Last Chance Live!

Gr 10 Up–A dystopian thriller seeking to encourage and challenge readers with issues of wrongdoing, justice, mercy, and forgiveness. Eighteen-year-old Eternity Price is on death row and sees only a hopeless future. Desperate, she applies to compete on the reality show Last Chance Live! to win her freedom and reunite with her brother. The winner will be granted clemency, preventing execution, while losing means no longer being able to appeal sentences and execution within the week following elimination. Eternity has been disliked and rejected throughout her life, making the chances of America voting for her minuscule. Landing a spot on the show, she finds both competition and “almost-friends” in the convicted contestants, the closest she has ever come to a community, and finds her drive to win at all costs challenged by the glimmers of belonging she glimpses. Race and body image are integral parts of the story. Eternity is clearly described as Black and overweight, a major part of her identity, which impacts her interactions with people and decisions. She is flawed and sympathetic, likely leaving readers with complex feelings about her and the story’s progression. A author’s note at the end discusses and comments on the heavy themes, aiding readers in processing the content and its lessons.