Click'd

Click'd #1

by Tamara Ireland Stone

Allie Navarro can't wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. CLICK'D pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it's a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about CLICK'D.

Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone's making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone's secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt-all before she steps on stage to present CLICK'D to the judges?

New York Times best-selling author Tamara Ireland Stone combines friendship, coding, and lots of popcorn in her fun and empowering middle-grade debut.

Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Friendship, Coding

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 5, 2017

About the author

TAMARA IRELAND STONE spent nearly two decades in the technology industry before she began writing middle grade and young adult fiction. She feels lucky to say she's had two careers she's loved.

Her New York Times bestseller, EVERY LAST WORD, won the Cybils Young Adult Fiction Award, the Georgia Peach Book Award, and was a YALSA Teens' Top Ten pick; LITTLE DO WE KNOW won the NCIBA Golden Poppy Award for Young Adult Fiction; and her debut novel, TIME BETWEEN US, has been published in over twenty languages. The first book in her middle-grade series, CLICK'D, was a Sunshine State Young Readers Award pick, a Kids' Indie Next pick, a Cybils Award Nominee, and an NCIBA Golden Poppy nominee.

Tamara is a proud nerd, vinyl collector, and movie lover. She burns everything she cooks.

She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Kassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5*

LOVED THIS. So so cute and meaningful.

[Laurie –Read Between The Skylines– · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, CodeGirls Camp could be an emotional roller coaster mixed with triumphant highs and intense lows.

3.5 stars

Allie spend her summer in CodeGirls Camp developing an app supposed to connect people and helping them to make new friend. She named it Click’d as the users would answer a bunch of questions about their tastes and then be matched to 10 persons based on the way they answered those questions. Click’d qualified Allie for an app youth competition called "Games for Good", which she is super excited for, all the more so as she is competing with her classmate nemesis. At school the app goes viral, but soon Allie discovers a glitch that could compromise her entry to that competition, and so much more.

As some of you may know, when I pick a book, I like to know as little as I can about it, so that I don’t have any expectations nor spoilers about what would happen. Those closer to me already know that when they recommend a book to me the best is to only say “just read it” this is basically all I want to ear. This is one of the times when not knowing enough about the book caused me harm; I had no idea I was actually reading a middle grade book, with a twelve years old main character. The thing I didn't realise it was MG until rather late in the book, and by the way I blame the American school system, I have no idea what 6th or 7th grade is supposed to be the equivalent of (as in France the younger are in 6th and the older are in 1st, weird I know) and because I mostly read YA I just presumed she was in High School. I only realised her young age around 70% into my reading and that I was quite shocked. And I guess that once you see it you can't un-see it.



I ended up feeling quite irritated by Allie’s attitude, I found her more and more childish as the book continued, I also feel like that all the side characters were quite superficially written as we didn’t learn much about them and that didn’t make them really relatable. I’m very angry about how Allie treated Nathan but also her three best friends. She was really selfish and not considerate toward them, most of her reactions felt really pre-teen to me (even though I might have reacted the same way at her age). Also, coding seems so difficult to me that it feels really hard to believe that at a regular school, you can find two 12 years old actually able to code an app. But I guess saying that just make me feel older than I am, even though I worked in a middle school a couple years back, and I can say I’m sure none of them were that good in coding.

However I liked how close to today’s middle school it was. With students always on their phone, crowding for some app-related event, with apps going viral, that seemed so actual to me. I also loved that Ms. Slade was such a good model for Allie, she was a very positive and supportive adult and teacher, and that gives a really good message for middle graders. Last, I enjoyed how this book was all about making friends, but also keeping friends. Nowadays, with social medias and Internet, everything is going so fast, a little positivity felt so good.

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read MG, but I love all things Tamara, so it was a sure thing.

I loooooved Allie. She's so smart and so determined and has loads more ambition than I think I've ever had. I truly enjoyed her journey. Allie's friends are fun and add a great dynamic. I especially loved Ms. Slade and Allie's parents for being such positive and supportive adults.

Plot wise, it was a lot of fun. I'm completely intrigued by the idea of coding and I was blown away at what Allie and Nathan were doing. There was a few bumps and conflicts, but it was quite refreshing to see a different type of drama than what I see in YA.

Overall, it was a lot of fun with a story that I'm sure will be important to a lot of kids. I can't wait to get a finished copy.

**Huge thanks to Hyperion for providing the arc free of charge**

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced and timely middle school story with a great technology premise.

Thanks to Disney Hyperion for the advance review copy of this title - all opinions are my own.

CLICK'D tells the story of a middle school coding superstar who develops an app at a summer coding camp and is surprised to have it become a smash hit when she debuts it at her school. Allie is a very relatable middle school character and this is written perfectly for the upper middle school crowd who live with their phones. There are lessons of integrity and friendship included in the story, but are in no way preachy, and the code-speak is appealing for techies but understandable for even only the end-users.

I will definitely be buying this one for my middle school library and can't wait to get it into the hands of my students! If you are looking for a similar book for younger readers, try the GIRLS WHO CODE series, and if you want something for older readers, WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI is perfect.

[Temi Panayotova-Kendeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Привет, пандишпанчета!

От доста време мислех да споделя кратко мнение за тази книга. Преди време я четох, имам я на английски и не е още издадена при нас на български, за жалост, но е адски сладка и много бързо я приключих. Ако мога да я определеня е по-скоро юношестка литература.

Признавам, че красивата корица и това, че е свързана със създаването на приложение ме подтикнаха да я взема определено. Погъделичкаха ми любовта към кода, както се вика!

Историята следва нашата главна героиня Али, която няма търпение да покаже разработеното си приложение за създаване на нови приятели, което написва на лагер през лятото. Готви да го представи на предстоящ конкурс за нови разработени идеи, в който има награда за победителя. Оказва се хит в училището ѝ, но с популярността му нарастват много бъгове и проблеми с приложението, които Али не знае как да реши. Нарастващите проблеми създават напрежение и между приятелствата с реалните ѝ приятели в реалния свят. Изглежда сякаш целия свят е против нея. Но не всичко е просто черно или бяло.

Книгата е първа част от поредица, втората и последна част излезна през 2019-та и също ме очаква да я прочета и да разбера, какво крие бъдещето за приложението на Али.


Мисля, че трябва да има повече такива книжки, които да подтикват младото поколение да се интересува от разработване и писане на приложения и като цяло да търсят възможности в IT сферата след време. А вие какво мислите по въпроса?

Оценявам читателското си преживяване като 4/5 звезди.

[Krysti · Rating 4 out of 5]

CLICK'D is a delightful new middle grade novel about friendship, chasing your dreams, and following your heart.

The story is so much fun to read. I love the concept of empowering kids to use their coding skills to create incredible apps that help improve the world. This book really celebrates the fact that our youth not only cares about the issues facing the world they live in, but they also take action to improve it.

CLICK'D was a quick and refreshing read that I would recommend to readers of all ages.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Tamara Ireland Stone for creating an age-perfect read for middle grade kids that:
1) Includes a topic they can completely relate to, as opposed to “read this instead of playing that”
2) Shows them that it is possible to take a dream and make it a reality
3) Is written for and geared to younger readers with no “possibly inappropriate” scenes

CLICK’D is a tale of accomplishment, responsibility, insecurity and coming of age that is wrapped up in a charming tale filled with imagination and that feeling of actually being in the world of a twelve –year-old girl and her friends.

Allie spent her summer at a camp designed to encourage computer coding. She took her own personal fears at not knowing anyone and created an app that helped strangers become friends, connecting their commonalities. What a wonderful way to take some of the fear of meeting others, particularly for this age group! Of course, sometimes even the best ideas need tweaking and Allie soon learned that there were downsides to her “game.” Allie had a deadline to fix her app, and a huge competition coming up she so desperately wanted to win. She also had her arch nemesis, Nathan to finally beat.

What Allie learned in that week prior to the competition would be far more valuable than the first place prize.

Tamara Ireland Stone has a powerful, yet fun read that offers more than entertainment, it offers proof that no matter what, nothing is better than being yourself, being honorable and being a good friend, not to mention, taking a risk in life is always worth it.

I received an ARC edition from Disney-Hyperion in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Disney Hyperion (September 5, 2017)
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Print Length: 304 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Gerardo Delgadillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

5 out of 5 shining stars.

My experience in software made me curious about CLICK'D. Thing is, I've read a bunch of novels where the technical aspects and the programming fall into the magical-coding category. This is a tricky topic to write about--too much detail becomes tedious, while not enough detail is confusing or cheesy. I'm glad to say CLICK'D managed to be realistic without inundating us with geeky details. Very well handled.

CLICK'D is a quick read that flows as smooth as olive oil on marble. It's fun, fun, fun--a must for middle grade novels. And it has heart, and a message for the young ones. In summary, a wonderful "geeky" story for non-geeks and geeks. ;)

[Kayla Silverss · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great read but it won't stick with me forever.

[Alexa (Alexa Loves Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Click'd! It's a straightforward MG story that tackles technology, coding, and friendship in a really readable, interesting way.

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm honestly at a loss with this book. Tamara Ireland Stone knocked my socks off with "Every Last Word," a book that dealt with mental illness, suicide, and grief with such delicacy and heart so yeah the bar was high but I had no doubt Stone could meet it then zoom past it to new heights.

Sadly that hasn't happened with "Click'd" a very odd YA book that seems to have been intended for middleschoolers given the age of its characters but then makes the odd decision to have them all talk like 35 year olds working at a start up dot.com in Silicon Valley while they confront "issues" with the knowledge and actions that would be more appropriate for seniors in high school. Consequently we're left with a book that doesn't really work for anyone.

The deeply uninteresting story centers on Allie a twelve year old who's just finished a summer at coding camp where she's created the app "Click'd." It's basically a dorky Cosmo quiz attached to a GPS that uses an algorithm to match "players" to each other. Allie's idea is that it will help people connect with people they "click" with because it will help them find common ground with people they wouldn't otherwise meet. You fill out the quiz and then the game matches you to someone and you use to a GPS locator to track them down, then you click your phones together, take a selfie, and the person gets added to your "board." The app is a huge hit at the camp and she's chosen by her computer teacher to be a part of "Games For Good," a yearly contest where top of the line student coders design games and apps to do good in the world, the winner gets $5,000, loads of attention from developers, and bragging rights forever.

Allie needs more data to show the judges so a week before the presentation she takes her teachers suggestion and "launches" the app to her friends who then convince her to launch it to the school. It becomes an instant viral hit and Allie is on top of the world. But its not long before a glitch in the code creates problems for Allie and her friends. She has to decide if her friendships are more important than her work and she only has a few days to do it.

Simple idea right? And its certainly hitting all the right notes. Girl gamers/coders, friendship, online vs. real life, all good stuff. So why then is this such a blah read? I can't put my finger on it but part of the problem may be that Stone just gets too bogged down in the tech talk. Allie spends LOADS of the narrative in her own head and the computer lab trying to fix her game. Stone tries to make her a bit more well rounded by also having her be a soccer player and she's got a solid social life but still much of her time is spent working through the code and checking her data. Its just not that interesting.

And it leaves the reader with not much to get invested in. I mean I get it Allie wants to win the contest and she's super smart and capable and that's terrific, really, but its not enough. Why is this so important to her? What does she want beyond "winning?" The entire narrative is pinned on will she or won't she have the app ready and fixed by the contest and its just too hard to care about that instead of actual people.

The conflict is by turns too much and too little for kids this age. The glitch is discovered when the app, which is only meant to pull photos from user's Instagram accounts, yanks a personal picture one of Allie's friends never wanted anyone to see. This is a pretty damn serious issue that gets into the whole "once its on the internet it's there forever" issue and should spark a much needed talk among the characters about privacy and what you put online etc. but instead becomes a conversation about keeping secrets from friends when Allie elects not to tell her friend in the hopes that she'll be able to fix the issue before anyone finds out.

Allie's other point of conflict is Nathan the guy who always beats her at any kind of coding competition. But again the book is so low energy that even their fights are boring. We're treated to exciting as hell scenes of them...sitting in the lab together giving each other the silent treatment or....sitting in the lab together working on codes together...its riveting.

Look there's nothing wrong with this book, not really, but there's nothing especially right about it either. Its just a sort of blah story with no energy or people to really care about that's pretty well written but has nothing to say or at least can't figure out how to say what it wants to.

I can totally get behind a girl power book centered on young women and science, I think that's a tremendously important and powerful story that needs to be told again and again. But it has to be just as exciting and inspiring and even emotional as the Twilightesque stuff or no one is going to pay attention. Stone is entirely capable of telling that story in a nuanced and exciting way so I'm just left scratching my head and wondering....what happened?

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Twelve year old Allie Navarro has just returned to Mercer Middle School after spending the summer at Code Girls, creating useful applications to download. Allie has created a game called Click'd, the application matching teens with similar interests to potentially find new friends, awarding Allie with a place within the prestigious Games for Good competition. Allie refines the Click'd programming in preparation for the upcoming competition, competing against quiet achiever Nathan, an intelligent, socially recluse young man creating Built, a game with the potential to change lives through Habitat for Humanity. Click'd is downloaded and enjoyed by the student body but the application is accessing personal photo albums and making them accessible to active users, upsetting and humiliating her classmates and best friend Emma.
​​
Allie is a lovely young woman, intelligent and inquisitive. Only twelve years of age and having created a wonderful application that will allow others to create new friendships by being matched with like minded individuals, forgoing her summer spent with her friends to develop the game at the all girls coding initiative. Allie's genius will potentially reach a global audience of players but spends her free time troubleshooting the Click'd defects. It's in the Mercer Middle School computer room where she and nemesis Nathan begin to discover they have more in common than they both realised.

Click'd also explores the moralistic obligations Allie has towards users as sensitive information is shared and the implications of the breech of privacy. Early teens and middle grade readers will enjoy Allie's journey although mature teen and adult readers may find Allie bothersome. I admired her determination and although guided by the lovely Ms Slade, Allie valued her own newfound popularity before that of the privacy of her peers, including humiliated friend Emma.

But as all those answers passed through in her mind, she knew that none of them had anything to do with the real reason she didn’t shut it down.

She locked her eyes on Mr. Mohr and told him the truth. 'Everyone knew who I was.'

Click'd is a quick, lighthearted, entertaining read for early teens, thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I randomly picked this up at my favorite thrift store and I was utterly charmed. I had never heard of this book before and it was such a unique concept. Click'd features the story of a preteen who develops her own app to make friendships throughout her coding camp and her school. This book's production value was impeccable because it featured plenty of graphics of the various friend rankings and instant messages between characters. This was my favorite aspect to the novel and the paper itself was really high quality too. My only beef was with the protagonist because she constantly lied and wasn't honest with her friends. I keep noticing this trend of dishonesty and I cannot relate a single iota. Perhaps I'm too much of a goody two-shoes, but I try to maintain honest communication with everyone. Maybe because I have an automatic instinct to be honest or I just hate the miscommunication trope so vehemently that I don't wish to experience it in real life. This was such a fun discovery and I wouldn't have found it otherwise. I may pick up the sequel from the library or let it naturally manifest through another thrifting adventure. This book and I definitely click'd, but please dial back on the lying, mmkay?

[Colleen Houck]

I wish I had friends like these kids in middle school. So smart. Love that they want to help others and are writing computer code. Also love the geek gamer conference and the lesson learned there.

[Marianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish stuff check out my blog!
https://mariannascorner.wordpress.com/

3.5 stars

“I received this e-ARC via NetGalley. A huge thank you to the publisher for accepting my request. All thoughts are my own.”

Click’d is a gripping middle grade book, focusing on friendship, success, hard work, responsibility and family ties. From the very beginning the reader is introduced to this whole other world: the world of coding. For me personally that was a totally foreign concept and getting to see the “behind the scenes” of an app was a very fascinating experience.

Allie was an amazing protagonist. She is strong willed, hard working and determined. She is more or less a genius since she built this amazing app all on her own at the age of 12(!). Just like every 12 year old, she’s strumbling to find her place in this world and as so, she makes mistakes and tries -in the best way she can- to fix them.

An aspect I really enjoyed was the friendship. Allie has a solid friend group consisted of three girls: Emma, Zoe and Madie. They work together, play together, go to school together and do what friends are supposed to do. Unfortunately good frienships are lacking in books, so I’m thirsty for them whenever I get them. Also she has her CodeGirl friends whom she did not forget the moment she stepped off camp, which I also appreciated.

Finally, I liked the messages Click’d conveyed. It is a tradition for MG books to have a message right?

The first was a message of not confusing competition with animosity. Just because you are competing with someone for a job, a competion, a test, it doesn’t mean that you have to hate them. Sometimes we have more things in common with our competitors that we know. And most of the times, competition is what makes us move forward; the need to do more, to succeess, to be the best. We should not, however, let that need consume us and makes us jealous and hating.
The second was a message of responsibility. In life we screw up and make mistakes all the time. The key is to take responsibility for said mistakes and not blame others for the things you failed to do. In order to learn from our mistakes and become better we have to realise we actually made a mistake in the first place, and that this mistake was a result of our own actions.
Overall, Click’d was a nice MG book with cute characters and nice messages!

Click’d comes out September 5th! Don’t forget to grab a copy!

[Completely Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute story and so much fun to read. I would definitely read the sequel. With the exception of the main characters being in 7th grade, this book could easily be YA.

[Dena McMurdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I both read this book and wrote reviews for it. Here they are:

Miss K's review:
Click’d is about a girl named Allie and she makes a game called Click’d. It helps people make friends. She goes in a competition against her arch-enemy Nathan. His game is called Built and it helps build houses. Allie’s game starts going crazy and she has to keep working on it to try and fix it.

I like that Allie started to make friends with Nathan and helped him fix his game. I think Allie was smart and kind most of the time.

One of the things I liked about this book is that I like coding and Allie likes to code too. I think Allie had some good ideas but sometimes her ideas were bad. Like her ideas about her friends and Nathan.

I thought Allie’s app was pretty cool. If Click’d was real I would be able to play Click’d and maybe make a new friend. I’m pretty sure that some kids that are shy would like to play Click’d because then they’d be in touch with someone really popular at school. Anyone would love to play Click’d because then it would match you up with people you like. And the test at the beginning would be really fun. I like taking those tests because we could match up our answers and find new friends.

Kids that like stories about bad stuff that happens and they try to fix it, like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Double Fudge by Judy Blume would like this book. Also, kids that like computers and stuff like code and maybe robotics would like Click’d.

Dena's review:

What a sweet book! I read it out loud to my older girls and they loved it. My oldest daughter has discovered a love of coding and Click’d was right up her alley.

I worried that the story would end with Allie deciding that her app was a bad idea and taking it down permanently. That’s not what happened, and I’m glad. I wanted my daughter to see app development cast in a positive light, which is exactly what I got. Even though Allie makes mistakes and her app isn’t perfect, she makes changes and learns along the way.

One of the things I loved about the story is the way Allie learns to ask for help. She tries to do things all on her own at first but eventually learns that she can’t take shortcuts and she can’t do everything by herself.

This is a great story about friendship, honesty, hard work, perseverance, and integrity. A wonderful read for kids ages 10-14 or in middle school.

[eri b.❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Who’s going to notice that?” Allie asked.

“The judges. All they have to do is look at my error logs.”

“You have error logs?” she asked.

“You don’t?”

Such a cute book! I read some of the reviews, and I agree with most of them: this had too much of tech on it, all focused on the development of an app and a coding contest. For me, this was what made it fun, but I totally understand how it would be boring for some people. That disclaimer said: I loved how cute it was, and how inviting it was to girls. It made creating an app sound exciting and fun (it is, sometimes, I guess), but also tried to cover some of the problematics that come with coding and how important it is to address them. I'd even like more importance on them, really! I'm still thinking about bad people joining Click'd... but maybe talking about predators was a theme too heavy for a children's book.

That's what my second point is about: I have read several books for children, but mostly enjoyed them like any book (Percy Jackson is my favorite saga!). In this one, I had to keep reminding myself that it was a children's book and so I shouldn't be harsh to judge. And that's about it -I can recommend it without blinking to children, especially young girls to motivate them to explore the programming world, but definitely not for young adults that look for an interesting story.

What I did like that wasn't about apps or coding was the easy way the author added a little diversity to her story, through names and pictures! Also, there was no romance in this book, just a lot of cute friendships.

Overall, a cute story but only because I'm very interested in the world of apps!

[aty2020 #1: A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y]

[Samantha (WLABB) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute tale, which combined fun, friendship, and those mistakes that one is bound to make when growing up.

Allie was so proud of the app she created during her summer with the CodeGirls, and was excited to share it with her three best friends in the week leading up to the Games for Good competition. She sort of got caught up in the zeal surrounding her app, that when some issues arose with the code, she decides to NOT seek the advice of her mentor and to take care of it herself, and soon she was in a little over her head.

I really liked all the characters Stone created. They seemed very genuine and age appropriate. The way Allie approached her issues did not surprise me, because, well, she was 12. I sort of loved that Stone gave Allie those moral dilemmas to struggle with. It's all a normal part of growing up. She also took responsibility for her poor choices, and I like that Stone gave her that maturity.

I have to say, the concept for the app was fun, and I loved being in the midst of the Click'd frenzy. There were a lot of really sweet moments of friendship, and we also had an appropriate amount of parental involvement considering the age of the protagonists.

The technical side of the story brought me back to my days as a programmer. It was fun to see the kids excitement for it, and I thought that Stone used just enough jargon that it sounded sort of credible without alienated those who are not programmers.

Overall: A delightful and heartwarming tale, which I hope will inspire many to use technology to do good.

[Kirsti Call · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked: Tamara Ireland Stone writes beautifully. Her book, EVERY LAST WORD is one of my favorites of all time. So I was thrilled to receive a copy of her middle grade debut. The book is fast paced, engaging and heart-warming. Tamara manages to combine the angst and insecurities of middle school with hope. The characters in this book are engaging and relatable. The premise of a girl whose ap goes viral is incredibly fun. Allie's 7th grade year starts out with a bang when everyone loves the ap she programmed. When a glitch threatens to ruin her friendships and her ability to compete in the upcoming Games for Good competition, the stakes are high. And Allie may have to find help from her nemesis in order to compete and fix the problem with her code. Allie's interactions with her parents are spot-on; she doesn't want to tell them when things go wrong. Her interactions with her teacher are realistic and the peer relationships feel authentic. I especially love how Allie changes in the end, matures and realizes what's really important. LOVE this book!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Click'd is a ridiculously sweet story. It follows a preteen girl who created her own app to help people find friends in close physical proximity. When a glitch in her system causes some hurt feelings and she tries to make it better, things only snowball.

I loved the friendships Allie had. They felt true to life in a way that many other novels don't--often they feel too pretty or too dramatic. Either there is no conflict at all between friends or the conflict is seemingly insurmountable. When Allie had issues with friends, that's all they were--issues. They stayed friends but worked through their problems. It was refreshing.

Her interactions with Nathan were a little more silly, but I liked how it ended. For a girl who seemed fairly aware of emotions with her friends she was a total dunderhead where Nathan was concerned.

A note, too: I LOVED that there were apps created to help people. I'm going to search the App Store and see if this is a real thing.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Click'd was an interesting middle grade novel about coding and friendship. Allie makes several bad decisions, but redeems herself in the end. Her interactions with her classmates felt sincere, and I was glad that the author allowed her to learn from her mistakes without reward. I have read other books by Tamara Ireland Stone that I liked better, but it was a fun quick read. (3.5 stars)

[Sanara♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars

It's a good middle grade book. :) I found it kind of boring at first but it turned out to be quite nice afterwards.

[Snazzy Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tried to read this once before, and it didn't really hold my attention. Tried it again today, and I really liked it.

[Tabitha Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute/quick middle grade read. It teaches a good lesson about friendships, competition, and persevering when something you're working on is failing/not coming out as expected.

[Emilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Didn’t want to put that one down! It was so much fun to read!! I really loved getting more insight to what it’s like for someone to be the one making sure a game is running smoothly. So many apps like instagram all have someone watching over making sure very things are staying under control and as a user we just expect that. It was super interesting reading about how she had to deal with glitches in her app and tricky decisions she had to make when things went wrong! Can’t wait to read book 2!!!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow I read this in less than two hours.

[Yvonne (It's All About Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading: July 30th 2018

"Because I have three best friends." She pointed to each in turn. "And I don't need to click with anyone else but you guys."

I absolutely loved Every Last Word when I read it back in 2016, so when I was browsing my books the other day and Click'd popped up, I decided to pick it up on a whim hoping to add another favorite to the list. I didn't realize it was a Middle Grade read before I started it, but I don't think this has influenced my opinion in a significant way since it's not the first time I've read and loved a MG read. Somehow, Click'd didn't stand out in the way Every Last Word did, and I ended up feeling slightly disappointed. Click'd wasn't a bad read and I really liked the idea behind this story, but overall I found the story to be rather bland. The plot has that geeky feel with two of the main characters creating an app/game and the whole progress of coding and dealing with bugs in the code plays a big role throughout the story. The other main theme is friendship, which could work really well, but there were just too many cliches for me involved. I don't mind a cliche or two, but if there are just too many piling up it starts to get annoying and less interesting. Overall, I think Click'd lacks the little something extra that could have made this story into something wonderful. It's not bad and without doubt a superfast read, but not the new favorite I was hoping for. The younger half of the MG age group might enjoy the story better though.

P.S. Find more of my reviews here.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for techies, an absorbing and App-centred story that isn't too long for even reluctant readers

Not one that will easily draw from older age groups as some books for this age range do, Click'd will be a great choice to offer to those who like their computers, coding, technology, social media.

Allie is a coder, and at summer camp has designed her own app that helps you find friends with common interest - Click'd. It works brilliantly when she tests it on her friends before entering it at a national competition, alongside a fellow student (and rival's) app.

But when a problem becomes apparent, Allie is faced with tough decisions, and even finds that her app is straining her relationships with her friends.

The themes are very much 'middle school' centred, which may seem too immature for older readers/teenagers. There is no romance, and Allie's home and family life is only briefly featured - it's all about her friendships, rivalry with Nathan, and mostly - her App.

Which isn't a bad thing - it will interest many readers, and though I'm not a techie myself, I enjoyed the story. I could see myself, a Judy Blume fan at that age (10-13) being caught up in Allie's world and problems, and liked the choices Allie makes.

Some good questions and discussions could come out of this. Though it features a female protagonist, boys will also find a lot here to capture their interest as well, including the character of Nathan. Could make a good class read for Year 6 or 7 classes.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

This is the first book I've read with coding as a main theme, and I was so impressed for several reasons. First, this book felt so fresh, as coding is timely topic, but there hasn't been a lot written about it in middle grade fiction with female protagonists. Second, the characters in this book are real, using language and acting the way young teen girls do, and it felt very much at its audience's level. Third, I could not stop reading...I was totally invested in the story and loved that this book did not take me where I feared it might in the beginning.

In CLICK'D, Allie has spent the summer at a coding camp for girls, where she's created a new friendship app that turns meeting people into a game. When her teacher recommends her for a coding contest, the stakes are raised when Allie learns her arch nemesis is also competing. Allie decides to let the app into the world to get some live data, and its a HUGE hit. As followers surpass all of her expectations, she thinks she's a shoo-in to win the contest...until a glitch causes everything to crash around her. As Allie races to fix the issues before the contest, she learns that friendship apps can be just as complicated as friendships in the real world.

I'll definitely be ordering a copy of this book for our library and promoting it!

5/5 stars