Behind the Screen

Mason Falls Mysteries

by Israel Keats

Hannah's sister, Alexis, has been acting different lately. For one thing, she's constantly on her phone when she never used to care that much about it. But after Hannah discovers that Alexis has developed a relationship with a boy she met online, her strange behavior starts to make sense. What's worse, Alexis plans to skip out on college to run away with this guy. Hannah teams up with her best friend to find out more about the online stranger. What if he isn't who he says he is?

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Short Stories, Contemporary

108 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2024

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted a quick audiobook to listen to while crocheting for a bit and this was just... rough. it feels like a classic example of adults not knowing how to write about teens using technology. or how to write teen siblings. it also mildly vilifies the idea of taking a gap year?

i know im not the target age group but it still could have been better. i think the subject matter could have made a good plot but the stakes in the end felt low enough that the sister almost felt selfish for not actually giving the dude a chance.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

➳ 3 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

this was cute but not really anything special. i’m probably never going to think about it again but hey, one book closer to my reading goal 💋




୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[Esme · Rating 2 out of 5]

needed a short pallet cleanser between all the fantasy I've been reading

[April Corbett (Dorris) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like an extra long cyber security training at work. As a matter of fact, I think the audiobook narrator is the same woman that narrates the work training. Her voice was very familiar.

That aside, the story line was good and this is good discussion material for staying safe online for all ages.

[Jonathan (Jon) · Rating 2 out of 5]

✨Trying to fit more reads this month cause I’ve been doing so bad 🤣 This was another super quick listen, unfortunately the story wasn’t for me. ✨

[katie truong · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️1.5⭐️

[Deedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middle school book.

[Nancyslibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

Me🤝audiobooks to catch up on my reading goal

Another quick and fun audiobook

[Brianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hhahahahah this was not good

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really strange. A girl meets boy on line, and not actually meeting him she wants to take a gap break from going to college after graduating high school. Her plan is to run away with him and get married. Her sister intervenes and saves her sister from this situation.

All need to take on line dating seriously, not getting into a relationship that can lead to everything that one would not want to happen. I personally would never have gone that route. But lessons can be learned from books like this.

Especially young people beware of dangers you may not have even considered, like human trafficking, rape, murder. At least she came to her senses after they did meet and she found he had lied to her about everything.CathyR

[Chanice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because it was a quick and easy listen to kick start my yearly reading. It was an interesting story, definitely geared to a younger audience, however, if it makes sense you could tell someone a little older wrote it due to the language used to describe some of the technology/teen slang. Although at the end of the day, the message of internet safety/awareness was good. If you have tweens/teens it would be an easy read/listen.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannah's sister had been acting strange, spending too much time in front of the screen. Alexis has become very secretive and private. She's been texting with a stranger and Hannah wants to get to the bottom of it. She is worried about her safety and enlists a tech-savvy friend, Jacob to help her find this online mystery guy. A good reminder about internet safety and the danger of cyberstalkers for readers of all ages.
I listened to this on audiobook. A quick listen while doing yard work.

[Theo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a dull morality tale for teenagers, a step above Chick tracts. The irony of it all is the danger that is presented in this book could’ve actually been so much worse, but because it was written in a condescending way, the more nefarious aspects of secretly meeting a stranger online were not mentioned.

A pointless read, maybe something a well-meaning grandparent would get for their grandkid.

[Aubrie Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t like this book as much of the first, but definitely and interesting little clean mystery, and a good message. It was a little strange though.

[Jokes .io · Rating 1 out of 5]

Idk y I don’t even know why

[Karine Fortin Lachapelle]

Audiobook - quick , teenager

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the target audience for this book, but it was a fun quick read that I'll pass along to my middle-schooler.

[avery · Rating 2 out of 5]

yknow this wasn’t that good, at all, but it positively contributed to my reading challenge.

reasons why i don’t like it:
1. this is not how real siblings interact at all.
i mean, every family and pair of siblings have a different dynamic and personality type. BUT i (a female with an older sister) have never talked this basic/formal with my sister nor seen any of my friends interact like the way the author writes dialogue. i have never greeted my sister “Hey, sis” nor used the phrase ”Thanks for the quality sister time, sis.” ITS ALL SO BLOCKY. it makes no sense. i actively greet my sister in ways like ”hey, hoe/whore:)” “hey, *insert simplified version of name*.” or just “hey, sup, hi, etc.” it just ruined the vibe for me. it made it feel,, well. fictional.
2. Hannah going behind her sisters back instead of just asking her about things.
she could’ve absolutely just ASKED her sister, who she seems relatively close with, about her boyfriend, about the flowers, about the college situation, fill in the blank.
3. there was no climax.
the plot went: hey this guy seems sketchy, follows sketchy guy, maybe he isn’t sketchy? nope, he’s sketchy. the end.
like. no plot twist. this is marketed as a mystery, but there’s no mystery. no plot twist. no satisfying solve. none

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, not bad but so many things could’ve been better. I was hoping for a suspenseful ending but it just came off as flat.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not bad for a teen novella. Just needs a bit more tweaking on the plot given the audience age.

[jewel ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

i just wrote a really long review about this book for it being 2 stars but then my app crashed and i’m petty so i’m taking it as a sign i should make it 1.5 stars

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am interested from time to time to read young adult fiction, to see what the culture/publishers believe is worth pointing out to them. This short book is a readable tale of how dating by the internet should be assessed, by high school students. The major points, which are made via a fairly superficial development of the principal characters:

1) beware that the identities people create on the internet do not necessarily (and indeed would generally be expected not to) reflect reality;
2) teenagers are unlikely to believe they will be duped (perhaps not that different from elderly people either);
3) as a side bar, to get into a good college, you should "join things" or "start things" that are likely to impress the admissions people (cynical but rings true--are college applications as "fake" as on line dating profiles?; and
4) parents have no real say about what 18 year olds can do and it is ok for sisters who care about their own sister not to involve the parents.

Not sure whether this reflects reality (it seems to do so). If so, it is neither uplifting nor all too disturbing. Kind of bleh.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

…what the heck was that?

Few stories I read have “hello fellow kids” energy, but oh boy this one did. The characters felt off, the plot was anticlimactic, and it reminded me of books I read in elementary school, but meant for teen audiences. (I assume this one is for teens based on the subject matter being a catfishing "mystery," but since the publisher exclusively does Pre-K to Grade 12 as an age range, maybe this is for middle grade? I honestly don't know who this is for. It's written like it's for elementary students in terms of style, but the subject matter just doesn't match.)

Thing is, even though it was bad enough to warrant a 1-1.5 star rating, it wasn't even bad in a way that makes me upset or gives me much to say about it. It didn't do any particular thing spectacularly wrong, it just did every part of the story with such mediocrity that I can't find anything good about it.

At least it was short, I suppose. So that's a silver lining.

[Agd]

2.2.25. 7/8 Hilo. Meh.

Mason Falls, present day.

Hannah (sophomore) has recently noticed a change in her older sister Alexis's (senior) behavior. Sure, she's happier. She isn't staying in her room and randomly bursting into tears when she comes out like she was following her last breakup. But she's also more tied to her phone--checking it constantly day and night. When Hannah learns it's because Alexis has started chatting with someone online, she's immediately skeptical. Of course, that might just be because she volunteers at the old folks home helping them with their phones and coaching them to avoid online scams. But when Alexis starts making noise about not going to her prestigious college next year so she can spend time with this guy, Hannah decides to investigate. With the help of her friend Jacob, they try to figure out who this guy is and if he's as great as his online persona seems.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like a Sweet Valley High novel, although Hannah and Alexis, sisters, are not blonde, blue-eyed, 5'6" 11th grade Californian twins. In this case, Hannah is studious and careful Elizabeth Wakefield, while Alexis is secretive and enthusiastic Jessica.

Elizabeth, I mean HANNAH, suspects her sister's new boyfriend, Eric Rogers, is not real and sets out to prove it. Jessica, I mean ALEXIS, is keeping too many secrets and it's bothering Hannah. So Hannah and her friend Todd Wilkins... sorry, JACOB....also sneak around to discover the real scoop on Eric Rogers.

What they find is not all that surprising. This is a Sweet Valley High knock-off after all.

I listened to this via Libby, and it was a decent way to pass 1.5 hours while I cooked and ate a meal, but would I recommend this? Only to diehard SVH fans.

[indy(anna) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Next time I should invest some time into looking at a couple of book reviews or at least the book rating before going in blind for a read. However, since the length of this book was relatively short, I was able to listen to the audio at 1.25 speed in just under 2 hours.

This book feels like a beginner's guide to online dating or the precautions we must have when socializing with strangers online. A lot of it is common sense but I like that there's a book that showcases this experience that many young people will be facing in the future; especially with AI becoming a dominant feature online.

[Celinda Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t a great book but I also don’t believe that I was the target audience. I feel like this is a middle grade read but it’s actually better for someone in late elementary school. It’s written like an after school special which may be good for parents trying to teach their very young children about internet safety. I’m not sure how effective this book would be as a teaching tool but that’s the only real value I can find in someone reading it. I wouldn’t read another book by this author but it wasn’t a waste of time either.

[annalee ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, these reviews are critical!! I actually enjoyed this, though it definitely felt like an older author trying to sound cool. Internet safety is so important and a lot of kids think they’re invincible, so I did like how this story focused on someone who should be tech-savvy falling for a catfish. Listen, I know we all think that stuff like this would NEVER happen to us, but it’s the truth: always use caution when speaking to strangers online, and for goodness’ sake, if you’re going to MEET them … can’t you at least videochat with them first????

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick fast read to kick start those reading challenges. A story about two sisters and what could happen behind a screen. For being a short story this was a fast read with enough substance, I was a little let down by the ending. The guy on the other side of the screen wasn’t who he said he was, but there was just something missing about the final reveal. All in all I like the sister dynamic and how one was willing to go to far lengths for the other.