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kinglee's review against another edition
1.0
TW: misogyny, racism
Sammy is in her junior year. She's worried about her drivers and AP exams while also being worried about who, if anyone, is going to ask her to prom. But, when her family's private lives are put online for everyone to see, her life is turned upside down and her life feels over.
This book is supposed to be young adult, but it didn't read like it. The way Sammy thought about her family felt more middle-grade than it did for a sixteen year old. Her mom was always the worst person no matter what and it got old really fast. In all, Sammy wasn't a likable character at all. She said horrible things and then blamed other people for hating her when it all came out.
There are a number of hard topics brought up in this, but none of them are properly dealt with. Sammy's father refuses to talk about everything that comes out about him and when he does it's very basic. Even with Sammy has a conversation with a friend she said something racist about, it gets glossed over far too easy. I'd say that it's middle grade in how the author deals with things, but I've read middle grade books that deal with this topic better.
The ending tried to make everything seem like a happy ending, but to me it felt as if the author brought in another plot point simply to make people forget about the heavy topics and ignore the fact that they were being glossed over.
I didn't go into this expecting a lot, but I still walked away annoyed and extremely disappointed.
Sammy is in her junior year. She's worried about her drivers and AP exams while also being worried about who, if anyone, is going to ask her to prom. But, when her family's private lives are put online for everyone to see, her life is turned upside down and her life feels over.
This book is supposed to be young adult, but it didn't read like it. The way Sammy thought about her family felt more middle-grade than it did for a sixteen year old. Her mom was always the worst person no matter what and it got old really fast. In all, Sammy wasn't a likable character at all. She said horrible things and then blamed other people for hating her when it all came out.
There are a number of hard topics brought up in this, but none of them are properly dealt with. Sammy's father refuses to talk about everything that comes out about him and when he does it's very basic. Even with Sammy has a conversation with a friend she said something racist about, it gets glossed over far too easy. I'd say that it's middle grade in how the author deals with things, but I've read middle grade books that deal with this topic better.
The ending tried to make everything seem like a happy ending, but to me it felt as if the author brought in another plot point simply to make people forget about the heavy topics and ignore the fact that they were being glossed over.
I didn't go into this expecting a lot, but I still walked away annoyed and extremely disappointed.
stevie1216's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed reading this even though it was just a random read
missusb21's review against another edition
4.0
A well balanced exploration of cyber issues, and a girl dealing with the ramifications of having her diary made public by hackers.
Just the right amount of angst. A lot of nice family stuff.
Just the right amount of angst. A lot of nice family stuff.
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
Sammy is the typical teenager and as such, she doesn't tell her parents everything. Like the time that she snuck out and went to a concert or borrowed her mom's sweater without permission, etc. Unfortunately, her account gets hacked and posted publicly revealing all sorts of personal information that she didn't want shared.
All about the dangers of personal information being leaked digitally. There's a little bit of a message, but he writing is strong enough for it not to feel pedantic. Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti fans will enjoy this one.
All about the dangers of personal information being leaked digitally. There's a little bit of a message, but he writing is strong enough for it not to feel pedantic. Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti fans will enjoy this one.
kellyhager's review against another edition
I'm a huge fan of Sarah Darer Littman and have been since I read Want to go Private? Her books are all incredibly timely/topical and this one is no exception.
Sammy's life is pretty typical: she's busy with friends and school (AP tests, SATs, driving test--does her crush like her back?). It's stressful but she's handling it. And then her dad--the CEO for a bank--gets hacked. And, thanks to the cloud, so is she. And everything gets posted online...including her diary.
I felt so awful for Sammy. Of course there's a lot of fallout and a lot of humiliation (are you always nice about other people?). And her parents now know everything she's done wrong. Which isn't much, honestly; she's a really good kid. But still, she's not perfect.
I feel like Sarah Darer Littman's biggest strength is writing these incredibly flawed characters that the reader still cheers for. Sammy is the perfect example of this. She's not always a good person but there is a world of difference between Sammy at the beginning and Sammy at the end.
Sammy's life is pretty typical: she's busy with friends and school (AP tests, SATs, driving test--does her crush like her back?). It's stressful but she's handling it. And then her dad--the CEO for a bank--gets hacked. And, thanks to the cloud, so is she. And everything gets posted online...including her diary.
I felt so awful for Sammy. Of course there's a lot of fallout and a lot of humiliation (are you always nice about other people?). And her parents now know everything she's done wrong. Which isn't much, honestly; she's a really good kid. But still, she's not perfect.
I feel like Sarah Darer Littman's biggest strength is writing these incredibly flawed characters that the reader still cheers for. Sammy is the perfect example of this. She's not always a good person but there is a world of difference between Sammy at the beginning and Sammy at the end.
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