appeal to readers who are turned off by the label that is given to those of 'classic' or 'canonical'.

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LibraryThing member rgruberexcel

good read. Reading Level: 12-YA.

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LibraryThing member Pepperwings

This story was a good concept, there was some feeling and depth missing from the characters, and a few loose threads I would have liked explained more.
I think if I had read this as a teen I would have enjoyed it much more, but as an adult, it just lacked some things to make it a *great* read for

me. I picked it up because it was in a list of books recommended that were similar to some other books I enjoyed, and it did hit the theme mark, it just was a little lacking for my current tastes.

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LibraryThing member steadfastreader

I loved this book as a kid, I still occasionally re-read it.

LibraryThing member lflareads

Interesting premise! Lisse is deemed unemployable. Their only hope is to join the Game. This game is unlike any other! They find themselves fighting for survival and in an unknown world. I felt like they entered the Twilight Zone, as they realized what the world had planned and executed for them.

Student recommended this book for me to read:).

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