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A review by maddiemcevoy
The Chaos of Now by Erin Jade Lange
4.0
in general, this book was well developed and enjoyable, with an actual unique and realistic take on social media and the dangers of cyberbullying. this was what i wanted easy prey to be!! characters acknowledging their toxic masculinity and working to change their mindsets!!! the main character owning up for his mistakes in a healthy way and trying to move on and be a productive member of society!!! yes please!!!!
this is a book about a teenage hacker named Eli who is a self proclaimed genius and computer geek. he gets caught up in coding a website dedicated to avenging the people who bullied a boy named Jordan who committed suicide a year prior to the events of this book. i loved the way that even the bullies and cheaters and bigots were portrayed as three dimensional. their actions were not erased or forgiven, but the reader was able to see them as real people instead of cartoon villains. the themes of hero vs villain and the way that Eli came to see the poisonous nature of revenge and the fact that everyone had shades of grey in them-- not just good or evil-- was extremely well done. it is rare to see such complex themes in YA.
i wish that Eli's relationship with his father had been delved into further, but i loved reading about the way his view of his father's girlfriend changed. i feel this story took a common trope "the evil stepmother/ dad's new girlfriend" trope and handled it in a very unique and effective way. i loved Misty, and she was such a positive example. i also loved the subplot about Isabel and that scene where she puts makeup on Eli and explains that men can wear makeup too was so precious.
i feel that this book is a very important addition to the genre and is something that many teens and adults could benefit from reading. i felt that in certain situations, the topic of homophobia was not dealt with in the best way, but other than that, delicate issues like suicide, drug use and cyberbullying were handled well.
one of the most important scenes in this book was the climax and i loved the way that Eli told Mouse that SPOILER Jordan lit his own match and although many people treated him unfairly and were completely in the wrong, Jordan's suicide was not anyone's fault. that line alone ended 13 reasons why.
the writing was nothing memorable to me, but i very much enjoyed the plot, and the writing did nothing to inhibit that. although some of the dialogue and teen slang made me cringe, a lot of it was very realistic and made me laugh at times. i feel like Lange really nailed it on the head when Eli said something in his monologue to the effect of "disgust is an easy emotion to fall back on when you don't want your parents to know your actual emotions." as a teenager, those words are almost to true to handle.
the characters were fun and likable for the most part, but i didn't feel very connected to any of them, and i felt that the characters and relationships could have benefitted from much more development.
in general, i enjoyed this book and would recommend it to teens and parents. the exploration of social media and morality was extremely well done and the way the internet was portrayed here was a lot more realistic than other books. this book actually showed it's messages in a fairly subtle and nuanced way, which i greatly appreciated. nothing makes me cringe harder than when authors make their characters preach about social and political values-- even when i agree with them. this book was enjoyable and well done and i think is a very important and meaningful addition to the genre.
this is a book about a teenage hacker named Eli who is a self proclaimed genius and computer geek. he gets caught up in coding a website dedicated to avenging the people who bullied a boy named Jordan who committed suicide a year prior to the events of this book. i loved the way that even the bullies and cheaters and bigots were portrayed as three dimensional. their actions were not erased or forgiven, but the reader was able to see them as real people instead of cartoon villains. the themes of hero vs villain and the way that Eli came to see the poisonous nature of revenge and the fact that everyone had shades of grey in them-- not just good or evil-- was extremely well done. it is rare to see such complex themes in YA.
i wish that Eli's relationship with his father had been delved into further, but i loved reading about the way his view of his father's girlfriend changed. i feel this story took a common trope "the evil stepmother/ dad's new girlfriend" trope and handled it in a very unique and effective way. i loved Misty, and she was such a positive example. i also loved the subplot about Isabel and that scene where she puts makeup on Eli and explains that men can wear makeup too was so precious.
i feel that this book is a very important addition to the genre and is something that many teens and adults could benefit from reading. i felt that in certain situations, the topic of homophobia was not dealt with in the best way, but other than that, delicate issues like suicide, drug use and cyberbullying were handled well.
one of the most important scenes in this book was the climax and i loved the way that Eli told Mouse that SPOILER Jordan lit his own match and although many people treated him unfairly and were completely in the wrong, Jordan's suicide was not anyone's fault. that line alone ended 13 reasons why.
the writing was nothing memorable to me, but i very much enjoyed the plot, and the writing did nothing to inhibit that. although some of the dialogue and teen slang made me cringe, a lot of it was very realistic and made me laugh at times. i feel like Lange really nailed it on the head when Eli said something in his monologue to the effect of "disgust is an easy emotion to fall back on when you don't want your parents to know your actual emotions." as a teenager, those words are almost to true to handle.
the characters were fun and likable for the most part, but i didn't feel very connected to any of them, and i felt that the characters and relationships could have benefitted from much more development.
in general, i enjoyed this book and would recommend it to teens and parents. the exploration of social media and morality was extremely well done and the way the internet was portrayed here was a lot more realistic than other books. this book actually showed it's messages in a fairly subtle and nuanced way, which i greatly appreciated. nothing makes me cringe harder than when authors make their characters preach about social and political values-- even when i agree with them. this book was enjoyable and well done and i think is a very important and meaningful addition to the genre.