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penosa16's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn't tooootally hate this! I think there are some interesting ideas I enjoyed like the reality TV personalities, the producers manipulating people in these shows, and offering life-changing prices to desperate people with no other choices. I do feel like it lacked a bit of depth, some of these things were superficially discussed, and the resolution was too rushed.
The book was easy to read, so I give it extra points for that. The characters were a bit simplistic. Again: too superficial, but the potential was there. Vee grated on my nerves a couple of times just because she has too much internalized misogyny. Yeah, she wasn't congruent with her actions, obviously, but I had to remind myself that she was just a teenager, her brain wasn't fully developed and she was being pressured into most of these dares. I can't expect her to act level-headed and to my liking because then there would be no book.
The romance was just filler, I didn't feel like it added anything to the story, I don't even remember his name. Tommy was a total incel waste of a character. Sydney didn't really do anything, either wrong or right in my opinion: she was just there.
I feel like I have to repeat what I did like about this book because I gave it three stars. It is a competent book, I feel like there was a clear focus on what the author wanted to achieve, the main thesis she wanted to put out there. I liked the main concepts, and the potential, some specific scenes were really nerve-wracking (that was the purpose of those scenes, to stress me the f- out). The teenager in me would have LOVED this book, I think. I'm not sure why I waited seven years to read it.
The book was easy to read, so I give it extra points for that. The characters were a bit simplistic. Again: too superficial, but the potential was there. Vee grated on my nerves a couple of times just because she has too much internalized misogyny. Yeah, she wasn't congruent with her actions, obviously, but I had to remind myself that she was just a teenager, her brain wasn't fully developed and she was being pressured into most of these dares. I can't expect her to act level-headed and to my liking because then there would be no book.
The romance was just filler, I didn't feel like it added anything to the story, I don't even remember his name. Tommy was a total incel waste of a character. Sydney didn't really do anything, either wrong or right in my opinion: she was just there.
I feel like I have to repeat what I did like about this book because I gave it three stars. It is a competent book, I feel like there was a clear focus on what the author wanted to achieve, the main thesis she wanted to put out there. I liked the main concepts, and the potential, some specific scenes were really nerve-wracking (that was the purpose of those scenes, to stress me the f- out). The teenager in me would have LOVED this book, I think. I'm not sure why I waited seven years to read it.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
5+ stars. Totally awesome, the dares indeed got creepier and more daring, just like had bet they would!
I spotted this book some time ago, and also saw that it was getting a movie adaptation. I was quite curious about the book. Not always do books about dares work (often the characters just go totally crazy), but I still wanted to try it out. And magically (and miraculously) while I was thinking of getting the book online, I found it at my bookstore, in English, and only 9.99 euro. Of course I couldn't leave it then. :P It was fate.
The first part of the book was a bit slow. I wasn't sure what to think of Vee (yes, that is what she calls herself, and we later find out what her real name is). I found her a bit too mousy, a bit too silent. I was wondering how this girl would do dares. She didn't seem to go much out of her comfort zone.
But then stuff happened that pushed this little mousy girl over a border and she tried out a dare, just for fun, and not even a big one. Just a small one, throw water over yourself at a coffee shop and shout a certain sentence. Not that hard right? Well it Vee quite some courage to finally do that, but after that? You saw a shift in Vee.
Throughout the book you see Vee change. A bit good (finally taking a stand, finally stopping being so afraid of everything), a bit bad (her attitude towards her friends). It was quite a fun change, though I have to say that even though she did gain a bit more attitude, and a bit more bravery, she still kept her standards. She wasn't going to do stuff that would be too dangerous, or would be bad. I quite liked that. She kept her head cool, even when faced with enormous prices and money. Unlike a lot of the contestants near the end, she was one (together with swoony Ian) who thought before she did anything.
Also with what she is trying to achieve at the end, after everything? I can only applaud that she is doing that. I wish her all the luck.
Ian? OMG, I just loved him from the first page. Even if I was a bit suspicious at times of him, I just knew deep down he had his reasons, I knew deep down that he was a great guy. That his affections for Vee would be true. Did he turn out to be that? Because as you know feelings are just feelings, not fact. Well, you will have to read the book yourself to find that one out. :P
I am not sure what to think of Vee's friends. On the one hand, I liked her best friend. On the other hand I didn't. She acted quite selfish at times. Yes, I can imagine you might not be able to play in the dares due to the play, but that doesn't mean you have to get pissed because your best friend wants to try it out.
Tommy? Meh. That is all I will say.
Vee's parents? Sorry, but why wouldn't you believe your kid? And even if it was true, do you really think that what you did would make things better?
The dares? The first, before the final part, were pretty great, though also crazy. Acting like a hooker? Or asking for condoms from people who are against sex before marriage?
And then the final part started, and the dares truly escalated. Boy, I was shaking my head at how it all escalated and how most of the characters there didn't care that something might go absolutely wrong. They only cared about the prices. Sure, the prices were pretty sweet, pretty awesome, but to do all that for them? Mm, no.
It was also really interesting to see how Nerve went from just a fun game to play, to something much more dangerous. The things they don't show you on TV. The things they kept hidden in the dark. It is quite worrisome that kids are allowed to play these games and that apparently no one really raises an eyebrow at how it works. At the fact that some of the stunts are truly life-threatening.
The ending was truly a rollercoaster. Wow. Just wow. All that happened there, all the characters and what they did. Even though they aren't the main character(s) they played such a huge role, and they were so interesting. It felt a bit like a psychological research, see who snaps the first. See who has the most to lose. See who goes for everything disregarding any reason or feeling for safety.
Those last pages definitely were a nice touch. You thought it was over and then bang!
All in all, this was an amazing book, and I enjoyed it so much! It had twists and turns, daring dares, and so much more! I would highly recommend this book!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com
I spotted this book some time ago, and also saw that it was getting a movie adaptation. I was quite curious about the book. Not always do books about dares work (often the characters just go totally crazy), but I still wanted to try it out. And magically (and miraculously) while I was thinking of getting the book online, I found it at my bookstore, in English, and only 9.99 euro. Of course I couldn't leave it then. :P It was fate.
The first part of the book was a bit slow. I wasn't sure what to think of Vee (yes, that is what she calls herself, and we later find out what her real name is). I found her a bit too mousy, a bit too silent. I was wondering how this girl would do dares. She didn't seem to go much out of her comfort zone.
But then stuff happened that pushed this little mousy girl over a border and she tried out a dare, just for fun, and not even a big one. Just a small one, throw water over yourself at a coffee shop and shout a certain sentence. Not that hard right? Well it Vee quite some courage to finally do that, but after that? You saw a shift in Vee.
Throughout the book you see Vee change. A bit good (finally taking a stand, finally stopping being so afraid of everything), a bit bad (her attitude towards her friends). It was quite a fun change, though I have to say that even though she did gain a bit more attitude, and a bit more bravery, she still kept her standards. She wasn't going to do stuff that would be too dangerous, or would be bad. I quite liked that. She kept her head cool, even when faced with enormous prices and money. Unlike a lot of the contestants near the end, she was one (together with swoony Ian) who thought before she did anything.
Also with what she is trying to achieve at the end, after everything? I can only applaud that she is doing that. I wish her all the luck.
Ian? OMG, I just loved him from the first page. Even if I was a bit suspicious at times of him, I just knew deep down he had his reasons, I knew deep down that he was a great guy. That his affections for Vee would be true. Did he turn out to be that? Because as you know feelings are just feelings, not fact. Well, you will have to read the book yourself to find that one out. :P
I am not sure what to think of Vee's friends. On the one hand, I liked her best friend. On the other hand I didn't. She acted quite selfish at times. Yes, I can imagine you might not be able to play in the dares due to the play, but that doesn't mean you have to get pissed because your best friend wants to try it out.
Tommy? Meh. That is all I will say.
Vee's parents? Sorry, but why wouldn't you believe your kid? And even if it was true, do you really think that what you did would make things better?
The dares? The first, before the final part, were pretty great, though also crazy. Acting like a hooker? Or asking for condoms from people who are against sex before marriage?
And then the final part started, and the dares truly escalated. Boy, I was shaking my head at how it all escalated and how most of the characters there didn't care that something might go absolutely wrong. They only cared about the prices. Sure, the prices were pretty sweet, pretty awesome, but to do all that for them? Mm, no.
It was also really interesting to see how Nerve went from just a fun game to play, to something much more dangerous. The things they don't show you on TV. The things they kept hidden in the dark. It is quite worrisome that kids are allowed to play these games and that apparently no one really raises an eyebrow at how it works. At the fact that some of the stunts are truly life-threatening.
The ending was truly a rollercoaster. Wow. Just wow. All that happened there, all the characters and what they did. Even though they aren't the main character(s) they played such a huge role, and they were so interesting. It felt a bit like a psychological research, see who snaps the first. See who has the most to lose. See who goes for everything disregarding any reason or feeling for safety.
Those last pages definitely were a nice touch. You thought it was over and then bang!
All in all, this was an amazing book, and I enjoyed it so much! It had twists and turns, daring dares, and so much more! I would highly recommend this book!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com
mimimilaa's review against another edition
2.0
After watching the movie, I was so excited to read this book. I originally wanted to read the book first, but I ended up breaking my rule. Unfortunately, the movie ended up being better than this book in this case.
I love the idea of this book, but in the book version, Vee seems a lot more immature. The dares weren't as entertaining in the book, but the story was still fun.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one of the few times that I feel like the movie is better than the book.
I love the idea of this book, but in the book version, Vee seems a lot more immature. The dares weren't as entertaining in the book, but the story was still fun.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one of the few times that I feel like the movie is better than the book.
dowryofbooks's review against another edition
2.0
2/5 stars
I wouldn't recommend this book, but I'd highly recommend to go watch the movie instead
I wouldn't recommend this book, but I'd highly recommend to go watch the movie instead
melodyyuniverse's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 60% i loved the movie so much more and the writing was odd
fantasynovel's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars
I didn't hate it. I really didn't. I knew it wasn't going to be well-written going into it; I was really just looking for a guilty pleasure kind of thing that would be easy to breeze through when I couldn't sleep. There wasn't anything that seriously angered me, either--just a bunch of WTF moments, which I've bookmarked to comment on.
Page 41: Her face is serious. "Well, let's stop and think." In addition to being blond a beautiful, Syd maintains an A average. So, only straight-A students are able to reason through a problem? It's really a simple solution she comes up with: "Just act confident!" It doesn't take perfect grades to be able to stop and think for a second.
Page 44: I assure them that I was just goofing around and that everything's fine. Being in the honors program, they're both more skeptical than the rest of my friends, but they don't pursue the subject. So not being in the honors program means you have the emotional intelligence of a coffee cup?
Page 136: Sydney . . . flits around the stage with the male cast members , gay and straight, following in her wake. This is just plain stupid. If Sydney is magnetic enough that people who aren't sexually attracted to her follow her around, why isn't there a trail of girls behind her? (Assuming none of the girls would be sexually attracted to her, which, if literally everyone who's attracted to women finds Syd attractive like Vee keeps claiming, should be statistically improbable.) It's subtly promoting the "girl vs. girl" mindset, like of course the girls wouldn't follow Syd around because she's competition rather than being someone they would look up to.
Page 145: Syd worries for Vee's safety and tries to get her to quit the game. I actually liked this moment and was surprised that it was in the book. I guess it's not saying much that the book surprised me by not making Syd a "bitch" or whatever and ruining the only female friendship in this book with background. (Vee is supposedly friends with these two girls called Liv and Eulie, but they have about as much character development as red-shirts, without the dying part.)
Page 189: Tommy is an asshole to Vee and has a total moodswing. It's not his first one, but it's kind of cray. He starts off sweet and nice, then turns into a friend-zoned monster, and then is forgiven at the end of the book, which sucks. Down with Tommy!
Page 196: While our partners are off being tortured or caged with rats, the other girls and I get get together near the refreshment cabinet . . . . Why not? It strikes me that we're the weaker half in each of our couples. What. The. Fuck. I totally forgot about this. This really did piss me off. She's not even talking about physical strength, just emotional. So the guys and the butch girl are emotional rocks, but the other, more traditionally feminine girls are weaker? As though masculinity is a sign of emotional strength? Fuck this. This book started off 3 stars when I started this review bc I enjoyed it so much, but wow. This line blows.
P. 198: Hmmm. I'm thinking of myself as a cast member? Interesting. O.o You're literally a cast member. I get maybe being a little startled when you really internalize that you're a cast member, but commenting that thinking of yourself as a cast member is "interesting" when YOU ARE A CAST MEMBER is just confusing. And what's the "Hmmm" doing there? This isn't some sort of intriguing question that just occurred to you. You're referring to yourself as a cast member because WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU BE???
P. 229: We spend the next five minutes learning how to load our guns, cock the hammer, pull the slide back, and aim with one hand or both. Besides the fact you seriously cannot learn how to use a gun this fast, which I'll let slide because NERVE is hoping for maximum blood and gore, not great gun-handling, you spend most of the rest of the book wondering if the guns are loaded or not. Didn't you just learn how to load a gun? SO CHECK AND SEE IF IT'S LOADED! THIS ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE!
P. 245: Samuel speaks up . . . "There were five shots . . . " ...how could you tell? Vee recounted it as "shots fire." Did they nicely fire one at a time? This entire scene was chaos. I mean, if Samuel could tell how many shots were fired, I'm seriously impressed.
P. 252: And the shiny wall next to the door isn't a wall, it's a one-way window. WE have Watchers only feet away. In about two pages, Vee and Ian are about to smash a couch through that window (long, stupid story). So we know the window is breakable. And we know there are watchers on the other side? And you know what else we know? There are seven untrained teenagers currently pointing guns at each other from every vantage point possible! In the dark! The likelihood of shots not going through that window are insanely low. This entire situation is an entire mess of stupid.
Also, I don't have the page number, but there's this big thing where kids killing each other is good advertising? Okayyyy, if you want the police to get super hot on your back. Speaking of police, they apparently wash their hands of NERVE, which is super confusing considering how dangerous NERVE is. I can't remember, did NERVE delete the texts or something? Because there must have been some trace left behind of something. I don't even remember if they deleted the texts or not, I may have just made that up. Anyway, it doesn't matter. The police should be investigating NERVE. The epilogue is only a month later.
Also, apparently being a celebrity is bad bc crazy people will stalk and kill you. Too bad the girl at the beginning of the book doesn't have oodles of cash to spring on bodyguards . . . oh, wait . . .
I didn't hate it. I really didn't. I knew it wasn't going to be well-written going into it; I was really just looking for a guilty pleasure kind of thing that would be easy to breeze through when I couldn't sleep. There wasn't anything that seriously angered me, either--just a bunch of WTF moments, which I've bookmarked to comment on.
Page 41: Her face is serious. "Well, let's stop and think." In addition to being blond a beautiful, Syd maintains an A average. So, only straight-A students are able to reason through a problem? It's really a simple solution she comes up with: "Just act confident!" It doesn't take perfect grades to be able to stop and think for a second.
Page 44: I assure them that I was just goofing around and that everything's fine. Being in the honors program, they're both more skeptical than the rest of my friends, but they don't pursue the subject. So not being in the honors program means you have the emotional intelligence of a coffee cup?
Page 136: Sydney . . . flits around the stage with the male cast members , gay and straight, following in her wake. This is just plain stupid. If Sydney is magnetic enough that people who aren't sexually attracted to her follow her around, why isn't there a trail of girls behind her? (Assuming none of the girls would be sexually attracted to her, which, if literally everyone who's attracted to women finds Syd attractive like Vee keeps claiming, should be statistically improbable.) It's subtly promoting the "girl vs. girl" mindset, like of course the girls wouldn't follow Syd around because she's competition rather than being someone they would look up to.
Page 145: Syd worries for Vee's safety and tries to get her to quit the game. I actually liked this moment and was surprised that it was in the book. I guess it's not saying much that the book surprised me by not making Syd a "bitch" or whatever and ruining the only female friendship in this book with background. (Vee is supposedly friends with these two girls called Liv and Eulie, but they have about as much character development as red-shirts, without the dying part.)
Page 189: Tommy is an asshole to Vee and has a total moodswing. It's not his first one, but it's kind of cray. He starts off sweet and nice, then turns into a friend-zoned monster, and then is forgiven at the end of the book, which sucks. Down with Tommy!
Page 196: While our partners are off being tortured or caged with rats, the other girls and I get get together near the refreshment cabinet . . . . Why not? It strikes me that we're the weaker half in each of our couples. What. The. Fuck. I totally forgot about this. This really did piss me off. She's not even talking about physical strength, just emotional. So the guys and the butch girl are emotional rocks, but the other, more traditionally feminine girls are weaker? As though masculinity is a sign of emotional strength? Fuck this. This book started off 3 stars when I started this review bc I enjoyed it so much, but wow. This line blows.
P. 198: Hmmm. I'm thinking of myself as a cast member? Interesting. O.o You're literally a cast member. I get maybe being a little startled when you really internalize that you're a cast member, but commenting that thinking of yourself as a cast member is "interesting" when YOU ARE A CAST MEMBER is just confusing. And what's the "Hmmm" doing there? This isn't some sort of intriguing question that just occurred to you. You're referring to yourself as a cast member because WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU BE???
P. 229: We spend the next five minutes learning how to load our guns, cock the hammer, pull the slide back, and aim with one hand or both. Besides the fact you seriously cannot learn how to use a gun this fast, which I'll let slide because NERVE is hoping for maximum blood and gore, not great gun-handling, you spend most of the rest of the book wondering if the guns are loaded or not. Didn't you just learn how to load a gun? SO CHECK AND SEE IF IT'S LOADED! THIS ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE!
P. 245: Samuel speaks up . . . "There were five shots . . . " ...how could you tell? Vee recounted it as "shots fire." Did they nicely fire one at a time? This entire scene was chaos. I mean, if Samuel could tell how many shots were fired, I'm seriously impressed.
P. 252: And the shiny wall next to the door isn't a wall, it's a one-way window. WE have Watchers only feet away. In about two pages, Vee and Ian are about to smash a couch through that window (long, stupid story). So we know the window is breakable. And we know there are watchers on the other side? And you know what else we know? There are seven untrained teenagers currently pointing guns at each other from every vantage point possible! In the dark! The likelihood of shots not going through that window are insanely low. This entire situation is an entire mess of stupid.
Also, I don't have the page number, but there's this big thing where kids killing each other is good advertising? Okayyyy, if you want the police to get super hot on your back. Speaking of police, they apparently wash their hands of NERVE, which is super confusing considering how dangerous NERVE is. I can't remember, did NERVE delete the texts or something? Because there must have been some trace left behind of something. I don't even remember if they deleted the texts or not, I may have just made that up. Anyway, it doesn't matter. The police should be investigating NERVE. The epilogue is only a month later.
Also, apparently being a celebrity is bad bc crazy people will stalk and kill you. Too bad the girl at the beginning of the book doesn't have oodles of cash to spring on bodyguards . . . oh, wait . . .
vayalanay's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
holly41102's review against another edition
2.0
In this situation I actually liked the movie better then the book