Last Chance Live! by Helena Haywood Henry

The quick cut: A teen on death row applies for a reality competition show where either she will win her freedom or be executed swiftly. 

A real review: 

 Thank you to Penguin Group for providing the arc for an honest review.

 Freedom is something that is universal to every human being. Everybody wants to experience it, but not everyone will. For Eternity, it's something she desperately wants when her hope for getting off death row is slim. 

 Eternity has never been a girl with a lot of support or luck. With no parents and a grandmother who wasn't a supportive parental figure, all she wants to do is get set free and be reunited with her brother. When the appeals process turns out to be longer than she's willing to wait, she applies for a TV show called Last Chance LIVE! When she's selected as a contestant, she's only got two options: either win & be set free or lose & be quickly executed. Can she get her freedom? 

 This book is very dark, but also touches on some important topics. Life isn't fair and not everyone gets access to the same opportunities. For Eternity, the odds were stacked against her, which is one reason why she's in the predicament she's in. 

 Eternity is a complicated character. On the one hand, she made terrible choices and should pay for that. On the other hand, she wasn't ever given the support or resources needed to truly thrive. Even in the midst of her conviction and pending death, she still didn't quite accept responsibility for what she did. She's a very imperfect character and I can't say I liked her. I did empathize for her though and that was the goal for the author. 

 The core of the story here is clear and a part of that is about our justice system. The show at the core of this book may be fake, but it tells an important story about our culture. We love to consume content but don't always understand the reality behind it. There are people out there trying to do better with their lives and aren't getting the resources they need to do that well. Do we leave them to struggle or do we lift them up? 

 A dark tale with an important message. 

My rating: 4 out of 5