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Synopsis (from the Sunday Street Team):
High school senior and internet sensation Madison Nakama seems to have it all: a happy family, good grades, and a massive online following for her pop-culture blog. But when her mother suddenly abandons the family, Madi finds herself struggling to keep up with all of her commitments.
Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.
Review:
When I saw the premise for this book, I was immediately excited. Angsty teens, blogging, trolls, and a mystery! This was such a charming book. I did have a few minor quibbles. But overall, once I started this book, I couldn't put it down.
What I Liked:
Characters:
Madi:
I liked that Madi wasn't perfect. She felt more comfortable interacting with people online than in real life. I know many teens in RL (real life) who are like that. I think a reason most teens would rather text than speak on the phone is due to worry about social interactions.
Madi was alternately annoyed by and compassionate towards her younger sister, who had special needs. It can be very tough on one sibling when the household seems to revolves around another with special needs. I grew up in such a household, so I can say that this was very realistic. As much as Madi loved her sister, it was unfair of her parents to ask Madi to do so much of the caretaking. The parents should not have asked so much of her. She was a Senior in high school, for goodness sake!
Sarah:
Sarah had special needs (deliberately undefined in the book) and needed routines in order to keep her calm. When I first saw that there was such a character, I was weary as to how she would be portrayed. I work in special education, so I am very attuned to this. But my concerns were alleviated as the book progressed. Sarah was smart, kind to Madi, and also needed a lot of support. But she was essentially like any other teen. I really appreciated that!
Blogging:
I loved that Madi's passion was for blogging about pop culture! As a book blogger, I can tell you there are some superstars of our community that I would love to meet in real life. I was amazed when I realized that one of these bloggers had the popular blog, two side businesses, and had organized a bookcon while still in high school! While it was a bit unrealistic for Maddie to have so many followers, I found this part of the book to be really fun!
Parents:
I loved that Madi's parents had her back when she got in trouble. I recently read another YA book where the parents let stand a criminal charge of shoplifting with their daughter, even though this was completely out of character for her. I was furious reading that! In this stroy, when something bad happened to Madi, her parents were immediately on her side! As much as Madi considered herself to be an adult, I appreciated the reminder that she was at the in-between stage where parents could still offer guidance.
Cyberbullying/Mystery:
In the novel, Madi was being harassed online by a troll. As most teens do, Madi tried, at first, to handle this on her own. But, this person was crafty and knew how to cover their tracks. I was genuinely scared for Madi when the trolling escalated. And I was kept guessing until the end as to the identity of the troll.
Texting:
Texting was an important part of this novel, which was appropriate given today's culture. I loved that many of the interactions between Madi and her mom, and Madi and Laurent, were done as texts. There were even pictures being sent back and forth! This was delightful.
80's Movies:
Madi blogged about many classic 80's movies including:
Sixteen Candles
Back To The Future
The Breakfast Club
Some Kind Of Wonderful
and The Lost Boys
Madi's spot on observations of these movies made me want to watch them again to see if I agreed with her!
What I Was Mixed About:
"Missing Parent" syndrome:
If you follow my reviews at all, you will know that this is one of my pet peeves in books. The trope of one (or both) parents being out of the picture seems to be a main theme in YA. In this novel, Madi's mom suddenly left to teach for a semester overseas. But out of sight, in this book, did not mean out of mind. Madi's mom did constantly text and Skype with her. And that is why I didn't find this plot device too annoying.
The Perfect Guy:
Laurent, the French exchange student, was (of course) drop dead gorgeous. I know that his being so handsome played into Madi's insecurities. But I think it would have been fine if Laurent was more average. He already had the mystique of being a French exchange student! He didn't need to be perfectly handsome, too.
Rating:
Release Date: June 6th, 2017
Genre: YA contemporary fiction
Source: Sunday Street Team blog tour
Format: ARC E-Book
Recommendation: A fun, fast-paced book with blogging, pop culture, and romance. You will be smiling throughout!
About The Author:
Danika Stone is an author, artist, and educator who discovered a passion for writing fiction while in the throes of her Masters thesis. A self-declared bibliophile, Danika now writes novels for both teens (All the Feels and Internet Famous) adults (Edge of Wild and Intaglio). When not writing, Danika can be found hiking in the Rockies, planning grand adventures, and spending far too much time online. She lives with her husband, three sons, and a houseful of imaginary characters in a windy corner of Alberta, Canada.
And finally, a giveaway:
Glad to see that you enjoyed this one too! I liked this one a lot but also had a few little issues with it. Overall I enjoyed it tho. Great through review!
ReplyDeleteOOH! I'm so happy you liked this book. I'm sad to hear that this book had Missing Parents (It really bugs me when that happens) but I'm glad to see you liked it overall!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for being a part of the SST Blog Tour
Aditi @ http://athousandwordsamillionbooks.blogspot.in/
I think the "missing parent" thing was mitigated by all the texts and Skype calls they had. Also Madi's dad was very much in the picture, so it balanced it out. Thanks for letting me participate in the blog tour.
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