What do you think?
Rate this book
Tell Me Everything
YOUR SECRET’S SAFE … UNTIL IT’S NOT
Ivy is the shy artist type and keeps a low profile—so low that she’s practically invisible to everyone at Belfry High School except for her best friend, Harold. As sophomore year begins, Harold takes up a hundred activities, leaving Ivy on her own. Luckily she’s found a distraction: the new anonymous art-sharing app, VEIL.
Soon Ivy realizes that one of her classmates is the VEIL user who needs new paintbrushes … and another is the one visiting the hospital every week … and another is the one dealing with their parents’ messy divorce. While she’s too scared to put her own creations on the app, Ivy thinks of an even better way to contribute—by making gifts for the artists she’s discovered. The acts of kindness give her such a rush that, when Ivy suspects Harold is keeping a secret, she decides to go all in. Forget gifts—Ivy wants to throw Harold a major party.
But when all those good intentions thrust her into the spotlight, Ivy’s carefully curated world is thrown into chaos. Now she has to find the courage to come out of the shadows—about her art, her secrets, and her mistakes—or risk losing everything and everyone she loves the most.
Ivy is the shy artist type and keeps a low profile—so low that she’s practically invisible to everyone at Belfry High School except for her best friend, Harold. As sophomore year begins, Harold takes up a hundred activities, leaving Ivy on her own. Luckily she’s found a distraction: the new anonymous art-sharing app, VEIL.
Soon Ivy realizes that one of her classmates is the VEIL user who needs new paintbrushes … and another is the one visiting the hospital every week … and another is the one dealing with their parents’ messy divorce. While she’s too scared to put her own creations on the app, Ivy thinks of an even better way to contribute—by making gifts for the artists she’s discovered. The acts of kindness give her such a rush that, when Ivy suspects Harold is keeping a secret, she decides to go all in. Forget gifts—Ivy wants to throw Harold a major party.
But when all those good intentions thrust her into the spotlight, Ivy’s carefully curated world is thrown into chaos. Now she has to find the courage to come out of the shadows—about her art, her secrets, and her mistakes—or risk losing everything and everyone she loves the most.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2019
75 people are currently reading
4246 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Enni
2 books180 followersSarah Enni has come a long way from her first writing job, a journalism gig covering the radioactive waste industry. She now writes young adult novels and also produces and hosts the First Draft podcast, where she encourages other writers to spill their juicy secrets. She lives in Los Angeles with her cat Hammer, and is very likely eating enchiladas right now.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
March 15, 2019
I struggled with this book a little bit. Overall, I really wanted to like it. I loved the concept - young girl discovers VEIL, an anonymous new art-sharing app she really connects with, works up the courage to share her art online, etc. However, I found so many things off about this book. First of all, I found the central conflict around VEIL to highly unbelievable. The whole point of the book is I guess freedom of speech? And there are all these ~big moral questions~ around whether a hateful post should be taken down or the user revealed, and even though this main character lives in a tiny town (the app is location based) this is apparently huge enough news that the app creator is responding to it?
Okay. First of all, speaking as a community manager myself, if you're making an app that allows children to participate - there has to be moderation. There WOULD BE moderation. This whole plot falls apart for me, because either this hateful post and posts like this would just be taken down through a very basic moderation system, OR THE APP WOULD BE OVERRUN WITH GARBAGE IN MINUTES. Have you heard of the TTP? In the community management world, that stands for "time to penis". That's the amount of time it takes for there to be images of penises in an unmoderated place on the internet. It's often very, very short. VEIL wouldn't stand a chance.
On top of that, Ivy is INCREDIBLY fired up about why VEIL users should stay anonymous, how it's the whole heart of the site, and yet -- she NEVER stops to think that her grand gestures go completely against that view. She's outing people left and right, and it made me really start to resent her. Or at least just feel like she was a bit of an idiot. On top of that, I never really got a sense of why she and Harold were actually friends. I could not figure out why he likes her. She seems like a wet blanket and a terrible friend, to be honest. She never supported him, until she very naively falsely outed him and accidentally turned the whole school against her because of her assumptions.
I guess I'm not sure what I'm supposed to have learned from this book, which is sad because I think Internet privacy is a very relevant topic right now. But this book, for me, missed the mark on that quite a bit.
Okay. First of all, speaking as a community manager myself, if you're making an app that allows children to participate - there has to be moderation. There WOULD BE moderation. This whole plot falls apart for me, because either this hateful post and posts like this would just be taken down through a very basic moderation system, OR THE APP WOULD BE OVERRUN WITH GARBAGE IN MINUTES. Have you heard of the TTP? In the community management world, that stands for "time to penis". That's the amount of time it takes for there to be images of penises in an unmoderated place on the internet. It's often very, very short. VEIL wouldn't stand a chance.
On top of that, Ivy is INCREDIBLY fired up about why VEIL users should stay anonymous, how it's the whole heart of the site, and yet -- she NEVER stops to think that her grand gestures go completely against that view. She's outing people left and right, and it made me really start to resent her. Or at least just feel like she was a bit of an idiot. On top of that, I never really got a sense of why she and Harold were actually friends. I could not figure out why he likes her. She seems like a wet blanket and a terrible friend, to be honest. She never supported him, until she very naively falsely outed him and accidentally turned the whole school against her because of her assumptions.
I guess I'm not sure what I'm supposed to have learned from this book, which is sad because I think Internet privacy is a very relevant topic right now. But this book, for me, missed the mark on that quite a bit.
March 7, 2019
Read this review and others on my blog!
I’ve been a loyal listener of Sarah Enni’s First Draft podcast since 2014, so I was psyched to pick up a copy of her debut novel. Tell Me Everything follows Ivy, a sophomore photography nerd who’s been struggling with growing distance between her and her BFF Harold. To take her mind off her absent, over-scheduled friend, Ivy becomes engrossed with the new app VEIL, which allows users to view Instagram-style anonymous pictures local to a five-mile radius. The book follows Ivy as she attempts to uncover the secrets of the students at her school posting on VEIL.
It’s a cute, short book that I read in less than twenty-four hours. I really enjoyed the local art scene focus, and I feel that there’s a missed opportunity here for the book to include some photographs and illustrations to color the narrative, like in a Ransom Riggs book. Yet the book isn’t without its flaws; it felt plotless for a good portion of the book, like we were being treated to individual scenes that made up some sort of abstract whole. The voice, too, is a bit younger than I usually read. (More a preference thing than an actual detractor.) You know how a lot of readers (rightly) complain that a good portion of YA isn’t really YA anymore, but really just New Adult, repackaged with “eighteen-year-olds” and pretty YA covers? This isn’t that; it reads young, and Enni was clearly purposeful in the decision to make Ivy and Harold sophomores instead of upperclassmen.
I’ll admit that the tone of the book was a bit off to me. There is a lot of quirk for quirk’s sake, almost reminiscent of Katy t3h PeNgU1n oF d00m. That combined with an especially cringy (cringey?) scene between Ivy and Harold that read like progressive buzzword mad libs had me not exactly racing for the end of the book, but still edging toward eager-to-be-done territory.
***SPOILER INCOMING***
I did also feel like some questions briefly raised throughout the book weren’t explored deeply enough. In this book, online anonymity and an unmoderated user base butt heads with “safe spaces” and helicopter parents. There is a kind of resolution to this conflict in terms of the VEIL app, but not a satisfying one in my opinion, and what resolution Enni offers us doesn’t do much to address the very real debates that society is currently having about social media platforms. VEIL is deleted in the end, but let’s face it, Mark Zuckerberg isn’t about to delete Facebook, nor Jack Dorsey Twitter, so what exact lesson are we supposed to take from Tell Me Everything into the real world?
So some good, some bad. Tell Me Everything was a pleasant, quick read for a Sunday afternoon, but I wouldn’t highly recommend it for older YA readers, though a younger, less picky crowd might have some fun here.
I’ve been a loyal listener of Sarah Enni’s First Draft podcast since 2014, so I was psyched to pick up a copy of her debut novel. Tell Me Everything follows Ivy, a sophomore photography nerd who’s been struggling with growing distance between her and her BFF Harold. To take her mind off her absent, over-scheduled friend, Ivy becomes engrossed with the new app VEIL, which allows users to view Instagram-style anonymous pictures local to a five-mile radius. The book follows Ivy as she attempts to uncover the secrets of the students at her school posting on VEIL.
It’s a cute, short book that I read in less than twenty-four hours. I really enjoyed the local art scene focus, and I feel that there’s a missed opportunity here for the book to include some photographs and illustrations to color the narrative, like in a Ransom Riggs book. Yet the book isn’t without its flaws; it felt plotless for a good portion of the book, like we were being treated to individual scenes that made up some sort of abstract whole. The voice, too, is a bit younger than I usually read. (More a preference thing than an actual detractor.) You know how a lot of readers (rightly) complain that a good portion of YA isn’t really YA anymore, but really just New Adult, repackaged with “eighteen-year-olds” and pretty YA covers? This isn’t that; it reads young, and Enni was clearly purposeful in the decision to make Ivy and Harold sophomores instead of upperclassmen.
I’ll admit that the tone of the book was a bit off to me. There is a lot of quirk for quirk’s sake, almost reminiscent of Katy t3h PeNgU1n oF d00m. That combined with an especially cringy (cringey?) scene between Ivy and Harold that read like progressive buzzword mad libs had me not exactly racing for the end of the book, but still edging toward eager-to-be-done territory.
***SPOILER INCOMING***
I did also feel like some questions briefly raised throughout the book weren’t explored deeply enough. In this book, online anonymity and an unmoderated user base butt heads with “safe spaces” and helicopter parents. There is a kind of resolution to this conflict in terms of the VEIL app, but not a satisfying one in my opinion, and what resolution Enni offers us doesn’t do much to address the very real debates that society is currently having about social media platforms. VEIL is deleted in the end, but let’s face it, Mark Zuckerberg isn’t about to delete Facebook, nor Jack Dorsey Twitter, so what exact lesson are we supposed to take from Tell Me Everything into the real world?
So some good, some bad. Tell Me Everything was a pleasant, quick read for a Sunday afternoon, but I wouldn’t highly recommend it for older YA readers, though a younger, less picky crowd might have some fun here.
April 2, 2019
I wanted to love this book. I really really wanted to. However, I definitely think its target audience is more in the 7th/8th grade range vs. high school, despite the subject matter, and I just couldn't fully buy into Ivy and her character. Some of the social media stuff was hard-hitting and would be great for kids to read, but some of the other events were just cringeworthy. I'm eager to hand it to my 13 yo daughter and see what she says - my view may just be skewed because of my age and the fact that I'm not the target audience :-) My 3 star rating is NOT a bad rating, it just means "I finished it and found it partially worthy, didn't love it but didn't hate it, nothing majorly problematic, won't be shouting about it from the rooftops but will recommend it to people looking for books on this topic".
August 30, 2019
"Tell me Everything" is fantastic. This book is about how Ivy, an 'invisible' girl, discovered an app called VEIL, where anonymous artists get to share their thoughts and post their art. Ivy discovered a few of her classmates and found out their real identity. So she started doing random act of kindness. Ivy, the main character in this book, has a shy characteristic when facing large groups of her classmates. But when everyone's feeling upset, she's always willing to help out and manages to make everyone feel better. I can identify with her because I am not exactly comfortable with standing in front of my classmates, but I always have creative ways to help others whenever I can! I can relate Ivy to a classmate in my art class (I won't name her here). She is always helping others, and she is very nice. She has a great talent for drawing, too!
March 5, 2019
This was a fun, quick read. While I loved the portrayal of the town and the app VEIL, the themes in this book felt a little on the nose and overly simplistic. Maybe this is just a result of me reading older YA and having unfair expectations for a book that's decidedly younger. Tell Me Everything is definitely out of my wheelhouse, and I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I wasn't already familiar with Sarah Enni from her podcast (which, by the way, I highly recommend). This is more of a 3.5 for me but I'm rounding up to 4 stars, since I think other readers would get a lot more out of this.
Read
January 4, 2019A timely and thought-provoking book about social media, anonymity, art, and being yourself for yourself. Ivy's voice here is fantastic and the perfect blend of funny, snarky, confused, and insecure. This book is absolutely for teens, with dialog that's real and situations that resonate among teens learning how to navigate long-time and newly-budding friendships. At the heart of the story is the VEIL app, which Ivy turns to to better cope with a summer away from her brilliant best friend. VEIL allows users to share art anonymously and it's seen by only those who are local to them for 24 hours. Ivy takes what should be something straightforward -- art for art's sake -- and uses it to try to connect with people who, by using the app, preferred to be anonymous. This, in the end, bites her when she realizes she makes some terrible assumptions about people and puts others in situations where they're not comfortable. Her heart is there, even if her thinking brain isn't.
There's a particularly interesting thread through the story about Vivian Maier, who is an artist that I adore. It's interesting because this is a niggling point only someone obsessed with the Maier story would note: when Harold talks about how she was not the best babysitter, about how she wasn't a great person -- none of these are checked by the fact that Maier's story was, until very recently, coopted by a white dude who created the entire mythos of who she was and what her story was. He profited deeply, including on the documentary mentioned in the book, off the work of a woman who, during her life, CHOSE to create art that wasn't shared. She wasn't a "hidden genius." She simply chose to be anonymous and make art for art's sake (this is from Pamela Bannos's excellent book from 2018 on the topic). It's interesting to think about the way that this parallels the point of VEIL within Enni's story, especially as it appears unintentional, given that Bannos's book came out when Enni's book was likely already finished.
Pass this along to readers who love stories of artists, who are curious about social media, and who love a voicey, curious main character.
There's a particularly interesting thread through the story about Vivian Maier, who is an artist that I adore. It's interesting because this is a niggling point only someone obsessed with the Maier story would note: when Harold talks about how she was not the best babysitter, about how she wasn't a great person -- none of these are checked by the fact that Maier's story was, until very recently, coopted by a white dude who created the entire mythos of who she was and what her story was. He profited deeply, including on the documentary mentioned in the book, off the work of a woman who, during her life, CHOSE to create art that wasn't shared. She wasn't a "hidden genius." She simply chose to be anonymous and make art for art's sake (this is from Pamela Bannos's excellent book from 2018 on the topic). It's interesting to think about the way that this parallels the point of VEIL within Enni's story, especially as it appears unintentional, given that Bannos's book came out when Enni's book was likely already finished.
Pass this along to readers who love stories of artists, who are curious about social media, and who love a voicey, curious main character.
May 24, 2019
This whole book feels like one giant meh, and a whole lot of wasted potential. I will say, though, that the chapter number pages (is that what they're called? The first page of each chapter I guess) were absolutely gorgeous, with pretty paint patters on them, so there's that to love!
There were definitely some interesting and important conversations about social media and internet privacy. A significant part of the novel concerns the decision of whether or not the identity of someone who makes a hateful post should be allowed to be revealed, something which Ivy is very passionate about, and even makes comments about freedom of speech and being allowed to post whatever you want even if it can be considered "hate speech." For the most part, I definitely enjoyed this commentary.
I also really loved the emphasis on art that this book had. It was so clear from the start and throughout how much Ivy loved and cared about art. Her passion really shone through the writing, and I could really imagine some of her pieces of art.
The whole premise was definitely unique and an interesting concept to tackle, but it ultimately wasn't my favorite thing to read, and did feel rather contrived and unrealistic. It was about a new app called VEIL that allows people to share their artwork anonymously with the people within a five mile radius of them, that completely overtakes the school, and blows up to become the next big thing that everyone is infatuated with. For example:
--I had a hard time believing that everyone could become so obsessed with it so quickly, especially with other social media sites out there like Instagram where people can still share their art anonymously, as long as they don't use their real name or picture when they sign up on the site? I mean, I post my reviews here with a fake name it's not like this is exactly a revolutionary concept?
--Also not to sound like a cynic but I have a hard time believing so many people care about art and post and look at art lmao; I'm sure it would be popular among artists but for basically everyone in the entire school (and beyond) to be obsessed with it is a bit of a reach?
--The fact everyone from Ivy's high school and nobody else seems to be on it is a bit strange? Yeah, it's within a five mile radius, but the people living in my neighborhood can funnel to like two high schools and three middle schools, not to mention a bunch older 20 or 30 somethings who would probably be using the app if teens were?
--Concerning the hate mentioned above, the fact that so much of the plot and so much angst and scandal (for lack of a better word) revolves around one troll post is a bit unbelievable. I mean, let's be real; as much as we want the internet to be a place of only positivity, there is bound to be hate and hurtful posts, and it's unrealistic that after months, there is only one hateful post.
--This was kind of small but I don't get why Ivy was constantly taking photographs of VEIL posts with her film camera and then being worried that people would find them and judge her? It's established that she likes to shoot in film, which is cool, but I don't understand why she wouldn't just take a screenshot here? Does she never use her phone camera?
Ivy herself was also a pretty annoying and unlikable character. For one thing, she literally never supports her "best friend" Harold in his 1092384234o clubs, or even really cares about what he's doing when he's trying his hardest to get into an elite college. We're told repeatedly that the two of them are best friends, but I never see that or see why? It's established that Ivy is shy, but you can't even passively sit at one club meeting? She also repeatedly complains that her parents don't care about her art, and mentions how annoyed she is that her parents never sent her to art camp even though she never mentions it herself? I mean...are you mad at them for not being mind readers? Particularly since she's supposedly so shy, they might think that she wouldn't even like art camp because it would require leaving the house and being social (that would be me lmao). Finally, what really annoyed me was the fact that she really cared so much about protecting internet privacy, while at the same time trying to discern the identities of VEIL posters? I mean, hypocrite much?
I felt really iffy about the diversity and representation in this book. At one point, Ivy is talking to someone about being shy, and she's like "it's called being shy" and the person is like, "no, it's called social anxiety." I was just like ??? This is the only time it's mentioned in the whole book, and considering Ivy still hangs out with people outside of school, and walks up and talks to random strangers, I really didn't think...it felt like she had social anxiety? I'm NOT ownvoices so I can't talk about the representation personally but it didn't really sit well with me the way there was that one throwaway line in there.
The lgbtq+ representation was questionable too, in my opinion. There is a significant amount of talk about a homophobic hate post online, but the actual consequences and implications of that post were never really mentioned. It was more like, this post is so homophobic it's disgusting what an internet troll omg horrible! There's also talk of the formation of a Pride Club, and talk of it being a good thing, but we never actually experience a pride club meeting or get to see firsthand why? Also, Ivy outs someone she thinks (but doesn't know) is gay in front of a huge crowd without ever talking to him about whether he wants to come out... The main character is straight, she crushes on/loves boys. There are no lgbt relationships in this book. Yet lgbtq+ themes (for lack of a better word) took up a significant part of the plot. It's like, let's just have straight people talk about lgbtq+ people without actually showing lgbtq+ people? Idk if that made sense, but overall it was just very iffy.
1.5 stars
There were definitely some interesting and important conversations about social media and internet privacy. A significant part of the novel concerns the decision of whether or not the identity of someone who makes a hateful post should be allowed to be revealed, something which Ivy is very passionate about, and even makes comments about freedom of speech and being allowed to post whatever you want even if it can be considered "hate speech." For the most part, I definitely enjoyed this commentary.
I also really loved the emphasis on art that this book had. It was so clear from the start and throughout how much Ivy loved and cared about art. Her passion really shone through the writing, and I could really imagine some of her pieces of art.
The whole premise was definitely unique and an interesting concept to tackle, but it ultimately wasn't my favorite thing to read, and did feel rather contrived and unrealistic. It was about a new app called VEIL that allows people to share their artwork anonymously with the people within a five mile radius of them, that completely overtakes the school, and blows up to become the next big thing that everyone is infatuated with. For example:
--I had a hard time believing that everyone could become so obsessed with it so quickly, especially with other social media sites out there like Instagram where people can still share their art anonymously, as long as they don't use their real name or picture when they sign up on the site? I mean, I post my reviews here with a fake name it's not like this is exactly a revolutionary concept?
--Also not to sound like a cynic but I have a hard time believing so many people care about art and post and look at art lmao; I'm sure it would be popular among artists but for basically everyone in the entire school (and beyond) to be obsessed with it is a bit of a reach?
--The fact everyone from Ivy's high school and nobody else seems to be on it is a bit strange? Yeah, it's within a five mile radius, but the people living in my neighborhood can funnel to like two high schools and three middle schools, not to mention a bunch older 20 or 30 somethings who would probably be using the app if teens were?
--Concerning the hate mentioned above, the fact that so much of the plot and so much angst and scandal (for lack of a better word) revolves around one troll post is a bit unbelievable. I mean, let's be real; as much as we want the internet to be a place of only positivity, there is bound to be hate and hurtful posts, and it's unrealistic that after months, there is only one hateful post.
--This was kind of small but I don't get why Ivy was constantly taking photographs of VEIL posts with her film camera and then being worried that people would find them and judge her? It's established that she likes to shoot in film, which is cool, but I don't understand why she wouldn't just take a screenshot here? Does she never use her phone camera?
Ivy herself was also a pretty annoying and unlikable character. For one thing, she literally never supports her "best friend" Harold in his 1092384234o clubs, or even really cares about what he's doing when he's trying his hardest to get into an elite college. We're told repeatedly that the two of them are best friends, but I never see that or see why? It's established that Ivy is shy, but you can't even passively sit at one club meeting? She also repeatedly complains that her parents don't care about her art, and mentions how annoyed she is that her parents never sent her to art camp even though she never mentions it herself? I mean...are you mad at them for not being mind readers? Particularly since she's supposedly so shy, they might think that she wouldn't even like art camp because it would require leaving the house and being social (that would be me lmao). Finally, what really annoyed me was the fact that she really cared so much about protecting internet privacy, while at the same time trying to discern the identities of VEIL posters? I mean, hypocrite much?
I felt really iffy about the diversity and representation in this book. At one point, Ivy is talking to someone about being shy, and she's like "it's called being shy" and the person is like, "no, it's called social anxiety." I was just like ??? This is the only time it's mentioned in the whole book, and considering Ivy still hangs out with people outside of school, and walks up and talks to random strangers, I really didn't think...it felt like she had social anxiety? I'm NOT ownvoices so I can't talk about the representation personally but it didn't really sit well with me the way there was that one throwaway line in there.
The lgbtq+ representation was questionable too, in my opinion. There is a significant amount of talk about a homophobic hate post online, but the actual consequences and implications of that post were never really mentioned. It was more like, this post is so homophobic it's disgusting what an internet troll omg horrible! There's also talk of the formation of a Pride Club, and talk of it being a good thing, but we never actually experience a pride club meeting or get to see firsthand why? Also, Ivy outs someone she thinks (but doesn't know) is gay in front of a huge crowd without ever talking to him about whether he wants to come out... The main character is straight, she crushes on/loves boys. There are no lgbt relationships in this book. Yet lgbtq+ themes (for lack of a better word) took up a significant part of the plot. It's like, let's just have straight people talk about lgbtq+ people without actually showing lgbtq+ people? Idk if that made sense, but overall it was just very iffy.
1.5 stars
November 21, 2019
I got an advanced copy from Eldeweiss Plus to review, before getting a physical copy to get signed by the author at a festival.
What drew me to the book was the art app after seeing the trailer for the book.
I loved Ivy and enjoyed reading about the art aspect of the book, and her working to discover the VEIL users identities and doing surprise anonymous acts of kindness to them. I even liked it when one of the acts went wrong, becoming a story that could happen in real life because real life isn't perfect.
I could see and feel Ivy's struggle/journey to feel more accepting of being able to show her art, and her struggles with figuring out her feelings towards her best friend, Harold, and a school classmate, Nate.
The story is full of art, learning confidence, and trying to understand one's self. It's a good read for teens. You ART to pick up this book.
What drew me to the book was the art app after seeing the trailer for the book.
I loved Ivy and enjoyed reading about the art aspect of the book, and her working to discover the VEIL users identities and doing surprise anonymous acts of kindness to them. I even liked it when one of the acts went wrong, becoming a story that could happen in real life because real life isn't perfect.
I could see and feel Ivy's struggle/journey to feel more accepting of being able to show her art, and her struggles with figuring out her feelings towards her best friend, Harold, and a school classmate, Nate.
The story is full of art, learning confidence, and trying to understand one's self. It's a good read for teens. You ART to pick up this book.
May 18, 2019
Not terrible but not great.
Ivy is an artist who loves a social media site called VEIL. It allows people to post their art anonymously and while she doesn't post anything herself, she figures out who some of the posters are and plans to "surprise them" with things she thinks they need. When an anonymous person starts posting homophobic rhetoric, parents become involved and pressure the creator to reveal who the poster is.
That would be enough for most books but the main part of the story is how Ivy figures out what each poster is missing in their lives and tries to fix it for them. She makes a lot of mistakes which turn her into a social pariah but it all gets neatly wrapped up in a couple of chapters. I found it rushed and I didn't understand how Ivy ends up with the person she does romantically; we don't learn anything about the guy in the first 75% of the book that makes us think Ivy should pursue him.
I would give it a miss
Ivy is an artist who loves a social media site called VEIL. It allows people to post their art anonymously and while she doesn't post anything herself, she figures out who some of the posters are and plans to "surprise them" with things she thinks they need. When an anonymous person starts posting homophobic rhetoric, parents become involved and pressure the creator to reveal who the poster is.
That would be enough for most books but the main part of the story is how Ivy figures out what each poster is missing in their lives and tries to fix it for them. She makes a lot of mistakes which turn her into a social pariah but it all gets neatly wrapped up in a couple of chapters. I found it rushed and I didn't understand how Ivy ends up with the person she does romantically; we don't learn anything about the guy in the first 75% of the book that makes us think Ivy should pursue him.
I would give it a miss
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2020
Tell Me Everything is a contemporary romance.....and oh was it good!
I love how the plot starts and ends nicely. The fact that it also included a pride club and standing up for gay people made it all the better. There was more friendship, then romance in the beginning, but it started picking up as you read. Ivy was just a shy girl who wanted to show her art to the world, but didn't know how. I loved Harold and Nate both, but I think we needed to see Harold a little more. I get that it was supposed to be portrayed like that so you could feel how much Ivy missed her best friend, but I don't know we needed more of him. The random acts of kindness touched my heart and filled me with glee. The twist with Nate was unexpected, which is something I loved. :)
I give this book a remarkable 3.7!
I love how the plot starts and ends nicely. The fact that it also included a pride club and standing up for gay people made it all the better. There was more friendship, then romance in the beginning, but it started picking up as you read. Ivy was just a shy girl who wanted to show her art to the world, but didn't know how. I loved Harold and Nate both, but I think we needed to see Harold a little more. I get that it was supposed to be portrayed like that so you could feel how much Ivy missed her best friend, but I don't know we needed more of him. The random acts of kindness touched my heart and filled me with glee. The twist with Nate was unexpected, which is something I loved. :)
I give this book a remarkable 3.7!
November 2, 2018
Tell Me Everything follows sophomore Ivy who is a shy artist except for when she decides to get into everyone’s business, doing “good” deeds for people whose identities she figured out (or thinks she has) from posts to an anonymous art-sharing app similar to Yik Yak or After School. This culminates in her deciding her best friend is gay and throwing a coming out party for him because she thinks he hasn’t felt supported enough by her to tell her so obviously the solution is to kind of out him. She realizes this was wrong, of course, but is this, a book with a straight main character learning it’s really awful to out someone, the sort of book we need in 2019? I don’t think so.
March 5, 2019
Have you ever felt, even before you've read something, like it was written just for you? That is how this book felt to me. Not only did I feel this way when I heard about this book, and when I waited for it, and when I ordered it, but I felt that way when I read it. This book felt like it was written just for my teen self. I felt every feeling Ivy feels. I felt every feeling Harold feels. If you were to merge the two of them into one person, that person would be me when I was in high school. And this book felt both so real and so timely to what it is like to live now, with social media, but it also felt like how it feels to be someone who is scared to share who they are with the world. Reading it felt like how it feels to wait for someone to look at a piece of art you've made and pass judgment on it. It felt like that feeling you have when you close your eyes and you don't know what they are going to think about that piece of art and you're a pile of nerves. It felt like all of the good intentions we have to do the right thing and how, quite often, we fall short. But most of all it felt like Ivy understood what it feels like to be an artist and Harold understood what it feels like to feel like you have so many expectations to live up to that you don't know if you can ever reach them. I loved this book so much. It gave me vibes of Tanuja Desai Hidier's Born Confused and how it felt to read that for the first time when I was a teenager. This book made me feel seen as a creative person. I might have cried when the book ended, just because it felt so perfect.
September 6, 2020
Tell Me Everything is pure joy.
Not only does Jeff Goldblum make an appearance (his movies at least, which are not just watched chronologically and then reverse chronologically), Thor:Ragnarok is "watched for the dozenth time."
Ivy and Harold "work together, in a yin-and-yang way. Opposites attract and all that."
In this young adult fiction, "a timely examination of social media and the importance of self expression," says Courtney Summers, NYT bestselling author of "Sadie," Tell Me Everything, is clearly Ivy's show.
Ivy is a shy artist who gravitates toward VEIL, the new anonymous art-sharing app, when her best friend Harold departs for what Ivy playfully calls "Smarty-Pants Camp."
As adults we fear the effects of social media and we, along with Ivy's parents, continue to agonize; however it may be just as important to trust your child - easy for me to say, I don't have children - but Ivy is an astute observer whose insight and empathy finds her in hot water with her family, her best friend and classmates, but she's so well meaning and earnest, she is quickly forgiven.
I loved her character.
Perhaps it's because I've read so much adult drama, suspense, and psychological thrillers, that it was just as thrilling to be taken back, even if it's just for a quick stop in youthful pragmatic idealism.
Not only does Jeff Goldblum make an appearance (his movies at least, which are not just watched chronologically and then reverse chronologically), Thor:Ragnarok is "watched for the dozenth time."
Ivy and Harold "work together, in a yin-and-yang way. Opposites attract and all that."
In this young adult fiction, "a timely examination of social media and the importance of self expression," says Courtney Summers, NYT bestselling author of "Sadie," Tell Me Everything, is clearly Ivy's show.
Ivy is a shy artist who gravitates toward VEIL, the new anonymous art-sharing app, when her best friend Harold departs for what Ivy playfully calls "Smarty-Pants Camp."
As adults we fear the effects of social media and we, along with Ivy's parents, continue to agonize; however it may be just as important to trust your child - easy for me to say, I don't have children - but Ivy is an astute observer whose insight and empathy finds her in hot water with her family, her best friend and classmates, but she's so well meaning and earnest, she is quickly forgiven.
I loved her character.
Perhaps it's because I've read so much adult drama, suspense, and psychological thrillers, that it was just as thrilling to be taken back, even if it's just for a quick stop in youthful pragmatic idealism.
July 9, 2021
Huge points off for yet ANOTHER secret teen photographer genius. At least she allegedly painted too?
This character was a spoiled brat. And an entitled brat. And kind of an asshole.
Harold was so random and unbelievable. Stop trying to make Harold happen. He was literally not there for the majority of the book. Show, not tell, dude. You can’t have a supposedly major character mostly be described and show up in like three scenes. And then magic poof reveal? Quite literally unbelievable.
I really enjoyed the Nate storyline, that felt real and believable. The twist at the end I did not see coming and that felt forced. The fakeout first half of the twist I felt actually fit the characters better.
The whole app thing I just found odd and I am bad at articulating so I don’t know exactly why. “Oh I’m so shy but I’m also an artistic genius and I’m so protective of this random app and I feel so strongly about the first amendment.” Or like that whole thing was Trying To Make a Statement About Society.
The whole outing people/secrets was more asshole behavior. Again, this character was not very likable.
This character was a spoiled brat. And an entitled brat. And kind of an asshole.
Harold was so random and unbelievable. Stop trying to make Harold happen. He was literally not there for the majority of the book. Show, not tell, dude. You can’t have a supposedly major character mostly be described and show up in like three scenes. And then magic poof reveal? Quite literally unbelievable.
I really enjoyed the Nate storyline, that felt real and believable. The twist at the end I did not see coming and that felt forced. The fakeout first half of the twist I felt actually fit the characters better.
The whole app thing I just found odd and I am bad at articulating so I don’t know exactly why. “Oh I’m so shy but I’m also an artistic genius and I’m so protective of this random app and I feel so strongly about the first amendment.” Or like that whole thing was Trying To Make a Statement About Society.
The whole outing people/secrets was more asshole behavior. Again, this character was not very likable.
March 4, 2022
I liked how it was in first person present tense, almost like a diary. Except it wasn't. There were things like cuz outside of text that were just in Ivy's thoughts, and she used brand names like Etsy and Ebay that I don't normally see in books (although that might be because I don't read realistic-fiction a lot) that give it a sense of realism. I feel like Sarah Enni really got into the head of this teenage girl. I also love (partly because I can relate to it) how she represented shy. Shy, how I think of it, the base is that you are afraid to approach new people. It doesn't always mean you don't want new friends. Someone might see a person as quiet and a "social outcast" but they have a very different personality from what is expected. They could be loud or funny or weird or smart, but only their friends notice because they are too shy to go out and make new friends. This is pretty much Ivy, and I love that.
August 23, 2019
This was a really charming book that felt very authentically teen to me. I like that the main character was struggling with self-esteem and felt unable to share her art with people, but despite this the book wasn’t sad at all it was just real and full of many many charming details. It’s nice to read a YA novel that isn’t about magic or fantasy or anything too dark and gritty. It was just about a teen trying to grow up while making some cringe worthy assumptions and mistakes.
I also appreciated the inclusion of art and people making art. More of this !!
I also appreciated the inclusion of art and people making art. More of this !!
December 2, 2019
Oh man. How could I not give a 5 star rating to a book that tugged at my heart strings and made me feel warm and fuzzy throughout?
I don’t read YA often and this only came across my radar after listening to The Stacks podcast. I think this is a wonderful exploration of social media, the good the bad and the ugly. I’m glad something like this exists for young adults. I loved Ivy so much and I was really rooting for her. By chapter 26 I was REALLY screaming into my pillow and saying shit shit shit!!!!
I don’t read YA often and this only came across my radar after listening to The Stacks podcast. I think this is a wonderful exploration of social media, the good the bad and the ugly. I’m glad something like this exists for young adults. I loved Ivy so much and I was really rooting for her. By chapter 26 I was REALLY screaming into my pillow and saying shit shit shit!!!!
February 23, 2019
Thank you to Edelweiss and Scholastic for the advance Kindle copy of this 2.26.19 release. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️💫/5 for this cautionary social media tale. Over the course of a summer, Liv becomes absorbed by a new app called Veil, where users can post their art temporarily for users within 5 miles to see. Afraid to put her art on the app, Liv instead obsessed over others’ contributions. When school starts and she begins to figure out the identity of some contributors, she (misguidedly) tries to show them support. This backfires, causing a lot of heartache. While the premise of the book is interesting, the execution left something to be desired. I found myself cringing over Liv’s choices. Still, middle school readers may be drawn by the premise.
•
⭐️⭐️💫/5 for this cautionary social media tale. Over the course of a summer, Liv becomes absorbed by a new app called Veil, where users can post their art temporarily for users within 5 miles to see. Afraid to put her art on the app, Liv instead obsessed over others’ contributions. When school starts and she begins to figure out the identity of some contributors, she (misguidedly) tries to show them support. This backfires, causing a lot of heartache. While the premise of the book is interesting, the execution left something to be desired. I found myself cringing over Liv’s choices. Still, middle school readers may be drawn by the premise.
August 16, 2019
I have no clue how to rate YA. It’s a cute book. I was way ahead of it, but I’m not 13. The author confronts some really interesting ideas like privacy and being a spectator vs a part of society through the lens of social media, but there are also lots of tropes around artists and queerness. It’s a fast read and it goes down smooth.
March 21, 2020
Actual Rating: 3.75
This book has an interesting plot but I sometimes can't relate to Ivy, the main character. I like the story, but there were some cringe-worthy moments. Ivy has a really big heart, even though she can messes sometimes. It was a quick read and a pretty enjoyable one.
This book has an interesting plot but I sometimes can't relate to Ivy, the main character. I like the story, but there were some cringe-worthy moments. Ivy has a really big heart, even though she can messes sometimes. It was a quick read and a pretty enjoyable one.
May 30, 2025
I really loved the premise of the book. VEIL is an anonymous hyperlocal image sharing app, which wipes itself clean every week. Ivy is a sophomore in high school who spends her entire summer vacation obsessing over the images posted on the app. Though she is an extremely talented photographer, she is unable to get herself to post any of her work on the app. After she accidentally discovers the identity of two people who post regularly on the app, she makes it her mission to track down other people and try to acknowledge their work though a grand gesture of her own.
However, try as I did, I couldn't bring myself to like the book as much as I should have. While Ivy started out as a very sympathetic character, at some point she crossed over to being almost self obsessed. Also, while one understood that the intention was to debate the meaning of freedom on expression on social media, the positions taken by Ivy seemed almost extreme. Yes, anonymity does empower people to share their deepest thoughts without fear of judgement, but does the right to free speech remain when it actively hurts another?
The conclusion was what one would expect in a book of this nature, but my overall feeling was of being let down. The topic deserves more nuance than this book provided.
However, try as I did, I couldn't bring myself to like the book as much as I should have. While Ivy started out as a very sympathetic character, at some point she crossed over to being almost self obsessed. Also, while one understood that the intention was to debate the meaning of freedom on expression on social media, the positions taken by Ivy seemed almost extreme. Yes, anonymity does empower people to share their deepest thoughts without fear of judgement, but does the right to free speech remain when it actively hurts another?
The conclusion was what one would expect in a book of this nature, but my overall feeling was of being let down. The topic deserves more nuance than this book provided.
July 13, 2019
Well told story. Recommended.
October 26, 2022
I was a little skeptical about this book, I read the back and was like yeah this seems cool.. and plus it was only $2.99. Though I really enjoyed it. I loved the character Ivy. And everything just kept giving me ideas for art. It’s a cute book and I’d def read it again.
April 21, 2019
Find my full review here: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yaficti...
TELL ME EVERYTHING follows Ivy, beginning the summer before her sophomore year. Ivy’s parents are ecologists, and her passion for art feels out of their realm. However, Ivy does not really challenge herself and them, and she chooses to stay in the shadows. At the beginning of summer, she says goodbye to her best friend, Harold, and she feels like they have A Moment.
When Harold goes to an intellectual camp, Ivy is left to her own devices. And her device has been stalking VEIL, an anonymous app where users can post their art. VEIL gives you a feed of users within 5 miles of your current location and its algorithm blurs out any faces or names in the art or words. Every Sunday, the app is completely wiped and begins anew the next day. As anew app, the users are primarily high school students, but the anonymity ensures that no one will know who they are. Ivy stalks the feed, but she never makes her own posts.
After someone posts a hateful and homophobic rant on VEIL, parents, the school, and many students begin a debate about the anonymity and needing students to answer for such posts. Ivy is in fierce defense of anonymity, although she does not agree with the post. To counter the students who are thinking about no longer using the app, Ivy decides to perform random acts of kindness for the people whose identity she can figure out. As Ivy performs these acts, she learns the value of anonymity or not and comes to some realizations about assumptions and her own responsibilities in that context.
What I loved: There are some intriguing discussions of art and its value in different contexts. This applies not only to Ivy’s art but that of the other students. The use of the internet is also something relevant to the YA audience and looks at a few sides of the app lightly (though this debate is rather simplified through Ivy’s point-of-view). Ivy’s parents are really amazing, and it’s always wonderful to see parents in YA who are really understanding, supportive, and there for their kids.
What left me wanting more: I would have liked more discussion of the plus/minuses of such apps in the internet context to really understand the side of anonymity (other sides are well voiced but Ivy finds this hard to articulate). The book tends to meander with the acts of kindness, Ivy’s new friendship, and her search for her art. I would have liked a more focused story as well as more Ivy/Harold- the scenes we do get with Harold were really strong, but they felt a little too few and far between, particularly in the middle of the book.
Final verdict: Overall, this is an interesting discussion of art and the internet. Targeted to the YA audience, this book fits well with some additional context of apps and wise usage as well as how to be a good friend/ally. Recommend for contemporary YA lovers who are looking for something unique.
TELL ME EVERYTHING follows Ivy, beginning the summer before her sophomore year. Ivy’s parents are ecologists, and her passion for art feels out of their realm. However, Ivy does not really challenge herself and them, and she chooses to stay in the shadows. At the beginning of summer, she says goodbye to her best friend, Harold, and she feels like they have A Moment.
When Harold goes to an intellectual camp, Ivy is left to her own devices. And her device has been stalking VEIL, an anonymous app where users can post their art. VEIL gives you a feed of users within 5 miles of your current location and its algorithm blurs out any faces or names in the art or words. Every Sunday, the app is completely wiped and begins anew the next day. As anew app, the users are primarily high school students, but the anonymity ensures that no one will know who they are. Ivy stalks the feed, but she never makes her own posts.
After someone posts a hateful and homophobic rant on VEIL, parents, the school, and many students begin a debate about the anonymity and needing students to answer for such posts. Ivy is in fierce defense of anonymity, although she does not agree with the post. To counter the students who are thinking about no longer using the app, Ivy decides to perform random acts of kindness for the people whose identity she can figure out. As Ivy performs these acts, she learns the value of anonymity or not and comes to some realizations about assumptions and her own responsibilities in that context.
What I loved: There are some intriguing discussions of art and its value in different contexts. This applies not only to Ivy’s art but that of the other students. The use of the internet is also something relevant to the YA audience and looks at a few sides of the app lightly (though this debate is rather simplified through Ivy’s point-of-view). Ivy’s parents are really amazing, and it’s always wonderful to see parents in YA who are really understanding, supportive, and there for their kids.
What left me wanting more: I would have liked more discussion of the plus/minuses of such apps in the internet context to really understand the side of anonymity (other sides are well voiced but Ivy finds this hard to articulate). The book tends to meander with the acts of kindness, Ivy’s new friendship, and her search for her art. I would have liked a more focused story as well as more Ivy/Harold- the scenes we do get with Harold were really strong, but they felt a little too few and far between, particularly in the middle of the book.
Final verdict: Overall, this is an interesting discussion of art and the internet. Targeted to the YA audience, this book fits well with some additional context of apps and wise usage as well as how to be a good friend/ally. Recommend for contemporary YA lovers who are looking for something unique.
June 18, 2024
This used to be my favorite book, in my youth, but now it’s not, 2.75 to 3 stars. The parents are idiots to rejections saying something like; “Why wouldn’t people want to be seen for their work?” I get their prospective with the homophobic post, but them thinking everyone wants credit, without fear of rejection is dumb. Harold can be annoying as crap sometimes, through his parents are the worst. Who puts all this pressure on a sophomore in high school? Good gosh it’s like they are just buzzkills. And I just wanted to flip through because moments got boring sometimes.
Honestly I half DNF it, but I have read it so many times I remember a lot. Basically a good thing for teens just not for adults. But the writing is amazing.
Honestly I half DNF it, but I have read it so many times I remember a lot. Basically a good thing for teens just not for adults. But the writing is amazing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2019
I loved this book. I was worried I was not going to love this book (because I love Sarah Enni, First Draft Podcast is fantastic, and I am always concerned I won't love people in a different medium) but I did.
I loved Ivy. I love that Ivy did bad things and she was wrong basically the whole book. Despite her being wrong I could see why she was doing what she was doing, and I was able to see my behavior reflected in hers. I too would use VEIL as a mystery to solve. I think. I also thought she was such a thoughtful portrayal of social anxiety and isolation.
I really liked that we got to see the contradiction in Ivy. She intensely wants VEIL to be this perfect pure place where everyone is anonymous because that makes her feel safe, but she also wants to make peoples posts into a mystery to solve because that makes her feel special and connected to people in a way she cannot do easily in real life. I have seen a few reviews that seem not to think this was intentional, which is confusing because this is basically the thesis of the last 50 pages?
I thought the social media critique was engaging, you can really see how much Enni loves the internet, but she also shows how the internet is not a perfect pure place. If VEIL were real than the list of bad things her dad gives at the end would almost certainly have happened within the first few days and probably everywhere. But I see the use in the way VEIL was used in the book. And I found the idea of VEIL very endearing. Like snapchat and that dead secret-sharing app had a baby?
I loved Harold. He was an excellent best friend and love interest. I 100% know Harolds, and their laser focus is wonderful and worrying. I liked how he was a bit of a foil to Ivy, classic opposites attract situation.
I found Ivy's relationship with her parents deeply touching. I cried during the part where you are meant to cry. I love a YA with good parents.
Nate was also an interesting character. Through him, I was able to see the ways in which I related to Ivy. I was guessing he was the zine person for a minute (this was VERY unfounded) and was continually trying to match him (and Harold to a lesser extent) up to a VEIL user.
I liked reading a book where the main character does things wrong and learns from them. I also love that reading this didn't feel like being lectured; Ivy felt real to me.
tl;dr I love this book. It felt very special to me, and I am so glad I finally read it.
I loved Ivy. I love that Ivy did bad things and she was wrong basically the whole book. Despite her being wrong I could see why she was doing what she was doing, and I was able to see my behavior reflected in hers. I too would use VEIL as a mystery to solve. I think. I also thought she was such a thoughtful portrayal of social anxiety and isolation.
I really liked that we got to see the contradiction in Ivy. She intensely wants VEIL to be this perfect pure place where everyone is anonymous because that makes her feel safe, but she also wants to make peoples posts into a mystery to solve because that makes her feel special and connected to people in a way she cannot do easily in real life. I have seen a few reviews that seem not to think this was intentional, which is confusing because this is basically the thesis of the last 50 pages?
I thought the social media critique was engaging, you can really see how much Enni loves the internet, but she also shows how the internet is not a perfect pure place. If VEIL were real than the list of bad things her dad gives at the end would almost certainly have happened within the first few days and probably everywhere. But I see the use in the way VEIL was used in the book. And I found the idea of VEIL very endearing. Like snapchat and that dead secret-sharing app had a baby?
I loved Harold. He was an excellent best friend and love interest. I 100% know Harolds, and their laser focus is wonderful and worrying. I liked how he was a bit of a foil to Ivy, classic opposites attract situation.
I found Ivy's relationship with her parents deeply touching. I cried during the part where you are meant to cry. I love a YA with good parents.
Nate was also an interesting character. Through him, I was able to see the ways in which I related to Ivy. I was guessing he was the zine person for a minute (this was VERY unfounded) and was continually trying to match him (and Harold to a lesser extent) up to a VEIL user.
I liked reading a book where the main character does things wrong and learns from them. I also love that reading this didn't feel like being lectured; Ivy felt real to me.
tl;dr I love this book. It felt very special to me, and I am so glad I finally read it.
April 28, 2019
I really liked Tell Me Everything! I was definitely intrigued and I wasn't sure what to expect but I definitely got pulled into Ivy's world.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Ivy, and Harold was definitely more supportive than she was with him. It was hard to like her, and it felt like she didn't give people a lot of chances. She's definitely of those characters who needs one friend and no one else. Hopefully, she's more open and willing to give people a chance at the end of the book.
I feel like she made a lot of progress throughout the book. I think Ivy had good intentions and I really do think she meant well, but at the same time, the app was anonymous for a reason. People shared things to the app for a reason, and I was bothered by how she tried to figure out who people were. It had some major consequences for her, and she really did have to decide what was important to her. At least she realized that she hurt people with what she did, and before it was too late.
The app was pretty cool, and it reminded me a lot of PostSecret but tied to a specific location. I don't know if that's where Enni got her inspiration from but that did cross my mind as a possibility. I really wish we had seen some of the art from the app. I know art doesn't pop up in YA but if we can get texts and letters and emails, I don't know why we couldn't get a few pictures. It would have been really interesting to see the things that inspired Ivy, and it would have been a nice addition to the book.
For a lot of the book, I thought there was going to be a love triangle. It definitely seemed like that was a possibility, but it never happened. Romance is hinted at, but it wasn't really a thing in the book, and I actually really liked that. I don't really have anything else to say about romance, but I did want to through that out there.
My Rating: 4 stars. I really liked Tell Me Everything, but I didn't love it. It was hard to completely get behind Ivy, even though I understood why she did what she did.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Ivy, and Harold was definitely more supportive than she was with him. It was hard to like her, and it felt like she didn't give people a lot of chances. She's definitely of those characters who needs one friend and no one else. Hopefully, she's more open and willing to give people a chance at the end of the book.
I feel like she made a lot of progress throughout the book. I think Ivy had good intentions and I really do think she meant well, but at the same time, the app was anonymous for a reason. People shared things to the app for a reason, and I was bothered by how she tried to figure out who people were. It had some major consequences for her, and she really did have to decide what was important to her. At least she realized that she hurt people with what she did, and before it was too late.
The app was pretty cool, and it reminded me a lot of PostSecret but tied to a specific location. I don't know if that's where Enni got her inspiration from but that did cross my mind as a possibility. I really wish we had seen some of the art from the app. I know art doesn't pop up in YA but if we can get texts and letters and emails, I don't know why we couldn't get a few pictures. It would have been really interesting to see the things that inspired Ivy, and it would have been a nice addition to the book.
For a lot of the book, I thought there was going to be a love triangle. It definitely seemed like that was a possibility, but it never happened. Romance is hinted at, but it wasn't really a thing in the book, and I actually really liked that. I don't really have anything else to say about romance, but I did want to through that out there.
My Rating: 4 stars. I really liked Tell Me Everything, but I didn't love it. It was hard to completely get behind Ivy, even though I understood why she did what she did.
October 11, 2022
I love Sarah Enni from her podcast "First Draft." I was lucky enough to meet her at a book event, where I was able to pick up a copy of this book. Not only did I get it signed, but I got to talk to her for a few minutes, which was delightful!
I want to preface my review with that, because I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped. It was still good, and I still enjoyed it! I just hoped I would like it more. It felt like young YA, which I guess I wasn't expecting. I also maybe just didn't know what to expect of the book as a whole, and when you're reading an author that you're already predisposed to like, if the book isn't quite what you wanted, it can be a little disappointing. But again, that's not to say I didn't like the book.
It was a really interesting look at social media and the impact it has on people. Also, a fascinating look at anonymity and the things you feel like you can do when you don't have the pressure of people knowing who you are. And this applies to both the good and the bad!
Early on in the book, someone posts a hateful message (hate speech, specifically) on Ivy's favorite anonymous social media app VEIL. Because of this, the app starts getting looked into more by the adults of the community, and some of the people who were posting beautiful art, stop posting. This is one of the main premises of the book, because Ivy loves the art that people are creating without the pressure of revealing their identities. The art moves her. And while she's a shy photographer herself, she begins feeling hopeful that she could one day post something beautiful like these other people. So, she tries to encourage some of the anonymous posters (whose identities she discovers through observation) to continue with their art, and some of them find courage in that!
Of course Ivy makes some wrong assumptions and things crash down, as they're apt to do. But, while Ivy is disgusted by the original hate speech that was posted, she finds hope, inspiration, and encouragement through this anonymous app. In an age where social media often rules our lives, this is a very interesting and poignant look at what these apps can mean to different people.
I want to preface my review with that, because I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped. It was still good, and I still enjoyed it! I just hoped I would like it more. It felt like young YA, which I guess I wasn't expecting. I also maybe just didn't know what to expect of the book as a whole, and when you're reading an author that you're already predisposed to like, if the book isn't quite what you wanted, it can be a little disappointing. But again, that's not to say I didn't like the book.
It was a really interesting look at social media and the impact it has on people. Also, a fascinating look at anonymity and the things you feel like you can do when you don't have the pressure of people knowing who you are. And this applies to both the good and the bad!
Early on in the book, someone posts a hateful message (hate speech, specifically) on Ivy's favorite anonymous social media app VEIL. Because of this, the app starts getting looked into more by the adults of the community, and some of the people who were posting beautiful art, stop posting. This is one of the main premises of the book, because Ivy loves the art that people are creating without the pressure of revealing their identities. The art moves her. And while she's a shy photographer herself, she begins feeling hopeful that she could one day post something beautiful like these other people. So, she tries to encourage some of the anonymous posters (whose identities she discovers through observation) to continue with their art, and some of them find courage in that!
Of course Ivy makes some wrong assumptions and things crash down, as they're apt to do. But, while Ivy is disgusted by the original hate speech that was posted, she finds hope, inspiration, and encouragement through this anonymous app. In an age where social media often rules our lives, this is a very interesting and poignant look at what these apps can mean to different people.
March 17, 2019
I thought that the concept behind this book was really cool, and I liked the fact that the protagonist was artistic, but I felt like VEIL wasn't the most realistic app. I started thinking about what it would look like if Instagram was anonymous and I started saying to myself how cool that would be. Yes, there'd still be lots of bullying and negative comments but I feel the point of an anonymous app is that everything and everyone on there should stay anonymous. I felt like when the homophobic post was posted, the person behind that shouldn't have been revealed. I felt like VEIL should've just taken the post down, emailed them and explained to them why they took it down. It wasn't needed to reveal who that person is to the rest of the community. Even though that person was being rude, there's no need to invade their privacy.
Speaking of how things on an anonymous app should stay anonymous, I felt like Ivy should've respected the people's privacy around her. I understand that her gifts were just supposed to be random acts of kindness and some people did take it that way but people posted on VEIL instead of on Facebook or Instagram because they wanted their secrets to be anonymous for a reason. Although I do think that Ivy is still a realistic character because there will be people out there on social media who are stalker-ish and try to find out who you are even (and especially) if you don't want them to.
So, overall, I liked the concept behind this book but I didn't really like Ivy as a lead character. I would not recommend this book.
Speaking of how things on an anonymous app should stay anonymous, I felt like Ivy should've respected the people's privacy around her. I understand that her gifts were just supposed to be random acts of kindness and some people did take it that way but people posted on VEIL instead of on Facebook or Instagram because they wanted their secrets to be anonymous for a reason. Although I do think that Ivy is still a realistic character because there will be people out there on social media who are stalker-ish and try to find out who you are even (and especially) if you don't want them to.
So, overall, I liked the concept behind this book but I didn't really like Ivy as a lead character. I would not recommend this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2019
Tell Me Everything by Sarah Enni, 276 pages. Scholastic Press (Scholastic), 2019. $17.99
Language: PG13 (16 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Ivy is an artist—something most people know—but what Ivy keeps secret are the pieces she makes. Surrounded by so much good art, how can hers compare? Instead of putting out her own photographs to be criticized, Ivy decides to thank others for their art—but there is a line between doing something kind for the artist and doing what Ivy believes is best for the artist. Can kindness be unkind?
Several messages and morals pierced my heart as I read Tell Me Everything (rights to speech and art and kindness; everyone is going through something; put yourself out there), so many that I wonder what you will get out of the book if you read it. I connected so well with Ivy because I feel and understand some of her fears; the validation in knowing that I am not alone in my thinking helps me feel that it is okay to be who I am. However, finishing this book was difficult for me because I felt that Enni let me down in the last 70 pages of Ivy’s story. There is what feels like an unnatural shift in events, and I nearly stopped reading because I didn’t want to watch what was going to happen. And then the ending felt different, less real, less plausible than the rest of the book.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Language: PG13 (16 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Ivy is an artist—something most people know—but what Ivy keeps secret are the pieces she makes. Surrounded by so much good art, how can hers compare? Instead of putting out her own photographs to be criticized, Ivy decides to thank others for their art—but there is a line between doing something kind for the artist and doing what Ivy believes is best for the artist. Can kindness be unkind?
Several messages and morals pierced my heart as I read Tell Me Everything (rights to speech and art and kindness; everyone is going through something; put yourself out there), so many that I wonder what you will get out of the book if you read it. I connected so well with Ivy because I feel and understand some of her fears; the validation in knowing that I am not alone in my thinking helps me feel that it is okay to be who I am. However, finishing this book was difficult for me because I felt that Enni let me down in the last 70 pages of Ivy’s story. There is what feels like an unnatural shift in events, and I nearly stopped reading because I didn’t want to watch what was going to happen. And then the ending felt different, less real, less plausible than the rest of the book.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews