The Tournament

The pressure cooker of external expectation meets a roaring furnace of personal ambition in this Shakespearean tale by Barrow (And Don’t Look Back). Located on the coast of Washington, Gardner-Bahnsen School for Girls has a unique educational philosophy that melds high academic standards and athletic pursuits with survivalist skills including hunting and wound care. Seventeen-year-old scholarship student Max—who grapples with internalized shame about her family’s less affluent lifestyle, relative to her peers—endeavors to win the Tierney Cup, an annual survivalist competition. Her plans are derailed when she learns that her former best friend Nora and transfer student Teddy will be participating as well. Nora, whose romantic advances Max spurned, finds in Teddy a partner who encourages her to step out of Max’s shadow; Max wrestles with jealousy over Nora and Teddy’s relationship; and Teddy struggles to manage her own violent urges. As the trio juggle the competition alongside mundane stress about academics and family, they must reckon with the sacrifices they’ll make to achieve their goals. Via three close third-person perspectives that center nuanced discussions about class differences and belonging, Barrow weaves a stunning tapestry of complex character flaws and motivations while creeping toward a haunting climax. This is dark academia at its finest. The protagonists are Black. Ages 14–up. (June)