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In Case You Missed It
Everyone has secrets—until they go viral.
Sammy Wallach has epic plans for the end of junior year: Sneak out to the city to see her favorite band. Get crush-worthy Jamie Moss to ask her to prom. Rock all exams (APs and driver’s).
With a few white lies, some killer flirting, and tons of practice, Sammy’s got things covered. That is, until the international bank her dad works for is attacked by hacktivists who manage to steal everything in the Wallach family’s private cloud, including Sammy’s entire digital life. Literally the whole world has access to her emails, texts, photos, and, worst of all, journal.
Life. Is. Over.
Now Sammy’s best friends are furious about things she wrote, Jamie thinks she’s desperate, and she can barely show her face at school. Plus, her parents know all the rules she broke. But Sammy’s not the only one with secrets—her family has a few of its own that could change everything. And while the truth might set you free, no one said it was going to be painless. Or in Sammy’s case, private.
Sammy Wallach has epic plans for the end of junior year: Sneak out to the city to see her favorite band. Get crush-worthy Jamie Moss to ask her to prom. Rock all exams (APs and driver’s).
With a few white lies, some killer flirting, and tons of practice, Sammy’s got things covered. That is, until the international bank her dad works for is attacked by hacktivists who manage to steal everything in the Wallach family’s private cloud, including Sammy’s entire digital life. Literally the whole world has access to her emails, texts, photos, and, worst of all, journal.
Life. Is. Over.
Now Sammy’s best friends are furious about things she wrote, Jamie thinks she’s desperate, and she can barely show her face at school. Plus, her parents know all the rules she broke. But Sammy’s not the only one with secrets—her family has a few of its own that could change everything. And while the truth might set you free, no one said it was going to be painless. Or in Sammy’s case, private.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2016
137 people are currently reading
2188 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Darer Littman
16 books526 followersSarah Darer Littman is an award-winning author of books for teens. She lives in Connecticut, in a house that never seems to have enough bookshelves.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
August 24, 2017
In Case You Missed It is about racism and misogyny– not the obvious kind, the subtle kind. Sarah Darer Littman tackles internet culture and online witchhunts in a realistic way.
Unfortunately, this is also a bit of an issues book, and not in a good way. While Sam's family is portrayed realistically, the characters often feel like plot tools to teach the main character a lesson. The characters weren't bad, but they didn't have much personality beyond their issues.
This could be remedied by the strong issues presented here. Unfortunately, these topics are tackled in a slightly middle-grade way. Not that middle grade is bad; I love middle grade lit. But it's all too simplistic. Sam's internalized racism is glossed over slightly too easily. Her father's misogyny and racism is glossed over WAY too easily. It feels like the author sacrificed hard topics for a happy ending. I'm sure she was trying for a great novel about racism, and in general, the book describes microaggressions well and tackles them well. But the happy ending here just seemed unearned.
VERDICT: Recommended to middle grade readers looking for good representation, but honestly, not to anyone else.
* I received a copy of this via my local bookstore. This does not impact my review in any way.
Unfortunately, this is also a bit of an issues book, and not in a good way. While Sam's family is portrayed realistically, the characters often feel like plot tools to teach the main character a lesson. The characters weren't bad, but they didn't have much personality beyond their issues.
This could be remedied by the strong issues presented here. Unfortunately, these topics are tackled in a slightly middle-grade way. Not that middle grade is bad; I love middle grade lit. But it's all too simplistic. Sam's internalized racism is glossed over slightly too easily. Her father's misogyny and racism is glossed over WAY too easily. It feels like the author sacrificed hard topics for a happy ending. I'm sure she was trying for a great novel about racism, and in general, the book describes microaggressions well and tackles them well. But the happy ending here just seemed unearned.
VERDICT: Recommended to middle grade readers looking for good representation, but honestly, not to anyone else.
* I received a copy of this via my local bookstore. This does not impact my review in any way.
December 5, 2019
TW: misogyny, racism
Sammy is in her junior year. She's worried about her drivers and AP exams while also being worried about who, if anyone, is going to ask her to prom. But, when her family's private lives are put online for everyone to see, her life is turned upside down and her life feels over.
This book is supposed to be young adult, but it didn't read like it. The way Sammy thought about her family felt more middle-grade than it did for a sixteen year old. Her mom was always the worst person no matter what and it got old really fast. In all, Sammy wasn't a likable character at all. She said horrible things and then blamed other people for hating her when it all came out.
There are a number of hard topics brought up in this, but none of them are properly dealt with. Sammy's father refuses to talk about everything that comes out about him and when he does it's very basic. Even with Sammy has a conversation with a friend she said something racist about, it gets glossed over far too easy. I'd say that it's middle grade in how the author deals with things, but I've read middle grade books that deal with this topic better.
The ending tried to make everything seem like a happy ending, but to me it felt as if the author brought in another plot point simply to make people forget about the heavy topics and ignore the fact that they were being glossed over.
I didn't go into this expecting a lot, but I still walked away annoyed and extremely disappointed.
Sammy is in her junior year. She's worried about her drivers and AP exams while also being worried about who, if anyone, is going to ask her to prom. But, when her family's private lives are put online for everyone to see, her life is turned upside down and her life feels over.
This book is supposed to be young adult, but it didn't read like it. The way Sammy thought about her family felt more middle-grade than it did for a sixteen year old. Her mom was always the worst person no matter what and it got old really fast. In all, Sammy wasn't a likable character at all. She said horrible things and then blamed other people for hating her when it all came out.
There are a number of hard topics brought up in this, but none of them are properly dealt with. Sammy's father refuses to talk about everything that comes out about him and when he does it's very basic. Even with Sammy has a conversation with a friend she said something racist about, it gets glossed over far too easy. I'd say that it's middle grade in how the author deals with things, but I've read middle grade books that deal with this topic better.
The ending tried to make everything seem like a happy ending, but to me it felt as if the author brought in another plot point simply to make people forget about the heavy topics and ignore the fact that they were being glossed over.
I didn't go into this expecting a lot, but I still walked away annoyed and extremely disappointed.
September 22, 2016
I have read every book Sarah Darer has written, in fact, Want To Go Private? is one of my favorite books, so I was psyched to read In Case You Missed It.
Once again, Darer tackles the tough subject of social media and how it can destroy lives.
Unfortunately, for me, this book was just too slow going - especially if I compare it to Want To Go Private? which had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
This book does explore the down side of the internet and of social media, but I found myself not invested in any of the characters nor in the story itself. Darer's trademark down to earth writing is still there, but the pace of this one was just too slow and it somehow never seems to peak.
Once again, Darer tackles the tough subject of social media and how it can destroy lives.
Unfortunately, for me, this book was just too slow going - especially if I compare it to Want To Go Private? which had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
This book does explore the down side of the internet and of social media, but I found myself not invested in any of the characters nor in the story itself. Darer's trademark down to earth writing is still there, but the pace of this one was just too slow and it somehow never seems to peak.
July 8, 2017
GRADE: C
When I was in school, long before computers, kids passed notes to each other in class. Sometimes a teacher would realize, then confiscate a note and read it to the class. Or the note could fall into the wrong hands. The first and last time I had such an incident I learned never to put down on paper what I didn't want others to read.
Sammy's life is over. Her family is hacked, her online journal made public causing both ridicule and hurt feelings. Her friends aren't speaking to her and her parents are furious at the rules she's broken. Sammy's secrets aren't the only ones exposed, her parents also hidden files could have devastating consequences.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, a cautionary tale, has important message about subtle racism, sexism, privacy and kindness.
Although Sammy is sixteen, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT is probably more suitable to middle school aged kids than young adults. The story lacks the sophistication and nuances older teens typically prefer. I like Sarah Darer Littman, some of her previous books have been five star. Littman's writing wasn't up to her previous novels. For example, Sammy's fortune cookie says XYZ, then she says, "My fortune cookie says XYZ" repeating the quote verbatim from the previous paragraph. Littman used more telling than showing and her dialogue did not feel authentic.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT can be an important story for preteens, but her BACKLASH does a better job with the dangers of online bullying.
When I was in school, long before computers, kids passed notes to each other in class. Sometimes a teacher would realize, then confiscate a note and read it to the class. Or the note could fall into the wrong hands. The first and last time I had such an incident I learned never to put down on paper what I didn't want others to read.
Sammy's life is over. Her family is hacked, her online journal made public causing both ridicule and hurt feelings. Her friends aren't speaking to her and her parents are furious at the rules she's broken. Sammy's secrets aren't the only ones exposed, her parents also hidden files could have devastating consequences.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, a cautionary tale, has important message about subtle racism, sexism, privacy and kindness.
Although Sammy is sixteen, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT is probably more suitable to middle school aged kids than young adults. The story lacks the sophistication and nuances older teens typically prefer. I like Sarah Darer Littman, some of her previous books have been five star. Littman's writing wasn't up to her previous novels. For example, Sammy's fortune cookie says XYZ, then she says, "My fortune cookie says XYZ" repeating the quote verbatim from the previous paragraph. Littman used more telling than showing and her dialogue did not feel authentic.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT can be an important story for preteens, but her BACKLASH does a better job with the dangers of online bullying.
December 3, 2017
... Well. I guess this type of book just isn't mine anymore. I'm sure I would've liked it two or three years ago, but right now? I can't say I did. This book is about a girl, Sammy, who wakes up one day and find that all of her thoughts are online, due to her family's computer's hacking.
The plot wasn't bad, let's be honest. I even think it was quite good. But the way Sarah Darer Littman wrote about it... I don't know, it was just childish and unrealistic. The characters didn't have any personality, I didn't feel anything while reading the book, and the beginning was really, really slow.
Also, there were themes like racism, misogyny, the danger of Internet... that weren't well talked about. It wasn't deep, it wasn't touching. These issues were just tackled, not dealt with in depths. And that disappointed me.
All in all, I think this is a book for people around 12-15 years old mostly, and I think it missed some really good scenes while focusing on boring ones.
The plot wasn't bad, let's be honest. I even think it was quite good. But the way Sarah Darer Littman wrote about it... I don't know, it was just childish and unrealistic. The characters didn't have any personality, I didn't feel anything while reading the book, and the beginning was really, really slow.
Also, there were themes like racism, misogyny, the danger of Internet... that weren't well talked about. It wasn't deep, it wasn't touching. These issues were just tackled, not dealt with in depths. And that disappointed me.
All in all, I think this is a book for people around 12-15 years old mostly, and I think it missed some really good scenes while focusing on boring ones.
June 22, 2024
idk how to feel about this book..so many TWs and the ending didn’t made it seem like it was happy. The mom did get on my nerves I’ll tell you that. Other than that there were a ton of topics that wasn’t being resolved enough yet the ending was supposed to be happy?? Idk. It wasn’t bad nor it was good.
January 5, 2017
Even though this book has characters in high school, the audience could really be immature and younger than that; I'm thinking sixth and seventh grade girls. I did enjoy the non-stop action (or should I say drama)... wondering if Sammy would get asked to Prom, dad's bank getting annihilated by hackers, and Sammy's every thought in her online diary being posted for the world to see. The book also presents many life lessons including how to handle friendship troubles, boy troubles, and even a family member falling ill. This is a cute realistic fiction story that I think middle school girls can seriously enjoy.
June 8, 2018
this book was great but sammy had alot of challenges her online dairy went viral and all her hopes and dreams are on the internet ! sammy has to show bravery when dealing with her friends that now hate her and her crush that now hates her and on top of all this her mom gets cancer !
October 24, 2016
No. No, no, no.
I am 150 pages into this book, and I can tell: We've had a Discussion About Racism, a Discussion About Xenophobia, a Discussion About Sexism (including a nod to the wage gap, and you don't want to hear my rant about the wage gapand how it DOESN'T FUCKING EXIST no matter how hard SOME PEOPLE TRY TO PUSH IT AS TRUTH), a lot of these with possibly the most idiotic set-up, designed so that we could have these Discussions in the first place. It was all smack-you-in-the-face, not-an-ounce-of-subtlety-to-be-found, painfully ham-handed in its execution.
If this trend continues, I'm thinking we're gonna see... a Discussion on Classissm, and probably a defense of the sort of degenerates that would post a teenage girl's diary on the internet as part of their- *ahem*- activism.
We're done here. I don't like not finishing a book, but I'm also not going to subject myself to the rest of one big, long, cringey preach-fest with an irritating lead-character.
I am 150 pages into this book, and I can tell: We've had a Discussion About Racism, a Discussion About Xenophobia, a Discussion About Sexism (including a nod to the wage gap, and you don't want to hear my rant about the wage gap
If this trend continues, I'm thinking we're gonna see... a Discussion on Classissm, and probably a defense of the sort of degenerates that would post a teenage girl's diary on the internet as part of their- *ahem*- activism.
We're done here. I don't like not finishing a book, but I'm also not going to subject myself to the rest of one big, long, cringey preach-fest with an irritating lead-character.
February 10, 2017
This book is touching and dramatic. It's about Sammy who has a diary in her laptop so her brother won't read it. Sammy has a lot of plans during her junior year. Like, sneaking out to see her favorite band and her parent's doesn't even know about it. But all her plans didn't work because where the bank her dad works for, got hacked. All of private information
October 18, 2016
This is now one of my favorite books. I loved this book and could not put it down. I think people that like Realistic Fiction would also like this book.
May 16, 2019
Personal Response-
I have read a couple of books written by author Sarah Darer Littman, but this was one of my favorites. I loved how the book showed so much emotion in the characters. I also liked the meaning of the book which to me was that if you happen to make a mistake, don’t keep being hard on yourself and worrying about that mistake. Instead, realize that you made a mistake and see how to either fix it move on. My favorite part was Sammy was getting bullied at school and Noah made the brave choice to stand up for her even though he was scared of getting bullied himself and was embarrassed.
Summary-
Sammy Wallack had everything in life that she needed, friends, family, and maybe even a secret crush. She always dreamed of going to prom with Jamie Moss, the star player on the football team, until one day everything went upside down. Throughout Sammy’s high school years, she always kept an online journal where she wrote anything and everything down that she either thought of or didn’t want anyone to know of. She thought it would always stay that way until her dad, the CEO of a bank corporation, got hacked and all of the family’s internet usage, Sammy’s online journal, and her dad’s bank files got released to the public. The files from her dad’s bank showed that he was racist and caused a lot of hatred in the town and their family was falling apart. Sammy’s life instantly became awful because her journal had been released and everyone knew that she liked the most popular guy in school and they could see all of the things, good or bad, that Sammy had described them as. Sammy’s life was going down the drain real quick when the day of SATs she finds out that her mom has breast cancer. This put Sammy down even farther, but there was only one person who was strong enough to help her. Noah soon became friends with Sammy, and in the end, were prom dates to their own Faux prom. Sammy and her family were slowly recovering from the hackers and her mom had surgery and would start her second round of chemo in three weeks.
Recommendation-
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books with real-life situations and a learning experience in it. In Case You Missed It is a great book for teenagers to read because it teaches them that anything that you put out on the internet or social media, even if you think is private, can be shared to the whole world. If this would occur to you, this book shows you ways that you can get back up from that and move on from the mistake.
I have read a couple of books written by author Sarah Darer Littman, but this was one of my favorites. I loved how the book showed so much emotion in the characters. I also liked the meaning of the book which to me was that if you happen to make a mistake, don’t keep being hard on yourself and worrying about that mistake. Instead, realize that you made a mistake and see how to either fix it move on. My favorite part was Sammy was getting bullied at school and Noah made the brave choice to stand up for her even though he was scared of getting bullied himself and was embarrassed.
Summary-
Sammy Wallack had everything in life that she needed, friends, family, and maybe even a secret crush. She always dreamed of going to prom with Jamie Moss, the star player on the football team, until one day everything went upside down. Throughout Sammy’s high school years, she always kept an online journal where she wrote anything and everything down that she either thought of or didn’t want anyone to know of. She thought it would always stay that way until her dad, the CEO of a bank corporation, got hacked and all of the family’s internet usage, Sammy’s online journal, and her dad’s bank files got released to the public. The files from her dad’s bank showed that he was racist and caused a lot of hatred in the town and their family was falling apart. Sammy’s life instantly became awful because her journal had been released and everyone knew that she liked the most popular guy in school and they could see all of the things, good or bad, that Sammy had described them as. Sammy’s life was going down the drain real quick when the day of SATs she finds out that her mom has breast cancer. This put Sammy down even farther, but there was only one person who was strong enough to help her. Noah soon became friends with Sammy, and in the end, were prom dates to their own Faux prom. Sammy and her family were slowly recovering from the hackers and her mom had surgery and would start her second round of chemo in three weeks.
Recommendation-
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books with real-life situations and a learning experience in it. In Case You Missed It is a great book for teenagers to read because it teaches them that anything that you put out on the internet or social media, even if you think is private, can be shared to the whole world. If this would occur to you, this book shows you ways that you can get back up from that and move on from the mistake.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2017
On one hand, this book addresses sexism and racism in ways that young people would familiar with...which is great. On the other hand, those issues are kind of glossed over at times, and no one ever really takes responsibility for their remarks/actions (including our main character). There's a feeling of "it's okay...you're forgiven because you're not REALLY a racist". That's a little frustrating--it would have been nice for the characters to have longer discussions about "casual" racism and sexism and how it persists in our society.
I do, however, LOVE the portrayal of the relationship between Sammy and her mother. It feels realistic; an overachieving, somewhat self-centered teenager and her protective, anxious mom. They fight and yell and make up and laugh and love each other.
I do, however, LOVE the portrayal of the relationship between Sammy and her mother. It feels realistic; an overachieving, somewhat self-centered teenager and her protective, anxious mom. They fight and yell and make up and laugh and love each other.
Read
March 25, 2018This was a good book. Sammy’s dad gets in trouble through work so her family gets hacked and everything goes online. I didn’t like her dad because he lied to them. I thought that her mom should have told Sammy and her brother that she had cancer before they started hearing things about it at at school. If I were Sammy I wouldn’t want to find out stuff about my family after everyone else did. I like that after Sammy and her friends become closer, they make their own fake prom. They are all supposed to get their dresses from goodwill and not rent limos or get flowers. They are making it so more people can go if they don’t have as much money. I think that’s a good thing. I would recommend this book.
November 14, 2019
This book gets boring. You hit the good part when dads emails get out, but then it gets really boring and it just talks about how dad is different at home than he is at work. I would rather reread the begging of the book instead of going past page 100.
January 21, 2022
I'm going straight to the point, I don't like this book.
Basically, she used every problem she has to face as an excuse for her actions.
And the dog Srucffles, I hate it. I don't know why but I do.
Also, what is the dad's name?
Richard. M. Wallach or Dick?
Basically, she used every problem she has to face as an excuse for her actions.
And the dog Srucffles, I hate it. I don't know why but I do.
Also, what is the dad's name?
Richard. M. Wallach or Dick?
December 3, 2023
Picked up this book to try and get out of my slump. It’s a pretty good YA. I’d consider it a clean read in that it’s not steamy. It moves along ok but did seem like it lagged a little here and there.
November 17, 2021
It was a good book.
November 17, 2021
Boring but I think that’s my fault for picking a pretty middle school type book even thought the main character is in junior year highschool it felt very middle school :|
July 6, 2019
I really enjoyed this book! I listened to it on audio and it kept me interested, I liked the whole aspect, but I hated how the friends just turned their backs on her asap, even tho they know they’ve probably said some things about each other as well’
Read
April 6, 201716 year old Samantha has this year in the bag. A cute prince, drivers lisence, and go to the biggest concert of the year. Everything is going perfect, when a group of hackers steal the family icould drive. She soon find some secrets about her dad, her diary gets exposed, and more destruction. Can she bring her friends back together, and still go to the prom?
I recommend this book for people in 5th-7th grade because of the vocab.
I recommend this book for people in 5th-7th grade because of the vocab.
March 6, 2023
4 / 5
Found this book on my english teacher’s book shelf not really expecting a lot from it. I actually really enjoyed reading this book, fast to read and interesting. What i most liked about it was how relatable it feels and how relatable the character of Sammy is, I was expecting more from the end tho.
Found this book on my english teacher’s book shelf not really expecting a lot from it. I actually really enjoyed reading this book, fast to read and interesting. What i most liked about it was how relatable it feels and how relatable the character of Sammy is, I was expecting more from the end tho.
October 20, 2016
This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.
The first thing that struck me about Sammy Wallach was that she's really similar to me in a lot of ways. She's a junior; I'm a senior. She's taking four AP exams; I just took four AP exams, and am going to do it again next year. She's training for her driver's test; I'm training for mine (and bonus: my mother used to be every bit as anxious a passenger as hers is). As the story continued, more similarities emerged–we've both never dated, we both live a huge portion of our lives online, we both–well, actually, that would be veering into spoiler territory.
The second big realization I had about Sammy, though, was that while we share a lot of lifestyle habits and pressures, we are two extremely different people. I would never, ever sneak out to a concert - especially not by lying to my parents about going to an AP study sleepover. I would also never calculate my exact odds of being asked out by my crush. With those two actions out of the way, I think the impact of having my information leaked online would be a lot less emotionally devastating than it was for Sammy. I don't know, though, I suppose there are probably embarrassing things about me in my files. You never truly understand how terrible something would be until you're dealing with it yourself.
The fact remains, though, that I had a hard time really feeling as sympathetic about Sammy's situation as I was probably expected to. The truth is that I've been in her shoes–or at least, shoes very similar to hers. I can understand the pressures Sammy was dealing with before the leak, because they're the same pressures that I deal with every day. Heck, I'm a senior–my life is pressure, more pressure than she faces (before the leak, of course). But when I'm upset, I don't lie to my parents or sneak out to forbidden concerts (or even write nasty things in an online diary). Instead, I lie in bed and watch tv. I read a novel. I put my thoughts in order, and review a book that's been poking at my conscience for a while. It's hard for me to get past Sammy's actions, because I just can't stand the way she used the "I'm a good, overworked and stressed out kid" line. That excuse just doesn't hold water with me.
I think there's some character growth by the end of the book, though. Sammy still isn't my favorite character ever, but life throws her some major curveballs that both teach her to put life in perspective and make her more sympathetic to read about. Also, the romance subplot is really, really sweet! I hope I get to date a guy like that someday.
Anyway, I'm not going to recommend In Case You Missed it as the best book ever. It's pretty good as entertainment, though, and raises some interesting issues about innate racism and sexism in the job market (even if it does choose about two examples of each and return to them ad nauseum). I enjoyed it pretty well, though not as much as I'd hoped I would. If you've read it, what did you think? Would you recommend it to others?
And also, on a completely unrelated note, since when do we say that someone is "a racist" instead of that they're "racist?" Is that some sort of new phrasing I've just been really ignorant about? Because Sammy and her friends are always saying things like "I'm not a racist," "you could be a racist," "she's a racist," etc. It caught me pretty off-guard.
Disclaimer: I received an unsolicited copy of this novel for review from the publisher.
The first thing that struck me about Sammy Wallach was that she's really similar to me in a lot of ways. She's a junior; I'm a senior. She's taking four AP exams; I just took four AP exams, and am going to do it again next year. She's training for her driver's test; I'm training for mine (and bonus: my mother used to be every bit as anxious a passenger as hers is). As the story continued, more similarities emerged–we've both never dated, we both live a huge portion of our lives online, we both–well, actually, that would be veering into spoiler territory.
The second big realization I had about Sammy, though, was that while we share a lot of lifestyle habits and pressures, we are two extremely different people. I would never, ever sneak out to a concert - especially not by lying to my parents about going to an AP study sleepover. I would also never calculate my exact odds of being asked out by my crush. With those two actions out of the way, I think the impact of having my information leaked online would be a lot less emotionally devastating than it was for Sammy. I don't know, though, I suppose there are probably embarrassing things about me in my files. You never truly understand how terrible something would be until you're dealing with it yourself.
The fact remains, though, that I had a hard time really feeling as sympathetic about Sammy's situation as I was probably expected to. The truth is that I've been in her shoes–or at least, shoes very similar to hers. I can understand the pressures Sammy was dealing with before the leak, because they're the same pressures that I deal with every day. Heck, I'm a senior–my life is pressure, more pressure than she faces (before the leak, of course). But when I'm upset, I don't lie to my parents or sneak out to forbidden concerts (or even write nasty things in an online diary). Instead, I lie in bed and watch tv. I read a novel. I put my thoughts in order, and review a book that's been poking at my conscience for a while. It's hard for me to get past Sammy's actions, because I just can't stand the way she used the "I'm a good, overworked and stressed out kid" line. That excuse just doesn't hold water with me.
I think there's some character growth by the end of the book, though. Sammy still isn't my favorite character ever, but life throws her some major curveballs that both teach her to put life in perspective and make her more sympathetic to read about. Also, the romance subplot is really, really sweet! I hope I get to date a guy like that someday.
Anyway, I'm not going to recommend In Case You Missed it as the best book ever. It's pretty good as entertainment, though, and raises some interesting issues about innate racism and sexism in the job market (even if it does choose about two examples of each and return to them ad nauseum). I enjoyed it pretty well, though not as much as I'd hoped I would. If you've read it, what did you think? Would you recommend it to others?
And also, on a completely unrelated note, since when do we say that someone is "a racist" instead of that they're "racist?" Is that some sort of new phrasing I've just been really ignorant about? Because Sammy and her friends are always saying things like "I'm not a racist," "you could be a racist," "she's a racist," etc. It caught me pretty off-guard.
Disclaimer: I received an unsolicited copy of this novel for review from the publisher.
February 10, 2019
Ok, so this book had its amazing and engaging summary at the back of the book and that's what prompted me to buy it in the first place. Sadly the book did not execute the plot and story very well bc frankly i was looking forward to it.
The MC Sammy Wallach drove me nuts and she was so FLAT! So were the others, I noticed that because I wasn't so invested in the characters, I did not care what ended up happening to them sadly.
The romance between Noah Woods and Sammy was Eh. I knew it wasn't the focus of the story but still. What I really liked about the book is that the quotes were so inspirational, even thought whenever she mentions them it FEELS SO FORCED.
Margo was a great example of how not all friends would stay w/ you till the end. The Dad thingy was handled poorly and even thought clearly I didn't enjoy this book so much, i was bawling when i found out:
SPOILERS!
THAT SAMMY'S MOM HAD CANCER AND HOW THEY TOOK CARE OF EACH OTHER, IT WAS SO TOUGH TO READ FOR ME
BACK TO SPOILER FREE:
Ugh, if you think you are interested, don't be fooled by the summart as I was, the summary is so interesting, you think there's going to be an epic romance and serious drama and issues, btu it was teen soap opera and filler.
So I didn't regret reading it taught me that not every book is AWESOME, and well it wasn't THAT CRAP BUT CRAPPY ENOUGH, I PAID 10 DOLLARS FOR IT.
Okay, BUT THE PROM DECISON TREES HAD ME FACEPALMING SO HARD. SO CRINGE.
SHE ACTED LIKE A TWO YEAR OLD AND SO RUDE.
This novel this probably not put me off Sarah Darer Littman's books forever, because I've heard great things. I'm still very interesting in reading Backlash by her, so..
'Till the next novel,
Maya.
The MC Sammy Wallach drove me nuts and she was so FLAT! So were the others, I noticed that because I wasn't so invested in the characters, I did not care what ended up happening to them sadly.
The romance between Noah Woods and Sammy was Eh. I knew it wasn't the focus of the story but still. What I really liked about the book is that the quotes were so inspirational, even thought whenever she mentions them it FEELS SO FORCED.
Margo was a great example of how not all friends would stay w/ you till the end. The Dad thingy was handled poorly and even thought clearly I didn't enjoy this book so much, i was bawling when i found out:
SPOILERS!
THAT SAMMY'S MOM HAD CANCER AND HOW THEY TOOK CARE OF EACH OTHER, IT WAS SO TOUGH TO READ FOR ME
BACK TO SPOILER FREE:
Ugh, if you think you are interested, don't be fooled by the summart as I was, the summary is so interesting, you think there's going to be an epic romance and serious drama and issues, btu it was teen soap opera and filler.
So I didn't regret reading it taught me that not every book is AWESOME, and well it wasn't THAT CRAP BUT CRAPPY ENOUGH, I PAID 10 DOLLARS FOR IT.
Okay, BUT THE PROM DECISON TREES HAD ME FACEPALMING SO HARD. SO CRINGE.
SHE ACTED LIKE A TWO YEAR OLD AND SO RUDE.
This novel this probably not put me off Sarah Darer Littman's books forever, because I've heard great things. I'm still very interesting in reading Backlash by her, so..
'Till the next novel,
Maya.
February 2, 2017
In the book "In Case You Missed It" by Sarah Darer Littman, the Wallach family goes through many obstacles once Sammy's dad's bank was hacked. Not only does the back go through the hack and all the problems following that, the family's private cloud gets hacked too. Sammy gets socially embarrassed and while that was happening she lost her best friends but gained some new friends as the book went on. Personally I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed "Backlash" which is also writen by Sarah. I like both of them because they both teach people how social media and the internet in general can mess up people's personal life. By her writing books like these it teaches people mostly teenagers to be careful what they post or write and keep on their computers. I believe that these characters could be real people because what happened to the Wallach family could happen to anyone in the world. My favorite part of this book was when Sammy's mom, Helene, was about to tell her what everyone was talking about at school since they found out through the emails that were posted from their cloud. This is my favorite part because it is suspenseful because she "stalls" but then when Helene actual tells Sammy it's not what you would expect, well at least for me it was not what I was expecting the news to be. Overall I believe the book was really good, so I recommend it to the people that like books with suspense and drama.
February 7, 2017
This week, I read "In Case You Missed It." I'm going to write a book review for it. The characters are, Samantha (Sammy) Wallach and her parents. The setting is at school and at home. The main problem is that Sammy realizes that she is hacked, so the hackers post her diary on the internet and everyone at her school reads her diary. Sammy also finds out that her mother has breast cancer, which that made Sammy's life difficult. She thinks that she has lost her friends, but she only lost one of her friends, which is Margo. Now she only has Rosa. She also finds out that her crush asks someone out to the prom, which that made Sammy kind of angry/sad.
I don't really like Sammy because of her relationship with one of her friends, Margo. The story was realistic because everybody acted like real people. I liked the author's style of word choice because the hard words, like opportunities, were difficult to know what the word was.
People who would like to read any other realistic books would like "In Case You Missed It" because this book would change your mind and help with vocabulary.
I don't really like Sammy because of her relationship with one of her friends, Margo. The story was realistic because everybody acted like real people. I liked the author's style of word choice because the hard words, like opportunities, were difficult to know what the word was.
People who would like to read any other realistic books would like "In Case You Missed It" because this book would change your mind and help with vocabulary.
September 30, 2020
This book just needed more. It was fine by itself, but I wanted something else to attract my interest after the first plot twist. The story just dragged on and on, and when we find out the mother had cancer, I didn’t really care because I hadn’t liked the Mom’s character.
I had high hopes for this book after reading Backlash, but this just didn’t measure up.
Edit-I reread it and my thoughts are still the same. I also feel like the side characters also needed some development. Most of the blame for mistakes in the book was put on Sammy, and everything the mom and dad did was basically forgotten. What they did was pretty shitty as well. The dad was literally caught saying racist and sexist things, and he just gets a swat on the back of his hand. And just because the mom was diagnosed with cancer, doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t apologize to Sammy. Throughout the book, she treats Sammy terribly, and literally doesn’t do anything about it. Sammy, of course, is pariah of the century for what she’s done, but whatever the mom did was forgiven. It was really annoying.
Also some of the writing was really cringy. Yikes.
I liked the romance though. And Sammy’s character development. Also how she became friends with Beth-Anne and stood up for herself when people were trash talking her. Sammy can definitely be a bad bitch at times.
Anyway, my thoughts are basically the same...the book wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. It was just okay.
I had high hopes for this book after reading Backlash, but this just didn’t measure up.
Edit-I reread it and my thoughts are still the same. I also feel like the side characters also needed some development. Most of the blame for mistakes in the book was put on Sammy, and everything the mom and dad did was basically forgotten. What they did was pretty shitty as well. The dad was literally caught saying racist and sexist things, and he just gets a swat on the back of his hand. And just because the mom was diagnosed with cancer, doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t apologize to Sammy. Throughout the book, she treats Sammy terribly, and literally doesn’t do anything about it. Sammy, of course, is pariah of the century for what she’s done, but whatever the mom did was forgiven. It was really annoying.
Also some of the writing was really cringy. Yikes.
I liked the romance though. And Sammy’s character development. Also how she became friends with Beth-Anne and stood up for herself when people were trash talking her. Sammy can definitely be a bad bitch at times.
Anyway, my thoughts are basically the same...the book wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. It was just okay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2017
My main character has been through queit an adventure threw the progressive plot of this story.But sammy thinks it won't stop in long long run .All i'm saying is she should have hope for the futer .things can change .I say with full confidence that even though she lost her friend ,her dad,and even her mom things could turn around in the blink of a eye . I think through out the book she is thinking to harshly on some of the problems she encounters . she should look to see life more , if she isn't careful she could miss it .
October 25, 2016
This book is about a girl named Sammy who turned her good life into a really complicated life. Sammy's father work in a company where they keep everybody's secret in their life's, but hackers invaded their company and things get really ugly. The hackers exposed everyone's secret life's including Sammy, and Sammy's life became miserable. I really like this book because it talks about solving situations that can really relate in our life.
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December 9, 2016The book in case you missed it was really informing and interesting. I loved everything about it. The internet had put her in a bad spot but she got through it and made it out a better person. It also showed her who her friends really were and how much they cared about her. In the end she also learned the importance of family.
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