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Deepfake
What happens when anyone can make a video of you saying anything?
Dara Simons and Will Hochman have everything they've ever wanted. They are the rulers of Greenpoint High's geekdom, overachieving in every way, and it's an intense competition to see who will be valedictorian. One the entire school is invested in. That is, until Rumor Has It, the anonymous gossip site, posts a video of Dara accusing Will of paying someone to take the SAT for him.
When the video goes viral, suddenly Will's being investigated, and everyone's wondering how he pulled off cheating on the SAT. But Dara swears that she didn't say any of those things, which seems a little hard to believe since it's her in the video.
Did Will cheat?
Is it Dara saying he did?
Who's lying, and who's telling the truth?
The answer is more shocking than anyone realizes ...
Dara Simons and Will Hochman have everything they've ever wanted. They are the rulers of Greenpoint High's geekdom, overachieving in every way, and it's an intense competition to see who will be valedictorian. One the entire school is invested in. That is, until Rumor Has It, the anonymous gossip site, posts a video of Dara accusing Will of paying someone to take the SAT for him.
When the video goes viral, suddenly Will's being investigated, and everyone's wondering how he pulled off cheating on the SAT. But Dara swears that she didn't say any of those things, which seems a little hard to believe since it's her in the video.
Did Will cheat?
Is it Dara saying he did?
Who's lying, and who's telling the truth?
The answer is more shocking than anyone realizes ...
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2020
91 people are currently reading
1634 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Darer Littman
16 books526 followersSarah Darer Littman is an award-winning author of books for teens. She lives in Connecticut, in a house that never seems to have enough bookshelves.
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September 8, 2020The basic idea for this book is solid: at a high school where everyone cares about academics, a video spreads of the school's top student saying that her boyfriend, who's also her biggest competition for valedictorian, paid someone else to take the SAT for him... except, she never said that. Now he's being investigated by the College Board, and she needs to clear her name in order to clear his. With the proliferation of deepfake apps, this is a very timely story; most of the apps are limited to entertainment purposes (i.e., putting yourself in the lead role in your favorite movie or TV show), but the fact is that you can fabricate realistic video of anyone saying anything as long as you have a picture and an audio clip of their voice. This is TERRIFYING, so it's perfect fodder for a YA mystery. And, for the most part, Deepfake does a decent job with the concept. The characters aren't awful, the pacing wasn't weird, and the mystery has a second layer that doesn't come out of nowhere. My problems with this book are more in the realm of suspension of disbelief and the convenience of the plot. I'm going to do my best to mark spoilers but I might miss some, so here's a general spoiler warning for the rest of this review.
First off, why do all these high schools in YA books have gossip sites and apps dedicated to the students at their school? Like, not just a school gossip Snapchat or something but a literal app or website that some student built specifically to ~expose~ their peers and I just... is this a thing that happens in real life?? I mean, obviously cyberbullying is a real thing that's really bad, and obviously people use social media to spread damaging rumors, but this Gossip Girl level thing where there's one person who knows everything about everyone and posts it all online and no one else knows who they are... it never strikes me as realistic. And this book's Gossip Girl (Rumor Has It) was weirdly focused on the valedictorian thing? The culture at some schools is definitely more academic than others, but I really have a hard time buying that the entire school cares this much about who's the valedictorian. However, I actually really liked that Rumor Has It didn't know that Dara and Will were dating right away; that was significantly more realistic than most of the school gossip books. I did not, however, buy that Dara and Will were able to hide it for five months, and their reasoning behind hiding their relationship was very weird -- like, even for a school that cares too much about the valedictorian thing, I have a hard time believing that the student body would be so invested that the entire school would care that the front-runner and the runner-up are dating. I don't know, maybe this read so oddly to me because it all feels like convenient setup for the plot rather than realistic, grounded things that would actually happen. Like, the only reason Will and Dara hid their relationship is so , and the only reason Rumor Has It focuses on the valedictorian race is to make it plausible that the video spread as fast as it did. The way the mystery of who's behind Rumor Has It is solved was ALSO weird and convenient: It's just bizarre.
The video itself bothered me, too. I don't know how long this book was in development, but in 2020 I would expect that smart, tech-oriented people (such as all of the main characters) would already know that it's possible to fake both video and audio in a realistic manner. Like, this would have to be set in 2016 for me to buy that Will's first reaction to Dara saying the video isn't real is to tell her she's lying. Even if high school kids don't pay attention to current events, there's literally an app for that now. That one deepfake video of Obama with Jordan Peele's voice was made in, what, 2018? I just don't believe that literally no one had heard of this concept. Also, I hated the two talking-to-the-audience explanations of what a deepfake is. Bleh.
First off, why do all these high schools in YA books have gossip sites and apps dedicated to the students at their school? Like, not just a school gossip Snapchat or something but a literal app or website that some student built specifically to ~expose~ their peers and I just... is this a thing that happens in real life?? I mean, obviously cyberbullying is a real thing that's really bad, and obviously people use social media to spread damaging rumors, but this Gossip Girl level thing where there's one person who knows everything about everyone and posts it all online and no one else knows who they are... it never strikes me as realistic. And this book's Gossip Girl (Rumor Has It) was weirdly focused on the valedictorian thing? The culture at some schools is definitely more academic than others, but I really have a hard time buying that the entire school cares this much about who's the valedictorian. However, I actually really liked that Rumor Has It didn't know that Dara and Will were dating right away; that was significantly more realistic than most of the school gossip books. I did not, however, buy that Dara and Will were able to hide it for five months, and their reasoning behind hiding their relationship was very weird -- like, even for a school that cares too much about the valedictorian thing, I have a hard time believing that the student body would be so invested that the entire school would care that the front-runner and the runner-up are dating. I don't know, maybe this read so oddly to me because it all feels like convenient setup for the plot rather than realistic, grounded things that would actually happen. Like, the only reason Will and Dara hid their relationship is so , and the only reason Rumor Has It focuses on the valedictorian race is to make it plausible that the video spread as fast as it did. The way the mystery of who's behind Rumor Has It is solved was ALSO weird and convenient: It's just bizarre.
The video itself bothered me, too. I don't know how long this book was in development, but in 2020 I would expect that smart, tech-oriented people (such as all of the main characters) would already know that it's possible to fake both video and audio in a realistic manner. Like, this would have to be set in 2016 for me to buy that Will's first reaction to Dara saying the video isn't real is to tell her she's lying. Even if high school kids don't pay attention to current events, there's literally an app for that now. That one deepfake video of Obama with Jordan Peele's voice was made in, what, 2018? I just don't believe that literally no one had heard of this concept. Also, I hated the two talking-to-the-audience explanations of what a deepfake is. Bleh.
March 26, 2021
Was this the best book? Probably not. However, with the One of Us is Lying type book popularity happening right now, it is one I feel more comfortable recommending to my young MG readers who may not be quite ready for more mature titles of the same type. If One of Us is Lying is a cable drama, this one belongs on network television. It's okay, and I do think MG readers will like it.
October 19, 2020
I liked the blurb of this story, a guy being accused by his girlfriend on video for cheating on his SAT. But she never made the video and she never said he cheated.
The book was easy to read, I flew through the pages, although I got a bit bored at times. I sympathized with Will and Dara but I didn’t feel a connection throughout the story. In addition I didn’t quite like three POV’s. And all those kids are running for valedictorian? Are all these kids highly intelligent? It felt a bit over the top to be honest. Overall it’s an okay read.
I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book was easy to read, I flew through the pages, although I got a bit bored at times. I sympathized with Will and Dara but I didn’t feel a connection throughout the story. In addition I didn’t quite like three POV’s. And all those kids are running for valedictorian? Are all these kids highly intelligent? It felt a bit over the top to be honest. Overall it’s an okay read.
I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 12, 2020
I thank Edelweiss+ and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this novel.
Actual rate: 1.25 stars
When I saw this novel here on Goodreads I instantly added it to my TBR list. It truly sounded like some interesting thriller novel with an original plot, but sadly the actual novel didn't sound like the premise at all.
First of all the premise makes the novel sounds like some kind thriller story, so let's clarify that it is actually not. There's just one (1) "mystery" on this story, which is barely glanced at all and all happened in the first 10% and the last 10% of the novel.
It could be classified as a contemporary book then, but the truth is that it didn't even work as that to me.
I think this novel lacked a purpose: a real plot, a story to share, a message to send to the reader. There was none of that. It was teenagers just...living, dealing with getting into colleges, dating and breaking up, dealing with parents divorcing or getting married again etc...For 99% of the time nothing really happened. And another big problem is that other than a lack of plot, this novel also lacked dept. All three of the main characters and all the secondary ones are empty names with no distinguished personality or diversifying trait that wasn't their familiar or scholarly backstories. The writing style also didn't work for me: the way characters spoke and especially thought and acted was very very childish and didn't sound realistic.
In conclusion I am really disappointed by this novel, I was truly looking forward to it but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations.
Actual rate: 1.25 stars
When I saw this novel here on Goodreads I instantly added it to my TBR list. It truly sounded like some interesting thriller novel with an original plot, but sadly the actual novel didn't sound like the premise at all.
First of all the premise makes the novel sounds like some kind thriller story, so let's clarify that it is actually not. There's just one (1) "mystery" on this story, which is barely glanced at all and all happened in the first 10% and the last 10% of the novel.
It could be classified as a contemporary book then, but the truth is that it didn't even work as that to me.
I think this novel lacked a purpose: a real plot, a story to share, a message to send to the reader. There was none of that. It was teenagers just...living, dealing with getting into colleges, dating and breaking up, dealing with parents divorcing or getting married again etc...For 99% of the time nothing really happened. And another big problem is that other than a lack of plot, this novel also lacked dept. All three of the main characters and all the secondary ones are empty names with no distinguished personality or diversifying trait that wasn't their familiar or scholarly backstories. The writing style also didn't work for me: the way characters spoke and especially thought and acted was very very childish and didn't sound realistic.
In conclusion I am really disappointed by this novel, I was truly looking forward to it but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations.
December 7, 2020
WARNING PLOT SPOILERS
When a school gossip site shows a video of Dara accusing her boyfriend Will of cheating on the SATS, he breaks up with her despite her denial. Then she proves the video is fake and the two work together to solve the mystery.
Told from the points of view of Dara, Will and his best friend MJ, as well as the Rumor Has It site, DEEPFAKE is a cautionary tale about technology, friendship and parental pressure.
I guessed MJ was the perpetrator from her jealousy of Dara and Will. She was my least favorite character, an entitled brat who didn’t seem to understand that she couldn’t go to the college of her dreams because it was too expensive. Her brother chose a state school, rather than his dream school because he lived in the real world. I knew from the time I was old enough to think about school that my choices would be limited by economics. I also knew that after I got my first job after college, where I went to undergrad wouldn’t matter much unless I wanted a top tier grad school. Fortunately, I had the gift of pragmatism and understood I didn’t want to pay student loans for the rest of my life, so I chose grad school that way. But, I digress. I didn’t like MJ, or how quickly Will forgave her after he caught her. She could have ruined his entire future.
I loved Dara’s confidence and her kick-butt attitude. I was glad that although she forgave Will for not believing her, she didn’t want to date him again, despite her attraction to him. Kudos to writer Sarah Darer Littman for writing a smart, strong character with standards.
I enjoy Littman’s books. She writes topical stories with compelling characters. DEEPFAKE is a worthy read.
When a school gossip site shows a video of Dara accusing her boyfriend Will of cheating on the SATS, he breaks up with her despite her denial. Then she proves the video is fake and the two work together to solve the mystery.
Told from the points of view of Dara, Will and his best friend MJ, as well as the Rumor Has It site, DEEPFAKE is a cautionary tale about technology, friendship and parental pressure.
I guessed MJ was the perpetrator from her jealousy of Dara and Will. She was my least favorite character, an entitled brat who didn’t seem to understand that she couldn’t go to the college of her dreams because it was too expensive. Her brother chose a state school, rather than his dream school because he lived in the real world. I knew from the time I was old enough to think about school that my choices would be limited by economics. I also knew that after I got my first job after college, where I went to undergrad wouldn’t matter much unless I wanted a top tier grad school. Fortunately, I had the gift of pragmatism and understood I didn’t want to pay student loans for the rest of my life, so I chose grad school that way. But, I digress. I didn’t like MJ, or how quickly Will forgave her after he caught her. She could have ruined his entire future.
I loved Dara’s confidence and her kick-butt attitude. I was glad that although she forgave Will for not believing her, she didn’t want to date him again, despite her attraction to him. Kudos to writer Sarah Darer Littman for writing a smart, strong character with standards.
I enjoy Littman’s books. She writes topical stories with compelling characters. DEEPFAKE is a worthy read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2021
The book takes you from the each person's unique perspective, and at different months and years too. As you read, you feel more for the characters because you can relate to them. The story features, lies, frames, broken families and relationships with others, and the perspectives of high school geniuses. It's the classic high school tale...with a twist.
(Would definitely recommend for realistic fiction readers :D )
(Would definitely recommend for realistic fiction readers :D )
February 20, 2024
This book was okay. It was slow and not very entertaining. There wasn't a lot of action and the ending wasn't very good. The mystery was easy to solve and quite boring. The idea was good but I could not get into it.
July 7, 2024
Let me begin by respectfully saying this book wasn’t exactly terrible, it was just a book I think I would’ve enjoyed more in third grade. The overall writing of the book just seems more catered toward younger readers, which doesn’t make much sense as the characters are seniors in high school and dealing with topics such as college admissions. The dialogue between the characters is just off in moments; some conversations sound like those foreign language assignments where you translate discussions. This book made me cringe in multiple instances, between the way the characters acted and spoke. A couple of my favorite quotes include “‘What’s shaking?’“ and “I head into the kitchen to fill a plate with nibbles”. As for an element of mystery, there essentially is none as the actual mysterious part of the book is tainted by the various character flaws and anger issues and the resolution of the mystery was underwhelming. Sadly, I don’t have it in me to simply not finish a book so I powered through, but I don’t have much positive to say. Overall, great book for younger readers transitioning out of Dear Dumb Diary (which I would happily actually give a good rating because those books were exponentially better) 👍
December 14, 2024
Too much silly drama and not enough substance. This is also an example of why I often don’t like alternating POV - the rotating cast of characters felt like a crutch for underdevelopment.
April 20, 2022
CAWPILE - 5.43
Boy do I have thoughts about this book. First of all, I almost DNFed after the first few chapters. The writing style is just so juvenile I couldn't get past it. The author's writing is *very* dialogue heavy, with little to no context, descriptions, or thoughts from characters (as it is a first person pov book). Further, the characters would say and do very childish things, and the dialogue just did not flow well. It felt very forced. Honestly, it almost felt like I was reading a screenplay that wasn't fully fleshed out but was just dialogue and stage directions. I decided to keep reading since I paid money for the book, and it turned out okay. One of my issues is the layout of the book. It begins at present day, jumps back a few months, and then catches back up. The flashback part felt almost worthless to me. Its main purpose was worldbuilding and expanding on characters, but that easily could have been done in a linear timeline. There's just very little growth throughout the book, and I didn't find myself becoming invested in the characters and their lives. I think the heart of the issue is the originality of the plot. An anonymous school-based gossip site that targets a group of teens and they have to get to the bottom of it? Man, where have I heard of that before? Some plot points were *so* similar to One of Us Is Lying that I almost couldn't believe it. I'm not saying there's plagiarism or whatever going on between these two books, but it just felt like the author was trying to recreate that type of storyline and didn't mix it up enough. Overall, it was an okay book. I don't know that I would recommend it to a friend, but I don't regret giving it a chance.
Boy do I have thoughts about this book. First of all, I almost DNFed after the first few chapters. The writing style is just so juvenile I couldn't get past it. The author's writing is *very* dialogue heavy, with little to no context, descriptions, or thoughts from characters (as it is a first person pov book). Further, the characters would say and do very childish things, and the dialogue just did not flow well. It felt very forced. Honestly, it almost felt like I was reading a screenplay that wasn't fully fleshed out but was just dialogue and stage directions. I decided to keep reading since I paid money for the book, and it turned out okay. One of my issues is the layout of the book. It begins at present day, jumps back a few months, and then catches back up. The flashback part felt almost worthless to me. Its main purpose was worldbuilding and expanding on characters, but that easily could have been done in a linear timeline. There's just very little growth throughout the book, and I didn't find myself becoming invested in the characters and their lives. I think the heart of the issue is the originality of the plot. An anonymous school-based gossip site that targets a group of teens and they have to get to the bottom of it? Man, where have I heard of that before? Some plot points were *so* similar to One of Us Is Lying that I almost couldn't believe it. I'm not saying there's plagiarism or whatever going on between these two books, but it just felt like the author was trying to recreate that type of storyline and didn't mix it up enough. Overall, it was an okay book. I don't know that I would recommend it to a friend, but I don't regret giving it a chance.
February 10, 2023
It’s so cute how much you want to know.
But I’ll never tell.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Teenagers today seem to be obsessed with the internet and all the gizmos and gadgets technology has to offer. But what if it can be taken too far? That’s the question Dara and Will are trying to answer. When a video is posted on their high school’s gossip site of Dara accusing Will of cheating on the SAT, they have to get past their feelings of hurt and resentment to figure out why.
A surprisingly enjoyable and breezy read. I would actually characterize this more as an upper middle grade adult, especially with some of the dialogue being used. However I did appreciate the author highlighting the dangers of technology and how easily it can be manipulated for bad.
Another point in this book’s favor is the examination of teenage relationships and the maturity of some of the characters, particularly Dara. She was actually one of my favorites.
Despite the stilted dialogue, this should be a book that appeals to those who love Karen McManus.
But I’ll never tell.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Teenagers today seem to be obsessed with the internet and all the gizmos and gadgets technology has to offer. But what if it can be taken too far? That’s the question Dara and Will are trying to answer. When a video is posted on their high school’s gossip site of Dara accusing Will of cheating on the SAT, they have to get past their feelings of hurt and resentment to figure out why.
A surprisingly enjoyable and breezy read. I would actually characterize this more as an upper middle grade adult, especially with some of the dialogue being used. However I did appreciate the author highlighting the dangers of technology and how easily it can be manipulated for bad.
Another point in this book’s favor is the examination of teenage relationships and the maturity of some of the characters, particularly Dara. She was actually one of my favorites.
Despite the stilted dialogue, this should be a book that appeals to those who love Karen McManus.
April 24, 2024
This was a quick-to-read Young Adult novel about the drama at Greenpoint High as reported by a teen gossip website. The gossip column is always written by an anonymous senior at the high school, with the senior gossip tagging his or her replacement upon graduation. The rumor columnist has gone too far this year when a deep-learning app creates a fake video about a couple of students. The consequences can be huge, with possible expulsion, suspensions, ruined reputations, and revoked college admissions and scholarships. It's up to some savvy seniors to unveil the deep fake and people involved before lives are ruined.
I might have learned a bit about AI and how deep learning apps can create a fake video. Otherwise, the characters and a plot twist kept it interesting. I'm not sure if teens really act this way or not as it's been years since I've been one or had one! Still, I enjoyed the novel.
I might have learned a bit about AI and how deep learning apps can create a fake video. Otherwise, the characters and a plot twist kept it interesting. I'm not sure if teens really act this way or not as it's been years since I've been one or had one! Still, I enjoyed the novel.
September 15, 2024
Although I guessed the outcomes well ahead of the reveal (In part 1 of the 4 part book), this was a very interesting read. Speaking on the dangers technology poses if falling into the wrong hands, Deepfake does a very good job of explaining the technicalities of the more "nerdy" topics while keeping the plot relevant and not straying from the knowledge a high school student would have.
Overall, I am very pleased with the read and am glad it was put on the Iowa Teen nominee list for the year. Looking forward to checking out some of Littman's other titles.
Overall, I am very pleased with the read and am glad it was put on the Iowa Teen nominee list for the year. Looking forward to checking out some of Littman's other titles.
June 28, 2022
It was okay overall.
On the good side, I enjoyed the character banter, even if there was little to no development anywhere in the book.
The dialogue was unrealistic and the plot was a little bland, but I got through the pages generally fast. I wouldn't call it a waste of time, but I wouldn't read again
On the good side, I enjoyed the character banter, even if there was little to no development anywhere in the book.
The dialogue was unrealistic and the plot was a little bland, but I got through the pages generally fast. I wouldn't call it a waste of time, but I wouldn't read again
September 30, 2024
For a school book…it was pretty good. “Deepfake” gave me “One of us is Lying” vibes, and “Gossip Girl” flashbacks. Now that I’m thinking about it though…I think the only reason I liked it was because there was a bit of romance. THEN IT DIED! It was not the ending I wanted 😒 whatever
Overall I quite liked it 🤗
Overall I quite liked it 🤗
November 28, 2020
A strong talking point from this book about using technology as a force for good or evil.
September 5, 2024
One of my favorite books yet! Such a edge on your seat kind of book! A definite must read!
March 17, 2021
This book was so unbelievable it just wasn't interesting. And I don't mean the deepfake stuff--that part is obviously real. Just the friendships and the person who did the deepfake to begin with. The Rumor Has It site wasn't exactly as villainous as we were meant to believe. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read; it just wasn't very good.
August 27, 2021
There's nothing thrilling about this YA thriller. The characters were flat and blurred together. The dialogue sounded forced and unrealistic. The storyline was predictable and bland.
The only thing I found remotely interesting was how the book discusses technology being a double-edged sword but that's about it.
The only thing I found remotely interesting was how the book discusses technology being a double-edged sword but that's about it.
September 30, 2023
This book made me ponder what we all know to be true. Technology is good until it’s not and the fight for high school academic placement is brutal.
March 12, 2020
What would you do if someone shared a video of you saying something you know you never said? Or if a trusted friend said something terrible about you on video but now claims the video is not real? Do you believe the evidence right before your eyes, or the friend who you thought you could trust?
For teens (and adults) who don't even know that a deepfake is possible, Darer Littman's newest novel will be eye-opening and jaw-dropping. (Just this month, School Library Journal covered deepfakes, a concept that will be new for many adults.)
Teachers and school librarians everywhere struggle with the imperative of teaching students media literacy, particularly the ability to discern accurate information from disinformation, the claim of "fake news" wielded as an attack against legitimate media, the viral spreading of inaccurate memes, and now the new and powerful deepfake technology that turns the idea of "seeing is believing" on its head.
Of course, having the skills of fact-checking and evaluating sources before sharing something is different than having the motivation to do so, as we well know when facing older adult relatives on Facebook who are just as guilty of sharing disinformation memes as young people are.
The challenge is engaging and motivating students on a personal level. Sarah Darer Littman's Deepfake is an opportunity to personalize the need for media literacy among teens and tweens for whom there may be too much emotional distance from politics to care about the urgency of stopping before sharing false information. Deepfake brings it home at a personal level with believable, human characters with whom the reader can form an emotional connection.
Darer Littman's Want To Go Private?, published nearly 10 years ago (and still SO topical) introduced the subtle lure of seductive online grooming to many teens and parents who had no concept how a "good" kid who "knows better" could be lured by an online predator. 5 years ago, her Backlash was an impactful eye opener about online bullying and catfishing. With Deepfake, she is at the forefront again with relatable, flawed, human characters who get themselves caught up in a dangerous situation they didn't - and most readers won't - even know was possible.
[Review of Advanced Reader Copy.]
For teens (and adults) who don't even know that a deepfake is possible, Darer Littman's newest novel will be eye-opening and jaw-dropping. (Just this month, School Library Journal covered deepfakes, a concept that will be new for many adults.)
Teachers and school librarians everywhere struggle with the imperative of teaching students media literacy, particularly the ability to discern accurate information from disinformation, the claim of "fake news" wielded as an attack against legitimate media, the viral spreading of inaccurate memes, and now the new and powerful deepfake technology that turns the idea of "seeing is believing" on its head.
Of course, having the skills of fact-checking and evaluating sources before sharing something is different than having the motivation to do so, as we well know when facing older adult relatives on Facebook who are just as guilty of sharing disinformation memes as young people are.
The challenge is engaging and motivating students on a personal level. Sarah Darer Littman's Deepfake is an opportunity to personalize the need for media literacy among teens and tweens for whom there may be too much emotional distance from politics to care about the urgency of stopping before sharing false information. Deepfake brings it home at a personal level with believable, human characters with whom the reader can form an emotional connection.
Darer Littman's Want To Go Private?, published nearly 10 years ago (and still SO topical) introduced the subtle lure of seductive online grooming to many teens and parents who had no concept how a "good" kid who "knows better" could be lured by an online predator. 5 years ago, her Backlash was an impactful eye opener about online bullying and catfishing. With Deepfake, she is at the forefront again with relatable, flawed, human characters who get themselves caught up in a dangerous situation they didn't - and most readers won't - even know was possible.
[Review of Advanced Reader Copy.]
December 3, 2021
I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to everyone. I was left on the edge of my seat every second of this book. I was always wondering what was going to happen next? Sarah Darer Littman is the author of this book and she is an award-winning author of over 16 books for young people, including Fairest of Them All and Anything But Okay. She also wrote political opinions for fourteen years, with Hearst Newspapers and CTNewsJunkie.com. She mainly writes novels, all of them are very good! The genre of this book is Young Adult Fiction. There are two main characters of the book, Dara and Will. They are at the top of Greenpoint High’s senior class, and they are also dating. A video spreads of the school's top student saying that her boyfriend, who's also her biggest competition for valedictorian, paid someone else to take the SAT for him. Despite Dara’s denial that she ever said this, Will breaks up with her and the school initiates an investigation of Will’s SAT. The characters are all in high school, like I said, the main characters are Dara, Will, and Will’s friend MJ. I feel like most people that read this can relate to the characters because they are all in high school. This book relates to a movie called He’s All That. It is the same plot but a girl cheats how she looks at home. Some people talk about how smart this school is? I wonder the same thing. These kids must be very intelligent. I feel like the life lesson is to not trust everyone, just trust yourself. I would recommend this book to high schoolers and people under the age of 30. I feel like people over the age of 30 wouldn’t like it as much.
December 2, 2020
Easy and quick read, but it doesn't really work.
First of all we as a reader know that the cheating scandal is a deepfake because that's what it says on the tin. It feels like it takes forever that our MCs figure that out, although we are told that they are like super duper smart. Also the 3 pov should have been a 2 or 1 pov.
The second biggest problem was the pacing. The cheating happens quite quickly which was fine, but after the first part we jump back in time for the next 2 (out of 4) parts and are just building the relationships. Basically the last part is the repercussions and fixings of the deepfake, and it all happens too quick. The Gossip Girl -esque rumour has it, was made into a big unfigurable thing but these super duper smarts took like a day and figured it all out. Eh?
Yea the concept was good but execution not so.
First of all we as a reader know that the cheating scandal is a deepfake because that's what it says on the tin. It feels like it takes forever that our MCs figure that out, although we are told that they are like super duper smart. Also the 3 pov should have been a 2 or 1 pov.
The second biggest problem was the pacing. The cheating happens quite quickly which was fine, but after the first part we jump back in time for the next 2 (out of 4) parts and are just building the relationships. Basically the last part is the repercussions and fixings of the deepfake, and it all happens too quick. The Gossip Girl -esque rumour has it, was made into a big unfigurable thing but these super duper smarts took like a day and figured it all out. Eh?
Yea the concept was good but execution not so.
December 8, 2020
Good book!
This was a chilling premise for a book, and it really made me think about technology and how people use it! I did guess who made the video, but in this case my suspicions made me read even faster because I wanted to see if I was right. I also appreciated that this book is clean, with only mild swearing. I love good suspense novels but have been having a difficult time finding ones that don’t have a lot of swear words in them; this one happily fit the bill and I read it as fast as I could! I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author!
Content:
Mild swearing
Clean romance, mention of gay couples in gossip posts but no details given
This was a chilling premise for a book, and it really made me think about technology and how people use it! I did guess who made the video, but in this case my suspicions made me read even faster because I wanted to see if I was right. I also appreciated that this book is clean, with only mild swearing. I love good suspense novels but have been having a difficult time finding ones that don’t have a lot of swear words in them; this one happily fit the bill and I read it as fast as I could! I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author!
Content:
Mild swearing
Clean romance, mention of gay couples in gossip posts but no details given
January 29, 2021
I was really looking forward to this book, but it was a massive fail.
Not only was it quite slow moving and boring, but only the first and last parts of the book (which are also the shortest parts) are even necessary, as the second and third parts just expand on things we already knew. It was obvious to me from the very beginning who made the video, and the whole thing just left me feeling like I had wasted my time reading this.
Not only was it quite slow moving and boring, but only the first and last parts of the book (which are also the shortest parts) are even necessary, as the second and third parts just expand on things we already knew. It was obvious to me from the very beginning who made the video, and the whole thing just left me feeling like I had wasted my time reading this.
January 18, 2021
Nothing special about this book for me. If you got rid of the flashback parts, this easily could have been a short story published in wattpad. It didn’t excite me too much nor did it seem like a plausible thing to happen in high school. I finished it though. I wish it were way more intense and dramatic though.
March 22, 2021
I don't even know why I bothered to finish. There are so many things extraneous to the deepfake plot that I kept getting bored! Also, Will was way too forgiving when he figured out the culprit. This person could have done irreparable damage to his reputation and future, and he gets over the whole thing in about five minutes. It doesn't seem very realistic to me.
January 27, 2021
I didn't care for the writing style and I also just didn't care too much for the characters. It wasn't really mysterious enough and it just didn't have a lot of substance.
September 5, 2025
For the past few months, I have been a guinea pig of sorts for my friend for books that they want to read. Essentially, they would give me a book they owned that they thought was interesting and asked me to report my thoughts back to them after I finished. While I have done this for quite a few books by now, there has not been a single book that I have felt as strongly about as this. There has not been a single book that I have finished that has bored me and annoyed me quite like this one. Some of it is more due to personal taste, but some of it is due to the pacing of the book.
The way this book is structured and paced is odd. The first 20-30 pages set up the plot, and pages 31-80 or so are somewhat interesting (albeit too low stakes for my tastes), but then the pacing takes a huge plunge around page 85. Instead of progressing the plot, it spends a solid 200 pages simply recounting the events leading up to the big conflict of the book. This section did not need to be 200 pages, nor did it need to cause such a large break in the flow of the plot. It could have easily been 60-90 pages at the beginning of the book instead of completely ruining any chance of being captivating.
There are other minor gripes, of course, such as the big reveal of who was behind the deepfake video feeling half-baked, the interactions between characters making no sense whatsoever, and the pointless "Rumor Has It" entry at the end of the book making the entire book feel like it was building up to nothing, but nothing listed even compares to the baffling decision mentioned previously that kills the flow of the novel. I will probably never be returning to this book, because I don't see a lot of positives if any at all. I would still recommend at least reading this, however, because there is a very real chance that this type of book could just not be for me.
That friend never did end up finishing the book. I wonder why.
The way this book is structured and paced is odd. The first 20-30 pages set up the plot, and pages 31-80 or so are somewhat interesting (albeit too low stakes for my tastes), but then the pacing takes a huge plunge around page 85. Instead of progressing the plot, it spends a solid 200 pages simply recounting the events leading up to the big conflict of the book. This section did not need to be 200 pages, nor did it need to cause such a large break in the flow of the plot. It could have easily been 60-90 pages at the beginning of the book instead of completely ruining any chance of being captivating.
There are other minor gripes, of course, such as the big reveal of who was behind the deepfake video feeling half-baked, the interactions between characters making no sense whatsoever, and the pointless "Rumor Has It" entry at the end of the book making the entire book feel like it was building up to nothing, but nothing listed even compares to the baffling decision mentioned previously that kills the flow of the novel. I will probably never be returning to this book, because I don't see a lot of positives if any at all. I would still recommend at least reading this, however, because there is a very real chance that this type of book could just not be for me.
That friend never did end up finishing the book. I wonder why.
Read
October 6, 2020Will and Dara are seniors. They have known each other for years, and now they are in competition for valedictorian. Both of them have recently received the news that they have been accepted to their first choice colleges. Will's made it into Stanford, and Dara's all set to attend her dream school, John Hopkins. They are now able to sit back and relax as they watch the rest of their friends wait for news of their own college choices.
Over the summer Will and Dara hooked up while working at a summer camp. Each agreed that keeping their romantic relationship is best so no one can say there was unfair influence in the close contest for valedictorian. Besides, Will's best friend MJ is also in the running for the top spot.
Their worlds are threatened with collapse when a video surfaces on a school gossip site. In the video Dara clearly claims Will paid someone to cheat on the SAT. Their newly revealed relationship is facing collapse, and Will's SAT scores are now under investigation. His place at Stanford may be in jeopardy as well. Dara insists she never said such a thing let alone made a video making the accusation.
In alternating voices and plenty of flashback scenes, author Sarah Darer Littman details Will and Dara's attempts to find out who made the damning video and who posted it on Rumor Has It. Littman deftly reveals the all-to-easy method of creating deepfake internet content and illustrates how damaging it can be. Readers will be immediately caught up in the competitive college acceptance fever and the effects of gossip on the relationships of high school life. Littman is also the author of BACKLASH, WANT TO GO PRIVATE?, ANYTHING BUT OKAY, and more.
Over the summer Will and Dara hooked up while working at a summer camp. Each agreed that keeping their romantic relationship is best so no one can say there was unfair influence in the close contest for valedictorian. Besides, Will's best friend MJ is also in the running for the top spot.
Their worlds are threatened with collapse when a video surfaces on a school gossip site. In the video Dara clearly claims Will paid someone to cheat on the SAT. Their newly revealed relationship is facing collapse, and Will's SAT scores are now under investigation. His place at Stanford may be in jeopardy as well. Dara insists she never said such a thing let alone made a video making the accusation.
In alternating voices and plenty of flashback scenes, author Sarah Darer Littman details Will and Dara's attempts to find out who made the damning video and who posted it on Rumor Has It. Littman deftly reveals the all-to-easy method of creating deepfake internet content and illustrates how damaging it can be. Readers will be immediately caught up in the competitive college acceptance fever and the effects of gossip on the relationships of high school life. Littman is also the author of BACKLASH, WANT TO GO PRIVATE?, ANYTHING BUT OKAY, and more.
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