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Defriended
Jason has met the perfect girl. OK, so maybe he hasn't actually MET Lacey yet, but they talk online all the time. Yet despite spending most nights chatting, Lacey refuses to meet up in person. Suspicious, Jason googles multiple newspapers. Lacey fell off a balcony and died a year earlier. Jason meets Lacey's best friend Jenna, and they try to find the truth.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
September 21, 2023
Meeting new people is hard. Today’s world of Facebook, blogs and YouTube makes it easier, but new challenges are presented. There is a lack of certainty with an online relationship. Common questions arise. Is the person I’m talking to really this cool? Is the person being honest? Is this a ghost? Okay, the last one, maybe not so common.
Jason’s love of indie rock, The Mountain Goats in particular, was not something he expected to share with a high-school girl. When he discovered Lacey’s profile on-line, he felt compelled to contact her. They both had the same quote from Mountain Goats’ Fault Lines on their homepage.
Eventually, Lacey responds to Jason and the two grow close quickly. After months of chatting, e-mailing and Instant-Messaging, Jason was ready for a face-to-face meeting. He was surprised and disappointed with Lacey’s evasive responses. He turns to Google where he is stunned to find Lacey’s obituary. She was killed in an accident months before she first contacted him. Although shattered, Jason resolves to find out who he has been talking to, and why.
Thus begins a wonderful potpourri of mystery, ghost-story, cruel-hoax, with a little bit of forbidden love. Not only did this completely captivate this reader, it kept me guessing and second-guessing. Ms. Baron does an amazing job in introducing the characters with just enough information to make the reader say “hmmm”. While this book may be intended for Middle Grade readers; it is, quite simply, a fabulous, classic mystery that any reader would enjoy. I will be on the look-out for more from Ruth Baron.
This review was written for Buried Under Books Blog.
Jason’s love of indie rock, The Mountain Goats in particular, was not something he expected to share with a high-school girl. When he discovered Lacey’s profile on-line, he felt compelled to contact her. They both had the same quote from Mountain Goats’ Fault Lines on their homepage.
Eventually, Lacey responds to Jason and the two grow close quickly. After months of chatting, e-mailing and Instant-Messaging, Jason was ready for a face-to-face meeting. He was surprised and disappointed with Lacey’s evasive responses. He turns to Google where he is stunned to find Lacey’s obituary. She was killed in an accident months before she first contacted him. Although shattered, Jason resolves to find out who he has been talking to, and why.
Thus begins a wonderful potpourri of mystery, ghost-story, cruel-hoax, with a little bit of forbidden love. Not only did this completely captivate this reader, it kept me guessing and second-guessing. Ms. Baron does an amazing job in introducing the characters with just enough information to make the reader say “hmmm”. While this book may be intended for Middle Grade readers; it is, quite simply, a fabulous, classic mystery that any reader would enjoy. I will be on the look-out for more from Ruth Baron.
This review was written for Buried Under Books Blog.
May 3, 2017
Ugh what a terrible thriller. Horribly written with annoying characters, shitty suspense, actually ther was no suspense. A horrible plot. There is no buildup of the big reveal and just some extremely petty shit was happening in this book that wasn't even integral towards the plot. And the ending isn't even explained well and makes no sense whatsoever. Not to mention, the MC is extremely dull, boring, and acted very immature and stupid imo. This entire book is just incredibly terrible.
Stay away from it friends, but if you want a quick roast read then be my guest.
Stay away from it friends, but if you want a quick roast read then be my guest.
September 11, 2017
First off, swearing galore! Like, why? Just, why? So unneeded.
***SPOILER***
Secondly, if I had found out a person I was chatting with on the internet was actually dead, I would just be like, "Well, I've been catfished, and not only that, but my catfisher is pretending to be a highschool girl who was murdered a while ago, excuse me while I report this to police as a fraud." not. "Oooh, I must figure this out myself!"
NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD DO THAT. YOU'VE BEEN CATFISHED, AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOUR CATFISHER STOLE THE IDENITITY OF A DEAD PERSON, CALL THE POLICE, DUDE!
***SPOILER OVER***
Also, this book won't even be relevant in a couple of years, because it's about Facebook, which is already fading from the teenage crowd...
And I didn't really like any of the characters, they were one dimensional at best.
Definitely wouldn't re-read or recommend.
***SPOILER***
Secondly, if I had found out a person I was chatting with on the internet was actually dead, I would just be like, "Well, I've been catfished, and not only that, but my catfisher is pretending to be a highschool girl who was murdered a while ago, excuse me while I report this to police as a fraud." not. "Oooh, I must figure this out myself!"
NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD DO THAT. YOU'VE BEEN CATFISHED, AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOUR CATFISHER STOLE THE IDENITITY OF A DEAD PERSON, CALL THE POLICE, DUDE!
***SPOILER OVER***
Also, this book won't even be relevant in a couple of years, because it's about Facebook, which is already fading from the teenage crowd...
And I didn't really like any of the characters, they were one dimensional at best.
Definitely wouldn't re-read or recommend.
May 14, 2017
Isn’t it unfriend? Whatever.
This is an incredibly lackluster book written by an adult who desperately wanted people to know she knew about technology and social media and how it worked. I think anyone age-appropriate for DEFRIENDED would have been rolling their eyes at the complete breakdown on how something like Facebook, and a computer, works. It was completely unnatural the way things were described in this book, as if it were speaking to an audience that might not know what any of these things are.
One, target audience for a Point Horror reboot isn’t that old. We still grew up with technology. We know what it is. I don’t need it barneyed down for me. And Two, Point Horror needs to find its audience and stick with it. Are you writing for those adults who used to read Point Horror all those years ago? Or is it specifically for a new age of readers? If it’s the former you’re grossly underestimating your reader. If the latter you don’t know the current market.
At least with the Fear Street reboot it is very obviously a reboot. It’s not trying so hard to aim toward current readers. It’s keeping it’s old format, its old kitsch, and playing to the adults who will be reading it. If an age-appropriate audience happens to like it, great! But they’re really there for nostalgic purposes. Not sure what Point Horror is doing.
As for the story itself, it was devoid of tension. Absolutely nothing. Maybe because it was obvious from the beginning that Jason was being catfished so I was like, this is going nowhere good. But there was no build-up to the climax. There was some fake tension but I saw right through it and by the time anything of interest came around I didn’t have any wind left in my sails. I read it and was like, that’s it? Okay.
I’m definitely more of a RL Stine and Christopher Pike fan than anything else. I only got into Point Horror at a much later date, but this just isn’t good. The book doesn’t know what it is. How am I supposed to know what it is? And I loved how, for a book that came out in 2013, Jason was waiting until he had access to a computer to check his Facebook. Like I said about fake tension. He had a smart phone in his pocket the entire time, yet he really only checked Facebook when he was on a CPU or laptop. No. Silly.
1.5
This is an incredibly lackluster book written by an adult who desperately wanted people to know she knew about technology and social media and how it worked. I think anyone age-appropriate for DEFRIENDED would have been rolling their eyes at the complete breakdown on how something like Facebook, and a computer, works. It was completely unnatural the way things were described in this book, as if it were speaking to an audience that might not know what any of these things are.
One, target audience for a Point Horror reboot isn’t that old. We still grew up with technology. We know what it is. I don’t need it barneyed down for me. And Two, Point Horror needs to find its audience and stick with it. Are you writing for those adults who used to read Point Horror all those years ago? Or is it specifically for a new age of readers? If it’s the former you’re grossly underestimating your reader. If the latter you don’t know the current market.
At least with the Fear Street reboot it is very obviously a reboot. It’s not trying so hard to aim toward current readers. It’s keeping it’s old format, its old kitsch, and playing to the adults who will be reading it. If an age-appropriate audience happens to like it, great! But they’re really there for nostalgic purposes. Not sure what Point Horror is doing.
As for the story itself, it was devoid of tension. Absolutely nothing. Maybe because it was obvious from the beginning that Jason was being catfished so I was like, this is going nowhere good. But there was no build-up to the climax. There was some fake tension but I saw right through it and by the time anything of interest came around I didn’t have any wind left in my sails. I read it and was like, that’s it? Okay.
I’m definitely more of a RL Stine and Christopher Pike fan than anything else. I only got into Point Horror at a much later date, but this just isn’t good. The book doesn’t know what it is. How am I supposed to know what it is? And I loved how, for a book that came out in 2013, Jason was waiting until he had access to a computer to check his Facebook. Like I said about fake tension. He had a smart phone in his pocket the entire time, yet he really only checked Facebook when he was on a CPU or laptop. No. Silly.
1.5
September 19, 2013
“Defriended” is another one of those books that I'm checking out for my 16-year-old daughter. With a relatively low readership on both goodreads and Amazon, I did not expect much and was surprised to find out that it was actually quite good! Although the scare factor is not high enough to keep a person up at night, the feeling of suspense is maintained throughout the book. The narrative is tight, the plot believable and the way the story unfolds keeps you guessing. “Defriended”, a debut novel for Ruth Baron, certainly deserves a higher rating than what’s given on goodreads.
June 24, 2013
This is one of those books that kept me guessing. As Jason pointed out, there are three potential reasons for this: Lacey is a ghost, it's a prank or Lacey, for whatever reason, faked her own death. I was pretty firmly in one camp, but there were a number of things that had me going back and forth on which of the three were actually true.
This also isn't really scary, per se. It's more of a mystery as Jason tries to figure out exactly what's going on and who, if anyone, he can trust.
I'm not sure I believe that Jason would've waited so long to Google Lacey (am I the only one who believes that Googling someone is a normal routine thing? It's not really cyberstalking, I don't think*) and I think that someone of his generation would consider that even more normal than I do. (I got internet when I was in high school, but Jason and his friends grew up with it.)
This book is incredibly fun and interesting. Definitely something to consider, especially if you aren't expecting something scary.
* = to me, cyberstalking is when you start Googling a potential date's relatives and exes and whatnot. That's on the weirder end. Googling someone is how you make sure you're not dating a serial killer or sex offender.
This also isn't really scary, per se. It's more of a mystery as Jason tries to figure out exactly what's going on and who, if anyone, he can trust.
I'm not sure I believe that Jason would've waited so long to Google Lacey (am I the only one who believes that Googling someone is a normal routine thing? It's not really cyberstalking, I don't think*) and I think that someone of his generation would consider that even more normal than I do. (I got internet when I was in high school, but Jason and his friends grew up with it.)
This book is incredibly fun and interesting. Definitely something to consider, especially if you aren't expecting something scary.
* = to me, cyberstalking is when you start Googling a potential date's relatives and exes and whatnot. That's on the weirder end. Googling someone is how you make sure you're not dating a serial killer or sex offender.
June 25, 2013
This book was okay but not that great. It's most admirable feature was the suspense and the fact that the storyline was interesting and not completely obvious of what the outcome would be (at least, I would think not for younger readers. I figured out what thad really happened as soon as Max and Jenna were introduced.) The plot idea is pretty interesting but I don't like how the summary on the back of the book makes it sound like it will become paranormal. The characters were kind of boring and clichéd. John is such an average name, and he's an outcast, but also friends with the most popular guy at school (does not make much sense. At my school if your friends with someone, your in their group circle.) Overall this book was okay, but kinda boring and slow and I would not read it again and I'm not sure that I would recommend it.
October 14, 2018
"Before you start digging around, remember I've got more experience hiding in the dark than you."
It's silly but Point Horror is just so nostalgic for me. I love that they are updating the series and giving us new ones. The only problem is that this grouping of the series - the internet based ones - just don't age well. Most kids would no longer have a Facebook account - and if they did, it would just be because they needed it to log into a game or because their parents or family insisted. So parts of the story, only a few years old now, felt very dated and very silly.
Along with the reasoning, the ending and a lot of the conclusions - they were all silly. But I don't mind it - I didn't pick this up thinking I'd be terrified or the high quality, insightful writing. I just wanted a quick read with a few jumps. It's cute, it has an interesting mystery and it was quick.
It's silly but Point Horror is just so nostalgic for me. I love that they are updating the series and giving us new ones. The only problem is that this grouping of the series - the internet based ones - just don't age well. Most kids would no longer have a Facebook account - and if they did, it would just be because they needed it to log into a game or because their parents or family insisted. So parts of the story, only a few years old now, felt very dated and very silly.
Along with the reasoning, the ending and a lot of the conclusions - they were all silly. But I don't mind it - I didn't pick this up thinking I'd be terrified or the high quality, insightful writing. I just wanted a quick read with a few jumps. It's cute, it has an interesting mystery and it was quick.
February 23, 2013
I picked this up to give to my younger cousin and figured I'd read it to see what teen books are like these days. From the perspective of me - a 27 year old adult - it's an eye roller. Predictable, a bit silly and full of laughable references. Now, that being said its well written and an interesting plot.
Thinking back to the perspective of a teenager - it would be an interesting read. I can see how it would be a fun mystery, and is full of action and intrigue. Not really a book for me - but definitely recommend it for 12-15 year olds - especially if they aren't really into reading. The characters are likeable and it's a setting/plot that they can relate to to a degree with the huge impact social media plays on their lives.
Thinking back to the perspective of a teenager - it would be an interesting read. I can see how it would be a fun mystery, and is full of action and intrigue. Not really a book for me - but definitely recommend it for 12-15 year olds - especially if they aren't really into reading. The characters are likeable and it's a setting/plot that they can relate to to a degree with the huge impact social media plays on their lives.
August 18, 2016
I was intrigued after reading the blurb. It seemed like a type of books I would read after I had been stuffing my face with all those romance. Sadly, it didn't spark my interest. At all. The pace was too disturbingly slow for my liking. It might be because of me, but I needed to remind myself that the main character was not a thirteen-year-old boy. I don't know why, but he sounded much younger than he supposed to be.
January 10, 2022
I think, reading this for a third or fourth time, that the book really suffers from feeling contrived. If you sit down and ask yourself, "Why did this character act this way? What was their motivation? What was their plan?" you will never get a satisfying answer, because the characters are stock used to staff a plot that could only really have turned out one single way.
And, yes, there is some needless bashing on Ke$ha and the Facebook references are outdated and the band LMFAO really is misspelled as LFMAO, which you can imagine nobody ever caught at the publishing house because they were too busy patting themselves on the backs for writing kids who listened to the kind of music the adults writing this thought was good, and not, you know, the music most kids liked.
But the book is still readable! It's not as engrossing as I remember-- to be fair, I know how it ends-- and I'm still mixed on , but it's a perfectly fine read. I admit I was mostly disappointed because I picked it up to avoid reading university assignments and it didn't suck me in the way I wanted a good ol' crappy teen book to, but hey, not every crappy teen book is a good crappy teen book. If you know what I mean.
Some favorite spoilery thoughts:
Anyway, this is a book that is complete trash and fun to read as a result. Highly recommend giving it a read if you need something fun and kind of stupid, and I have been recommending it to my siblings just to see if they'll feel the same way.
One final note. I wrote this at the bottom of my review last time:
EDIT: I still think of this book often, partially because it's one of the few things I've ever given away that I've regretted. I miss having this book in my house! It's such a stupidly cheesy Wouldn't-It-Be-Fucked-Up-If book and I consistently enjoyed reading it... oh well. It's a pain to get ahold of it through the library, since it's so niche, but worth it every time... which might say something.
...and am proud to reveal that I bought the thing back! Got it as a free book deal on thriftbooks. Happy to have it in my house again, and the little dog-ears on the pages where a previous reader marked all the clues are an added bonus. First book of 2022: complete.
And, yes, there is some needless bashing on Ke$ha and the Facebook references are outdated and the band LMFAO really is misspelled as LFMAO, which you can imagine nobody ever caught at the publishing house because they were too busy patting themselves on the backs for writing kids who listened to the kind of music the adults writing this thought was good, and not, you know, the music most kids liked.
But the book is still readable! It's not as engrossing as I remember-- to be fair, I know how it ends-- and I'm still mixed on , but it's a perfectly fine read. I admit I was mostly disappointed because I picked it up to avoid reading university assignments and it didn't suck me in the way I wanted a good ol' crappy teen book to, but hey, not every crappy teen book is a good crappy teen book. If you know what I mean.
Some favorite spoilery thoughts:
Anyway, this is a book that is complete trash and fun to read as a result. Highly recommend giving it a read if you need something fun and kind of stupid, and I have been recommending it to my siblings just to see if they'll feel the same way.
One final note. I wrote this at the bottom of my review last time:
EDIT: I still think of this book often, partially because it's one of the few things I've ever given away that I've regretted. I miss having this book in my house! It's such a stupidly cheesy Wouldn't-It-Be-Fucked-Up-If book and I consistently enjoyed reading it... oh well. It's a pain to get ahold of it through the library, since it's so niche, but worth it every time... which might say something.
...and am proud to reveal that I bought the thing back! Got it as a free book deal on thriftbooks. Happy to have it in my house again, and the little dog-ears on the pages where a previous reader marked all the clues are an added bonus. First book of 2022: complete.
February 22, 2017
The book, "defriended" By Ruth Baron is an amazing book full of plot twists that leaves you hanging by a thread until the end. In the book you will get to know the main character Jason and his online friend Lacey. They met on Facebook and one day he got curious, so he googles her. He is immediately shocked by what pops up. Lacey has been dead for the past few months. He teams up with he best friend Rakesh and Lacey's best friend, Jenna, to get to the bottom of Lacey's death. But some people don't want the death to be investigated, which in return, fuels Jason's need to know. My favorite part of this book is when everything finally comes together and Lacey's death is finally revealed to be a ______. If you want to fill in the blank then I would recommend this book to someone who expects the unexpected and enjoys MAJOR plot twists.
December 12, 2014
"So bored" is Jason, dull. Both he and online girlfriend Lacey blather about their favorite music, big yawn. How can she chat when she died months ago? Her jock brother Luke was jealous of her boyfriend Troy. Her best friend Jenna wants to solve the mystery of how Lacey fell awkwardly backwards off a balcony at a party - deemed accident, was it murder or suicide?
Skype can be typed messages, does not have to be video. I wouldn't bother "friending" these kids enamored of indie bands. Why would anyone steal Jason's song, how even find it, how know it was a song, how sneak into his room - ridiculous.
Jason gets into a long convoluted lie to mom about phone book "order pizza" p 54, instead of straightforward "I was just looking up something" and change subject. I don't like liars. Everyone lies lots "maybe lying was not such a bad idea" p 54, everyone forgives.
Jason fails to "keep boredom at bay" p 54. Why doesn't Jason keep the necklace he digs up? Why does he go on and on about how Rakesh is so popular, his faithful best friend from childhood? Why bother talking about his dad and step-dad, bit parts? He likes cooking of mom and step-dad, and does not tell them. He doesn't like mom calling him cute nicknames, so what? Makes him a jerk who doesn't show appreciation.
Typo:
p 130 "flashlight strewn on the backseat" sounds as if broken into bits spread all over - is that what is meant?
Skype can be typed messages, does not have to be video. I wouldn't bother "friending" these kids enamored of indie bands. Why would anyone steal Jason's song, how even find it, how know it was a song, how sneak into his room - ridiculous.
Jason gets into a long convoluted lie to mom about phone book "order pizza" p 54, instead of straightforward "I was just looking up something" and change subject. I don't like liars. Everyone lies lots "maybe lying was not such a bad idea" p 54, everyone forgives.
Jason fails to "keep boredom at bay" p 54. Why doesn't Jason keep the necklace he digs up? Why does he go on and on about how Rakesh is so popular, his faithful best friend from childhood? Why bother talking about his dad and step-dad, bit parts? He likes cooking of mom and step-dad, and does not tell them. He doesn't like mom calling him cute nicknames, so what? Makes him a jerk who doesn't show appreciation.
Typo:
p 130 "flashlight strewn on the backseat" sounds as if broken into bits spread all over - is that what is meant?
August 30, 2016
This book read a lot like Pretty Little Liars, only a hell of a lot less clichéd and dragged out. I loved having a male protagonist for a change, despite his need to drop The Mountain Goats lyrics in every other message (but as a diehard TMG fan, I couldn’t complain too much) and him being utterly repulsed by people referencing The Great Gatsby in his literature class (do people do this? Do high school students even read assigned literature and actively talk about it with interest? Or maybe my high school sucked).
Pretentious characters aside, I was fascinated with this story. It’s a different type of murder mystery that wasn’t overbearing with drama and an endless supply of plot twists. One of the biggest annoyances was how many unnecessary people came into this story. I almost needed to map out who everyone was, because it was confusing to keep track of who someone was and how they contributed to the story.
Pretentious characters aside, I was fascinated with this story. It’s a different type of murder mystery that wasn’t overbearing with drama and an endless supply of plot twists. One of the biggest annoyances was how many unnecessary people came into this story. I almost needed to map out who everyone was, because it was confusing to keep track of who someone was and how they contributed to the story.
October 25, 2013
Defriended by Ruth baron is absolutely AMAZING! I strongly recommend it to any one who likes horror/ love stories.
Jason Moreland likes alternative bands and '80s movies, so perhaps it's not a surprising that the girls at his high school just aren't into him, but when he gets a message back from Lacey Gray, a random Facebook friend, he discovers the girl of his dreams online. When a casual Internet search turns up memorial pages and obituaries, Jason worries Lacey might be too cool for him...literally. Jason decides to investigate Lacey's life and death using the messages Lacey is apparently sending from beyond the grave.
Defreinded is an AMAZING book (like I said.) It's full of Drama, romance, horror, and it will keep you in suspense....I loved Defriended and I think you will to! ( WARNING: You will NOT want to put this book down!!!)
Jason Moreland likes alternative bands and '80s movies, so perhaps it's not a surprising that the girls at his high school just aren't into him, but when he gets a message back from Lacey Gray, a random Facebook friend, he discovers the girl of his dreams online. When a casual Internet search turns up memorial pages and obituaries, Jason worries Lacey might be too cool for him...literally. Jason decides to investigate Lacey's life and death using the messages Lacey is apparently sending from beyond the grave.
Defreinded is an AMAZING book (like I said.) It's full of Drama, romance, horror, and it will keep you in suspense....I loved Defriended and I think you will to! ( WARNING: You will NOT want to put this book down!!!)
December 21, 2012
I'd give this 2.5 stars. I stayed late at work one night in order to finish it, so it definitely had me hooked. However, the writing wasn't phenomenal, nor was the plot. Jason falls in love with Lacey through facebook but it turns out she's dead (or is she?). He ends up becoming friends with her best friend in order to figure out how she actually died/if she's still alive. It's all a bit predictable, but even once the major plot twist is revealed (about 3/4) through, there's still the issue of how Lacey actually died. Again, decent and the whole "not who you think it is" internet fear is real enough, but this wasn't necessarily something I'd recommend.
December 25, 2013
Jason Moreland is on top of the world because he has met a girl on Facebook who has overlooked his glasses and unruly mop of hair. The one problem is that she doesn't seem to want to meet him in person. Imagine his surprise when he Googles her and finds her obituary! Devastated, Jason goes to the neighboring town to see her memorial and meets her BFF Jenna Merrick. Revelation after revelation follows as Jason is drawn further into the mystery of Lacey's death. This book was all right but I didn't buy the premise of the whole thing. I also didn't like any of the characters. In fact, I am surprised that I even gave it two stars. Maybe I should rethink the rating.
November 10, 2014
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am that the Point Horror series has been revived! I loved these books so much when I was young, and I am beyond thrilled that I get to finally experience some new stories.
I went into this book with some apprehension, but I actually ended up liking it a lot. It wasn't cheesy like some of the older books were, and it had some nice surprises along the way. I had a lot of hunches about Lacey, but I was never completely right, which made it a really fun read.
I went into this book with some apprehension, but I actually ended up liking it a lot. It wasn't cheesy like some of the older books were, and it had some nice surprises along the way. I had a lot of hunches about Lacey, but I was never completely right, which made it a really fun read.
November 12, 2016
Defriended is a book about a "loner" in high school, Jason Moreland who starts talking to a girl online, Lacey Gray. He thinks that everything between them is perfect, but when Jason decides to look up Lacey's name online, he finds out that Lacey died a year earlier due to an "accident" where she fell off Roxy Choi's balcony. This book is suspenseful and enticing because of three major plot twists that leaves the readers on edge. Unfortunately, this book is slightly hard to understand at certain parts because there are a lot of characters. I would still highly recommend this book.
July 5, 2017
This book was a disappointment.I liked the characters,especially Rakesh,but the ending makes absolutely no sense.Can anyone explain it to me?
Questions I have:
Why was Luke that overprotective that he would kill (beat up) his best friend if he found out he was dating his sister?
Why did Max force Jenna to pretend to be Lacey to talk to Jason?It says he was perfect because they had a lot in common but he is still a stranger.
Why Jason?
Why did Max kill Lacey? (in the book it says because he was unhappy,but with what?
Questions I have:
Why was Luke that overprotective that he would kill (beat up) his best friend if he found out he was dating his sister?
Why did Max force Jenna to pretend to be Lacey to talk to Jason?It says he was perfect because they had a lot in common but he is still a stranger.
Why Jason?
Why did Max kill Lacey? (in the book it says because he was unhappy,but with what?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2015
I really liked this book. I felt it was grabbing my attention every time something creepy or crazy happened. Defriened is more of a scary book but it doesn't give you the chills. It leaves you in suspense and draws your attention very well. I would recommended this book to people that like scary books and like a scary comedy book. I really liked this book!
October 17, 2014
This was actually a very solid younger teen story, expertly set in the post-MSN, Facebook fueled world of teens in the here and now, or at least a year or so ago. The plot twists, whilst clear in outline were well managed and the idea of the work was a good one.
December 11, 2014
I didn't like the book at all. It was horrible.
Read
September 26, 2016This book is really good with mystery!
August 20, 2017
Ok, so I can see how this doesn't look great. It's a cheesy cover with a cheesy tagline and just overall cheesy teen thriller vibe. And you'd be kind of right: this one isn't winning any literary prizes. BUT! There are two big reasons why I enjoyed this: the best friend and the protagonist's character arc. I'll tell you all about it, but just fyi: spoilers ahead because you're not reading this, are you..?
PLOT: This indie dork boy Jason meets a girl on Facebook and promptly falls for her. I guess he hasn't seen MTV's best TV show with the hairiest host AND the silver fox-iest host?? Boy doesn't even google or reverse image search this chick until way late in the game. At which point he discovers that (DUN DUN DUN) this girl has been dead for months ~Twilight Zone music~.
At this point, Jason drafts his best friend for help. Rakesh is amazing. He is Indian, he has fabulous hair, he's popular, he's brave but not very strong, and he's an incredible friend. He accounts for a 2-star bump to my rating, at least, and I would rather read a Rakesh spin-off book, thb. Together, they get up to no good trying to track down the mystery girl. They befriend her grief-stricken best friend, Jenna. They follow around her brother, break into his car, and dig some stuff up from the graveyard. They engage in light stalking, in person and online, and just generally and gleefully break a lot of laws. And they get beaten to a pulp, too. It's so delightful. I wish there was more action, but it's broken up with Jason's moping and terrible lyric-writing. But I can't be too mad at Jason, because he is pretty well-developed as the book goes on. A spineless kid who has no voice turns gradually into a leader with big metaphorical stick and it's really beautiful to see that development of leadership and personal control. I wish more books explored that development of unexpected authority over others. Or maybe I'm just missing them all - possible. Need more of these!
So: not a great book, but two fabulous characters and a wish this was on Catfish so that this book could have been solved in one episode. Although it would have been screwed up royally and more people would have been murdered. Actually - that doesn't sound so bad.
PLOT: This indie dork boy Jason meets a girl on Facebook and promptly falls for her. I guess he hasn't seen MTV's best TV show with the hairiest host AND the silver fox-iest host?? Boy doesn't even google or reverse image search this chick until way late in the game. At which point he discovers that (DUN DUN DUN) this girl has been dead for months ~Twilight Zone music~.
At this point, Jason drafts his best friend for help. Rakesh is amazing. He is Indian, he has fabulous hair, he's popular, he's brave but not very strong, and he's an incredible friend. He accounts for a 2-star bump to my rating, at least, and I would rather read a Rakesh spin-off book, thb. Together, they get up to no good trying to track down the mystery girl. They befriend her grief-stricken best friend, Jenna. They follow around her brother, break into his car, and dig some stuff up from the graveyard. They engage in light stalking, in person and online, and just generally and gleefully break a lot of laws. And they get beaten to a pulp, too. It's so delightful. I wish there was more action, but it's broken up with Jason's moping and terrible lyric-writing. But I can't be too mad at Jason, because he is pretty well-developed as the book goes on. A spineless kid who has no voice turns gradually into a leader with big metaphorical stick and it's really beautiful to see that development of leadership and personal control. I wish more books explored that development of unexpected authority over others. Or maybe I'm just missing them all - possible. Need more of these!
So: not a great book, but two fabulous characters and a wish this was on Catfish so that this book could have been solved in one episode. Although it would have been screwed up royally and more people would have been murdered. Actually - that doesn't sound so bad.
January 3, 2020
This was honestly pretty bad. I don’t expect much from Point Horror books beyond entertainment. It didn’t bother me that the story was predictable and I did enjoy the initial chapters up until Jason discovered the obituary of the girl that he was talking to. That said, Jason had to be the biggest idiot of a protagonist I’ve ever read. Bro, YOU WERE CATFISHED! I’m sorry, but there’s no other logical reason for the situation he was in. There was one scene where he listed all the possible explanations for Lacey talking to him even though she was dead and Jason briefly threw out that someone was lying to him before immediately deciding that ‘clearly’ Lacey had faked her death. Like, what?!
There were just so many facts pointing against this lame conspiracy Jason cooked up too. I know the first article he saw said that the police weren’t yet confirming or denying whether the dead body was Lacey. However, after the follow-up article, the memorial/funeral and so on, I don’t think there was really any question about her being alive. There was another part where Jason even called up her grieving parents to ask about her. Unless you think the parents had something to do with killing her or whatever, I think that Lacey’s parents would know if they buried their deceased child. Given all the evidence and basic common sense, I didn’t understand why Jason was so convinced otherwise.
Overall, not the worst thing I’ve trudged through. I mean, I finished it in a day. I guess, better a book make me angry than bored, but still. It would have been somewhat worth it if the ending had been good. While I’m fine with Max being the murderer, the reveal and everything after was so lame. I couldn’t take it seriously when the bad guy said, ‘I thought you were special. But you’re just like every other conformist at this stupid school’ before pushing Lacey off the balcony to her death. It was dumb as hell and I literally laughed out loud because of that being the reason Lacey died.
There were just so many facts pointing against this lame conspiracy Jason cooked up too. I know the first article he saw said that the police weren’t yet confirming or denying whether the dead body was Lacey. However, after the follow-up article, the memorial/funeral and so on, I don’t think there was really any question about her being alive. There was another part where Jason even called up her grieving parents to ask about her. Unless you think the parents had something to do with killing her or whatever, I think that Lacey’s parents would know if they buried their deceased child. Given all the evidence and basic common sense, I didn’t understand why Jason was so convinced otherwise.
Overall, not the worst thing I’ve trudged through. I mean, I finished it in a day. I guess, better a book make me angry than bored, but still. It would have been somewhat worth it if the ending had been good. While I’m fine with Max being the murderer, the reveal and everything after was so lame. I couldn’t take it seriously when the bad guy said, ‘I thought you were special. But you’re just like every other conformist at this stupid school’ before pushing Lacey off the balcony to her death. It was dumb as hell and I literally laughed out loud because of that being the reason Lacey died.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2024
Maybe 2.5?
Annoying pretentious hipster boy who has apparently never heard of catfishing believes the random dead girl he's been Facebook messaging with is either a ghost or faked her own death. Hipster boy is *shocked* to learn dead girl is dead and he's been catfished.
Also, Facebook is used as a verb throughout the book. Characters aren't messaging each other; they're Facebooking each other. I Facebooked you last night; is it weird that I'm Facebooking you; will you Facebook me later? Ugh. The author also keeps referring to sending Facebook messages as "emailing," and sometimes Hipster Boy checks his phone for Facebook messages while other times he has to go home and log in on his laptop despite having his phone on him. There is no consistency.
Not as bad as the worst of these Point Horror Relaunch books (*cough* Identity Theft *coughcough*), but not exactly *good*, either. Great for insomnia, though, as I had trouble making it through more than 10 pages at a time without falling asleep! 🤷♀️
Annoying pretentious hipster boy who has apparently never heard of catfishing believes the random dead girl he's been Facebook messaging with is either a ghost or faked her own death. Hipster boy is *shocked* to learn dead girl is dead and he's been catfished.
Also, Facebook is used as a verb throughout the book. Characters aren't messaging each other; they're Facebooking each other. I Facebooked you last night; is it weird that I'm Facebooking you; will you Facebook me later? Ugh. The author also keeps referring to sending Facebook messages as "emailing," and sometimes Hipster Boy checks his phone for Facebook messages while other times he has to go home and log in on his laptop despite having his phone on him. There is no consistency.
Not as bad as the worst of these Point Horror Relaunch books (*cough* Identity Theft *coughcough*), but not exactly *good*, either. Great for insomnia, though, as I had trouble making it through more than 10 pages at a time without falling asleep! 🤷♀️
November 27, 2017
Defriended by Ruth Baron is a great mystery about Jason who thinks he has meat the girl of his dreams, Lacey, online. They talk everyday, but every time Jason brings up melting in person Lacey tells him things are tough and that she can't. As Jason starts to get annoyed he googles Lacey, instead of finding more about her her finds that Lacey had died at a party a year ago, just before they started talking. Jason instantly wonders if Lacey really died, or if it actually is Lacey. He sent her a Facebook message telling her that he wants to know whats going on. Later that day he finds himself driving to her memorial, where he meets Lacey's best friend, Jenna. As Jason wants to learn more about Lacey, he talks to Jenna, where they come up with a plan to find out what really happened to Lacey. Jason and Lacey stop talking so much but he gets weird massages from her telling him what to do. As Jason and Jenna get closer to the answer, things start to get weird. Will Jason find out what really happened to Lacey, or is this all a lie? I rated this book a four star rating because I liked it but didn't love it, I wish It had a couple more twist and turns through, but I still really enjoyed the read.
June 18, 2020
This book is around 250 pages, I rate it a 3 star for a thriller.
This book is about a boy named Jason trying to figure out if Lacey is still alive, or if someone’s playing an epic (not so epic) joke on him.
I’m new to the thriller genre, but I know it’s not suppose to make me count how many pages are left. I really wanted to make this book one of my favorites, but I couldn’t. The characters didn’t seem well-made and the plot was all over the place in a way. Around the last 50ish pages I started to like the book. The end seemed to have been made a lot better then the rest of the book. Maybe that’s just because the book was coming to an end and all the lose ends were being tied up. This might be a good book if you’re just getting into the thriller genre like me, but I also think it might be better to read a book with more suspense
This book is about a boy named Jason trying to figure out if Lacey is still alive, or if someone’s playing an epic (not so epic) joke on him.
I’m new to the thriller genre, but I know it’s not suppose to make me count how many pages are left. I really wanted to make this book one of my favorites, but I couldn’t. The characters didn’t seem well-made and the plot was all over the place in a way. Around the last 50ish pages I started to like the book. The end seemed to have been made a lot better then the rest of the book. Maybe that’s just because the book was coming to an end and all the lose ends were being tied up. This might be a good book if you’re just getting into the thriller genre like me, but I also think it might be better to read a book with more suspense
March 16, 2023
I had this book sitting on my bookshelf for around a year now and finally decided to pick it up and read it. What I was expecting to be a decent thriller, was actually a terrible book that I couldn't finish.
The synopsis sounded interesting, which is a shame since the book doesn't do it justice. The blurb failed to mention how boring and annoying of a character Jason is. He's supposed to be 16-17 years old, yet acts like a 13-year-old.
I get that this book is 10 years old (as of writing this review), but the dialogue and diction are absolutely awful. I don't think the author has ever met a teenager before, let alone spoken to one. No teenager, in 2013 or 2023, ever spoke the way that most of the characters in this book spoke.
The only good thing about this book is how unironically humorous the outdated pop culture references are.
The synopsis sounded interesting, which is a shame since the book doesn't do it justice. The blurb failed to mention how boring and annoying of a character Jason is. He's supposed to be 16-17 years old, yet acts like a 13-year-old.
I get that this book is 10 years old (as of writing this review), but the dialogue and diction are absolutely awful. I don't think the author has ever met a teenager before, let alone spoken to one. No teenager, in 2013 or 2023, ever spoke the way that most of the characters in this book spoke.
The only good thing about this book is how unironically humorous the outdated pop culture references are.
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