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A review by katykelly
The Chaos of Now by Erin Jade Lange
4.0
Cyberbullying is at the heart of this pertinent school story.
In the aftermath of a suicide in the lunch hall a year ago, a nationwide reaction focusing on cyberlaws to protect students restricts online freedoms for everyone. The online bullying that resulted in Jordan Bishop's death has caused much underground hacker activity. Eli is approached by fellow hackers to help take revenge upon those who caused Jordan's death and begins to enjoy the power of scoring points against the bullies.
It's a classic tale of "power corrupts...", in a very contemporary context. I was reminded of Thirteen Reasons Why at times, though the victim here is a male, the bullies are widespread and none identifiable as a 'main' culprit in Jordan's demise.
Eli becomes a convincing Everyman, one who is blessed with superior coding skills, but one faced with a problem we would all struggle to choose the moral direction with. Who deserves to be punished, and who gets to decide?
There are a few red herrings and some good 'nasty' characters at school that show other sides to themselves later on, in the way they tend to. Eli has a slightly uncomfortable home life, with Dad's new (much younger) girlfriend causing yet more guilt and dilemmas. There's a love interest for Eli that is rather sweet, and the girl in question is quite a strongly rounded character too, I wanted more from her but she was, alas, not the focus.
I liked the social media angle and how it is used by the hackers and by the school community as a way of venting frustration and grievances. I did want more at the end though, more assurance of the future direction of the characters and 'what will happen next' - the sign you've grown to care.
For ages 12 and above.
In the aftermath of a suicide in the lunch hall a year ago, a nationwide reaction focusing on cyberlaws to protect students restricts online freedoms for everyone. The online bullying that resulted in Jordan Bishop's death has caused much underground hacker activity. Eli is approached by fellow hackers to help take revenge upon those who caused Jordan's death and begins to enjoy the power of scoring points against the bullies.
It's a classic tale of "power corrupts...", in a very contemporary context. I was reminded of Thirteen Reasons Why at times, though the victim here is a male, the bullies are widespread and none identifiable as a 'main' culprit in Jordan's demise.
Eli becomes a convincing Everyman, one who is blessed with superior coding skills, but one faced with a problem we would all struggle to choose the moral direction with. Who deserves to be punished, and who gets to decide?
There are a few red herrings and some good 'nasty' characters at school that show other sides to themselves later on, in the way they tend to. Eli has a slightly uncomfortable home life, with Dad's new (much younger) girlfriend causing yet more guilt and dilemmas. There's a love interest for Eli that is rather sweet, and the girl in question is quite a strongly rounded character too, I wanted more from her but she was, alas, not the focus.
I liked the social media angle and how it is used by the hackers and by the school community as a way of venting frustration and grievances. I did want more at the end though, more assurance of the future direction of the characters and 'what will happen next' - the sign you've grown to care.
For ages 12 and above.