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Projection
No one types anything anymore. You simply think it, and it appears on the page. Sharing a memory with friends is as easy as recalling and sending it to a screen. The ubiquitous chip implanted in everyone’s wrist has made interaction with technology seamless and natural, almost making our tech an extension of ourselves. What happens when it goes wrong?Emma Johnson has enough problems. School, boys, and her firm-yet-aloof dad are enough to keep her on her toes. But everything falls apart when her most embarrassing thoughts and memories start to appear on any device she’s near.Why is this happening? Who can Emma trust?
Kindle Edition
Published October 13, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 25, 2019
First, the premise drew me in instantly. I enjoyed the characters and the story arc. (no spoilers) I would definitely recommend this book to friends!
June 6, 2019
Very interesting technology that seems like it could totally happen. It is definitely a page turner, I enjoyed it very much.
June 13, 2019
Full review here!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Projection was on the whole a well-formed young adult novel that had an interesting story but needed a little more development.
Pros:
- The story was innovative, and I thought the exploration of how technology interfaces with us and might continue to develop was really interesting. I think it was a cool way to delve into that alongside more traditional YA fare.
- Once the story got moving, it moved. There was no slowing down, and I loved the fast pace of discovery and plot through the middle sections into the end.
Cons:
- There were some minor grammatical burrs through the first third, as well as some clunky dialogue/overdescription.
- Doubts about plausibility started for me in the middle section, with instances like "why are this girl's parents still letting her attend school when she's plastering whatever thoughts cross her mind to every TV in sight". It was difficult for me to not see things like that as a way to keep the plot moving, regardless of how it would play out in reality.
- Those plausibility doubts were thrown into overdrive with the ending. I don't feel that there was enough time given to character development to justify some of the events and twists and personality shifts that happened in the last few chapters. And with the rest of the story based off those same events and twists and personality shifts, it made me doubt the whole construct.
On the whole, I think Projection is a really interesting YA book that's pretty well-written and asks a lot of questions that you don't often see asked in the genre. I enjoyed reading it a lot more than I thought I would, after the first few chapters, even while I think the ending could have been improved. If you're looking for a read that's light and easy while brushing the surface of dystopian fiction and even horror, I'd recommend giving it a look!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Projection was on the whole a well-formed young adult novel that had an interesting story but needed a little more development.
Pros:
- The story was innovative, and I thought the exploration of how technology interfaces with us and might continue to develop was really interesting. I think it was a cool way to delve into that alongside more traditional YA fare.
- Once the story got moving, it moved. There was no slowing down, and I loved the fast pace of discovery and plot through the middle sections into the end.
Cons:
- There were some minor grammatical burrs through the first third, as well as some clunky dialogue/overdescription.
- Doubts about plausibility started for me in the middle section, with instances like "why are this girl's parents still letting her attend school when she's plastering whatever thoughts cross her mind to every TV in sight". It was difficult for me to not see things like that as a way to keep the plot moving, regardless of how it would play out in reality.
- Those plausibility doubts were thrown into overdrive with the ending. I don't feel that there was enough time given to character development to justify some of the events and twists and personality shifts that happened in the last few chapters. And with the rest of the story based off those same events and twists and personality shifts, it made me doubt the whole construct.
On the whole, I think Projection is a really interesting YA book that's pretty well-written and asks a lot of questions that you don't often see asked in the genre. I enjoyed reading it a lot more than I thought I would, after the first few chapters, even while I think the ending could have been improved. If you're looking for a read that's light and easy while brushing the surface of dystopian fiction and even horror, I'd recommend giving it a look!
September 29, 2024
Strong Premise Lack of Development
I personally wouldn’t recommend this book. It has a strong premise, but ultimately I look for a little more consistent world and character building within a novel.
I personally wouldn’t recommend this book. It has a strong premise, but ultimately I look for a little more consistent world and character building within a novel.
December 28, 2019
Great Youth Science Fiction
I loved the atypical ending! There is a mix of current and future technology that makes you think about the what if....
I loved the atypical ending! There is a mix of current and future technology that makes you think about the what if....
November 8, 2019
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique)
Present-day, there is an RFID chip that people can get placed somewhere in their hand, under the skin, that allows a person to unlock doors. It’s an ID badge of sorts. No one has created a chip that attaches to the nervous system yet, but Elon Musk’s company NEURALINK is working on a prototype that will allow a scientist to manipulate brain synapses. It’s a highly complicated and comprehensive invention, but Elon doesn’t know the word simple.
I can understand the reasoning behind such a device mentioned above. It will help with motor function difficulties. However, I am not 100% behind a chip that allows a person to control apps with a simple mental command. I’m afraid it will malfunction or have adverse health risks if it needs to be removed. These exact two scenarios were discussed at length in Projection.
I’ll admit, there were some pros and cons to the NFC chip in this book, Projection. Projecting memories from vacations and revisiting class discussions was quite nifty. However, displaying private fantasies or misleading memories has to go on the negative pile.
Every day, there are advances in science and technology. Before long, we could all be chipped at birth. What then? When will this madness stop?
As much as I love the advances of science and technology, sometimes I worry about how far people will push the boundaries to make life ‘easier’ for humankind.
Tabatha Shipley (the author) gave us many reasons why some things should not be invented. I know Emma (character) wishes she never received the implant.
Some things are better in the land of fantasy, and this was a great fantasy read.
With that said, I must point out there were several editing errors. If you can overlook them, and I’m sure you can, you’ll discovery a book with a solid plot, likable characters, and top-notch resolution.
(Find more reviews/ratings at www.superkambrook.com)
Present-day, there is an RFID chip that people can get placed somewhere in their hand, under the skin, that allows a person to unlock doors. It’s an ID badge of sorts. No one has created a chip that attaches to the nervous system yet, but Elon Musk’s company NEURALINK is working on a prototype that will allow a scientist to manipulate brain synapses. It’s a highly complicated and comprehensive invention, but Elon doesn’t know the word simple.
I can understand the reasoning behind such a device mentioned above. It will help with motor function difficulties. However, I am not 100% behind a chip that allows a person to control apps with a simple mental command. I’m afraid it will malfunction or have adverse health risks if it needs to be removed. These exact two scenarios were discussed at length in Projection.
I’ll admit, there were some pros and cons to the NFC chip in this book, Projection. Projecting memories from vacations and revisiting class discussions was quite nifty. However, displaying private fantasies or misleading memories has to go on the negative pile.
Every day, there are advances in science and technology. Before long, we could all be chipped at birth. What then? When will this madness stop?
As much as I love the advances of science and technology, sometimes I worry about how far people will push the boundaries to make life ‘easier’ for humankind.
Tabatha Shipley (the author) gave us many reasons why some things should not be invented. I know Emma (character) wishes she never received the implant.
Some things are better in the land of fantasy, and this was a great fantasy read.
With that said, I must point out there were several editing errors. If you can overlook them, and I’m sure you can, you’ll discovery a book with a solid plot, likable characters, and top-notch resolution.
(Find more reviews/ratings at www.superkambrook.com)
September 2, 2019
It seems lately that I have been reading speculative fiction books that are only slightly off our modern world, where just one or two things are different, but those things create such a different society. When I read the book description, I was very intrigued by the premise. Imagine having tech inside your body that allowed you to project your thoughts to another person or to screens when you wanted to share something. That might be cool when it works properly, but what if it goes haywire, and your random thoughts are just taken from your mind and projected to the entire world?
While I love the premise, I did not like the execution, unfortunately. But first the good. I actually think the author did a good job portraying how teenagers think and act. I could just about recall my own high school moments being similar to what happened in the first chapter—not that I was ever tardy, but rather the way that the other students acted is accurate to reality. Now for the not so good. I think the story had problems with both plot and character. The pacing of the plot was slow to start, but when it picked up, the pacing felt even until the end. The end is hard to describe without giving too much away, but it wasn't properly set up either in terms of plot or character. I also felt like the characters were a bit thin, two-dimensional. I didn't feel like I could relate to them and didn't feel like I truly understood what was going on in the protagonist’s mind even though this book is told in the first-person perspective; we understood her surface thoughts but didn’t get much deeper into her mind or emotions. There are also some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, enough to be mildly distracting. If the premise sounds appealing, you may still enjoy the book if you don't mind these issues.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
While I love the premise, I did not like the execution, unfortunately. But first the good. I actually think the author did a good job portraying how teenagers think and act. I could just about recall my own high school moments being similar to what happened in the first chapter—not that I was ever tardy, but rather the way that the other students acted is accurate to reality. Now for the not so good. I think the story had problems with both plot and character. The pacing of the plot was slow to start, but when it picked up, the pacing felt even until the end. The end is hard to describe without giving too much away, but it wasn't properly set up either in terms of plot or character. I also felt like the characters were a bit thin, two-dimensional. I didn't feel like I could relate to them and didn't feel like I truly understood what was going on in the protagonist’s mind even though this book is told in the first-person perspective; we understood her surface thoughts but didn’t get much deeper into her mind or emotions. There are also some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage, enough to be mildly distracting. If the premise sounds appealing, you may still enjoy the book if you don't mind these issues.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
September 17, 2019
I was given a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of this book intrigued me, but I had some reservations going in. As interesting as the idea of ubiquitous technology backfiring is, I was afraid this would turn into a sermon on how teens post too much on social media.
What I wasn't expecting was some serious intrigue and much more intriguing themes relevant to our modern life. I won't go into what those themes are, as they're tied to reveals late in the book. But I was surprised to find the suspense started ramping up. There was a constant tension, as any screen around the protagonist could start to backfire. Thinking about how much technology we have in the real world, it was easy to relate to Emma's constant jumpiness.
The one drawback to the book was how the the majority of the characters outside of Emma and her friends were fairly two-dimensional highschool stereotypes. However, the three friends at the center of it all were fairly well done. Their chemistry and relationships were there and I enjoyed it. There was also a bit of clunky dialogue, with characters just on this side of straight exposition in places. But no more so than your average YA.
Despite the book's short page count, it feels like it accomplished what it was trying to. Everything isn't too perfectly wrapped up at the end and a sequel *could* be feasible. However, I prefer this as a standalone. It's great for starting a conversation about how much we can rely on the technology around us.
The premise of this book intrigued me, but I had some reservations going in. As interesting as the idea of ubiquitous technology backfiring is, I was afraid this would turn into a sermon on how teens post too much on social media.
What I wasn't expecting was some serious intrigue and much more intriguing themes relevant to our modern life. I won't go into what those themes are, as they're tied to reveals late in the book. But I was surprised to find the suspense started ramping up. There was a constant tension, as any screen around the protagonist could start to backfire. Thinking about how much technology we have in the real world, it was easy to relate to Emma's constant jumpiness.
The one drawback to the book was how the the majority of the characters outside of Emma and her friends were fairly two-dimensional highschool stereotypes. However, the three friends at the center of it all were fairly well done. Their chemistry and relationships were there and I enjoyed it. There was also a bit of clunky dialogue, with characters just on this side of straight exposition in places. But no more so than your average YA.
Despite the book's short page count, it feels like it accomplished what it was trying to. Everything isn't too perfectly wrapped up at the end and a sequel *could* be feasible. However, I prefer this as a standalone. It's great for starting a conversation about how much we can rely on the technology around us.
June 18, 2019
Four stars for YA readers. Three and a half for everyone else.
Projection, a science-fiction novel by Tabatha Shipley, has an interesting premise. What if, by embedded technology, you could project your thoughts on a screen? And what if that same technology glitched and you started showing private memories to the public?
Sixteen-year-old Emma Johnson finds herself in an embarrassing situation of displaying her memories, and sometimes her fantasies, in front of everyone. The malfunctioning chip under her skin is only the start of her experiences, and the story has another innovative idea concerning memories awaiting the reader later.
Emma is a believable and likable person right from page one. Pairing her with a great science-fiction idea set in an “average” family situation and you have an absorbing novel. While I enjoyed reading about Emma and her day-to-day struggles, the book took its time to get to the central idea.
This novel is a worthy addition to your library, and I believe a young adult reader would like it more than I did. If you like science fiction set in a world similar to the one we live in with a nice adventure near the end, you’ll want to pick up Projection.
Projection, a science-fiction novel by Tabatha Shipley, has an interesting premise. What if, by embedded technology, you could project your thoughts on a screen? And what if that same technology glitched and you started showing private memories to the public?
Sixteen-year-old Emma Johnson finds herself in an embarrassing situation of displaying her memories, and sometimes her fantasies, in front of everyone. The malfunctioning chip under her skin is only the start of her experiences, and the story has another innovative idea concerning memories awaiting the reader later.
Emma is a believable and likable person right from page one. Pairing her with a great science-fiction idea set in an “average” family situation and you have an absorbing novel. While I enjoyed reading about Emma and her day-to-day struggles, the book took its time to get to the central idea.
This novel is a worthy addition to your library, and I believe a young adult reader would like it more than I did. If you like science fiction set in a world similar to the one we live in with a nice adventure near the end, you’ll want to pick up Projection.
September 30, 2019
LOVE the premise, story, characters, etc... A delightful easy read that I was once again looking for. And such a unique concept.
Why did I shave that last star off the rating? Because of a couple of obvious and unforgivable typos and formatting mistakes. They just pulled me right out of the story. I waffled way too much about that last star because the ending?... So perfect. I had the feelings.
I absolutely recommend. If there’s ever a second printing without the errors, five stars all the way.
Why did I shave that last star off the rating? Because of a couple of obvious and unforgivable typos and formatting mistakes. They just pulled me right out of the story. I waffled way too much about that last star because the ending?... So perfect. I had the feelings.
I absolutely recommend. If there’s ever a second printing without the errors, five stars all the way.
August 14, 2019
No Spoilers!
This book examines a very possible future where technology has evolved to the point it is embedded into our very nervous system. I loved how the author highlighted the influence of perception and bias on memory. People recalled memories not as they happened, but as they perceived them to happen which was really cool.
I also liked that it was a YA novel about high school students who acted like high school students! Very refreshing.
This book examines a very possible future where technology has evolved to the point it is embedded into our very nervous system. I loved how the author highlighted the influence of perception and bias on memory. People recalled memories not as they happened, but as they perceived them to happen which was really cool.
I also liked that it was a YA novel about high school students who acted like high school students! Very refreshing.
September 29, 2019
This is an interesting read that incorporates futuristic technology in a way that it is similar to magic. The technology appears to be failing in the inventor’s own daughter! This was an enjoyable read from start to finish!
March 22, 2022
Interesting concept that could have been explored in a bit more depth. The characters were serviceable, if not terribly interesting. Overall an enjoyable read, but it needed a bit more oomph to really stand out.
June 13, 2019
I'm now obsessed with this book! Loved it. It's right up my alley. I fully recommend this very original story to all YA lovers. It's edgy, adventurous and fast paced. So incredibly cool.
October 17, 2019
What an interesting look into the future! I loved the story and the possibilities it poses. The anguish of being a teenager with a situation is so real. You need to read this book.
June 16, 2021
Interesting premise
I enjoyed the story but the print was very small and I had to increase the size every page which was annoying
I enjoyed the story but the print was very small and I had to increase the size every page which was annoying
September 29, 2019
This story would be a major nightmare for most teen girls, maybe boys but I know the mind of a girl because I have been one (I am old now). So this story is so close to the nightmare I would have as a young girl! This is such an awesome read! What a great idea for a story, and well-written too. I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews