AUTHOR: Sarah Darer Littman
PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press
PAGES: 336
MY RATING:
INSIDE COVER BLURB: When Abby meets Luke online, she can't believe her luck. He's nice. He's funny. He listens to her and he thinks she's pretty. He even gets jealous of other guys, which is adorable. Without Luke, Abby's not sure how she'd make it through her first year of high school. Everyone, including her mom and her best friend, Faith, tells Abby that if she just made more of an effort, she'd be having fun instead of dreading each and every day as if it's a prison sentence. But there's nothing fun about being the lowest link in the social food chain.
Abby knows she's not supposed to chat with random guys online. But Luke isn't random, and he isn't a stranger. Best of all, he loves her. So what if she never goes out with her friends anymore and her grades are slipping? All she needs is Luke. Luke is her secret, and she's his -- it's perfect that way. So when Luke suggests that they meet each other in person, Abby agrees. And then she's gone. Missing. Without a trace. And everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.
OVERALL IMPRESSION: Scary. This book is very scary because it is a situation that has happened many times and it can happen to anyone who feels lost and alone. The thing that bothered me while reading this book was that it feels like Abby is being a little naive. She keeps saying that there are things she shouldn't do or shouldn't tell Luke because it seems odd (she even brings up her school assemblies about internet safety) yet she does them anyway. There are also small clues that point to Luke not being who he says he is, which Abby points out to herself, but she rationalizes them away with things that don't even make sense. Other than than, I understand that these internet predators take the time to be extremely relateable to the teenagers they prey on and that it is easy for teenagers to fall for it when they feel like nobody else understands them and what they are going through. I think that every teen should read this book. It is a bit graphic in some parts, so I feel that parents should also read the book to be aware of what is in this, but I still feel like all teens should read this. It can help them understand the things an internet predator will say and do to try to earn their trust.
CHARACTERS: I really liked the character of Billy in this book. He was very sweet and kind towards Abby. You could tell he really cared about her.
COVER: I like the cover. It's very simple and to the point. There's nothing overly flashy about it. IT pretty much shows the progression of the relationship between an online predator and a teen.
*I received a copy of this book through Amazon Vine.
That does sound quite scary! We didn't have to worry about internet predators when I was in high school. (I just realized I've started talking like an old person.) :)
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