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sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
I don't think I've ever read a book where I didn't really like any of the characters, then slowly started to understand and even like them a little and then by the end loathed them all entirely.
Look, I get that the system is screwed up when it comes to investigations on things like this. It's a mess. I really thought the book was going to engage with these things. It does...sort of. It definitely highlights double standards, etc. The book is well written - the three different perspectives and the fluctuating timeline weaves the story together in an interesting way and reveals the flawed thinking around issues like someone's photos being leaked online. Even the project had a real chance to provoke good dialogue. And then the ending happened. And a 3-4 star rating got knocked down to a one star.
What kind of a message does that ending send? How can anyone reading this be okay with what happened? Putting the rest under a spoiler warning because I need to rant a little.
I get that Jenna's case wasn't handled well. Mouse and Drew are hypocrites and jerks and every other terrible thing. What they did was terrible. How the school handled it was terrible. That does not give Jenna any excuse for ruining another woman's life by doing to her the exact same thing that was done to Jenna. And for the ending to imply that it was okay for her to ruin another woman's life and career because at least Jenna got "justice"???? No. Just no. That's just as bad if not worse.
Honestly, I feel like the worst thing about this book is that no one actually learns anything. Not really. Mouse and Drew proved by their actions that they didn't learn anything. Yes, they're going to get in massive trouble, but there's no evidence that they're actually learning their lesson. Just that they're getting what they deserve. Jenna obviously only learned that the best way to handle things is to take revenge yourself, no matter who gets destroyed in the process. What kind of message is that? I am just so very disappointed with the ending of this book.
Look, I get that the system is screwed up when it comes to investigations on things like this. It's a mess. I really thought the book was going to engage with these things. It does...sort of. It definitely highlights double standards, etc. The book is well written - the three different perspectives and the fluctuating timeline weaves the story together in an interesting way and reveals the flawed thinking around issues like someone's photos being leaked online. Even the project had a real chance to provoke good dialogue. And then the ending happened. And a 3-4 star rating got knocked down to a one star.
What kind of a message does that ending send? How can anyone reading this be okay with what happened? Putting the rest under a spoiler warning because I need to rant a little.
Honestly, I feel like the worst thing about this book is that no one actually learns anything. Not really.
baranorewen's review against another edition
1.0
This book made me feel slimy ...
The whole premise was about this poor girl who had naked pictures of her leaked online by her boyfriend and this group project that had to be done about privacy and the internet for her law class.
First of all the boys she is paired with are gross. There's nothing redeemable about them. Just because you say you're a nice guy and have a bad home life doesn't make you a nice guy when you look at your actions. Comeon.
And then. And then. Ugh. I guess I won't spoil it, but Jesus fuck she doesn't stoop to their level, she fucking crawls through the mud under their level.
No. Just no. You do not make yourself feel better by being horrible to another woman, even if she were terrible first. No. No no no no.
Don't read this book. Don't.
The whole premise was about this poor girl who had naked pictures of her leaked online by her boyfriend and this group project that had to be done about privacy and the internet for her law class.
First of all the boys she is paired with are gross. There's nothing redeemable about them. Just because you say you're a nice guy and have a bad home life doesn't make you a nice guy when you look at your actions. Comeon.
And then. And then. Ugh. I guess I won't spoil it, but Jesus fuck she doesn't stoop to their level, she fucking crawls through the mud under their level.
No. Just no. You do not make yourself feel better by being horrible to another woman, even if she were terrible first. No. No no no no.
Don't read this book. Don't.
parodyonlife's review against another edition
1.0
I thought this was going to be a book about strong women who don’t take shit and call men out on their bullshit, and in a way it was, but the ending and the “collateral damage” surrounding it just f’ed it all up. I have no excuses for this. Nothing in this book is okay.
jodihoward's review against another edition
3.0
I got this for free as an audiobook download. Truth is, I flew through it and was intrigued the whole time wanting to know "who posted the photos?" I'm between 3 and 4 stars for the sheer fact that I wanted to keep listening. 3 teenagers are assigned together for a group project surrounding internet use and liabilities involved when inappropriate content is involved. Typical teenage drama etc but I was turned off by some of the glorification of teenage parties, drugs, and sexting.
jessicamap's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to Amulet Books for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.
Leaked photos are a big issue in recent years. People’s personal photos taken and shared with the world which creates big controversies. However, when it takes place in a high school and the owner of the photos is a teacher, that causes alarm. When only three students have access to these photos before they go viral, they have to figure out which one of them did it.
We have three very different characters that could be to blame. The quiet overachiever, the star athlete, and the rebellious girl. All with their own secrets and potential motives. I think Lo did a fantastic job giving all of these characters their own voice and they were all well-developed. She also sets the scene so well – back in those hallways of high school!
The readers get to dive into the topics surrounding privacy and sexting – which are very real hot button issues people are facing today. Invasion of privacy and then culpability are the more controversial parts of the story. I will say that I was not expecting that ending! I really liked the direction that it went.
Despite this being a more YA novel, it didn’t read like one to me. There’s enough mystery to it and realism that it doesn’t feel like a YA novel – I feel like the real reason it fits into that genre is because the main characters are high school age. I think Lo approached these topics very well and created an incredibly realistic story for us. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more from Lo in the future!
Leaked photos are a big issue in recent years. People’s personal photos taken and shared with the world which creates big controversies. However, when it takes place in a high school and the owner of the photos is a teacher, that causes alarm. When only three students have access to these photos before they go viral, they have to figure out which one of them did it.
We have three very different characters that could be to blame. The quiet overachiever, the star athlete, and the rebellious girl. All with their own secrets and potential motives. I think Lo did a fantastic job giving all of these characters their own voice and they were all well-developed. She also sets the scene so well – back in those hallways of high school!
The readers get to dive into the topics surrounding privacy and sexting – which are very real hot button issues people are facing today. Invasion of privacy and then culpability are the more controversial parts of the story. I will say that I was not expecting that ending! I really liked the direction that it went.
Despite this being a more YA novel, it didn’t read like one to me. There’s enough mystery to it and realism that it doesn’t feel like a YA novel – I feel like the real reason it fits into that genre is because the main characters are high school age. I think Lo approached these topics very well and created an incredibly realistic story for us. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more from Lo in the future!
chickypoo81's review against another edition
4.0
The three narrators were great on this audiobook, making it very easy to keep track of who's perspective the chapter was being told from. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, bouncing back and forth in time, and the ending brought everything together.
morockin_readin's review against another edition
4.0
This was rough on the topic matter but the mystery was engrossing. And once it comes together
artemishi's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There were things I did and didn't like about this read, but overall it was interesting.
The good:
The hypocrisy of how boys are punished vs how girls are "supported" when sexual harassment (in this case, leaking nude photos) is brought to the fore. Sometimes I wished it was a little more subtle and woven throughout, rather than the female MC baldly stating it, but either way it's the crux of this story and an important social observation to be brought up.
Both the teen character side of the sexual harassment, and the adult response to it (and the adult sexual harassment setup) felt realistic, possible, and even probable to me.
As much as I didn't like either male MC, I also found their self-justification for their behavior to be realistic. Especially for white guys. This is just.....sadly, the kind of thinking you encounter time and again.
The less good:
There seemed to be a lot to set up, both in terms of what happened to Jenna the previous year, and in terms of why each character felt justified in doing what they did. But this made the "before today" and "today" chapters feel really unbalanced (and consequently, the ending felt rushed).
I saw the "twist" coming pretty far away. I'm not sure if this was a deliberate intention of the author (to let the audience be smarter than the MCs), but it took any suspense out of it.
I also disliked all three MCs, for the obvious reasons of them making and justifying and doubling down on terrible decisions, so I didn't feel invested in any one storyline. I liked Jenna marginally more than Drew and Mouse, by the end, but not enough to support anything she did. This left the story feeling, while socially potent, devoid of emotional impact for me.
The good:
The hypocrisy of how boys are punished vs how girls are "supported" when sexual harassment (in this case, leaking nude photos) is brought to the fore. Sometimes I wished it was a little more subtle and woven throughout, rather than the female MC baldly stating it, but either way it's the crux of this story and an important social observation to be brought up.
Both the teen character side of the sexual harassment, and the adult response to it (and the adult sexual harassment setup) felt realistic, possible, and even probable to me.
As much as I didn't like either male MC, I also found their self-justification for their behavior to be realistic. Especially for white guys. This is just.....sadly, the kind of thinking you encounter time and again.
The less good:
There seemed to be a lot to set up, both in terms of what happened to Jenna the previous year, and in terms of why each character felt justified in doing what they did. But this made the "before today" and "today" chapters feel really unbalanced (and consequently, the ending felt rushed).
I saw the "twist" coming pretty far away. I'm not sure if this was a deliberate intention of the author (to let the audience be smarter than the MCs), but it took any suspense out of it.
I also disliked all three MCs, for the obvious reasons of them making and justifying and doubling down on terrible decisions, so I didn't feel invested in any one storyline. I liked Jenna marginally more than Drew and Mouse, by the end, but not enough to support anything she did. This left the story feeling, while socially potent, devoid of emotional impact for me.
balancinghistorybooks's review
2.0
This sounded rather interesting when I came across it on Netgalley, but the narrative voice completely failed to grab me. I did not connect with it at all, and must admit that I gave up reading after the first chapter.
thereadingshelf's review
2.0
This might have been a solid 3.5 stars, but then that ending happened, and no one's rightful revenge is worth someone else having their nude pictures leaked without their permission