It's a fight to the death;on live TV; when a gladiator's daughter steps into the arena
Lyn is a neo-gladiator's daughter, through and thr...
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Jan 07, 2012
Lucy
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38 comments
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(50 people liked it)
Nov 22, 2010
Anne
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Lyn is a pacifist—she thinks. Though avoiding violence is quite a challenge when one is the daughter of seven gladiators (six dead, one alive) and—even worse—a Gladiator’s Wife. But nothing in Lynn’s life has ever been easy. Not watching her former fathers die in their matches, or protecting her oracle of a brother from being placed in a facility, or worrying about her mother’s next faux death.
But when Lyn’s bracelet is picked up in the arena by her father’s killer and she has to c More...
But when Lyn’s bracelet is picked up in the arena by her father’s killer and she has to c More...
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Jul 05, 2011
joє
rated it: 
This is like NOTHING and EVERYTHING I expected it to be.
Born into a world of violence, 18-year-old Lyn, the daughter of 7 neo-gladiators decides to fight Uber, the guy who killed her 7th father and took her dowry bracelet, so she can claim her now threatened independence and prevent being a Glad-wife like her mother. Who represents everything she doesn't want to be. But there's also Thad, her unusual 8-year-old brother, seemingly able to predict the future, who she wants to take car More...
Born into a world of violence, 18-year-old Lyn, the daughter of 7 neo-gladiators decides to fight Uber, the guy who killed her 7th father and took her dowry bracelet, so she can claim her now threatened independence and prevent being a Glad-wife like her mother. Who represents everything she doesn't want to be. But there's also Thad, her unusual 8-year-old brother, seemingly able to predict the future, who she wants to take car More...
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(9 people liked it)
Aug 01, 2010
Morgan
rated it:
I have really conflicted feelings about this book. I was expecting some cheap Hunger Games rip-off, but it wasn't like that at all.
This book is about Lyn, who has had seven gladiator fathers, due to her mothers career as a Glad wife. As a substitute to war, an entire Glad culture has arisen, blood sport being just as common as football. Lyn's life is ruled by bylaws put forth by the Gladiator Sports Association. It is these bylaws that say she is required, through a chain of unfo More...
This book is about Lyn, who has had seven gladiator fathers, due to her mothers career as a Glad wife. As a substitute to war, an entire Glad culture has arisen, blood sport being just as common as football. Lyn's life is ruled by bylaws put forth by the Gladiator Sports Association. It is these bylaws that say she is required, through a chain of unfo More...
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(9 people liked it)
Aug 18, 2010
oliviasbooks
rated it:
Girl in the Arena is a science fiction novel. Yet it does not tell a future story; it is firmly anchored in a – only slightly altered – ‘now’ by using plenty of pop-culture references to today’s society (Youtube, Second Life, Sofia Copolla ...).
Closing one eye the fictional turns of the past decades and the imagined outcome for the present even seem almost likely. But the likelihood of the exact setting does not strike me as so important. If you peel away the alterations, you basic More...
Closing one eye the fictional turns of the past decades and the imagined outcome for the present even seem almost likely. But the likelihood of the exact setting does not strike me as so important. If you peel away the alterations, you basic More...
10 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Feb 09, 2012
Penny
rated it:
I want to give Girl in the Arena four--possibly even five--stars, because it has something few other books I've had the pleasure of reading has. Something I've been looking for, desperately, within YA fiction. Something that just...I don't know... Just speaks to me, I guess; feels true. I can relate to it, to the protagonist, how she feels. I understand her because, in a way, I was her. Maybe, from time to time, I still am her.
To help you understand where I'm coming from I need to More...
To help you understand where I'm coming from I need to More...
9 comments
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(11 people liked it)
Feb 20, 2010
Rebekah
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7 comments
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(13 people liked it)
Sep 30, 2011
Grace
rated it: 
Where to begin with this book? I thought the idea was phenomenal. I mean a book about gladiators!! I don't even think that's really been done before in the young adult genre...and to be honest I'm getting a little distressed and bored from all these standard vampire/werewolf/zombie teen books. It is basically the same concept and plotline redone by different authors in every novel I pick up. It's an inescapable representation now quite overdone in the juvenile/young adult world. There were endle
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4 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 25, 2011
Lauren
rated it:
Well, it was better than I thought. Maybe.
The book is a satire of modern society-- of its fascination with horror, violence, and celebrities. It is set in the future, and follows Lynn, a daughter of a neo-gladiator. Essentially her father's job (he is the neo-gladiator) is to fight to the death on live television. Pretty great job, eh? The books begins with Lynn's account of the history of the neo-gladiator sport, so the readers have some background about what is happening.
I was super pessi
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(1 person liked it)
May 29, 2011
Eliora
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http://scholarberry.blogspot.com/
"These are not my enemies."
My Rating: 7/10
Lise Haines' Girl in the Arena is spectacular! The story was centered around a girl named Lyn, who had 7 fathers. All 6 were dead and Tommy is the 7th. All 7th were gladiators.
Then came one fight--and Tommy's dead. Allison (Lyn's mom) can't support Thad (Lyn's brother) and Lyn anymore. Caesar's (the Hollywood in the gladiator world) won't let Allison marry fo More...
"These are not my enemies."
My Rating: 7/10
Lise Haines' Girl in the Arena is spectacular! The story was centered around a girl named Lyn, who had 7 fathers. All 6 were dead and Tommy is the 7th. All 7th were gladiators.
Then came one fight--and Tommy's dead. Allison (Lyn's mom) can't support Thad (Lyn's brother) and Lyn anymore. Caesar's (the Hollywood in the gladiator world) won't let Allison marry fo More...
Mar 12, 2011
Clare
rated it:
A vague, poorly written book trying to capitalize on the rush, brutality and teen sexual tension that the Hunger Games offered. Oh, and there's a useless mother and needy sibling as well. Same dissatisfying ending as Mockingjay, too. Lise Haines is not an author whose writing style I enjoy. Lots of dashes instead of quotes. It's hard to understand where the conversation starts and the sarcastic inner remark begins. Part of the reason why grammar nerds get so upset is that a message is clearer wh
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(4 people liked it)
Feb 07, 2012
Connie
rated it:
Girl in the Arena
Lyn has grown up in the limelight, mostly because of her mother and fathers. Yes, plural. Seven Gladiators have been father and stepfather to Lyn, but now they are all gone. The last, like the others, was killed in the ring. It was unbelievable! Everything she has wanted to escape, the gladiator life, her mother, and marriage come crashing down one her at once. Suddenly, she is now required to marry her father's killer. Everything in her cries out, but there is another op More...
Lyn has grown up in the limelight, mostly because of her mother and fathers. Yes, plural. Seven Gladiators have been father and stepfather to Lyn, but now they are all gone. The last, like the others, was killed in the ring. It was unbelievable! Everything she has wanted to escape, the gladiator life, her mother, and marriage come crashing down one her at once. Suddenly, she is now required to marry her father's killer. Everything in her cries out, but there is another op More...
Dec 29, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
First off, this book was nothing like I was expecting it to be. I was anticipating that most of the story would play out with Lyn preparing to fight her father’s killer. This is basically opposite of how everything actually played out. At first I was disappointed with where the story was going but nevertheless I gave it a shot and am glad I did.
Many of the reviews I’ve read have noted that the use of a dash rather than quotation marks was distracting or just laziness on the part of the wri More...
Many of the reviews I’ve read have noted that the use of a dash rather than quotation marks was distracting or just laziness on the part of the wri More...
Nov 20, 2011
Amy
rated it:
I’m not going to lie. I really enjoyed this book.
Anyone who has read The Hunger Games will think the author of this book is being a copycat. Well, she might be. But this book is very interesting to me in it’s own way. (I would totally read it again) And anyone who knows me knows I am a massive Hunger Games fan, so I can make a correct comparison.
So the story goes, Lyn has had seven fathers because her mother has remarried six times, the max times a gladiator wife can rem More...
Anyone who has read The Hunger Games will think the author of this book is being a copycat. Well, she might be. But this book is very interesting to me in it’s own way. (I would totally read it again) And anyone who knows me knows I am a massive Hunger Games fan, so I can make a correct comparison.
So the story goes, Lyn has had seven fathers because her mother has remarried six times, the max times a gladiator wife can rem More...
Sep 22, 2011
Kale
rated it:
Set in an alternate present, Girl in the Arena, is a lightly veiled commentary on the state of politics today, with the decline of social and moral ethics thrown in for good measure. Lyn the daughter of seven gladiators and a career glad wife, is living the double edged sword. Shunned by normal kids, revered in the media, she is the model of glad life. But living in perpetual morning, and having to adhere strict gladiator bylaws is slowly killing her mother. Lyn wants be more than yet another st
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Aug 24, 2011
Tammi
rated it:
Lyn is the product of her mother, Allison and her father, who was a gladiator in the Gladiator Sports Association (GSA). She has had a total of seven gladiator fathers. The gladiator bylaws say you can have no more than seven gladiator husbands and Allison has reached that number. There are even rules that say who you can associate with after your seventh husband.
“No woman is allowed marital congress with more than seven gladiators, Bylaw 116. And Gladiator Sport Association Wi More...
“No woman is allowed marital congress with more than seven gladiators, Bylaw 116. And Gladiator Sport Association Wi More...
Aug 01, 2011
Mlle.
rated it:
My opinion of GIRL IN THE ARENA suffered from a sort of bait-and-switch effect, which is totally my own fault. I picked up the book as a HUNGER GAMES substitute; I assumed (bad me!) that I was picking up a second-rate imitation that would have similar highs and lows. GIRL IN THE ARENA is a totally different sort of book, and it had none of the same highs or lows.
First of all - there's very little action. Given all the talk about gladiators and the cover picture of a girl kitted out in More...
First of all - there's very little action. Given all the talk about gladiators and the cover picture of a girl kitted out in More...
Jun 28, 2011
Veazey
rated it:
This book was baffling. I wanted to like it. I really, really did. I tried super hard to like it. The concept and cover art were interesting enough for me to pick this up, but as many reviewers before me have stated, the completely unessicary way the dialogue was portrayed drove me crazy. I had a hard time stay focused because this stupid format was so distracting.
The synopsis and cover art are misleading. The character portayed is this tough gladiator girl with long flowing hair, stuc More...
The synopsis and cover art are misleading. The character portayed is this tough gladiator girl with long flowing hair, stuc More...
Nov 27, 2010
Corinne
rated it:
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Sep 29, 2010
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Karin Librarian for TeensReadToo.com
In today's society, we enjoy brutal sports like World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Imagine, if you will, a world where we also couldn't wait for the next gladiator match.
Lyn lives in just such a world. In fact, she is deeply entrenched in the Glad lifestyle. Lyn's mother has had seven husbands - all Glad fighters. She has been widowed six times, her husbands always dying in the arena. Her l More...
In today's society, we enjoy brutal sports like World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Imagine, if you will, a world where we also couldn't wait for the next gladiator match.
Lyn lives in just such a world. In fact, she is deeply entrenched in the Glad lifestyle. Lyn's mother has had seven husbands - all Glad fighters. She has been widowed six times, her husbands always dying in the arena. Her l More...
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(1 person liked it)
Sep 02, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
It’s a fight to the death—on live TV—when a gladiator’s daughter steps into the arena
Lyn is a neo-gladiator’s daughter, through and through. Her mother has made a career out of marrying into the high-profile world of televised blood sport, and the rules of the Gladiator Sports Association are second nature to their family. Always lend ineffable confidence to the gladiator. Remind him constantly of his victories. And most importantly: Never leave the stadium when your father is dyi More...
Lyn is a neo-gladiator’s daughter, through and through. Her mother has made a career out of marrying into the high-profile world of televised blood sport, and the rules of the Gladiator Sports Association are second nature to their family. Always lend ineffable confidence to the gladiator. Remind him constantly of his victories. And most importantly: Never leave the stadium when your father is dyi More...
Aug 02, 2010
Erin
rated it:
Being a big fan of gladiators and having read a friend's favourable review, I thought for sure that this one would be a winner but the best word that I can find to describe it is "messy." In the same way that the long-haired archaic image on the cover doesn't fit with the "neo-gladitorial" system where our protagonist is bald and fights barefoot in some sort of normal but super-heroized outfit. I really don't get where a lot of the character emotions come from- for instance
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Jul 12, 2010
Heather
rated it:
I bought this book because the author came to speak at my MFA residency. The reading she did made it sound exciting, and as a writer of what I'm repeatedly told is alternate world YA, I was curious to see how a published professional approached the genre. (Sub-genre? I'm not sure what to call it.)
I was largely disappointed. I had a difficult time immersing myself in the world's setting; largely because she writes about a city I am very familiar with -- Boston. Somehow in the mess of More...
I was largely disappointed. I had a difficult time immersing myself in the world's setting; largely because she writes about a city I am very familiar with -- Boston. Somehow in the mess of More...
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Apr 24, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
It is really a 3.5.
I LOVED the concept, neo-gladiator society set now with all kinds of social/gender rules and a plausible history. There are lots of relationships examined between mother daughter, mother and glad husbands, daughter and glad fathers, mother and autistic son, brother and sister, daughter's male best friend and possible romantic interest etc. None of these relationships are handled tritely and I feel read realistically for a mature 18 year old how has had lots of tra More...
I LOVED the concept, neo-gladiator society set now with all kinds of social/gender rules and a plausible history. There are lots of relationships examined between mother daughter, mother and glad husbands, daughter and glad fathers, mother and autistic son, brother and sister, daughter's male best friend and possible romantic interest etc. None of these relationships are handled tritely and I feel read realistically for a mature 18 year old how has had lots of tra More...
Apr 23, 2010
McKenzie
rated it:
The concept of this book is what caught my attention right away, gladiators fighting to the death on live TV. It's a fairly new concept that doesn't seem to be extremely well chartered, at least in nothing I've read. Based on the material, I didn't expect to feel anything for Lyn, or for Uber, the man she must marry. I figured, that based on the GSA rules, everyone was pretty much brainwashed into acting and doing what they do. But I was wrong.
Girl in the Arena actually offered a lot More...
Girl in the Arena actually offered a lot More...
Apr 19, 2010
Kireem
rated it:
I was first drawn to this book by the cover: a young woman, crouching, in a uniform obviously meant for fighting, and a shield inconspiciously hidden behind her. The idea of the novel is intriguing and quite unique. Lyn lives in a world of gladiators, a world were men fight to the for the entertainment of the people. Women are allowed to fight too, but most become wives and are trained to help out their gladiator husbands in any way possible.
Lyn is the daughter of seven gladiat More...
Lyn is the daughter of seven gladiat More...
Apr 01, 2010
Sami
rated it:
Lyn is a neo-gladiator’s daughter, through and through. Her mother has made a career out of marrying into the high-profile world of televised blood sport, and the rules of the Gladiator Sports Association are second nature to their family. Always lend ineffable confidence to the gladiator. Remind him constantly of his victories. And most importantly: Never leave the stadium when your father is dying. The rules help the family survive, but rules—and the GSA—can also turn against you. When a gifte
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Mar 29, 2010
Miki
rated it: 
This is an amazing book that really stands out above the crowd in a lot of ways. I think it would appeal to a wide range of readers, and I have already passed it on or recommended it to many of my friends.
The book is about Lyn, the daughter of a gladiator in a near future world where gladiators not only fight to the death for glory and TV contracts, but also live by a strict social code that governs not only their lives, but also those of their wives and children.
Her More...
The book is about Lyn, the daughter of a gladiator in a near future world where gladiators not only fight to the death for glory and TV contracts, but also live by a strict social code that governs not only their lives, but also those of their wives and children.
Her More...
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(2 people liked it)
Mar 06, 2010
Afton
rated it:
This is the kind of book you can sit down and read in an afternoon: quick paced action, a creepy dystopian setting, flawed characters and intense emotion. Unfortunately by the time I got to the end of the story I was left thinking, "that's all?" For all the build up it was disappointingly anticlimactic. The actual stopping point in the story was also unsatisfying.
There were some strange inconsistencies that bugged me, but the most glaring was the fact that Uber, the su More...
There were some strange inconsistencies that bugged me, but the most glaring was the fact that Uber, the su More...
Feb 05, 2010
Rachel
rated it:
The worst thing about the book was definitely a formatting issue. Odd formatting of dialogue is an annoyance and detracts from whatever the character's are saying. I think if more author's used this format, it would actually put me off reading entirely. Ugh.
The story wasn't really the one advertised by the cover tagline either, which was a let down. The premise is that the girl (in the arena) is fighting to avenge her father's death in the neo-gladiator ring. Well, no, that's not tru More...
The story wasn't really the one advertised by the cover tagline either, which was a let down. The premise is that the girl (in the arena) is fighting to avenge her father's death in the neo-gladiator ring. Well, no, that's not tru More...
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