The Final Gambit

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-10

Chapters 11-20

Chapters 21-30

Chapters 31-40

Chapters 41-50

Chapters 51-60

Chapters 61-70

Chapters 71-79

Chapters 80-86, Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Background

Literary Context: The Inheritance Games Trilogy

The Final Gambit is the third installment in the Inheritance Games trilogy, after The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy. The series is made to be read in order, and though The Final Gambit establishes the basic necessary information, the preceding books clearly establish the overarching plot and the characters’ complex backstories.

The series falls under the young adult (YA) umbrella, geared toward people aged 12 to 18 (although readers of all ages can enjoy the books). The Final Gambit explores many elements typical of the YA genre, like coming-of-age and romance. One of the most significant secondary plots of the trilogy is the “love triangle” between Avery and two of the Hawthorne grandsons: Jameson and Grayson Hawthorne.

The Final Gambit is not only a YA book. It’s also a mystery, specifically a puzzle mystery. A puzzle mystery is a subgenre of detective fiction; in this case, Avery, the book’s protagonist, is the informal detective. Throughout the narrative, the reader, through Avery, is presented with riddles and clues. Readers can watch Avery solve the puzzles, or try to figure out the answers themselves. The author plants “breadcrumbs,” small hints, in the narrative to aid the solving of these puzzles. While these clues are subtle on the first read, they fall into place once everything has been revealed. They become more apparent upon a second read, when the puzzle’s answer is known.

The Final Gambit also has elements of a thriller. There is a life-or-death situation at hand, and tension escalates throughout the novel as the villain becomes increasingly aggressive. Another common element of thrillers is time pressure: The protagonist is given some kind of time limit, and if they fail to solve the mystery (or find the killer, or rescue the victim, whatever the case may be) the consequences will be dire. This is explicitly seen in The Final Gambit when the villain sends Avery a phone with an already-running countdown timer; Avery must solve the villain’s riddles before the timer runs out, or else she risks losing people dear to her.

Socio-Cultural Context: Class and Wealth

The Final Gambit critiques excessive wealth and power. The book’s predecessors, The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy, examined related themes like class disparities—as seen in Avery’s “rags to riches” story and her struggle to assimilate to the wealthy Hawthorne lifestyle. In The Final Gambit, the critical view on class and wealth disparities reaches new heights. The characters who pursue wealth and power—Vincent Blake, Tobias Hawthorne, Eve Shane—are clear villains. They participate in highly-immoral acts like kidnapping, theft, and murder. They are shown to have a warped view of others, and they manipulate those beneath them freely and without remorse. Those who turn away from greed—Avery, her sister Libby, and the Hawthorne grandsons, among others—are the “good guys.” They are shown as compassionate, charitable, and loving, and their rejection of wealth and fame enables them to pursue their dreams.

The book’s critique of extreme wealth gains prominence at the conclusion, when Avery gives 94% of the Hawthorne fortune to charity. In the real world, people are becoming increasingly wary of extreme wealth—specifically “billionaires.” While many people struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath (when the author was writing The Final Gambit), the crisis also made billionaires nearly every day (Luhby, Tami. “A new billionaire has been minted nearly every day since the pandemic.” 23 May 2022). Such a rise in wealth for the already-wealthy occurs when workers are overworked and underpaid, and the increased prices of necessities demonstrate a lack of compassion from corporations and the ultra-rich. The Final Gambit flags the ludicrous—and dangerous—nature of such disparity. Avery represents the working class, and has a strong moral core to contrast with the corrupt, wealthy elite. In using her wealth to benefit others, the author demonstrates a clear point of view on what can and should be done with excessive amounts of money.