Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Freeform Books (First Edition)
Pages
369
Description
"In this near-future mystery, Kyla Cheng, the smartest, hottest, most popular student at her Brooklyn high school, gets taken down a peg by a faked sex tape that goes viral"--
Description
Kyla Cheng doesn’t expect you to like her. For the record, she doesn’t need you to. On track to be valedictorian, she’s president of her community club and a debate team champ, plus the yummy Mackenzie Rodriguez has firmly attached himself to her hip. She and her three high-powered best friends don’t just own their senior year at their exclusive Park Slope, Brooklyn high school, they practically define the hated species Popular. Kyla’s even managed to make it through high school completely unscathed.
Until someone takes issue with this arrangement.
A week before college applications are due, a video of Kyla “doing it” with her crush-worthy English teacher is uploaded to her school’s website. It instantly goes viral, but here’s the thing: it’s not Kyla in the video. With time running out, Kyla delves into a world of hackers, haters and creepy stalkers in an attempt to do the impossible—take something off the internet—all while dealing with the fallout from her own karmic footprint.
Until someone takes issue with this arrangement.
A week before college applications are due, a video of Kyla “doing it” with her crush-worthy English teacher is uploaded to her school’s website. It instantly goes viral, but here’s the thing: it’s not Kyla in the video. With time running out, Kyla delves into a world of hackers, haters and creepy stalkers in an attempt to do the impossible—take something off the internet—all while dealing with the fallout from her own karmic footprint.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
369 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
9781484757420
Similar in this library
Lexile
740L
User reviews
LibraryThing member dk_phoenix
Technology is a beast, friends. A beast that's nearly impossible to tame, and as much as we try to make it work for us, what happens when our tech turns against us? Digital footprints are already so, so hard to erase, so this story set in the near-future where even more of what we do and share is
There are enough twists and turns in the story to keep you up reading long past the time you should have fallen asleep, and ultimately, the ending is both satisfying and bittersweet. I loved the portrayal of friendships in the book and their complicated dynamics, and I also appreciated the slightly different approach to the main character: her brutal honesty with readers right up front, and how she starts from a place of overconfidence & has to work backwards (until most YA main characters).
Worth it!
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public... well, let's just say this story hits awfully close to home, and in a way that's suspenseful, compelling, scary, and ultimately entertaining. I don't want to say too much, lest I accidentally spoil anything -- there's a strong element of suspense/thrill here, and the story will keep you on your toes trying to guess "whodunnit?"There are enough twists and turns in the story to keep you up reading long past the time you should have fallen asleep, and ultimately, the ending is both satisfying and bittersweet. I loved the portrayal of friendships in the book and their complicated dynamics, and I also appreciated the slightly different approach to the main character: her brutal honesty with readers right up front, and how she starts from a place of overconfidence & has to work backwards (until most YA main characters).
Worth it!
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LibraryThing member mamzel
Kyla Cheng is a teen with everything going for her. She's smart and works hard to maintain her perfect grades. She is part of an elite group and seems to be a shoe-in for an Ivy League school. Until, one day, a video appears that shows her "doing it" with a teacher. It's a fake, of course, but how
The story takes place in the near future where everyone is connected via the social media platform known as ConnectBook. I love the way the author created a language tic for the book. It is all-caps SO cool!
I also liked the complicated relationship Kyla has with Mac, not allowing him to even kiss her since she has seen how long his relationships last with other girls after he has kissed them. She figures that the longer she holds out, the longer their relationship will last.
The story also features a relatively healthy family structure. Her near twin brother, Kyle, takes and gives kidding but respects and communicates with her.
Altogether, this was a thoroughly enjoyable story.
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can she convince her friends and her family? And who and why is this happening to her?The story takes place in the near future where everyone is connected via the social media platform known as ConnectBook. I love the way the author created a language tic for the book. It is all-caps SO cool!
I also liked the complicated relationship Kyla has with Mac, not allowing him to even kiss her since she has seen how long his relationships last with other girls after he has kissed them. She figures that the longer she holds out, the longer their relationship will last.
The story also features a relatively healthy family structure. Her near twin brother, Kyle, takes and gives kidding but respects and communicates with her.
Altogether, this was a thoroughly enjoyable story.
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LibraryThing member seasonsoflove
Kyla is one of the most popular girls in her school, picked to join a clique that has ensured her the high school existence she was sure she wanted-until someone comes along to tear it all down. A sex tape of Kyla and one of her teachers is released, but Kyla knows she hasn't slept with anyone. As
The world Wang creates is also extremely unique. The book is set in the far future, when our obsession with new technology and social media have been taken to extremes. Screens are everywhere, and no one takes a single step without their Doc, a tablet that contains their whole life. Thanks to social media, everywhere you go, someone is always watching, and your every move is documented virally for the world to see.
This book takes topics that have been covered before-popularity, mean girls, the effects of social media, and society's views on women-and looks at them through a really creative and unique lens. Wang tackles all this while also making her book a twisty mystery that kept me guessing the whole time. I honestly never saw the denouncement coming.
I would definitely recommend this book. It's a unique and gripping addition to the young adult suspense genre.
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she fights to discover who is trying to destroy her life, she's forced to examine just how great a life it is that she's been leadingThe world Wang creates is also extremely unique. The book is set in the far future, when our obsession with new technology and social media have been taken to extremes. Screens are everywhere, and no one takes a single step without their Doc, a tablet that contains their whole life. Thanks to social media, everywhere you go, someone is always watching, and your every move is documented virally for the world to see.
This book takes topics that have been covered before-popularity, mean girls, the effects of social media, and society's views on women-and looks at them through a really creative and unique lens. Wang tackles all this while also making her book a twisty mystery that kept me guessing the whole time. I honestly never saw the denouncement coming.
I would definitely recommend this book. It's a unique and gripping addition to the young adult suspense genre.
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LibraryThing member foggidawn
Kyla Cheng has a pretty good life: she's pretty, popular, and smart. All that is eclipsed, however, when a video is posted of her having sex with a teacher. The video is a fake, but nobody believes that -- even in the unspecified near-future time of the book's setting, the tech doesn't quite exist
This techie mystery has good pacing, interesting characters, and a solid plot. Some readers may be put off by the invented future slang/text speak, but fans of realistic YA should take a look at this one.
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to make such a seamless fake. The only way for Kyla to get her life back is to find her hater and get the video taken down.This techie mystery has good pacing, interesting characters, and a solid plot. Some readers may be put off by the invented future slang/text speak, but fans of realistic YA should take a look at this one.
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LibraryThing member Jonez
3.75
The uncovered "mystery" of this book ended up being the least interesting part. As a matter of fact I felt the big reveals were partially predictable and partially too far left field.
However, what Wang does well to expose is our culture of girl on girl hate, slut shaming, and the scary future
I was still a little put off at how these "friends" treated one another and how disconnected the parents seemed to be from everything that was going on, often right in front of them or at the dinner table. I imagine in a world where making money and web presence defines us, even that could trickle down to how we do or do not parent. Still, I found even the best parenting examples offered not such great examples and it was hard for me to swallow.
Unfortunately, the labels placed upon some of the side characters (cold psychiatrist parents, nerds that aren't clean, girls that sleep with multiple partners being a bit flighty) were in contrast to exactly what it seemed this book was trying to combat. That and the lack luster mystery bought this book down to just under the 4 star mark.
The uncovered "mystery" of this book ended up being the least interesting part. As a matter of fact I felt the big reveals were partially predictable and partially too far left field.
However, what Wang does well to expose is our culture of girl on girl hate, slut shaming, and the scary future
Show More
realities of our connectedness to the web and our disconnections with one another (as well as our true selves). It reveals who we are when the world isn't watching. I also loved the all too real aspects of this futuristic society that I felt she fleshed out in a way I wish "The Thousandth Floor" had. I was still a little put off at how these "friends" treated one another and how disconnected the parents seemed to be from everything that was going on, often right in front of them or at the dinner table. I imagine in a world where making money and web presence defines us, even that could trickle down to how we do or do not parent. Still, I found even the best parenting examples offered not such great examples and it was hard for me to swallow.
Unfortunately, the labels placed upon some of the side characters (cold psychiatrist parents, nerds that aren't clean, girls that sleep with multiple partners being a bit flighty) were in contrast to exactly what it seemed this book was trying to combat. That and the lack luster mystery bought this book down to just under the 4 star mark.
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LibraryThing member m_mozeleski
OH MY GOSH.
Look, if you told me that eventually everything on the internet would be connected to everything, and that the government would actually sanction the use of facial recognition systems when the prior happened, I would probably agree with you, and then personally make sure that I scrubbed
This book is what happens in an era of "virtual police state started by a monolithic corporation", a few years into the future, where nobody has the choice to not be tagged, only untagged, and assuming you keep up with your settings.
Good Lord.
A terrifying look at what that situation could bring, actually, because...well, teenagers are always going to be teenagers, and that means, of course, embarrassing photos, but also potentially career-ending videos.
I'll let you read the rest, but....it is a lesson on cybersecurity as much as it is about why it is a bad idea to be a part of the clique.
10/10
Look, if you told me that eventually everything on the internet would be connected to everything, and that the government would actually sanction the use of facial recognition systems when the prior happened, I would probably agree with you, and then personally make sure that I scrubbed
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myself from the internet before tech went any further than what it is now (hello, creepy facebook tagging algorithm, that is a RENNAISANCE PAINTING not actual baby Jesus, thanks!).This book is what happens in an era of "virtual police state started by a monolithic corporation", a few years into the future, where nobody has the choice to not be tagged, only untagged, and assuming you keep up with your settings.
Good Lord.
A terrifying look at what that situation could bring, actually, because...well, teenagers are always going to be teenagers, and that means, of course, embarrassing photos, but also potentially career-ending videos.
I'll let you read the rest, but....it is a lesson on cybersecurity as much as it is about why it is a bad idea to be a part of the clique.
10/10
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LibraryThing member sensitivemuse
Good fast paced plot! kept me guessing until near the end. Unlikable characters but you can't help to keep reading because the plot is so interesting. Good character development, and world building is excellent. If you can get past the way the talk (annoying in more ways than one) this book is an
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enjoyable fast paced read! Show Less
Awards
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2018)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Fiction — 2017)
Call number
YA A Wan