The Game [Paperback]

Gr. 7-12. The devil in Danielle Webster's life is her abusive father, who batters her violently whenever she fails to meet his high standards of success. Finally driven to attempt suicide, Dani winds up in Riverwood, a clinic for troubled youth. There she bonds with her roommate, Scratch, a self-mutilator, and Kevin, whose Fundamentalist parents' refusal to accept his homosexuality has also driven him to attempt suicide. Ultimately these new friends--and a caring therapist--help Dani confront the truth about her younger sister, Kelly, and the "Game" they had played at home. Though it veers close to melodrama, Canadian author Toten's second novel is smoothly written and compulsively readable. Particularly well realized are Dani's troubled relationship with her mother, whom she calls the Ghost, and the emerging details of her friendship with Scratch and Kevin. Michael Cart
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"Highly engaging."

-- CM Magazine

"Intelligent writing that talks directly to teens."

-- Canadian Bookseller

"Toten writes with umor, grit and real insight. . . . The Game is a story of heartache and the healing power of friendship. It is written in strong, straightforward prose and, despite its subject matter, is unfailingly hopeful."

-- Governor General's Award Committee

Governor General's Literary Awards nominee for Children's Literature, Text

Dani Webster had played The Game with her sister, Kelly, for as long as she could remember. It was a secret quest to vanquish evil. The Game is now a hazy memory as Dani looks up from the floor of the isolation room at Riverwood Clinic. God, how did she get here? She remembers the vodka and pills.

Slowly Dani emerges from the painful effects of substance abuse, and begins to adapt to life at Riverwood, a psychiatric treatment facility for "teens with problems."

As she recovers from her physical trauma, Dani must confront a deeper emotional trauma, which at the moment she can neither explain nor recognize. There's the cool aloofness of her mother. Her father's abusive perfectionism. Kelly's refusal to answer her letters. Fragmented memories of the last Game. She can't fit all the pieces together.

The Game is an extraordinary story of betrayal, anger, guilt, confusion and dread, and their brutal effects on the mind. It also a tribute to the healing effects of compassion and friendship, and to the strength we can summon, even in our weakest moments.

Received a Governor General's Award nomination for 2001

Teresa Toten is a powerful young adult writer. Her first novel, The Onlyhouse, was also published by Red Deer Press. Teresa received a 2001 Governor General's Award of Canada nomination as author of The Game.