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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.
Wow. I wasn't expecting this novel to be ... so ... bad. In the beginning, I was intrigued because the first chapter opens up with a police transcript. Immediately, the reader knows that things get serious. However, as the story continues, it becomes apparent that this is nothing more than just some fanfiction romance. This novel reads like fanfiction. And it's not even GOOD fanfiction! We have a whiny, condescending pop star with an irrational fear of his fans. We have a PR team with no empathy, or conscience whatsoever. And we have an insipid fandom that apparently consists only of shallow girls. Oh, except for our one unique fan, Tessa, our snowflake. This bothered me so much because fandoms are really not like that at all. I'm not very involved with any fandom but I know that there are a lot of fans who take the time to get to know the celebrities they love, who analyze their work, and who really appreciate the celebrity for their art and for their personality. It's not just "about the abs" as Eric depicts it in the book. This novel suggests that it is going to be a thriller but is really just a romance. At the 80% mark, we finally see the thriller that we are promised but it is really badly executed. We have the introduction of a random character with their random plan that was not properly incorporated at any point in the story. It was just such a mess, and it was so confusing to read. And then there is another cringe-worthy romance scene, followed by another twist. And the story ends as a cliffhanger, with the promise of a sequel. It was just too much for me to handle. My concluding thoughts? This is just some really bad fanfiction that is full of cringe-worthy and hard-to-believe romance (seriously, these characters DO NOT understand what love is) and a last minute thriller thrown in as an attempt to satisfy readers. I will not be reading the sequel and I will not be recommending this novel to anyone. 1/5 stars from me.
I received this novel as an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this novel as an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
An ambiguous ending to this twitter-y story
⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜
Plot: 3.8/5
Main Characters: 3.8/5
Secondary Characters: 3/5
The Feels: 3.5/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Theme or Tone: 4/5
Flow (Writing Style): 3.7/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Book Cover: 4/5
Narration: 4.3/5
Ending: 4/5 Cliffhanger: I guess so, I didn't think it had a second book...but apparently it will. I think it could have ended the way that it did, leaving it up to one's own imagination.
Total: 3.7/5 STARS
⇝My Thoughts⇜
The word at or @ is used to the point of distraction in this, but with it being a twitter inspired story, that's unavoidable, I guess. The @ usage did grow on me while listening to it, despite how annoying it was at first. There was always a part of me that wasn't completely invested in this story, maybe that's because this story is told almost entirely in IM's. {{{{I don't know}}}}
Furthermore, I felt the therapist was not very well written or researched, I'm not sure...what...but let's just say she didn't really come off as therapeutic to me. The mystery aspect is was ultimately let me down, though, especially with everything involving her agoraphobia…it just seemed contrived for the sake of the story.
⇝Will I continue this series⇜ Despite my issues, I still might, that ending was rather dubious…
⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜
Plot: 3.8/5
Main Characters: 3.8/5
Secondary Characters: 3/5
The Feels: 3.5/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Theme or Tone: 4/5
Flow (Writing Style): 3.7/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Book Cover: 4/5
Narration: 4.3/5
Ending: 4/5 Cliffhanger: I guess so, I didn't think it had a second book...but apparently it will. I think it could have ended the way that it did, leaving it up to one's own imagination.
Total: 3.7/5 STARS
⇝My Thoughts⇜
The word at or @ is used to the point of distraction in this, but with it being a twitter inspired story, that's unavoidable, I guess. The @ usage did grow on me while listening to it, despite how annoying it was at first. There was always a part of me that wasn't completely invested in this story, maybe that's because this story is told almost entirely in IM's. {{{{I don't know}}}}
Furthermore, I felt the therapist was not very well written or researched, I'm not sure...what...but let's just say she didn't really come off as therapeutic to me. The mystery aspect is was ultimately let me down, though, especially with everything involving her agoraphobia…it just seemed contrived for the sake of the story.
⇝Will I continue this series⇜ Despite my issues, I still might, that ending was rather dubious…
I had some hopes for Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger. I don’t often read thrillers, mainly because I find their attitude to mental health frustrating at best and dangerous at worst. However, because this explicitly talked about agoraphobia (something I’ve experienced in the past) and fan culture, I thought I would give it a whirl.
I really liked the first 200 pages. It played with formatting, as the story was told through police transcripts and twitter DMs. I recently read Illuminae and hugely enjoyed how it played about with stuff like that, so I was happy to see this again. I also thought that the therapist was pretty good. The novel went into a lot of detail about projecting feelings, as well as creating touchstones to the outside world, which I thought was quite well done. There were a couple parts that I took issue with, such as the idea that Tessa owes her boyfriend sex for ‘putting up’ with her mental illness, but overall it was okay.
It is in the last 100 pages that shit starts to hit the fan. The big ‘reveal’ of Tessa’s mental illness (which I did NOT appreciate being used to create tension) is that the previous summer, she’d had a stalker. Fast forward to the story now, this stalker has convinced himself that he and Tessa are in a relationship, found her again, and held her hostage. Long story short, Tessa manages to attack the stalker and meet up with Eric, a guy she has fallen in love with over the Internet, at the police station.
At this point, she has no problem leaving the house. She just GETS OVER her agoraphobia, literally stating: “It’s not an irrational fear if you have a real reason to be afraid.” Okay. I’m gonna get personal with you guys. I have had a stalker. Like Tessa, this is the event that triggered my mental illness. Facing up to your fears and punishing your stalker doesn’t just magically cause your mental health issues to go away. Trust me, I’d know. Also, newsflash to neurotypical people: mental illnesses can be triggered by something, they can appear one day for no apparent reason, they can have been there your entire life – they are all equally valid. Rational fears can cause mental illness, and intellectually understanding why you might be mentally ill does not always help with recovery.
Finally, at this stage – I have no idea what the hell that ending was about. I like an ambiguous ending, don’t get me wrong, but one of the possibilities is that Tessa has killed Eric, thereby cementing the idea in the novel that mentally ill people are dangerous. Just NO, ‘kay? NO.
I do not recommend this book.
I really liked the first 200 pages. It played with formatting, as the story was told through police transcripts and twitter DMs. I recently read Illuminae and hugely enjoyed how it played about with stuff like that, so I was happy to see this again. I also thought that the therapist was pretty good. The novel went into a lot of detail about projecting feelings, as well as creating touchstones to the outside world, which I thought was quite well done. There were a couple parts that I took issue with, such as the idea that Tessa owes her boyfriend sex for ‘putting up’ with her mental illness, but overall it was okay.
It is in the last 100 pages that shit starts to hit the fan. The big ‘reveal’ of Tessa’s mental illness (which I did NOT appreciate being used to create tension) is that the previous summer, she’d had a stalker. Fast forward to the story now, this stalker has convinced himself that he and Tessa are in a relationship, found her again, and held her hostage. Long story short, Tessa manages to attack the stalker and meet up with Eric, a guy she has fallen in love with over the Internet, at the police station.
At this point, she has no problem leaving the house. She just GETS OVER her agoraphobia, literally stating: “It’s not an irrational fear if you have a real reason to be afraid.” Okay. I’m gonna get personal with you guys. I have had a stalker. Like Tessa, this is the event that triggered my mental illness. Facing up to your fears and punishing your stalker doesn’t just magically cause your mental health issues to go away. Trust me, I’d know. Also, newsflash to neurotypical people: mental illnesses can be triggered by something, they can appear one day for no apparent reason, they can have been there your entire life – they are all equally valid. Rational fears can cause mental illness, and intellectually understanding why you might be mentally ill does not always help with recovery.
Finally, at this stage – I have no idea what the hell that ending was about. I like an ambiguous ending, don’t get me wrong, but one of the possibilities is that Tessa has killed Eric, thereby cementing the idea in the novel that mentally ill people are dangerous. Just NO, ‘kay? NO.
I do not recommend this book.
This is maybe more of a 3.5, but I'm bumping my rating up to 4 for a couple reasons. I thought this was really compulsively readable and I did not really see the end coming. I can't wait for the next book to see if my predictions are right.
I also liked the psychological aspects of the story. I thought the role reversal of online obsession was well done.
I also liked the psychological aspects of the story. I thought the role reversal of online obsession was well done.
What the what!? You can’t leave me hanging with that twist.
Umm... I enjoyed this a lot; probably more than I should've. I really like books that have to do with celebrities and stan culture (see also the hilarious [b:Kill the Boy Band|25184383|Kill the Boy Band|Goldy Moldavsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1448318289s/25184383.jpg|44892290] that I also read this year and gave a high rating) and this one is a nonstop read! Full of Twitter banter, obsessive fans, and a few twists and turns, I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. There was even a point where I had to flip back and re-read a whole chapter to see if I had let an unconscious bias lead me in the wrong direction (it had). Loved it.
Go into it blind and you won't be sorry.
Go into it blind and you won't be sorry.
Well, I literally just read this whole book in one sitting. I loved the whole dynamic and the back and forth between Tessa and Eric. The author really knew how to build up suspense and kept me on the edge the whole time. Between the twitter threads and the police transcripts, I didn't want to put this book down! I'm glad I read this one. Tessa and Eric are very interesting characters.
But seriously...that ENDING! Way to leave me hanging! I need book 2 immediately.
But seriously...that ENDING! Way to leave me hanging! I need book 2 immediately.