Black Chalk

Starred review from February 24, 2014
Psychological thrillers don’t get much more complex or twisted than Yates’s promising debut. In 1990, six Oxford first-years decide to create and participate in an elaborate mind game. Intrigued by the exclusiveness of a club known as the Games Soc, two of the six, Chad Mason and Jolyon Johnson, improvise a proposal that piques the interest of the club’s three leaders. Participants in the game must carry out “psychological dares, challenges designed to see how much embarrassment and humiliation the players can stand.” From the opening lines, it’s clear that the game ends badly, given that the initially anonymous narrator describes his account, written 14 years later, as a confession. The narrator’s unreliability is established early on with his assurance that he “absolutely” is not trying to trick the reader. Yates deftly interweaves past and present as he doles out the backstory in pieces without sacrificing plausible character development. Agent: Jessica Papin, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

June 15, 2015
In Yates' debut, six college friends learn the hard way that games are never just games once they're made personal. Chad Mason wants to do something brave. He knows he's stronger than he appears. So, on his first day at Pitt College in Oxford, England, he sets out to make a friend. He finds Jolyon, a charismatic and confident person who takes Chad under his wing; together, they become a duo so tightknit they consider their bond unbreakable. Why not test that bond? They are at Pitt to challenge themselves, yes? They develop a game, "six people, a number of rounds...a game of consequences [that]...take the form of psychological dares." Jolyon and Chad find the rest of their players: Mark, a quiet physics major; sarcastic Jack; Emilia, a kindhearted, beautiful blonde; and Dee, a poet with a dark past. They each agree to play-to prove their strength? Their intelligence? Their faith in friendship?-and they grow ever closer as the game progresses, with game and life blending and becoming one. At first, it's hard to imagine why they would ever want to participate, but Yates is convincing in his portrayal of the game's power: everyone wants to believe they're part of something special. It's clear from Page 1, though, that the illusion falls apart-"if there's nothing to lose, where's the thrill?"-and the game turns deadly. Fourteen years later, what's left is one player's account-but this player is badly broken. Yates' unreliable narrator makes the story a puzzle in itself, and while frustrating, it's all fun and games...right? Parts of this story are downright unrealistic, you won't get much character development, and key elements are left unexplained, but if you're in this for the game, you'll leave satisfied. You can't help but admire how Yates slowly unravels his players' safety nets-their minds-one roll of the dice at a time.

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August 1, 2015
American expat Chad and popular Jolyon instantly bond as Oxford first years and easily attract a tight social circle. Over lazy teas, they create a game/social experiment that tests players' endurance for humiliation, and they impulsively take it to Oxford's shadowy Game Society, which agrees to fund the prize, provided they can observe the gut-churning consequences ranging from petty embarrassments to cruel deceptions. Soon the happy bandcharismatic Jolyon, mysterious Chad, softhearted Emilia, genius Mark, comedic Jack, and poet Deeis embroiled in a dark game of exploiting their closest friends' psychological weaknesses. Now, 14 years later, Jolyon is seemingly broken, relying on a series of mnemonics to navigate the simplest tasks. Then the other finalist reaches out to finish the game, unleashing a torrent of memories of battered loyalties and even murder. Dark deeds among school cliques is a milieu that's attracted top-tier authors from Donna Tartt to Tana French, and this debut thriller is a worthy addition, with its chess-like psychological showdown.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)