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When Jenny Thornton and her six friends open the white box given to her by the mysterious Julian, they discover a strange game and enter a house of horrors full of their worst nightmares, where they must triumph or die.Tags
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Mumugrrl Similar concepts and plotlines. Be aware that Hunting Julian is NOT a young adult novel and contains graphic sexual descriptions.
Member Reviews
This omnibus edition includes all three books in the trilogy. In the first book, Jenny is doing some last minute preparation for her boyfriend Tom's birthday party and stumbles across a mysterious game store, where she buys a game in a blank white box. The game turns out to be a paper house, with paper figures you can draw on to look like the various players, and paper cards on which the players are expected to draw their worst fears. It seems like harmless fun, until the game becomes real, and Jenny, Tom, Zach, Dee, Audrey, Michael, and Summer are all trapped in the house and forced to face their fears if they want to survive. The one putting them through all of this is Julian, an evil but handsome being who wants to make Jenny his.
show more In the second book, everyone tries to adjust to the consequences of Book 1, and Julian's back for another game. In the third book, Jenny and her friends must travel to the Shadow World for a rescue attempt. They end up in a deadly amusement park, and this time around Julian isn't the only threat they need to worry about.
L.J. Smith was one of my top favorite authors when I was a teen, despite her book's frequently ugly covers (seriously, the original Night World covers were hideous, although they were at least more memorable than the current "face on a black background" omnibus covers). She was my go-to author for YA paranormal romance, and I loved several of her books enough to reread them multiple times.
I don't think I ever reread the Forbidden Game trilogy, though, and all I could remember about it was that it starred a hot evil guy and had a disappointing ending. I can tell you right now that the reason Teen Me was so disappointed was because I approached this trilogy as paranormal romance. In reality, it's more like YA horror with romantic elements, or maybe a YA horror love story. Even though I'd adjusted my expectations for this reread, the trilogy's ending was still a bit disappointing.
Smith's writing was as compulsively readable as I remembered it being, although it felt a bit dated, especially during the first book, and the computer scenes in the second book made me laugh a bit. Jenny was very much an "L.J. Smith trilogy" sort of character: the gorgeous blonde girl who was loved by everyone and viewed by everyone as being very good and kind. It was a bit much, but I suppose it fit with the "Persephone and Hades" vibe that the story was going for.
The horror aspects in the first book were a bit cheesy, but still decent. In Book 2, I liked the creepy moments before the newest game started (Audrey and Dee's experiences were my favorites), but the game itself was largely forgettable. Book 3's horror elements, on the other hand, were fabulous. It's no wonder that the primary thing I remembered about this trilogy was the amusement park. I'm a fan of creepy animatronics, so I considered Leo the Paper-Eating Lion and the stuff in the arcade to be some of the best parts.
The romance aspect... Even with my vague memories of how the trilogy turned out, it was hard not to read it as paranormal romance.After the events of Book 1, I hated myself a little for wanting Jenny to end up with Julian - after all, the guy was responsible for one of her friends ending up dead (granted, the friend didn't have much of a personality) and was trying to force her into a position where she had no choice but to stay with him.
But I also kind of understood it. At the start of the book, Jenny was working her way towards becoming Tom's perfect Stepford wife, wearing clothes and styling her hair primarily to suit his tastes and laying out a future for herself that revolved around him and his plans. Tom's happiness was the most important thing. Then Julian appeared. He considered Jenny the light to his darkness and, unlike Tom, was completely focused on her. He was also way more charismatic and interesting. Tom was barely on-page in the first and third books and spent most of the second book either sulking a bit out of jealousy or acting like he'd already lost her and could only watch her from the shadows. Julian was more appealing than that. And what about a third option? Jenny could have ended up single, but stronger and more self-confident. I'd still have been bummed about Julian, but that outcome would have worked better for me than Jenny ending up with Tom. Boring, boring Tom.
I appreciated aspects of the ending more now than I probably did as a teen - the way all of the characters were forced to face the things they most feared about themselves and how others viewed them, and how they supported each other in the end. But I can't help it, I still read (or reread, I guess) L.J. Smith's books for the romance more than anything else, and this trilogy was just painful in that respect. I can understand why Teen Me never reread it.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
show more In the second book, everyone tries to adjust to the consequences of Book 1, and Julian's back for another game. In the third book, Jenny and her friends must travel to the Shadow World for a rescue attempt. They end up in a deadly amusement park, and this time around Julian isn't the only threat they need to worry about.
L.J. Smith was one of my top favorite authors when I was a teen, despite her book's frequently ugly covers (seriously, the original Night World covers were hideous, although they were at least more memorable than the current "face on a black background" omnibus covers). She was my go-to author for YA paranormal romance, and I loved several of her books enough to reread them multiple times.
I don't think I ever reread the Forbidden Game trilogy, though, and all I could remember about it was that it starred a hot evil guy and had a disappointing ending. I can tell you right now that the reason Teen Me was so disappointed was because I approached this trilogy as paranormal romance. In reality, it's more like YA horror with romantic elements, or maybe a YA horror love story. Even though I'd adjusted my expectations for this reread, the trilogy's ending was still a bit disappointing.
Smith's writing was as compulsively readable as I remembered it being, although it felt a bit dated, especially during the first book, and the computer scenes in the second book made me laugh a bit. Jenny was very much an "L.J. Smith trilogy" sort of character: the gorgeous blonde girl who was loved by everyone and viewed by everyone as being very good and kind. It was a bit much, but I suppose it fit with the "Persephone and Hades" vibe that the story was going for.
The horror aspects in the first book were a bit cheesy, but still decent. In Book 2, I liked the creepy moments before the newest game started (Audrey and Dee's experiences were my favorites), but the game itself was largely forgettable. Book 3's horror elements, on the other hand, were fabulous. It's no wonder that the primary thing I remembered about this trilogy was the amusement park. I'm a fan of creepy animatronics, so I considered Leo the Paper-Eating Lion and the stuff in the arcade to be some of the best parts.
The romance aspect... Even with my vague memories of how the trilogy turned out, it was hard not to read it as paranormal romance.
But I also kind of understood it. At the start of the book, Jenny was working her way towards becoming Tom's perfect Stepford wife, wearing clothes and styling her hair primarily to suit his tastes and laying out a future for herself that revolved around him and his plans. Tom's happiness was the most important thing. Then Julian appeared. He considered Jenny the light to his darkness and, unlike Tom, was completely focused on her. He was also way more charismatic and interesting. Tom was barely on-page in the first and third books and spent most of the second book either sulking a bit out of jealousy or acting like he'd already lost her and could only watch her from the shadows. Julian was more appealing than that. And what about a third option? Jenny could have ended up single, but stronger and more self-confident. I'd still have been bummed about Julian, but that outcome would have worked better for me than Jenny ending up with Tom. Boring, boring Tom.
I appreciated aspects of the ending more now than I probably did as a teen - the way all of the characters were forced to face the things they most feared about themselves and how others viewed them, and how they supported each other in the end. But I can't help it, I still read (or reread, I guess) L.J. Smith's books for the romance more than anything else, and this trilogy was just painful in that respect. I can understand why Teen Me never reread it.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
I'm a little torn between giving this a 3 or 4. On one hand, the concept is interesting and well-executed, the female lead is a strong character who undergoes a lot of growth through the book, and the story was simply compelling. On the other hand, aside from Jenny and Julian, all the characters were boring stereotypes who only had the most shallow development at the end, and they were supposedly so important to Jenny but it was difficult to see why. The story is fast-paced and there are things happening in every chapter which kept my attention, but at the same time, it left little room for the author to delve deeper into her characters and flesh them out. Particularly in the first book, "The Hunter", I felt that the characters get over show more their nightmares too quickly and easily. Although L.J. Smith is great at creating a sense of horror, I didn't really feel the characters' pain, struggles and triumphs. I thought the ending was predictable, it being the only logical way that I could see to resolve the love triangle, but it was still satisfying to read. show less
Jenny and her friends play a strange game—except it’s not a game; they’re stranded in a dangerous world whose terrors are orchestrated by an ominous figure who’s set his sights on Jenny. To survive (and not everybody will), they have to confront their deepest terrors and rely on each other. Nonstandard in that Jenny’s attraction to the Bad Boy is not the right thing, not easy for her to deal with, and not enough to override her love for the ordinary guy who loves her back. This isn’t really the kind of YA that I can truly enjoy too—the characters are too flat for that, and the colorful settings don’t make up for that, but I’d happily give it to a young reader, especially since it emphasizes the importance of female show more friendships via showing, not telling. show less
Let me preface my review by saying that I first read this series when I was in high school and I loved it. My best friend recommended it and we referenced it all the time... though with some knowledge that this was somewhat cheesy writing. There were lots of jokes about guys with beautiful, steely blue eyes. But I remember thinking that the books were somewhat scary, contained a great mix of fantasy and reality, and Julian had that bad-boy/demon thing going for him, like Jareth in Labyrinth, but without the weird age difference!
So when the series was finally reprinted, I was really excited to read them again and see how my adult-self compared with my teen-self. I'm sorry to say that I don't think this series aged that well. It's not show more just the early 90s references... I felt like there were a lot of problems here. Like the characters feeling like stereotypes for the first half of the series. Or the language that they used sounding like it wouldn't come out of a teen's mouth now or 16 years ago. And Jenny... what did she see in Tom? She feels so flat throughout the books, which I suppose is somewhat the point. She does develop somewhat and becomes more independent, less reliant on her friends' strengths and Tom being her protector. I suppose I just got annoyed with her incredible "goodness" - I mean, who's really that good?
I should balance this review out by saying that I still did enjoy rereading this series... it just felt more like a guilty read! I think that for those Twilight-readers this is an excellent collection to move on to; even though it's populated with the troubled, beautiful, immortal bad boy, it revolves less around being obsessed by this boy and more about friendship and inner-strength. Jenny's not the strongest of heroines, but she still becomes "her own master." As a librarian, I'll be recommending this book to those still looking for something after Twilight, but also to those looking for a good haunted house story, something to do with nightmares, or something that doesn't include vampires! show less
So when the series was finally reprinted, I was really excited to read them again and see how my adult-self compared with my teen-self. I'm sorry to say that I don't think this series aged that well. It's not show more just the early 90s references... I felt like there were a lot of problems here. Like the characters feeling like stereotypes for the first half of the series. Or the language that they used sounding like it wouldn't come out of a teen's mouth now or 16 years ago. And Jenny... what did she see in Tom? She feels so flat throughout the books, which I suppose is somewhat the point. She does develop somewhat and becomes more independent, less reliant on her friends' strengths and Tom being her protector. I suppose I just got annoyed with her incredible "goodness" - I mean, who's really that good?
I should balance this review out by saying that I still did enjoy rereading this series... it just felt more like a guilty read! I think that for those Twilight-readers this is an excellent collection to move on to; even though it's populated with the troubled, beautiful, immortal bad boy, it revolves less around being obsessed by this boy and more about friendship and inner-strength. Jenny's not the strongest of heroines, but she still becomes "her own master." As a librarian, I'll be recommending this book to those still looking for something after Twilight, but also to those looking for a good haunted house story, something to do with nightmares, or something that doesn't include vampires! show less
At first I really couldn't get into the first book. I spent a week going back and forth between this an another book. But once they got into the game I couldn't put it down! I have been a longtime fan of L.J. Smith, and now I remember why. The stories just suck you in and make you antsy to find out how it all ends. I will admit that I really wanted the ending to be different, but we can't all get what we want.
It's nice having these shorter young adult novels from the 90s packaged together in one volume. It makes it seem more cohesive and reading them together made me realize how well thought out her novels are and the foreshadowing that she places throughout them. And how consistent her characters act throughout the series.
There are places, particularly the technology and the clothes and hair that seemed dated, but the book holds up extremely well even today, and I found myself as entranced, if not more so, by these novels than the Twilight series, although this doesn't have any sparkly or otherwise vampires in it.
This book is high on forbidden romance, and even though L. J. Smith says on her website that all her series have a happy ending, show more I am not sure that everyone would agree with that. The growth of all the characters was admirable, and heartbreaking, but I don't know that I could have made the same mature choices that her characters made when I was 17.
Her character Julian and his shadow world were extremely appealing, even in spite of the horrors of it, and it's a place I'd like to revisit if she ever decides to expand the series like she did the Vampire Diaries. It's well worth the trip. show less
There are places, particularly the technology and the clothes and hair that seemed dated, but the book holds up extremely well even today, and I found myself as entranced, if not more so, by these novels than the Twilight series, although this doesn't have any sparkly or otherwise vampires in it.
This book is high on forbidden romance, and even though L. J. Smith says on her website that all her series have a happy ending, show more I am not sure that everyone would agree with that. The growth of all the characters was admirable, and heartbreaking, but I don't know that I could have made the same mature choices that her characters made when I was 17.
Her character Julian and his shadow world were extremely appealing, even in spite of the horrors of it, and it's a place I'd like to revisit if she ever decides to expand the series like she did the Vampire Diaries. It's well worth the trip. show less
The Forbidden Game by LJ Smith is my favourite series of books by this author.
I was heartbroken when I ran out of LJ Smith books to read - LJ Smith has been one of my favourite YA novelists in my lifetime, and it's always hard to put her novels down. I'm addicting to her style of writing (even as an adult).
This book was definitely your typical YA series all wrapped up in one - teenage characters with teenage problems, but are the special people that have to deal with this specific problem, "The Game". The final book in this series does tie up most of the questions with in this book, but I still wanted more! While the characters might not grow much within this series, there was definitely room for more antics and character development show more for this intriguing cast. Especially our villain, who was the character I liked the most (even though he was a baddy...).
Overall, this series is an engaging YA read that holds up over time (I believe it was released in the 90s and it still hits it out of the park for me!!!).
Five out of five stars. show less
I was heartbroken when I ran out of LJ Smith books to read - LJ Smith has been one of my favourite YA novelists in my lifetime, and it's always hard to put her novels down. I'm addicting to her style of writing (even as an adult).
This book was definitely your typical YA series all wrapped up in one - teenage characters with teenage problems, but are the special people that have to deal with this specific problem, "The Game". The final book in this series does tie up most of the questions with in this book, but I still wanted more! While the characters might not grow much within this series, there was definitely room for more antics and character development show more for this intriguing cast. Especially our villain, who was the character I liked the most (even though he was a baddy...).
Overall, this series is an engaging YA read that holds up over time (I believe it was released in the 90s and it still hits it out of the park for me!!!).
Five out of five stars. show less
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Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Forbidden Game
- Original publication date
- 1994
- People/Characters
- Julian; Jenny Thornton; Tom Locke; Audrey Myers; Deirdre 'Dee' Eliade; Zach Taylor (show all 8); Michael Cohen; Summer Parker-Pearson
- Important places
- California, USA; Shadow World
- Dedication*
- [The Hunter] For Peter Clifford
[The Chase] For Joanne Finucan, a true heroine and lifelong inspiration
[The Kill] For the real Sue Carson, the inspiration for her namesake; And for John G. Check III, with love and thanks - First words*
- [The Hunter] Jenny glanced back over her shoulder.
[The Chase] It wasn't so much the hunting.
[The Kill] The flight attendant started toward them, and the back of Jenny's neck began to prickle. - Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[The Hunter] One of them flicked out a knife and slit the tape.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[The Chase] To the smoking photograph, black and empty again, she said, "En garde, Julian. It's not over till it's over."
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[The Kill] If, someday, Julian should be reborn, she wished him well.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Teen, Fantasy, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .S6537 .F — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
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- Reviews
- 23
- Rating
- (4.12)
- Languages
- English, French
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- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 13
- ASINs
- 5