What is To the Death about?
10 people volunteer to be part of a televised survival competition run on an island swarming with 1000’s of Pyres – flesh eating zombies. They will be joined up in pairs with 10 islanders (by force) who have grown up on the island and know how to protect themselves.
The last two standing win the competition. The mainlander wins a large cash prize and the islander gets to leave the island for good.
Plot summary of To The Death (No Spoilers)
Astrid has grown accustomed to her life of survival on an island overrun by Zombies. Named Pyres, she and her friends live behind tall walls, are all adept with weapons like crossbows, knives, and machetes, which all require getting far too close to a Pyre to kill it.
She lost her family one night four years before, and her frenzied response to the murderers of her father and sister gained her the nickname – The Executioner. Cameras caught everything. There has always been cameras on the island as it is also used as a prison by the mainland, and a powerful corporation named Bloodwatch.
Bloodwatch arrives one day to tell Astrid she will soon be in a televised survival program called Escape From Blood Island. Her friends aren’t keen for Astrid to leave them, but she is given a choice. Accept her place in the game and her friends will receive months of much needed supplies, or don’t accept and watch them burnt to the ground.
Other islanders are also recruited, and they are soon teamed up with 10 mainlanders, who have all joined up for different reasons. Most are not there for the large money prize. Astrid can’t believe these strangers would place themselves in so much danger for any reason, but she tries to make the most of the person she is teamed up with.
They are given increasingly dangerous challenges to survive, and Astrid has to let the anger and grief that earned her Executioner title free, in order to counter everything thrown at them by Bloodwatch. She also has to play the game to earn more favour from the live stream viewers on the mainland.
She finds more than courage during each test, building bonds with others in the fight to stay alive. The longer they fight and the more horrors they see, the more determined Astrid is to bring Bloodwatch down.
Review
The comparison of To the Death being The Hunger Games crossed with The Last of Us is spot on. This first book in a duology is full of gruesome scenes with both bloodthirsty contestants, and others trying to keep as many people alive as possible. When the villains show their true selves it’s always a shock, but all the more gripping for it.
Learning the back stories and reasons for the contestants to put themselves at such risk is compelling, and the desire for revenge among the islanders brings ever increasing tension.
Packed with action from start to finish, gut-twisting choices and close calls, readers will cheer for their favourites fighting to win. A building love interest is woven through, even if riddled with doubt. I enjoyed learning about Astrid and eagerly waited for her to let ‘The Executioner’ out, but she mostly used her smarts learnt while growing up on the island.
With a killer ending (scuse the pun) I can’t wait to see what happens next in the sequel – Hunting Season (2027)
Book Style
324 Pages / 31 Chapters
FAQ’s
What age is it for?
13+
Where & When is it set?
A fictional dystopian island / Future
What is the Point of View / Tense of the novel?
1st person / Past tense
Is there Violence?
Graphic Violence
Is there any sex in the novel?
No
What genre is To The Death?
Young Adult Dystopian
Themes
Dystopian, Zombies, Courage, Grief, Action
Is it part of a series?
Yes – It is a duology (To the Death Series)
- To the Death (2026)
- Hunting Season (2027)
Author
Melissa Welliver
Publisher
Hachette
Find a link to Look Inside here
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(2026, Hachette, Zombies, Courage, Dystopian, Island, Television Show, Cameras, Ruthlessness, Violence, Danger, Action, Weapons, Corporation, Competition, Fight to survival, Survival, Tests, Series, Revenge, Murder, Horror)