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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
2.5 stars
This book wasn't bad. It just wasn't good or strong. It had its flaws and the ending was confusing. I think the author tried to change the narrative/throw us off a scent many times and ended making the plot worse. The characters were okay. Tessa was honestly a bit bratty and annoying at times, but she was sensible and smart most of the time. Eric was okay up to the end when he became a stalkerish jerk. The ending was also so weird and rushed too? The dialogue was just awful and surprisingly, I'm intrigued. full RTC
This book wasn't bad. It just wasn't good or strong. It had its flaws and the ending was confusing. I think the author tried to change the narrative/throw us off a scent many times and ended making the plot worse. The characters were okay. Tessa was honestly a bit bratty and annoying at times, but she was sensible and smart most of the time. Eric was okay up to the end when he became a stalkerish jerk. The ending was also so weird and rushed too? The dialogue was just awful and surprisingly, I'm intrigued. full RTC
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Holy WOW! That ending though!! This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I started it and finished it in just under a day. Like I said, I was hooked! When I finished the book I was beyond floored at the ending and my jaw literally dropped. I just saw that there's a follow up book to this one coming, so that makes me feel so much better knowing that I'll get some answers!
Ini kali pertama membaca novel terbitan Penerbit Spring dan yap, terjemahannya enak dibaca plus rasanya sejak pertama kali membaca, susah berhenti!
Follow Me Back menceritakan seorang fangirl sekaligus penderita agorafobia, Tessa Hart. Dia mengalami kejadian mengerikan saat musim panas di New Orleans yang lalu sehingga harus membuatnya tetap tinggal di dalam kamar di rumahnya untuk waktu yang lama.
Jujur saja, aku agak sebel sama ibu Tessa. Beliau benar-benar sosok acuh, padahal anaknya punya penyakit mental. Iya sih ada sosok Dr. Regan, tapi kehadirannya sama sekali nggak membantu, malah tambah pertanyaan. Jika aku di posisi Tessa yang ada malah tambah stress.
Kedua, pacar Tessa, Scott. Cowok super egois dan otak selakangan (sorry kasar tapi emang senyebelin itu). Apa sih yang dia pikirkan selain ingin bermesraan dengan kekasihnya atau memamerkan Tessa ke teman-temannya. Kehadirannya sama sekali nggak membantu!
Tessa melakukan bias proyeksi (kalimat di dalam buku) terhadap seorang bintang/idol besar, Eric Torn. Kurang lebih segala metode penenangan dirinya selalu berhubungan dengan Eric.
Tessa jugalah yang membuat tagar #TerobsesiEricTorn menjadi trending bertahan di Twitter. Oh, Tessa juga menulis fanfiksi soal Eric di Wattpad (walaupun nggak disinggung secara luas lagi).
Eric yang paranoid dengan kematian salah satu idol karena penggemar fanatik merasa terganggu dengan adanya lintah-lintah di sekelilingnya (maksudnya fans-fans dia). Dia merasa mereka terlalu berlebihan, sehingga mempertemukannya dengan Tessa melalui akun fake yang sengaja ia buat. Intinya benci jadi cinta.
Hal yang paling mengganggu adalah sampai akhir cerita, masih BANYAK yang belum terungkap! Banyak yang masih menjadi pertanyaan, jadi aku terpaksa melihat review buku keduanya (Tell Me No Lies). Beberapa yang berisi spoiler membuatku makin bertanya-tanya, sebenarnya ada apa? Kenapa script terakhir di percakapan buku pertamanya seakan menyisakan tanya? Dan melihat spoiler nggak bikin aku tenang, malah yang ada semakin bikin kebakaran rambut (karena aku nggak punya jenggot xD). Berharap Penerbit Spring menerbitkan buku keduanya agar aku bisa tidur nyenyak:)
I'll gave 3.9 for this book!
Follow Me Back menceritakan seorang fangirl sekaligus penderita agorafobia, Tessa Hart. Dia mengalami kejadian mengerikan saat musim panas di New Orleans yang lalu sehingga harus membuatnya tetap tinggal di dalam kamar di rumahnya untuk waktu yang lama.
Jujur saja, aku agak sebel sama ibu Tessa. Beliau benar-benar sosok acuh, padahal anaknya punya penyakit mental. Iya sih ada sosok Dr. Regan, tapi kehadirannya sama sekali nggak membantu, malah tambah pertanyaan. Jika aku di posisi Tessa yang ada malah tambah stress.
Kedua, pacar Tessa, Scott. Cowok super egois dan otak selakangan (sorry kasar tapi emang senyebelin itu). Apa sih yang dia pikirkan selain ingin bermesraan dengan kekasihnya atau memamerkan Tessa ke teman-temannya. Kehadirannya sama sekali nggak membantu!
Tessa melakukan bias proyeksi (kalimat di dalam buku) terhadap seorang bintang/idol besar, Eric Torn. Kurang lebih segala metode penenangan dirinya selalu berhubungan dengan Eric.
Tessa jugalah yang membuat tagar #TerobsesiEricTorn menjadi trending bertahan di Twitter. Oh, Tessa juga menulis fanfiksi soal Eric di Wattpad (walaupun nggak disinggung secara luas lagi).
Eric yang paranoid dengan kematian salah satu idol karena penggemar fanatik merasa terganggu dengan adanya lintah-lintah di sekelilingnya (maksudnya fans-fans dia). Dia merasa mereka terlalu berlebihan, sehingga mempertemukannya dengan Tessa melalui akun fake yang sengaja ia buat. Intinya benci jadi cinta.
Hal yang paling mengganggu adalah sampai akhir cerita, masih BANYAK yang belum terungkap! Banyak yang masih menjadi pertanyaan, jadi aku terpaksa melihat review buku keduanya (Tell Me No Lies). Beberapa yang berisi spoiler membuatku makin bertanya-tanya, sebenarnya ada apa? Kenapa script terakhir di percakapan buku pertamanya seakan menyisakan tanya? Dan melihat spoiler nggak bikin aku tenang, malah yang ada semakin bikin kebakaran rambut (karena aku nggak punya jenggot xD). Berharap Penerbit Spring menerbitkan buku keduanya agar aku bisa tidur nyenyak:)
I'll gave 3.9 for this book!
The story was gripping and I was hooked from chapter one, but the writing and dialog was very bland and at times cringy. That kinda ruined it for me.
when i first read the synopsis, i immediately knew i needed to read it. it was entertaining and made me rethink a lot of things. especially the thin line between fangirl & obsessing. *shivers*
i really need to read book two!!
i really need to read book two!!
Obviously, I’m way too old to read this book. I can’t say I’ve ever been obsessed with a famous person in my years as a teenager but I did have a huge crush on Johnny Depp that never really went away. But, since that was at least a decade before Twitter was made, my crush only lead me to watching his movies (Cry-Baby, anyone?) and cutting out his photo’s from magazines.
What I can understand is that there are millions of girls out there who think following somebody on Twitter practically makes you bffs and you feel closer to a somebody famous than ever before. I do have a Twitter account that I check maybe 10 times a year, so even now I have no connection to the app because I barely use it, but I will be checking to see if Johnny has one, now that I think of it.
I couldn’t relate to Tessa, I didn’t really care about her disorder (it annoyed me, mostly) and to me, and all I could see was Justin Bieber instead of Eric Whatshisname. The final chapter of this book made it even sillier. It felt like the worst plot twist I’ve ever read, not to mention the most useless one ever. Why?
So no, not my cup of tea, sorry.
ETA: I just noticed there is a second book. I’m putting it on my to read list and hopefully seeing Tessa as a different character will be better because I really don’t get the why part of the ending.
What I can understand is that there are millions of girls out there who think following somebody on Twitter practically makes you bffs and you feel closer to a somebody famous than ever before. I do have a Twitter account that I check maybe 10 times a year, so even now I have no connection to the app because I barely use it, but I will be checking to see if Johnny has one, now that I think of it.
I couldn’t relate to Tessa, I didn’t really care about her disorder (it annoyed me, mostly) and to me, and all I could see was Justin Bieber instead of Eric Whatshisname. The final chapter of this book made it even sillier. It felt like the worst plot twist I’ve ever read, not to mention the most useless one ever. Why?
So no, not my cup of tea, sorry.
ETA: I just noticed there is a second book. I’m putting it on my to read list and hopefully seeing Tessa as a different character will be better because I really don’t get the why part of the ending.
"THORN: No. It wasn't about being attractive. It was about being anonymous. It was the only way I could be myself.
INVESTIGATOR: By pretending to be someone else?"
The first half of [b:Follow Me Back|32470611|Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1)|A.V. Geiger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481333836s/32470611.jpg|48315721] read like a classic Wattpad fan fiction - a fangirl starts talking to a random stranger on Twitter through a series of fortunate coincidences but little does she know that she is actually taking to her idol who eventually falls in love with her sun-shiny personality. Yeah, nothing new. The only hint of any "mystery" was the cause of Tessa's condition and, of course, a "transcription of police interview" every now and then. But then the story took the sharpest of turns. And the ending. OH GOD THE ENDING! Talk about a plot twist.
"An egg: that's all he was to her. And she was offering to talk, one human being to another, with no other motive than pure kindness."
I didn't even know that this book was originally published on Wattpad when I requested it on NetGalley (it should have crossed my mind when I saw that the main character's name is Tessa - Tessa seems to be the stereotypical Wattpad name). But when I found out, I can't say I wasn't excited - Wattpad was one of the reasons why I really got into reading but I haven't read an actual Wattpad story in ages. So why not support one of those aspiring, truly talented authors who definitely do deserve the recognition? And I have no regrets - this book was simply amazing. I've only read one YA thriller/mystery so far and, although I wouldn't say it was quite disappointing, it wasn't mind-blowing either. [b:Follow Me Back|32470611|Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1)|A.V. Geiger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481333836s/32470611.jpg|48315721] was beyond mind-blowing. Once again - THE ENDING.
"It's funny. I knew it the moment I heard the story. I knew in my gut what must have happened to him. People say they'll always remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. Or when they were on 9/11. That's kind of how it was for me."
To read this book, the reader should be at least a little bit familiar with Catfish and Twitter (and maybe a bit of general pop culture). If you are going into this book not having a clue about how Twitter works or that such show as Catfish even exists, you'll have trouble catching up. The author assumes that the reader is familiar with mechanics of Twitter and the term 'catfish' - just a fair warning. I personally didn't mind since I'm well acquainted with both (oh, the blessed #InternetObsessed life).
"Tell the truth. You don't love us. We're not snowflakes to you. We're leeches."
[b:Follow Me Back|32470611|Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1)|A.V. Geiger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481333836s/32470611.jpg|48315721] uncovers the darker side of fame, dangers of social media and obsession and shows the reader how nothing is what it seems to be. It's a well written YA mystery novel that will keep you guessing up until the very end and will leave goose bumps on your skin long after you turn the last page.
4 #FollowMeBackObsessed stars
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for kindly allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
INVESTIGATOR: By pretending to be someone else?"
The first half of [b:Follow Me Back|32470611|Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1)|A.V. Geiger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481333836s/32470611.jpg|48315721] read like a classic Wattpad fan fiction - a fangirl starts talking to a random stranger on Twitter through a series of fortunate coincidences but little does she know that she is actually taking to her idol who eventually falls in love with her sun-shiny personality. Yeah, nothing new. The only hint of any "mystery" was the cause of Tessa's condition and, of course, a "transcription of police interview" every now and then. But then the story took the sharpest of turns. And the ending. OH GOD THE ENDING! Talk about a plot twist.
"An egg: that's all he was to her. And she was offering to talk, one human being to another, with no other motive than pure kindness."
I didn't even know that this book was originally published on Wattpad when I requested it on NetGalley (it should have crossed my mind when I saw that the main character's name is Tessa - Tessa seems to be the stereotypical Wattpad name). But when I found out, I can't say I wasn't excited - Wattpad was one of the reasons why I really got into reading but I haven't read an actual Wattpad story in ages. So why not support one of those aspiring, truly talented authors who definitely do deserve the recognition? And I have no regrets - this book was simply amazing. I've only read one YA thriller/mystery so far and, although I wouldn't say it was quite disappointing, it wasn't mind-blowing either. [b:Follow Me Back|32470611|Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1)|A.V. Geiger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481333836s/32470611.jpg|48315721] was beyond mind-blowing. Once again - THE ENDING.
"It's funny. I knew it the moment I heard the story. I knew in my gut what must have happened to him. People say they'll always remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. Or when they were on 9/11. That's kind of how it was for me."
To read this book, the reader should be at least a little bit familiar with Catfish and Twitter (and maybe a bit of general pop culture). If you are going into this book not having a clue about how Twitter works or that such show as Catfish even exists, you'll have trouble catching up. The author assumes that the reader is familiar with mechanics of Twitter and the term 'catfish' - just a fair warning. I personally didn't mind since I'm well acquainted with both (oh, the blessed #InternetObsessed life).
"Tell the truth. You don't love us. We're not snowflakes to you. We're leeches."
[b:Follow Me Back|32470611|Follow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1)|A.V. Geiger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481333836s/32470611.jpg|48315721] uncovers the darker side of fame, dangers of social media and obsession and shows the reader how nothing is what it seems to be. It's a well written YA mystery novel that will keep you guessing up until the very end and will leave goose bumps on your skin long after you turn the last page.
4 #FollowMeBackObsessed stars
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for kindly allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
First love, stories are always a good read, when we add a heartbreak into it, it gets better, then there is Adeline and Kason a couple that meets but he wants to avoid her. Still he can’t deny it, there is something there. They fall hard, they are innocent, Kason has been burned before, and doesn’t want it again. Things come in between, the emotions are raw and will keep you on edge. Can’t wait for the next part of this story, where hard lessons are learned, first love becomes more and heartbreaking will forever be a part of their story.
OH MY
Lucky me: Two books in one night that tackle untouched topics!
I was delighted to see that this book took seriously the fact that Eric was being stalked and harassed in general being treated to very inappropriate behavior from his fandom. Countless YA books do this with the genders reversed.
But this one actually took the subject head-on and showed that Eric is a real person with real feelings and that the female fans (Like MET) who were making gross sexual photo manips of him were creeping him out and crossing a line. "If anyone made an edit like that of Ariana Grande, they'd probably be arrested. But he was a guy, so that somehow made the sexploitation funny...and retweetable."
I'll say what I said in my most recent book review: This is not an attitude you find commonly- online or in YA fiction. Everyone has a thousand fucks to give when it's a male fan harassing or being creepy to a female star, but it's harmless and funny and just not a big deal when a woman does it to a man. And christ, Tessa even said that Eric DESERVED to be treated that way by the fans because he was the one who "put himself out there"!! Jesus, Tessa!
Full disclosure: I deal in fandom. Fiction-Fiction, like game and movies, not RPF (Real Person Fiction/Fandom), and this book pretty much highlights why: Female fans (and friendly reminder that I myself am female) can be batshit crazy, and part of it's because of the blatant double-standard and sexism between male and female fans: Namely, male fans who act creepy are gross and stalkery and dangerous and need to stop.
But female fans are funny and harmless and really, what's the big deal??
Overall, amazing book.
And that ending has me hankering for the sequel.
Just... Again, kudos to the author for having the balls to tackle the topic with no bullshit.
Lucky me: Two books in one night that tackle untouched topics!
I was delighted to see that this book took seriously the fact that Eric was being stalked and harassed in general being treated to very inappropriate behavior from his fandom. Countless YA books do this with the genders reversed.
But this one actually took the subject head-on and showed that Eric is a real person with real feelings and that the female fans (Like MET) who were making gross sexual photo manips of him were creeping him out and crossing a line. "If anyone made an edit like that of Ariana Grande, they'd probably be arrested. But he was a guy, so that somehow made the sexploitation funny...and retweetable."
I'll say what I said in my most recent book review: This is not an attitude you find commonly- online or in YA fiction. Everyone has a thousand fucks to give when it's a male fan harassing or being creepy to a female star, but it's harmless and funny and just not a big deal when a woman does it to a man. And christ, Tessa even said that Eric DESERVED to be treated that way by the fans because he was the one who "put himself out there"!! Jesus, Tessa!
Full disclosure: I deal in fandom. Fiction-Fiction, like game and movies, not RPF (Real Person Fiction/Fandom), and this book pretty much highlights why: Female fans (and friendly reminder that I myself am female) can be batshit crazy, and part of it's because of the blatant double-standard and sexism between male and female fans: Namely, male fans who act creepy are gross and stalkery and dangerous and need to stop.
But female fans are funny and harmless and really, what's the big deal??
Overall, amazing book.
And that ending has me hankering for the sequel.
Just... Again, kudos to the author for having the balls to tackle the topic with no bullshit.