Books like 'The Contest'
Readers who enjoyed The Contest by Gordon Korman also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure mystery realistic survival children sports suspense rural season-winter
-
Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBen Ripley enrolls in ski school, where the slopes, and the stakes, get really steep in this companion to the Edgar Award–nominated Spy School, Spy Camp, and Evil Spy School.Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley is not exactly the best student spy school has ever seen—he keeps flunking Advanced Self Preservation. But outside of class, Ben is pretty great at staying alive... -
Kyle by Riley Edwards
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAnaya Baker knows pain—she got her first taste when she was orphaned and put into foster care. Then it was forever embedded into her soul when she was sold to a sex trafficking ring. Nearly two decades later the stench still clings to her. It coats her skin and burns her gut... -
Famished: Part Two: by Ellie Messe
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsI’m a coward. I just wanted to forget. I just wanted an escape from reality. I didn’t ask for any of this. Hiding the truth just might kill me, but how can I come clean when everything around me is so twisted? Funerals, weddings, secrets…between them all, I’m losing myself. I’m not even sure I know who I am anymore. I missed the memo where families are built on lies... -
Spy School Project X by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the tenth book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, Ben Ripley races against time and across state lines—by car, train, boat, and plane—to avoid his new cyber enemies and track down Murray Hill.Ben Ripley’s longtime nemesis, Murray Hill, has put a price on Ben’s head and accused him of being at the center of a conspiracy on the internet... -
-
The Dealer by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsDrugs, cars and guns!Keith Moore is Europe's biggest cocaine dealer. The police have been trying to get enough evidence to nail him for more than twenty years.Now, four CHERUB agents are joining the hunt... -
Masterminds: Criminal Destiny by Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"A terrific page-turner, full of unexpected twists and revelations. Buckle up!"—James PattersonThe second book in the acclaimed, action-packed series from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman. Stranger Things fans, don't miss this trilogy!The clones of Project Osiris are free—but they’re being hunted... -
Broken Bonds by Kaylea Cross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAutumn winds and rain have returned to Crimson Point.It’s November in the Pacific Northwest and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Beckett and the Crimson Point gang are looking forward to celebrating the holiday together. This year they all have more to be thankful for than ever…but that also means they have even more to lose.But this year a different kind of storm is looming...Categorized as:
season-winter suspense action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction law-enforcement -
Nancy Drew: #1-64 by Carolyn Keene
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNancy Drew has been solving mysteries, and delighting fans, for over 75 years...Categorized as:
children realistic suspense 20th-century action-adventure book children-books classics -
Targeted by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHunter Townsend loves his new home in the small town of Shadows Landing. It’s his sanctuary when he comes home from a mission as part of his Special Forces team. Maggie, the infuriating, monogram loving, bright color wearing, cuter than she should be woman, who loves to tease him was the only issue in Shadows Landing. Until a mission goes wrong . . -
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsWhen a blizzard strands them in Salt Lake City, two strangers agree to charter a plane together, hoping to return home; Ben Payne is a gifted surgeon returning from a conference, and Ashley Knox, a magazine writer, is en route to her wedding... -
Divine Madness by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsWhen religion goes bad...When CHERUB uncovers a link between eco-terrorist group Help Earth and a wealthy religious cult known as The Survivors, James Adams is sent to Australia on an infiltration mission.It's his toughest job so far. The Survivors' outback headquarters are completely isolated and the cult's brainwashing techniques put James under massive pressure to confirm... -
The Sleepwalker by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsIn the ninth breathtaking title in the bestselling CHERUB series, James is getting into trouble on campus, while Lauren has an air crash to investigate... -
December by Gabrielle Lord
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOn New Year's Eve, Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning They killed your father. They'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days. Hurled into a life on the run the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone. Hunted by the law and ruthless criminals, Cal must somehow uncover the truth about his father's mysterious death and a history-changing secret...Categorized as:
children survival suspense action-adventure book children-books conspiracies contemporary -
The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Never give in." Ever since he woke up in a terrorist torture chamber--with a year of his life erased from his mind--Charlie West has been on the run. He has one desperate hope of getting his life back: track down the mysterious agent named Waterman. But in fact, reaching Waterman--and recovering the secrets lost in his own memory--will only increase his danger... -
-
Undercurrents by Traci Hunter Abramson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShaye Kendall, an Olympic-bound swimmer, has been in the witness protection program ever since she witnessed her boyfriend's murder. She now has a new name, a new life, and strict orders not to reveal her secret. But fitting into a community is hard when you can't tell people anything about yourself... -
Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsThis gripping final mission brings together Alex Rider’s old enemies to frame the teenage superspy in an unstoppable plot of revenge, from which he can never return. Pursued from Europe to North Africa and Cairo’s city of the dead – this is the twistiest and most deadly plot of any Alex Rider mission yet, and will reveal Smithers’ ultimate gadget and see the shock death of a major character... -
Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThirteen-year-old Sunny runs away from her current foster parent in search of her twin sister, from whom she was separated ten years earlier. On the way, shell face a tornado, bullies, and a stray dog and the fact that her sister may not be who Sunny hoped she would be... -
Winning Ace: A Winning Ace Novel by Tracie Delaney
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen the opportunity arises for journalist Tally McKenzie to meet tennis ace Cash Gallagher, she grabs it without hesitation. Desperate for a killer story to advance her career, she’ll have to betray her idol and her own morals into the bargain if she is to succeed. Renowned bad boy Cash wants one thing; to remain at the top of his game... -
Reno by V. Theia
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEveryone thought Reno was a happy-go-lucky biker.But in truth, the Diablo Disciples MC’s SAA had many personal issues on his shoulders.His co-dependent twin, for one.They’d relied only on each other for years.Now their sadistic older brother was back in their lives to cause trouble for the club.And then a knock-out woman changed Reno’s entire outlook on life.He wanted more... -
Shadow Wave by Robert Muchamore
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA CHERUB agent must choose between the agency and his own beliefs in the twelfth and final book of the CHERUB series, which Rick Riordan says has “plenty of action.”CHERUB agents are highly trained, extremely talented—and all under the age of seventeen. For official purposes, these agents do not exist... -
Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this third book in the Charlie Thorne series from bestselling author Stuart Gibbs, Charlie tracks down Cleopatra’s greatest treasure in Egypt.Charlie Thorne is a genius. Charlie Thorne is a renegade. Charlie Thorne isn’t going down without a fight.After tracking down incredible discoveries by Einstein and Darwin, Charlie is back... -
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNo electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness... -
Danger On the Mountain by Lynette Eason
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTHE CONCLUSION TO THE FAN FAVORITE SERIES FROM LYNETTE EASON After making a new life for herself and her infant daughter in Rose Mountain, widow Maggie Bennett thought they were safe. Getting caught in the middle of a bank robbery changes everything—and introduces her to policeman Reese Kirkpatrick... -
A King's Ransom by Jude Watson
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAmy and Dan are in a race for their lives . . . and the enemy may be even closer than they think.When seven members of their family were kidnapped by a sinister organization known as the Vespers, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, vowed they'd stop at nothing to bring the hostages home. But then the ransom comes in and the Vespers demand the impossible... -
-
Drop Zone by Traci Hunter Abramson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPaige Vickers needs a new life, so she’s relieved when she’s given an assignment that takes her away from her stressful position as a psychiatric nurse with the CIA and puts her in a job as administrative assistant for Vanessa Johnson, an instructor for undercover operatives at the CIA’s training facility... -
Public Enemies by Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWANTED...Aiden and Meg Falconer have been crossing the country as fugitives in order to prove their parents didn't commit a crime. In a world where criminals are celebrities and news coverage is 24-7, the Falconers are finding it very hard to hide from their unwanted fame. They've been chased from state to state by the FBI... and by a killer they know only as Hairless Joe...Categorized as:
children realistic survival suspense action-adventure book children-books contemporary -
The Deep End by Traci Hunter Abramson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Another exciting read by Traci Abramson, Traci brings together personal experience in competitive swimming and insider knowledge of US spy agencies to deliver a riveting story from the first paragraph to the... -
Ripple Effect by Traci Hunter Abramson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKylie Ramsey is supposed to be invisible. In fact, to keep her unnoticed, the FBI has changed the world-class swimmer's identity and moved her twice in the last year. However, there are still a few people who would quickly recognize her. One of them is Matt Whitman, the man Kylie could have easily spent eternity with. The other is Judge Rush — the man who wants Kylie dead... -
July by Gabrielle Lord
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOn New Year's Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days. Cal is running out of places to hide. Everywhere he goes, someone seems to be behind him, tracking his every move. They don't care who they hurt to get to him...Categorized as:
survival suspense action-adventure book children-books conspiracies contemporary fiction -
September by Gabrielle Lord
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsConvinced Oriana was behind his little sister's kidnapping, Cal teams up with Boges to pull off a plan to extract vital information out of her...Categorized as:
children survival suspense action-adventure book children-books conspiracies contemporary -
August by Gabrielle Lord
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNow I was completely alone. There was nothing but silence and the ghosts of the dead. Cal Ormond has escaped death several times and deceived enemies in the most unlikely situations. All this to discover what the Ormond Singularity is, a secret that transformed the young man's routine and that can change history as we know it...Categorized as:
children survival suspense action-adventure book children-books conspiracies contemporary -
Stolen Children by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAmy learned a lot in her babysitting course, but not what to do if two thugs show up, intent on kidnapping. Armed with misinformation and a weapon, the men take Amy and little Kendra to a remote cabin in the woods. There they make videos of the girls and mail them to Kendra’s wealthy parents in an effort to get ransom money... -
Nowhere to Run by Jude Watson
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Cahill family has a secret. For five hundred years, they have guarded the 39 Clues – thirty-nine ingredients in a serum that transforms whomever takes it into the most powerful person on earth. If the serum got into the wrong hands, the disaster would rock the world. So certain Cahills have always made it their mission to keep the serum safe, buried, locked away. Until now... -
The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSometimes you have to go home to find out who you really are.Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high-school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn t know whose side he s on or who he can trust... -
-
Abduction! by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMatt is missing. Bonnie's brother left his classroom to use thebathroom —and disappeared. A police dog traces his scent to the curb, where he apparently got into a vehicle. But why would Matt go anywhere with a stranger? Overwhelmed with fear, Bonnie discovers that her dog is gone, too. Was Pookie used as a lure for Matt? Bonnie makes one big mistake in her attempt to find her brother... -
Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHIDE OR FIGHT?Matthias, an illegal third child, is caught in the cross fire between rebels and the Population Police. When he unwittingly saves a Population Police officer, Matthias is brought to Population Police headquarters to train as an officer himself. There he meets Nina, another third-born who enlists his help in a plot to undermine the Population Police...Categorized as:
children realistic survival suspense action-adventure apocalyptic book children-books -
Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA Reluctant HeroTrey may have saved Luke's life, but he still thinks of himself as a coward who can barely stand to be outdoors. Now Trey finds out Luke has been taken prisoner at Population Police headquarters. Trey is terrified, but he knows that if he doesn't rescue his friend, no one will.At police headquarters, Trey impersonates an officer to try getting to Luke...Categorized as:
children realistic survival suspense action-adventure book children-books coming-of-age -
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA brilliant, edgy thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath.A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado... -
No Pit So Deep: The Cody Musket Story by James Nathaniel Miller II, James N Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"WOW! Not what I expected! One of the best books I've read!"- BookwormBrandi is a gutsy investigative journalist and single mom who has a price on her head after exposing a child-trafficking ring. Cody is a professional athlete and decorated marine with a dark military past... -
Fugitive Trail by Elizabeth Goddard
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA killer’s out for vengeance…unless this K-9 sniffs him out first.When a plane carrying dangerous convicts crashes in the Colorado Rockies, Deputy Sierra Young and her search-and-rescue K-9, Samson, race to help—and discover they’re after her! With one survivor vowing revenge, Sierra’s former coworker turned PI, Bryce Elliott, is determined to protect her... -
Dare You by Jennifer Brown
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the second book of the suspenseful Shade Me trilogy, Nikki Kill becomes embroiled in another mystery where only her synesthesia can help her unravel the dark truth.Nikki Kill didn’t realize that trying to find out who killed Peyton Hollis would tangle her in a web of dangerous family secrets that would rock her identity to the core... -
Forbidden by Lisa Clark O'Neill
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSpecial Agent Clay Copeland lives his job. As a behavioral specialist with the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit, his days are spent traveling the country assisting other law enforcement agencies with their most disturbing and difficult cases. Clay excels at his work, maintaining an easygoing affability and sense of humor despite his frequently gruesome job... -
Running Cold by Susan Walter
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this heart-pounding story of deception, murder, and survival, a former Olympian retreats to the Canadian wilderness for a fresh start, only to find out that the past will always catch up to her.Julie Adler’s perfect facade is shattered by grief when her husband commits suicide... -
Callow by Jessica Gadziala
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCallow, a battle-scarred ex-military turned outlaw biker, knows trouble when he sees it. So when he spots an underage girl about to leave a bar with the wrong crowd, instinct kicks in, and he steps in to stop her, then calls her mom, Sabrina, a fiercely protective single mother struggling to rein in her rebellious daughter, Daphne... -
-
Deep Water by Watt Key
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA middle grade survival story about a scuba dive gone wrong and two enemies who must unite to survive.It's the most important rule of scuba diving: If you don't feel right, don't go down.So after her father falls ill, twelve-year-old Julie Sims must take over and lead two of his clients on a dive miles off the coast of Alabama while her father stays behind in the boat... -
The Light Jar by Lisa Thompson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA story of fear and hope, loneliness and friendship -- full of the heart, engaging characters, and propulsive, page-turning mystery that made The Goldfish Boy so beloved.Nate and his mother are running away. Fleeing from an emotionally abusive situation, they hide out in an abandoned cottage in the middle of a forest. Though it's old and run-down, at least it's a place of their own... -
Hunting the Hunter by Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIT'S NOT OVER...Hairless Joe. Aiden and Meg Falconer have known him as a threat. A killer. A madman. But now they've discovered that he holds the key to freeing their parents from prison.The Falconer kids know what they have to do: Hunt the hunter and trap the killer - even if he's armed and very dangerous. It's their only chance, and they're going to take it... and risk everything... -
Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsNew Year's Eve in Scotland and for once Alex Rider is enjoying a normal life. But then he meets Desmond McCain, the dynamic chief of an international charity, First Aid, and what starts as a simple card game rapidly becomes a duel to the death. Suddenly Alex is in more danger than ever before and his life is threatened without his even knowing why... -
Dolphin Song by Lauren St. John
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJust as Martine is settling into life on the wildlife game reserve, she is whisked away on a school trip. She must leave her white giraffe, Jemmy, for 2 weeks! Her class is going on an ocean voyage to witness the Sardine Run, a spectacular natural phenomenon, off the coast of South Africa... -
Now You See Them, Now You Don't by Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCATCH THEM...One man holds the key to freeing Aiden and Meg Falconer's parents from prison: a mysterious figure named Frank Lindenauer. Aiden and Meg must cross the country to try to catch him... even as the FBI tries to catch them first.In California, Aiden and Meg fall in with a crowd that already has its share of trouble. They want to believe they've found friends who will help them out...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.