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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Follow Me Back is the YA Psychological Thriller You've Been Waiting For
First of all, I have to admit I'm a LITTLE nervous to hop on Twitter after reading this book! It is such a dark, gripping tale that will keep you turning those pages well into the night. I could not put this down until it reached it's MIND-BLOWING conclusion. This is one psychological thriller that is anything but predictable.
My Review: FOUR STARS
This book was so fascinating! I was glued to it from the moment I started reading it and couldn't stop thinking about it when I did have to put it down. This is probably the best YA Psychological Thriller that I've read, because you think it's going to be predictable and that you totally know what's going to happen next, and then nothing, NOTHING ends up turning out the way you expected.
Both Tessa and Eric have experienced some trauma and are coping with varying degrees of anxiety, Tessa to the point that she has, understandably, become agoraphobic. The way A.V. Geiger describes their anxiety and panic is so well done and makes you absolutely ache for these characters. You'll be rooting for both of them from page one.
The mystery that overlies everything is absolutely engrossing, and the way that Geiger has incorporated Twitter DMs and police reports throughout the book is just so COOL! It makes the book feel more authentic and also adds to that feeling of mystery. It also make you more confident that you know what happened, which only makes the twists at the end that much more shocking.
I cannot wait to see what Geiger has in store for us next!
Cover Rating: FOUR STARS
This is a really COOL cover. The way the face is partially obscured is a nod to Tessa's agoraphobia and how she hides herself from the world as well as to the fact that though Eric and Tessa have a relationship online, they don't actually know what the other looks like. They're a mystery even to one another. And it's SPARKLY. I do love me some sparkly book covers.
Swoon Worthiness:
If you didn't know, Eric is a teenage, hunky, rock god. So, yes, he's incredibly swoon-worthy. Seeing him struggle with his celebrity status and all his mental anxiety makes him a much more complex and interesting character, and the way that he tries to help Tessa through her anxieties is very endearing and swoon-inducing.
First of all, I have to admit I'm a LITTLE nervous to hop on Twitter after reading this book! It is such a dark, gripping tale that will keep you turning those pages well into the night. I could not put this down until it reached it's MIND-BLOWING conclusion. This is one psychological thriller that is anything but predictable.
My Review: FOUR STARS
This book was so fascinating! I was glued to it from the moment I started reading it and couldn't stop thinking about it when I did have to put it down. This is probably the best YA Psychological Thriller that I've read, because you think it's going to be predictable and that you totally know what's going to happen next, and then nothing, NOTHING ends up turning out the way you expected.
Both Tessa and Eric have experienced some trauma and are coping with varying degrees of anxiety, Tessa to the point that she has, understandably, become agoraphobic. The way A.V. Geiger describes their anxiety and panic is so well done and makes you absolutely ache for these characters. You'll be rooting for both of them from page one.
The mystery that overlies everything is absolutely engrossing, and the way that Geiger has incorporated Twitter DMs and police reports throughout the book is just so COOL! It makes the book feel more authentic and also adds to that feeling of mystery. It also make you more confident that you know what happened, which only makes the twists at the end that much more shocking.
I cannot wait to see what Geiger has in store for us next!
Cover Rating: FOUR STARS
This is a really COOL cover. The way the face is partially obscured is a nod to Tessa's agoraphobia and how she hides herself from the world as well as to the fact that though Eric and Tessa have a relationship online, they don't actually know what the other looks like. They're a mystery even to one another. And it's SPARKLY. I do love me some sparkly book covers.
Swoon Worthiness:
If you didn't know, Eric is a teenage, hunky, rock god. So, yes, he's incredibly swoon-worthy. Seeing him struggle with his celebrity status and all his mental anxiety makes him a much more complex and interesting character, and the way that he tries to help Tessa through her anxieties is very endearing and swoon-inducing.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This will be highly appealing to teens due to the way social media is used and presented throughout the book (not to mention that it started on Wattpad). It is a book that keeps the reader guessing as both narrators are unreliable. Give to fans of April Henry and Kimberly Derting.
Tessa has agoraphobia and can barely leave her room, let alone the house. She is obsessed with musician Eric Thorn. Eric loves music but hates what his "handlers" are making him do to promote both himself and his music. Tessa and Eric start communicating through twitter and move on into texting, IMing, etc.
(Readers in the future will look back at these means of communication and either laugh or be completely puzzled by it.)
Tessa has agoraphobia and can barely leave her room, let alone the house. She is obsessed with musician Eric Thorn. Eric loves music but hates what his "handlers" are making him do to promote both himself and his music. Tessa and Eric start communicating through twitter and move on into texting, IMing, etc.
(Readers in the future will look back at these means of communication and either laugh or be completely puzzled by it.)
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to say I didn't find this suspenseful until half way through the book. I first I was confused because you have 0 idea what's going on and I was thinking 3 stars at best... However the ending threw me for a loop I the best way possible and I am stunned. Solid 4 stars!
I really enjoyed this book! I finished it in an evening and couldn't stop reading. With our world being so connected and having social media be so present in all of our lives, this book was incredibly relevant and easy to relate to. Talking anonymously to whoever we want, whenever we want is a very dangerous luxury. Tessa is a fangirl suffering from agoraphobia that made her Twitter account into one that obsesses over pop singer Eric Thorn.
Eric Thorn is a pop star that is haunted by a fellow artist that was stalked and murdered a year before. He isn't a fan of all the social media publicity and promoting that his manager requires of him. In an effort to ruin his image, he creates a false account to anonymously bash himself and say what he wants about all of the fangirls. He decides to take down one of his top followers, but his trolling turns into something more. Catfishing and hiding behind anonymous profiles can have deadly consequences.
I highly recommend this book! I loved the writing style and how it was told through the Twitter correspondences and the police interrogations. Definitely a page turner!
Eric Thorn is a pop star that is haunted by a fellow artist that was stalked and murdered a year before. He isn't a fan of all the social media publicity and promoting that his manager requires of him. In an effort to ruin his image, he creates a false account to anonymously bash himself and say what he wants about all of the fangirls. He decides to take down one of his top followers, but his trolling turns into something more. Catfishing and hiding behind anonymous profiles can have deadly consequences.
I highly recommend this book! I loved the writing style and how it was told through the Twitter correspondences and the police interrogations. Definitely a page turner!
Following the advice of someone on the internet (Yeah, normally not the best idea, but books were involved...) I ended up reading the version that's up on Wattpad. On Wattpad, Follow Me Back is a two part story (two seasons). The soon to be published version seems to only be part one.
I really enjoyed the way that scenes and places were described. I felt that Geiger put enough detail into the scenes to really place us in them. I could picture both Eric and Tessa poring over their phones, desperate for that little notification. I think this really explores how fans become obsessed with their favorite singer, actor, author...anything where you feel like a tweet or a message tweeted from their account is direct to you, even when it's likely constructed by a PR team.
I really enjoyed that Geiger kept us focused on Eric and his fears of being stalked in the forefront, but also repeatedly reminded us that something bad had happened to Tessa. When it was revealed, it wasn't exactly what I had expected it to be. I wish both of their fears had been expanded on because I sometimes felt like their fears were unfounded and came from paranoid thoughts instead of actual instances.
I wanted to see more of WHY they were scared--was the lock on Eric's door jimmied open or something? Was there cigarette smoke lingering around Tessa's doorway?--instead of just having it as "Oh, they're scared for seemingly no reason other than their own paranoia." They both had real things to be afraid of and I wish there had been hints.
The book was pretty strong throughout. I liked reading their interactions that were limited to twitter and how they were both keeping secrets. The one thing I didn't particularly like was that the romance got a little sloppy toward the end. It didn't feel as real as the buildup to the romance, if that makes sense. It felt a little insincere. Since I read the Weattpad version, I'm guessing that a lot of my issues were smoothed over for the final copy.
Ultimately, I actually ended up enjoying this book, which was a surprise. YA suspense books are something that very quickly show their colors--ie, if they're actually going to be suspenseful or just masquerading as something else--and while this one wasn't the most suspenseful thing I've ever read, it was interesting and kept my attention. I may not have gasped out loud the way that I did for Dangerous Girls, but Geiger had some decent foreshadowing going on throughout Follow Me Back.
I think that if the Wattpad version was this readable and interesting to follow, the revised version will be more so.
Follow Me Back will be available on June 6th.
I really enjoyed the way that scenes and places were described. I felt that Geiger put enough detail into the scenes to really place us in them. I could picture both Eric and Tessa poring over their phones, desperate for that little notification. I think this really explores how fans become obsessed with their favorite singer, actor, author...anything where you feel like a tweet or a message tweeted from their account is direct to you, even when it's likely constructed by a PR team.
I really enjoyed that Geiger kept us focused on Eric and his fears of being stalked in the forefront, but also repeatedly reminded us that something bad had happened to Tessa. When it was revealed, it wasn't exactly what I had expected it to be. I wish both of their fears had been expanded on because I sometimes felt like their fears were unfounded and came from paranoid thoughts instead of actual instances.
I wanted to see more of WHY they were scared--was the lock on Eric's door jimmied open or something? Was there cigarette smoke lingering around Tessa's doorway?--instead of just having it as "Oh, they're scared for seemingly no reason other than their own paranoia." They both had real things to be afraid of and I wish there had been hints.
The book was pretty strong throughout. I liked reading their interactions that were limited to twitter and how they were both keeping secrets. The one thing I didn't particularly like was that the romance got a little sloppy toward the end. It didn't feel as real as the buildup to the romance, if that makes sense. It felt a little insincere. Since I read the Weattpad version, I'm guessing that a lot of my issues were smoothed over for the final copy.
Ultimately, I actually ended up enjoying this book, which was a surprise. YA suspense books are something that very quickly show their colors--ie, if they're actually going to be suspenseful or just masquerading as something else--and while this one wasn't the most suspenseful thing I've ever read, it was interesting and kept my attention. I may not have gasped out loud the way that I did for Dangerous Girls, but Geiger had some decent foreshadowing going on throughout Follow Me Back.
I think that if the Wattpad version was this readable and interesting to follow, the revised version will be more so.
Follow Me Back will be available on June 6th.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The story worked well although my kindle version appeared to be missing a few pages around the 19% mark and there were a couple of typos.formatting issues. The main story is interspersed with police interview transcripts which I thought were done well. That ending, though - not what I was expecting!
Started and finished in one day. I couldn't put it down!! Can't wait for book 2.