Crown of Oblivion by Julie Eshbaugh

Shades of The Hunger Games as Astrid runs a dangerous race that might elevate her social standing...or might leave her broken or dead along the way.

I'm so conflicted about this book!

The story is great. The pacing, the characters, the action, all really well done. Astrid's panic on waking in the Race was perfect.

But the more I thought about the story for this review, the less sense it made to me. For instance, the class system. SPOILERS Astrid has magic because she was not inoculated against it as a child. Presumably that's why her brother has it too, although it's never specified. Magic is the only difference between Outsiders and Enhanced, so the Outsiders...just allow their children to be inoculated? Astrid didn't show any surprise when she learned about it. You could maybe argue that only people in the palace know what the inoculation does, but still! The rules weren't explained very thoroughly in the story itself either, I thought.

This is not meant to dissuade you from reading. It's a great adventure story with a good ending, not too cliffhanger, not completely wrapped up. I'd read more in this series.

Astrid is the surrogate for Princess Renya, which means she bears the physical punishment if Renya steps out of line. Astrid has no choice—she and her family are Outsiders, the lower class of people without magic and without citizenship.

But there is a way out of this life—competing in the deadly Race of Oblivion. To enter the race, an Outsider is administered the drug Oblivion, which wipes their memory clear of their past as they enter a new world with nothing to help them but a slip of paper bearing their name and the first clue. It’s not as simple as solving a puzzle, however—for a majority of the contestants, the race ends in death. But winning would mean not only freedom for Astrid, but citizenship and health care for her entire family. With a dying father to think of, Astrid is desperate to prevail.

From the beginning, the race is filled with twists and turns. One of them is Darius, a fellow racer Astrid meets but isn’t sure she can trust. Though they team up in the race, as Astrid’s memories begin to resurface, she remembers just who he was to her—a scorned foe who may want revenge. Astrid also starts to notice she has powers no Outsider should—which could help her win the race, but also make her a target if anyone finds out. With stakes that couldn’t be higher, Astrid must decide what is more important: risking her life to remember the mysteries of the past, or playing a cutthroat game in order to win her—and her family’s—freedom.