Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Edition: eARC
Genre: Young adult thriller
Synopsis:
Eden, Eli, Marwan, and Ilanka barely know each other beyond having a class or two together. But when they are all summoned via messaging app to an empty classroom after school, they find a small cube sitting on a desk. Its sides light up with rules for them:
Do not tell anyone about the device. Never leave the device unattended.
And then, Take me with you . . . or else.
At first they think it's some kind of prank or a social experiment orchestrated by the school administration. Still, they follow its instructions until the newly-formed group starts to splinter. Nobody has time for these games--their lives are complicated enough. But the device seems increasingly invested in the private details of their lives. And disobeying its rules has scary--even life-threatening--consequences . . .
Sarah's Review:
3.5 out of 5 stars
I was really anticipating this book after reading the author's other book "The Leaving." I went into this book with really high hopes. Some of those hopes were met, others were not. I will start out by saying this was a good book overall, and I do recommend reading it if you are into young adult sci-fi/thrillers.
The writing style of this book really worked for me, and for the story. It was really easy to read and interpret which is really important when talking about artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a really complex topic, and being able to read it in an understandable way helped because I am not a tech savvy person. The sentences were short, and kind of choppy which I believe was done on purpose to make it seem more robotic. Because the sentences were short and easy to read, I think it made it very fast paced and helped the story to pick up right away.
The story is told from four different perspectives. We hear from Emma, Marwan, Eli, and Ilanka. I do think the characters were rather one dimensional/stereotypical. While each character had different personality traits, they also each had one specific problem they were facing (other than the device). The problems they faced were relatable, and did help me connect to the characters better. They really grew on me. I did like all four characters despite them not being very multifaceted.
This book is definitely creepy, and thrilling. As a society we are not far from the technology displayed in the book. This really gave the book the benefit of feeling more real. While I do have some other things to say about this book, I will refrain because I don't want to give spoilers. Like I mentioned before this is worth the read, and I will be looking forward to Tara Altebrando's next novel!
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