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Want to Go Private?
Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.
Abby is starting high school--it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself?
Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke--he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does.
But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.
Abby is starting high school--it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself?
Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke--he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does.
But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.
330 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2011
211 people are currently reading
8062 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Darer Littman
16 books524 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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March 21, 2016
Fourteen year old Abby is starting high school. She starts having trouble with her best friend because they don't have many classes together and she feels like they are drifting apart. Her little sister is Satan and her parents are just too old to understand. She is that smart girl at school so she never will be one of the "Clique Queens." No one seems to understand her.
Until she starts talking to Luke on a new teen website. He gets her. He is always interested in her day and takes her side against her best friend and her dorky parents. Then she finds out that Luke is twice her age.
Abby starts to shut out everyone because no one else understands her but Luke. Then when he starts getting more serious she goes along with him. Then he wants to meet her.
I see several reviews that say this part moves too fast with how fast he moves in on Abby and how easy it is for her to go along with everything he says. The thing is...I've lived with teenage girls that are this age recently. I could see this happening. Abby doesn't have bad parents, she is not abused at home or honestly even at school. She is a honor student. Should she have been depicted as so gullible?
Gawds yes, teenage girls are exactly like this! The first part of this book is all from Abby's point of view and it reads exactly like you are in a fourteen year old girls head!
And for an old woman like me it's not a fun place to be.
But this book could help someone who feels like that guy on the internet is the only one who gets them.
The next part of the book faces the aftermath of Abby's decisions. Not just on her but on her sister, family and friends. Everyone has that question as to why she fell for it? How could that happen?
Before you get all judgey on a fourteen year old, think about something that has happened on this very site. There is a guy who comes on here as a supposed reader, he friends young women. Later he will send out some odd messages about where the women live. Are they married? The last six or seven times he has come back he even uses basically the same name and location. He reads the exact same books over ever time he is here, but acts like he never has.
The same women friend him over and over. So could it happen? I've been told he is just socially ackward. That he doesn't know how to talk to women.
It's that easy.
I liked this book. The girls voices come across as true for me, this author does a brilliant job of depicting teenagers. Even when I felt icky for being in a teenagers head again I did appreciate that fact.
And I would not be my ragey self if I didn't put up a lovely gif of what I think should happen to the pervs who get off on internet stalking.
3.5 stars
None of my friends have read this book yet so I'm picking this review to highlight. The reviewer gives a great synopsis of this book by looking at the good and bad.
Until she starts talking to Luke on a new teen website. He gets her. He is always interested in her day and takes her side against her best friend and her dorky parents. Then she finds out that Luke is twice her age.
Abby starts to shut out everyone because no one else understands her but Luke. Then when he starts getting more serious she goes along with him. Then he wants to meet her.
I see several reviews that say this part moves too fast with how fast he moves in on Abby and how easy it is for her to go along with everything he says. The thing is...I've lived with teenage girls that are this age recently. I could see this happening. Abby doesn't have bad parents, she is not abused at home or honestly even at school. She is a honor student. Should she have been depicted as so gullible?
Gawds yes, teenage girls are exactly like this! The first part of this book is all from Abby's point of view and it reads exactly like you are in a fourteen year old girls head!
And for an old woman like me it's not a fun place to be.
But this book could help someone who feels like that guy on the internet is the only one who gets them.
The next part of the book faces the aftermath of Abby's decisions. Not just on her but on her sister, family and friends. Everyone has that question as to why she fell for it? How could that happen?
Before you get all judgey on a fourteen year old, think about something that has happened on this very site. There is a guy who comes on here as a supposed reader, he friends young women. Later he will send out some odd messages about where the women live. Are they married? The last six or seven times he has come back he even uses basically the same name and location. He reads the exact same books over ever time he is here, but acts like he never has.
The same women friend him over and over. So could it happen? I've been told he is just socially ackward. That he doesn't know how to talk to women.
It's that easy.
I liked this book. The girls voices come across as true for me, this author does a brilliant job of depicting teenagers. Even when I felt icky for being in a teenagers head again I did appreciate that fact.
And I would not be my ragey self if I didn't put up a lovely gif of what I think should happen to the pervs who get off on internet stalking.
3.5 stars
None of my friends have read this book yet so I'm picking this review to highlight. The reviewer gives a great synopsis of this book by looking at the good and bad.
August 22, 2011
I know what this book is supposed to do, and I understand that the topic is difficult, but... This was just a bit too over the top for me.
I have a lot of online friends, and I've met quite a few weirdos and creeps in my day but the things Abby does for Luke are just... Everything happens way too fast, and she just does whatever Luke tells her to do. I know she's completely in love with him, but even if I did have feelings for him, I wouldn't take off my clothes after talking to a guy for only a few weeks.
I'm sure this is great stuff if you have a hormonal teenager and an internet connection in the house, but my 28-year old self hopes that her children will be born with a brain that's actually plugged in somewhere.
I have a lot of online friends, and I've met quite a few weirdos and creeps in my day but the things Abby does for Luke are just... Everything happens way too fast, and she just does whatever Luke tells her to do. I know she's completely in love with him, but even if I did have feelings for him, I wouldn't take off my clothes after talking to a guy for only a few weeks.
I'm sure this is great stuff if you have a hormonal teenager and an internet connection in the house, but my 28-year old self hopes that her children will be born with a brain that's actually plugged in somewhere.
August 26, 2016
I feel bad about putting this book to my realistic fiction shelf, since it's obviously unrealistic bullshit. And now I can officialy declare my 2016-reading-year the Year of Good Ideas Executed Really Poorly.
This review would've been completely pointless without minor spoilers out of spoiler-tags from the first 30% of the book, so read at your own risk; major ones are hidden. There is a lot of f-word in this review, too, so if it bothers you, stop reading it right now.
14 y.o Abby is entering the new stage of her life. High school is starting, but Abby already feels that things change. Her best friend Faith finds a new best friend Gracie, everyone tells her to become more social, to try harder, to make a good first impression, her father's been coming home really late for a while now due to his new job and doesn't really pay attention to his daughter. The only constant things in her life are her annoying little sister Lily and all the best grades at school. But at the moment of loneliness Abby finds a friend that understands her — or at least tries to. Luke is twice her age, but he doesn't see Abby as a silly little girl, actually, he's the only one who listens to her, who really cares. The problem is... they've never met in real life. But if they've never met and, most likely, will never meet, what can possibly go wrong with this kind of friendship? As messages become more and more private, and as Abby feels more and more attached to Luke, hope starts to build within her heart. What can possibly go wrong with this kind of connection? Well, as Abby soon will find... everything.
I guess now you might be wondering: what could possibly go wrong with this book? No doubt, the topic Want to Go Private? raises is very important nowadays. If you don't want to wonder "why the hell am I reading all this depressing shit they told me at school", you can skip this huge paragraph. Yes. This VERY huge paragraph. Our age is the age of technology, and even though its development is a huge step for humanity, it's also a huge step for criminals out there. Every other day people go missing, 'cause some person manipulated them, threatened to reveal all the private photos they sent, played their feelings. And all of it happens online. Anonymity provided by Internet easily gives you a sweet illusion of lack of consequences of your actions and words. You'll never meet, right? So what's wrong with telling a little more? Showing a little more? Allowing yourself to feel more free, more mature? But there are dozens, hundreds, thousands of perverts, psychos online. Catfishing is the new plague of 21 century, and this phenomen grows exponentially with every passing day. Two clicks — and you can be whoever you want to be. And most people think it only happens to naive little kids. It will never happen to you, to me, huh? Because we're all so damn smart. We'll never fall for all these lies, we'll never be that gullible. But the truth is: it can happen to anyone. You don't have to be stupid. You don't have to be the epitome of loneliness. Almost any huge danger comes unexpectedly, because it was there all the time, it just never occured to you that it was creeping all the way. Almost any pedophile/rapist is the person you'd never think could hurt you: your neighbour, your friend's friend's friend. What do these people have in common? They seem trustworthy. I'm not implying you have to never trust anyone, but some common sense and healthy awareness won't harm. So now, even though you've declined my suggestion to skip the paragraph, you might still be wondering: what the fuck does it have to do with the book? Just tell me why in the world you gave it 1 star and get lost. But bear with me for one more moment. Building trust online is a very difficult process, because it obviously takes much more time and effort. Chats, photos, videos, phone conversations... In our precious world of technology you can not only create a new personality, but also fabricate literally anything. So why do so many people go missing because of the people they "met" online, if they have the same lecture I'm kind of "giving" right now? Because as trust starts to build, as days, months, years pass, they start to forget all the Internet Safety rules. Because time passes. So here's the part that (finally! I know!) has something to do with Littman's novel.
Abby and Luke had from 3 to 4 small conversations, before she started to reveal a really private information. I know literally nothing about 14 y.o kids nowadays, but seriously?
So I started counting. I started counting how exactly many messages Luke sent Abby, before he started asking questions that would make any sensible person suspicious. Let's count together, shall we? Keep in mind they're usually pretty short.
Day 1: Luke's messages #1-9 in Public Chat: hi, hello, I finished HS, your friend's description of outfit sounds hot, what grade are you in.
Day 2: Luke's messages #10-30 in Public Chat: how's school, I'm Luke, the guy in your class is an asshole, we're soulmates, what's your fav colour.
(it's been a month, but from what I got, they didn't have any conversations)
Day 3: Luke's messages #31-43 in Public Chat: how's school, is the asshole still an asshole, ur 2 good 4 him, don't do what you don't want to do even if you BFF makes you, Want to Go Private?
(so we're entering Private Zone. From now on all the messages are in Private Chat)
Luke's messages #44-52: what's with that audition of yours, your BFF can't be your BFF if she dumps you for another friend, tell me what you look like
Do you see where it's going?
Luke's message #53: Bra size?
Abby's message #WhoTheFuckKnows: 34C.
Do I really need to tell you I lost it here? Because I so did. Why the fuck would you tell your bra size to some weirdo you met online? Or maybe I missed the part, where I was told it was all Victoria's Secret customer service, and Luke was just trying to find a bra that fits Abby, so she can have a cute gift for herself? If that's so, my apologies! But as far as I'm concerned, that's not the case. So why, whyyyy? Because you'll never meet him? And that's coming from the girl that constantly repeats "I’ve had all those Internet Safety talks at school"? For fuck's sake, were you even listening? But well, I guess, they don't even tell people not to answer these questions, because it's fucking obvious!
Luke's messages #54-63: nice, boys at your school are lucky, I'd treat u the way you deserve, ur special, better than the rest, btw, I'm 27, I like you
Day 4: Luke's messages #64-94: how's the audition, guess u can't trust your friend, but I'm here 4 u, let's exchange pics
And of course they do. There's nothing really suspicious about Luke (except for his fucking weird phrases and questions, of course), he indeed looks like a 27 y.o guy and he's kind of nice.
Luke's message #95: Would it help if I said ur the hottest chick I’ve seen in a long time?
So basically a guy twice her age tells her she's "the hottest chick he's seen in a long time". What's the sensible reaction (I'm still trying to see Abby as a sensible girl, even though I finished reading the book, and trust me, she's not)? Well, definitely not the one Abby has.
But wait, there's more.
Luke's messages #96-97: I'd be jealous if you had a lot of guys around you
Abby's reaction?
Is this the kind of generation we'll see in a while raised by Fifty Shades of Grey? Because if so:
I can go on and on reciting all the messages they sent each other, but I hope you got the point. Is it believable? No fucking way. I don't want and I honestly don't believe that after 3 conversations and only 53 messages a sane girl would tell all this shit to some weirdo she knows nothing about (apart from his name and age). I would believe it, if they were talking for at least 3 or 4 months, I don't know, but 3 days? Three little conversations full of emojis and stuff? No. Fucking. Way. And of course, after this chat she notices the age in his profile. 28. I thought he said 27? — Abby thinks. But who the fuck cares? Definitely not Abby.
And then Luke disappears for a while. What does Abby do? Hangs out with her friends? Focuses on her studies? No. Our sweet little Abby can't focus on anything, because she's already attached to Luke. Please, don't tell me that the younger you are, the faster you get attached to the person. 'Cause again: 100 messages?! Even though Abby's friends are here for her — Faith actually invites her to spend some time together, the guy from her class invites her to see a movie — she wants Luke. So no wonder she cries herself to sleep, because she misses him.
The most amazing part is yet to come:
Of course, he also started to tell her not to tell about them to anyone, 'cause they won't understand. Nothing suspicious, huh, smart girl?
I'm not blaming the victim right now, but I am telling "how could you be so dumb?". I also didn't feel sorry for Abby during all the time I was reading Want to Go Private? Her character is unbelievable, and I'm pretty sure that being inside her head for 90% of the novel made some of my brain cells die. I understand the point Sarah Darer Littman was trying to make — anyone, even smart girls that get only A's can get into this trap — but I'm sorry, this is so un-fucking-believable.
And the problem isn't only in Abby. While mass media try to tell us how clever predators nowadays are, the novel shows us Luke — the guy that doesn't really even try to pretend to be an ordinary guy, doesn't really try to build some kind of trust, it just happens after 20 messages and some cheesy phrases. Instead his character screams I'M A PSYCHO WANNA HAVE SOME FUN, EH?, which is ridiculous. I'm sure there are pervs like this, but again, what will people think after reading this novel? Nah, that will never happen to me, because I'll never give my address after 5 conversations? I'll never get naked on camera for the guy I met 2 days ago? I'll never have virtual sex with a random guy who says he loves me? Because I'm not as stupid as Abby? Yep, they won't.
Maybe I am taking this book way too serious, but even if we forget about the lesson it tried to teach, was I supposed to be entertained? Was it supposed to make me think? The only thing this book made me think about is how fucking unbelievable the situation is.
At that point I was 100% done with this book (even though I had 20% yet to read), but it somehow managed to surprise me. And I'm not talking about characters being even more stupid than they've already been (that wouldn't be really all that surprising). Because the last chapter was the best chapter in the novel. I wouldn't need to write this really huge review full of ranting, if the whole book consisted only of the last chapter and some kind of draft about previous events.
But even though the last chapter was exactly what the book was trying to tell readers from the very beginning, it was the last chapter, so, you know, it was kind of late.
Want to Go Private? raised a really important topic, but due to the plot's laziness and fast pace, it just couldn't execute it any worse. This review is so very different from what I originally planned to writeand, obviously, much longer, and even though the novel failed miserably, I can't stick to the funny-ranting-voice by the end of it. Talk to your younger siblings, kids, friends. Be there for them. Try to build these trusting relationships, so they won't need to look for them outside. And always be careful, because you never really know what can possibly go wrong.
This review would've been completely pointless without minor spoilers out of spoiler-tags from the first 30% of the book, so read at your own risk; major ones are hidden. There is a lot of f-word in this review, too, so if it bothers you, stop reading it right now.
14 y.o Abby is entering the new stage of her life. High school is starting, but Abby already feels that things change. Her best friend Faith finds a new best friend Gracie, everyone tells her to become more social, to try harder, to make a good first impression, her father's been coming home really late for a while now due to his new job and doesn't really pay attention to his daughter. The only constant things in her life are her annoying little sister Lily and all the best grades at school. But at the moment of loneliness Abby finds a friend that understands her — or at least tries to. Luke is twice her age, but he doesn't see Abby as a silly little girl, actually, he's the only one who listens to her, who really cares. The problem is... they've never met in real life. But if they've never met and, most likely, will never meet, what can possibly go wrong with this kind of friendship? As messages become more and more private, and as Abby feels more and more attached to Luke, hope starts to build within her heart. What can possibly go wrong with this kind of connection? Well, as Abby soon will find... everything.
I grab my laptop and log on to ChezTeen.com. Within minutes, I'm surrounded by friends, even though I've never met any of them. There, I can pretend that my first day of school was fantastic, because no one is going to know anything different. I can be anyone I want to be when I'm online and I don't even have to wear makeup.
I guess now you might be wondering: what could possibly go wrong with this book? No doubt, the topic Want to Go Private? raises is very important nowadays. If you don't want to wonder "why the hell am I reading all this depressing shit they told me at school", you can skip this huge paragraph. Yes. This VERY huge paragraph. Our age is the age of technology, and even though its development is a huge step for humanity, it's also a huge step for criminals out there. Every other day people go missing, 'cause some person manipulated them, threatened to reveal all the private photos they sent, played their feelings. And all of it happens online. Anonymity provided by Internet easily gives you a sweet illusion of lack of consequences of your actions and words. You'll never meet, right? So what's wrong with telling a little more? Showing a little more? Allowing yourself to feel more free, more mature? But there are dozens, hundreds, thousands of perverts, psychos online. Catfishing is the new plague of 21 century, and this phenomen grows exponentially with every passing day. Two clicks — and you can be whoever you want to be. And most people think it only happens to naive little kids. It will never happen to you, to me, huh? Because we're all so damn smart. We'll never fall for all these lies, we'll never be that gullible. But the truth is: it can happen to anyone. You don't have to be stupid. You don't have to be the epitome of loneliness. Almost any huge danger comes unexpectedly, because it was there all the time, it just never occured to you that it was creeping all the way. Almost any pedophile/rapist is the person you'd never think could hurt you: your neighbour, your friend's friend's friend. What do these people have in common? They seem trustworthy. I'm not implying you have to never trust anyone, but some common sense and healthy awareness won't harm. So now, even though you've declined my suggestion to skip the paragraph, you might still be wondering: what the fuck does it have to do with the book? Just tell me why in the world you gave it 1 star and get lost. But bear with me for one more moment. Building trust online is a very difficult process, because it obviously takes much more time and effort. Chats, photos, videos, phone conversations... In our precious world of technology you can not only create a new personality, but also fabricate literally anything. So why do so many people go missing because of the people they "met" online, if they have the same lecture I'm kind of "giving" right now? Because as trust starts to build, as days, months, years pass, they start to forget all the Internet Safety rules. Because time passes. So here's the part that (finally! I know!) has something to do with Littman's novel.
Abby and Luke had from 3 to 4 small conversations, before she started to reveal a really private information. I know literally nothing about 14 y.o kids nowadays, but seriously?
So I started counting. I started counting how exactly many messages Luke sent Abby, before he started asking questions that would make any sensible person suspicious. Let's count together, shall we? Keep in mind they're usually pretty short.
Day 1: Luke's messages #1-9 in Public Chat: hi, hello, I finished HS, your friend's description of outfit sounds hot, what grade are you in.
Day 2: Luke's messages #10-30 in Public Chat: how's school, I'm Luke, the guy in your class is an asshole, we're soulmates, what's your fav colour.
(it's been a month, but from what I got, they didn't have any conversations)
Day 3: Luke's messages #31-43 in Public Chat: how's school, is the asshole still an asshole, ur 2 good 4 him, don't do what you don't want to do even if you BFF makes you, Want to Go Private?
(so we're entering Private Zone. From now on all the messages are in Private Chat)
Luke's messages #44-52: what's with that audition of yours, your BFF can't be your BFF if she dumps you for another friend, tell me what you look like
Do you see where it's going?
Luke's message #53: Bra size?
Abby's message #WhoTheFuckKnows: 34C.
Do I really need to tell you I lost it here? Because I so did. Why the fuck would you tell your bra size to some weirdo you met online? Or maybe I missed the part, where I was told it was all Victoria's Secret customer service, and Luke was just trying to find a bra that fits Abby, so she can have a cute gift for herself? If that's so, my apologies! But as far as I'm concerned, that's not the case. So why, whyyyy? Because you'll never meet him? And that's coming from the girl that constantly repeats "I’ve had all those Internet Safety talks at school"? For fuck's sake, were you even listening? But well, I guess, they don't even tell people not to answer these questions, because it's fucking obvious!
Luke's messages #54-63: nice, boys at your school are lucky, I'd treat u the way you deserve, ur special, better than the rest, btw, I'm 27, I like you
Day 4: Luke's messages #64-94: how's the audition, guess u can't trust your friend, but I'm here 4 u, let's exchange pics
And of course they do. There's nothing really suspicious about Luke (except for his fucking weird phrases and questions, of course), he indeed looks like a 27 y.o guy and he's kind of nice.
Luke's message #95: Would it help if I said ur the hottest chick I’ve seen in a long time?
So basically a guy twice her age tells her she's "the hottest chick he's seen in a long time". What's the sensible reaction (I'm still trying to see Abby as a sensible girl, even though I finished reading the book, and trust me, she's not)? Well, definitely not the one Abby has.
I feel warm all over.
But wait, there's more.
Luke's messages #96-97: I'd be jealous if you had a lot of guys around you
Abby's reaction?
It’s strange that Luke’s talking like this, all jealous and possessive like he’s my boyfriend or something. Strange, but kind of flattering and nice.
Is this the kind of generation we'll see in a while raised by Fifty Shades of Grey? Because if so:
I can go on and on reciting all the messages they sent each other, but I hope you got the point. Is it believable? No fucking way. I don't want and I honestly don't believe that after 3 conversations and only 53 messages a sane girl would tell all this shit to some weirdo she knows nothing about (apart from his name and age). I would believe it, if they were talking for at least 3 or 4 months, I don't know, but 3 days? Three little conversations full of emojis and stuff? No. Fucking. Way. And of course, after this chat she notices the age in his profile. 28. I thought he said 27? — Abby thinks. But who the fuck cares? Definitely not Abby.
And then Luke disappears for a while. What does Abby do? Hangs out with her friends? Focuses on her studies? No. Our sweet little Abby can't focus on anything, because she's already attached to Luke. Please, don't tell me that the younger you are, the faster you get attached to the person. 'Cause again: 100 messages?! Even though Abby's friends are here for her — Faith actually invites her to spend some time together, the guy from her class invites her to see a movie — she wants Luke. So no wonder she cries herself to sleep, because she misses him.
The most amazing part is yet to come:
Of course, he also started to tell her not to tell about them to anyone, 'cause they won't understand. Nothing suspicious, huh, smart girl?
I'm not blaming the victim right now, but I am telling "how could you be so dumb?". I also didn't feel sorry for Abby during all the time I was reading Want to Go Private? Her character is unbelievable, and I'm pretty sure that being inside her head for 90% of the novel made some of my brain cells die. I understand the point Sarah Darer Littman was trying to make — anyone, even smart girls that get only A's can get into this trap — but I'm sorry, this is so un-fucking-believable.
And the problem isn't only in Abby. While mass media try to tell us how clever predators nowadays are, the novel shows us Luke — the guy that doesn't really even try to pretend to be an ordinary guy, doesn't really try to build some kind of trust, it just happens after 20 messages and some cheesy phrases. Instead his character screams I'M A PSYCHO WANNA HAVE SOME FUN, EH?, which is ridiculous. I'm sure there are pervs like this, but again, what will people think after reading this novel? Nah, that will never happen to me, because I'll never give my address after 5 conversations? I'll never get naked on camera for the guy I met 2 days ago? I'll never have virtual sex with a random guy who says he loves me? Because I'm not as stupid as Abby? Yep, they won't.
Maybe I am taking this book way too serious, but even if we forget about the lesson it tried to teach, was I supposed to be entertained? Was it supposed to make me think? The only thing this book made me think about is how fucking unbelievable the situation is.
At that point I was 100% done with this book (even though I had 20% yet to read), but it somehow managed to surprise me. And I'm not talking about characters being even more stupid than they've already been (that wouldn't be really all that surprising). Because the last chapter was the best chapter in the novel. I wouldn't need to write this really huge review full of ranting, if the whole book consisted only of the last chapter and some kind of draft about previous events.
Al Franken, a comedian who’s now a senator from Minnesota, said:
‘Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.’
But even though the last chapter was exactly what the book was trying to tell readers from the very beginning, it was the last chapter, so, you know, it was kind of late.
Want to Go Private? raised a really important topic, but due to the plot's laziness and fast pace, it just couldn't execute it any worse. This review is so very different from what I originally planned to write
July 28, 2017
Review to come....
February 22, 2012
3 and a half stars
It's a bit hard for me to write a review on this, in a way. I do think that the message is important and that teens should definitely be wary and super careful when it comes to communicating with strangers on the internet.
However, to begin with I think this idea could've been written sooo much better. It was an idea I haven't seen in Y.A so I was intrigued by it. They made it a bit after school special for my taste. After reading "But I love him" by Amanda Grace, this falls flat. Just because "But I love him" tackled abusive relationships in a different way than I've ever seen. It actually built the character of the abuser so you could understand better why he was abusive, as well as showing why the girl didn't want to leave him.
"Do you want to go private?" didn't impress me at all by comparison. I found the "Luke" character to be flat and lame. I would've liked to see the relationship between Luke and Abby to be better written. It seemed stupid to me. Their conversations were all "OMG" and completely mindless, really.
It would've been impressive if the author actually showed "Luke" as more magnetic or likeable. I know you're thinking "What are you talking about? He's a predator!" but the whole point of what I'm saying is, I couldn't see why Abby fell under his "spell". He was BLAND. Also, in comparison to Billy, he was even more bland. (I really quite liked Billy. He wasn't amazing but I was rooting for the kid).
I wanted the author to explore the subject better. It was disappointing the way she did it.
It's an important subject, obviously and I think it could've been approached differently. The writing itself wasn't impressive to me. (Again, after reading "But I love him" just a couple of days ago, I can't help but compare it to this..and "But I love him" was sooo well written and powerful. It also explored the subject of abusive relationships in this amazing way, while this book didn't really explore. It didn't give me that little something extra).
I will admit I felt sympathy for Abby for what she went through and having to deal with the after effects of it all. I even teared up a couple of times because I felt sad for her. But it was overall disappointing. I had such high hopes for it too!
On an end note to this review, I wanted to explain why I said it was a bit hard for me to write a review on this. In February 2010, by chance, I met my current boyfriend in a random chat room. I was bored and just wanted someone to talk to and after talking to a bunch of weirdos, freaks and pervs, I met him. We hit it off right away. Over the course of three months, we talked online almost every day and began to care about each other. It doesn't sound romantic to some people but it really was. Then I decided to meet him in London Heathrow airport and spent two weeks with him, just being together and doing some tourist-y things. The hardest, saddest day of my life was when I had to leave him. Now, I live in England with him and I'm still a puddle around him. He's so witty and makes me laugh all the time. I'm completely smitten. SOOOO, I guess it was weird to read this book.
I do agree that the internet is a risky place to meet people but sometimes it happens. Teenagers should obviously avoid talking to strangers just because there are predators out there. In general, it's risky talking to strangers. In MY case, it happened to be a love story but it wasn't planned at all. It just happened.
The internet is like the real world, sometimes. There are bad people out there but there are also genuinely amazing people who make you laugh and smile. You just have to be careful with who you trust and who you let in.
I'm just rambling now. Kay, bye?
EDIT:
I read this for the first time on August 18th, 2011. I re-read it today, which is February 22nd, 2012. I hate how you can't add multiple dates for which you read a book. I like to re-read books now and then but I also like to keep track of how many books I read using the Book Challenge thing.
But I can't have this book in both my 2011 Challenge and my 2012 Challenge. So, I think I'll change the date to today to count for this year's challenge.
Anyways, the review above was written on August 18th, 2011. After reading it a second time, I thought it was slightly better and I'll tell you why.
I watched a movie called "Trust" a couple of months ago. It is a movie about a teenage girl who meets a guy online and after a while, she meets him. The movie deals with her and her family dealing with the situation. I thought it was a brilliant movie. I really recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.
Anyways, after watching the movie, I went on IMDB.com and read some comments people made about the movie and someone said the writer got some inspiration for the online conversations from a website called: www.perverted-justice.com
The website is basically a site which shows what kind of people are predators. People help the police by pretending to be teenagers and they find predators and sex offenders. The website shows the conversations that these perverts have with who they think are teenagers and after reading a few and re-reading this book, I can see similarities.
I guess that made me less angry about the lack of actual conversation and the building of the relationship between Abby and "Luke" because in real life, pedaphiles don't really go for deep conversations. They are just trying to get teenagers to do sexual things.
Anyways, for anyone wanting to know more on the subject of "grooming" or internet predators, I suggest watching the movie "Trust" and maybe checking out the perverted-justice website. I'll warn you, the perverted-justice website is pretty disturbing but I think it's something every parent should be aware of. I think every parent should be extremely aware about the dangers of the internet because it's so easy for a teenager to unknowingly fall into the trap of a predator.
This book was a bit better the second time I read it but I think I stand by my rating.
It's a bit hard for me to write a review on this, in a way. I do think that the message is important and that teens should definitely be wary and super careful when it comes to communicating with strangers on the internet.
However, to begin with I think this idea could've been written sooo much better. It was an idea I haven't seen in Y.A so I was intrigued by it. They made it a bit after school special for my taste. After reading "But I love him" by Amanda Grace, this falls flat. Just because "But I love him" tackled abusive relationships in a different way than I've ever seen. It actually built the character of the abuser so you could understand better why he was abusive, as well as showing why the girl didn't want to leave him.
"Do you want to go private?" didn't impress me at all by comparison. I found the "Luke" character to be flat and lame. I would've liked to see the relationship between Luke and Abby to be better written. It seemed stupid to me. Their conversations were all "OMG" and completely mindless, really.
It would've been impressive if the author actually showed "Luke" as more magnetic or likeable. I know you're thinking "What are you talking about? He's a predator!" but the whole point of what I'm saying is, I couldn't see why Abby fell under his "spell". He was BLAND. Also, in comparison to Billy, he was even more bland. (I really quite liked Billy. He wasn't amazing but I was rooting for the kid).
I wanted the author to explore the subject better. It was disappointing the way she did it.
It's an important subject, obviously and I think it could've been approached differently. The writing itself wasn't impressive to me. (Again, after reading "But I love him" just a couple of days ago, I can't help but compare it to this..and "But I love him" was sooo well written and powerful. It also explored the subject of abusive relationships in this amazing way, while this book didn't really explore. It didn't give me that little something extra).
I will admit I felt sympathy for Abby for what she went through and having to deal with the after effects of it all. I even teared up a couple of times because I felt sad for her. But it was overall disappointing. I had such high hopes for it too!
On an end note to this review, I wanted to explain why I said it was a bit hard for me to write a review on this. In February 2010, by chance, I met my current boyfriend in a random chat room. I was bored and just wanted someone to talk to and after talking to a bunch of weirdos, freaks and pervs, I met him. We hit it off right away. Over the course of three months, we talked online almost every day and began to care about each other. It doesn't sound romantic to some people but it really was. Then I decided to meet him in London Heathrow airport and spent two weeks with him, just being together and doing some tourist-y things. The hardest, saddest day of my life was when I had to leave him. Now, I live in England with him and I'm still a puddle around him. He's so witty and makes me laugh all the time. I'm completely smitten. SOOOO, I guess it was weird to read this book.
I do agree that the internet is a risky place to meet people but sometimes it happens. Teenagers should obviously avoid talking to strangers just because there are predators out there. In general, it's risky talking to strangers. In MY case, it happened to be a love story but it wasn't planned at all. It just happened.
The internet is like the real world, sometimes. There are bad people out there but there are also genuinely amazing people who make you laugh and smile. You just have to be careful with who you trust and who you let in.
I'm just rambling now. Kay, bye?
EDIT:
I read this for the first time on August 18th, 2011. I re-read it today, which is February 22nd, 2012. I hate how you can't add multiple dates for which you read a book. I like to re-read books now and then but I also like to keep track of how many books I read using the Book Challenge thing.
But I can't have this book in both my 2011 Challenge and my 2012 Challenge. So, I think I'll change the date to today to count for this year's challenge.
Anyways, the review above was written on August 18th, 2011. After reading it a second time, I thought it was slightly better and I'll tell you why.
I watched a movie called "Trust" a couple of months ago. It is a movie about a teenage girl who meets a guy online and after a while, she meets him. The movie deals with her and her family dealing with the situation. I thought it was a brilliant movie. I really recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.
Anyways, after watching the movie, I went on IMDB.com and read some comments people made about the movie and someone said the writer got some inspiration for the online conversations from a website called: www.perverted-justice.com
The website is basically a site which shows what kind of people are predators. People help the police by pretending to be teenagers and they find predators and sex offenders. The website shows the conversations that these perverts have with who they think are teenagers and after reading a few and re-reading this book, I can see similarities.
I guess that made me less angry about the lack of actual conversation and the building of the relationship between Abby and "Luke" because in real life, pedaphiles don't really go for deep conversations. They are just trying to get teenagers to do sexual things.
Anyways, for anyone wanting to know more on the subject of "grooming" or internet predators, I suggest watching the movie "Trust" and maybe checking out the perverted-justice website. I'll warn you, the perverted-justice website is pretty disturbing but I think it's something every parent should be aware of. I think every parent should be extremely aware about the dangers of the internet because it's so easy for a teenager to unknowingly fall into the trap of a predator.
This book was a bit better the second time I read it but I think I stand by my rating.
July 29, 2011
Wow - one of the scariest contemporary YA novels I've read in a long time. BlueSkyBoi made my blood boil whenever he said anything to Abby because he's just so manipulative and disturbing. Also, while it's easy for an adult or teen to say that they wouldn't fall for the things he says, I really believe that it's easy for young people to get caught up in the way Abby does. They've all been told not to talk to strangers, but the people they meet online don't feel like strangers anymore, and in the case of this story, BlueSkyBoii/Luke seemed like the only person who really understood her.
Must read for both teens and adults with teenaged children because in both cases, it could save a life and/or protect the innocence of young people.
Must read for both teens and adults with teenaged children because in both cases, it could save a life and/or protect the innocence of young people.
November 4, 2011
It is not my habit to negatively review books, as I can generally find value in anything I read, but I have to be honest, I hated this book and I don't know how it got published.
If you are looking to read this book because you think there's a mystery to solve, or intrigue surrounding the disappearance of the main character, back away now, because this is not the book for you.
If you want to read a poorly written after-school special, well then, this is the book for you.
I really thought I was going to read a plot driven novel, and instead I was thrown into trying to care about characters that are completely shallow and flat.
And while I give any author who has made it to publication a minute round of applause for sticking to it - I have to wonder why there are seemingly no editors involved in this creation.
The chat speak lingo was beyond painful to read, and the author's use of descriptive language was lacking and repetitive.
All in all, I have to say this book was an incredible waste of time, but since I can't leave this review without something positive to say - I will say it does illustrate how internet predators work, and how it can be easy to fall for their manipulation.
If you are looking to read this book because you think there's a mystery to solve, or intrigue surrounding the disappearance of the main character, back away now, because this is not the book for you.
If you want to read a poorly written after-school special, well then, this is the book for you.
I really thought I was going to read a plot driven novel, and instead I was thrown into trying to care about characters that are completely shallow and flat.
And while I give any author who has made it to publication a minute round of applause for sticking to it - I have to wonder why there are seemingly no editors involved in this creation.
The chat speak lingo was beyond painful to read, and the author's use of descriptive language was lacking and repetitive.
All in all, I have to say this book was an incredible waste of time, but since I can't leave this review without something positive to say - I will say it does illustrate how internet predators work, and how it can be easy to fall for their manipulation.
October 7, 2011
"'Do you want me to walk you in?' Mom asks me as I sit with my hand on the door handle, afraid to open the car door and get out.
If you thought the first day of high school was bad, try going back after you ran away with some guy you met online who turned out not to be the loving person you thought he was, but was actually a creep and a perv who was chatting up lots of other girls.
I feel breakfast coming up the back of my throat."
Abby is feeling all the normal angst of entering high school, and then some. Her best friend isn't in any of her classes, so they begin to drift apart. Her home life is complicated by her younger sister, and her parents, who don't always provide the support that Abby needs, yet can't articulate.
But when she meets Luke in an online chat room, Abby finds someone who does listen to her, and does understand what she's going through. Sure, she's heard the normal warnings about online relationships, but Luke lives in another state, and seems nice, so there really doesn't seem to be any harm in just chatting. But chatting quickly leads to more, and before long, Abby is making plans to skip school and spend the day with Luke, and that's where things go off the rails. Luke kidnaps and sexually abuses Abby, but through the quick work of the police force, and her friends, she is returned to her family. Then comes the day when she must return to school, and face the stares and whispers about her.
I think I wanted to like this book more than I did. It's a great premise, which is why I picked it up in the first place, but the plot seems very predictable. I can certainly understand how online predators can quickly gain the trust of a teen, but in this case, it still seems to happen too suddenly, especially for a narrator who claims to know all about that possibility. Some of the characters are very stereotypical, such as Abby's father, and his reactions seem pretty flat. The finale, where Abby discusses her abduction with the entire school, also seems a little contrived, mainly because it feels like the book is preaching to me at that point. In fact, it preaches a lot, to the point where some sections feel like a cautionary pamphlet about online predators. Good premise, but poor execution in this one, at least for me.
If you thought the first day of high school was bad, try going back after you ran away with some guy you met online who turned out not to be the loving person you thought he was, but was actually a creep and a perv who was chatting up lots of other girls.
I feel breakfast coming up the back of my throat."
Abby is feeling all the normal angst of entering high school, and then some. Her best friend isn't in any of her classes, so they begin to drift apart. Her home life is complicated by her younger sister, and her parents, who don't always provide the support that Abby needs, yet can't articulate.
But when she meets Luke in an online chat room, Abby finds someone who does listen to her, and does understand what she's going through. Sure, she's heard the normal warnings about online relationships, but Luke lives in another state, and seems nice, so there really doesn't seem to be any harm in just chatting. But chatting quickly leads to more, and before long, Abby is making plans to skip school and spend the day with Luke, and that's where things go off the rails. Luke kidnaps and sexually abuses Abby, but through the quick work of the police force, and her friends, she is returned to her family. Then comes the day when she must return to school, and face the stares and whispers about her.
I think I wanted to like this book more than I did. It's a great premise, which is why I picked it up in the first place, but the plot seems very predictable. I can certainly understand how online predators can quickly gain the trust of a teen, but in this case, it still seems to happen too suddenly, especially for a narrator who claims to know all about that possibility. Some of the characters are very stereotypical, such as Abby's father, and his reactions seem pretty flat. The finale, where Abby discusses her abduction with the entire school, also seems a little contrived, mainly because it feels like the book is preaching to me at that point. In fact, it preaches a lot, to the point where some sections feel like a cautionary pamphlet about online predators. Good premise, but poor execution in this one, at least for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2011
Want to Go Private is a realistic and powerful look into the reality of teens and the temptation of "meeting" new people online. Being from a generation where AIM was new and exciting, it was very tempting to talk to random people, esp. those who would tell you that you were pretty and showed an interest in you that people in your everyday life might not show you. Abby feel a victim to that in this novel, and I think this book is not only powerful but necessary in a time where social networking sites are all the rage, and children and teens of all ages have access and the knowledge to use such internet sites as Facebook and Myspace, etc. I think most people have the "it would never happen to me" mentality, but I think anyone can fall victim to an online predator esp. at an age where your are at your most vunerable.
Abby starts talking to Luke, and he understands her like nobody else does. What starts off as an innocent online friend, becomes something so much more as through their conversations Abby starts trusting Luke more and more and believes that she is falling in love with him. Only when he gains that trust does the conversation change to a more sexually explicit nature and Abby falls victim to the online "love" that she thinks she has found.
Overall, I couldn't put this novel down, I felt for Abby, where at a time she felt alone and that nobody in the world could understand her, she fell victim to Luke's games. I wanted to know what happened to Abby, and if her "love" for Luke would ultimetly lead to her deciding to meet him in real life.
Abby starts talking to Luke, and he understands her like nobody else does. What starts off as an innocent online friend, becomes something so much more as through their conversations Abby starts trusting Luke more and more and believes that she is falling in love with him. Only when he gains that trust does the conversation change to a more sexually explicit nature and Abby falls victim to the online "love" that she thinks she has found.
Overall, I couldn't put this novel down, I felt for Abby, where at a time she felt alone and that nobody in the world could understand her, she fell victim to Luke's games. I wanted to know what happened to Abby, and if her "love" for Luke would ultimetly lead to her deciding to meet him in real life.
April 16, 2016
When I saw my friend, Shelby's review of this book, I just knew I had to read it.
Right from the authors dedication at the beginning of the book I was hooked.
"To the dedicated men and women of the law-enforcement community who face ugliness every day in the effort to keep our kids safe"
Yes, Thank God for them. I can't even imagine the horrible things they have to look at every day. The dedicated men and women who not only put their lives but also their sanity on the line for us. Plus anyone else that helps children either by intervening before something happens or taking care of them after something has happened. Nurses, Counselors, Psychiatrists, Teachers, Social workers, public speakers on Internet safety the list goes on. And to the dedicated parents who are trying their best to protect their children.
***Possibly very minor spoilers***
Abby is 14 years old and about to start high school. She doesn't want her friendship with her best friend to change because they won't be in the same classes. She feels like she doesn't fit in. Abby thinks her parents want her to be perfect and feels sometimes like they don't love her for who she is. To her it feels like everyone is always telling her to do her hair or make up "to make an effort". She just wants things to stay the same and feels like no one understands her.
Then she meets Luke online. HE understands her. He agrees that her parents are too hard on her and that her best friend should be paying more attention to her. She feels like Luke is the only one who truly gets her. When Luke tells her that he's older than her, at first she is nervous, but he helps alleviate all those fears. Saying things like boys her age would never understand her.... But he does.
Abby has had those Internet safety talks at school and she knows that he could be some 50-year-old dude in the basement somewhere, but she figures it's not like she's ever going to meet him.
However, soon Luke is all that Abby can think about. She's his girl. And after a particularly bad fight with her parents, Luke asks her to meet him and Abby decides to go....
Teenagers are impulsive. They still have that "it will never happen to me" thinking. Maybe not every single teenager would make some of the decisions that Abby made, but some would. Predators are experts, they know what they're looking for, they know how to talk, and especially how to "groom".
Although it may seem that things move fast in the book, teenagers really do move that fast sometimes. Their brains have not stopped growing and they don't always think things through. They are living in a world that many of the adults I know don't understand (all I have to do is look on Facebook).
Even though they may have had Internet safety talks at school there still needs to be more education.
I have a teenage daughter and some of the things she tells me blows my mind. I feel lucky that she is so open with me (and I really hope that never changes). But she's still a teenager, I've seen some of the impulsive things she's done. For example posting something without really thinking it through and immediately regretting it. She's not going to be perfect. It's not realistic of me to think that she would be.
Some of the things she tells me about kids at school and the decisions that some of her friends make scare the hell out of me. I remember when we used to tell kids not to mention what their soccer team name was to strangers! The information that is given out so easily now is incredible.
As parents it's hard for us to keep up with everything out there. We may think we're doing a good thing by not allowing our children to have a Facebook account or if they have one to monitor it. And yes that is a good thing to do, monitoring. However, apparently Facebook is considered old school and I've been told that teens know to be very careful on there because their parents check it. But we have Instagram, Snapchat, askFM, and so many new social media sites popping up every day that parents know nothing about. Unfortunately it would be very hard to live in a completely social media and Internet free world now.
My daughter has showed me pictures and posts on sites that make my head spin. I've seen these kids post their cell phone numbers on public social media so many times. They think because cell phones are not listed that it's safe to do.
But again it just goes to that teenage brain. Not all of them are going to make poor decisions online. But considering how much of this stuff is still happening we need books like this plus more education, open dialogue between teenagers and parents etc.
Because there's no way now that we can keep our children completely off-line. Our teens are going to speak to people online. We just have to work harder at educating them to hopefully make better decisions.
This book is scary but it's important. Because things like this are happening. I felt like it was a realistic portrayal of a teenage girl in many ways. I may not have liked everything about the book but, I'm really glad I read it.
I keep telling myself I'm going to keep my reviews short but it never happens.
Right from the authors dedication at the beginning of the book I was hooked.
"To the dedicated men and women of the law-enforcement community who face ugliness every day in the effort to keep our kids safe"
Yes, Thank God for them. I can't even imagine the horrible things they have to look at every day. The dedicated men and women who not only put their lives but also their sanity on the line for us. Plus anyone else that helps children either by intervening before something happens or taking care of them after something has happened. Nurses, Counselors, Psychiatrists, Teachers, Social workers, public speakers on Internet safety the list goes on. And to the dedicated parents who are trying their best to protect their children.
***Possibly very minor spoilers***
Abby is 14 years old and about to start high school. She doesn't want her friendship with her best friend to change because they won't be in the same classes. She feels like she doesn't fit in. Abby thinks her parents want her to be perfect and feels sometimes like they don't love her for who she is. To her it feels like everyone is always telling her to do her hair or make up "to make an effort". She just wants things to stay the same and feels like no one understands her.
Then she meets Luke online. HE understands her. He agrees that her parents are too hard on her and that her best friend should be paying more attention to her. She feels like Luke is the only one who truly gets her. When Luke tells her that he's older than her, at first she is nervous, but he helps alleviate all those fears. Saying things like boys her age would never understand her.... But he does.
Abby has had those Internet safety talks at school and she knows that he could be some 50-year-old dude in the basement somewhere, but she figures it's not like she's ever going to meet him.
However, soon Luke is all that Abby can think about. She's his girl. And after a particularly bad fight with her parents, Luke asks her to meet him and Abby decides to go....
Teenagers are impulsive. They still have that "it will never happen to me" thinking. Maybe not every single teenager would make some of the decisions that Abby made, but some would. Predators are experts, they know what they're looking for, they know how to talk, and especially how to "groom".
Although it may seem that things move fast in the book, teenagers really do move that fast sometimes. Their brains have not stopped growing and they don't always think things through. They are living in a world that many of the adults I know don't understand (all I have to do is look on Facebook).
Even though they may have had Internet safety talks at school there still needs to be more education.
I have a teenage daughter and some of the things she tells me blows my mind. I feel lucky that she is so open with me (and I really hope that never changes). But she's still a teenager, I've seen some of the impulsive things she's done. For example posting something without really thinking it through and immediately regretting it. She's not going to be perfect. It's not realistic of me to think that she would be.
Some of the things she tells me about kids at school and the decisions that some of her friends make scare the hell out of me. I remember when we used to tell kids not to mention what their soccer team name was to strangers! The information that is given out so easily now is incredible.
As parents it's hard for us to keep up with everything out there. We may think we're doing a good thing by not allowing our children to have a Facebook account or if they have one to monitor it. And yes that is a good thing to do, monitoring. However, apparently Facebook is considered old school and I've been told that teens know to be very careful on there because their parents check it. But we have Instagram, Snapchat, askFM, and so many new social media sites popping up every day that parents know nothing about. Unfortunately it would be very hard to live in a completely social media and Internet free world now.
My daughter has showed me pictures and posts on sites that make my head spin. I've seen these kids post their cell phone numbers on public social media so many times. They think because cell phones are not listed that it's safe to do.
But again it just goes to that teenage brain. Not all of them are going to make poor decisions online. But considering how much of this stuff is still happening we need books like this plus more education, open dialogue between teenagers and parents etc.
Because there's no way now that we can keep our children completely off-line. Our teens are going to speak to people online. We just have to work harder at educating them to hopefully make better decisions.
This book is scary but it's important. Because things like this are happening. I felt like it was a realistic portrayal of a teenage girl in many ways. I may not have liked everything about the book but, I'm really glad I read it.
I keep telling myself I'm going to keep my reviews short but it never happens.
July 13, 2015
honestly, i don't know where to start with this book. i want to say that i loved it and thought it was powerful and important but... that's just not how i felt about it. i'm the kind of person that the most important part of a book for me will always be the characters, particularly the main character, and i thought that abby was shallow, selfish, childish, and (for lack of a better word) stupid even before she met luke on cheznet. the way she handled life was infuriating: she wants people to accept her how she is, but then she complains about how no one pays attention to her or cares about her or dotes on her while she wears generic clothing, puts no effort into her appearance and overall just sinks into the background of everything. she's clingy and dependent on her friend faith, to the degree of thinking badly of her just for making new friends. she's a real negative nancy, always talking down about everything without even giving it a chance; she wants things to stay exactly the same even though she's in high school, wants to be her low maintenance self, and yet she's always mourning the fact that the hot, popular dude who sits behind her doesn't remember her name. she isolates herself and acts like she's too good for everyone around her, but... then she's angry at how people treat her. she's a silly little twit from the very first page of this book.
all of her family and friends are just fucking awful people from abby's pov and surprisingly, when we switch to her sister's pov, she's still a fucking awful person. she's selfish and bratty and completely unconcerned with her sister, despite claiming to be every five sentences so you don't forget that she's meant to be an okay girl, just a teenager. she is one of the most self-absorbed, shallow girls i've ever had the misfortune of reading about. did the author intend to make her seem like an emotionally-stunted, idiotic little girl with less empathy and understanding of the world than your average newborn? if so, bravo.
her friends, however, turned out to be decent enough. faith did nothing wrong other than wanting to move on with her life and, well, have one, and abby couldn't stand that because she's not even her own person, honestly. billy was a sweet, albeit unrealistic, boy that stood by abby and still wanted to be with her no matter what she did or what happened to her, which i thought was a very sweet sentiment, in a way. in another way, it's shitty that he only supported her and wanted to be there for her because he had a romantic interest in her. if he hadn't thought he could end up as her boyfriend, would he have stood by her side? probably not. but no one asks those questions - everyone pushes her to date him or act on her crush on him, less than a week after she returns home from this huge "trauma" with a "monster." some goddamn support system.
her parents were shitty. her mother wanted to brush it under the rug and forget about it and her father blamed her. he was a horrible, unsupportive parent. i hated her family so much. but i also hated abby, so... it makes sense that she would sprout from such rotten roots.
the way that her "situation" with luke plays out is absolutely ridiculous. later on in the book, everyone talks about how he groomed and conditioned her so that he could exploit her but truthfully, from what i read, he didn't actually do very much at all. abby was desperate and needy, a codependent girl who couldn't stand that her friends and family had a life outside of her -- it was called loneliness but in reality, it was a complete and total lack of a sense of self. she fell into a badly-woven trap very, very easily. she was a selfish, naive little girl and at the end of the day, barely anything even happened to her. sure, she's traumatized, but... she got out of her situation with little to no consequences. when she escaped, she was in love with luke still, yelling at everyone about how he was nothing like what they thought and then at complete random with no actual development, she was talking about how much she'd been through and having horrible nightmares and dealing with, and i quote, "post-traumatic blasts from the past."
on top of everything else, the author tried much too hard to sound like a teenager - their im dialogue, their actual dialogue, their actions, their personalities, their thought processes, literally all of it was fucking stupid and horrible and unrealistic. it was all cheesy. it was all stupid. there was a complete lack of any character development/growth, and no changes of heart that happened ever got explained. there was quite a bit of pov hopping that, in my opinion, was a complete copout so the author didn't have to write about what happened or why it happened or how it happened, she could simply pick up after it did and expect everyone to be ok with the character's thoughts and opinions suddenly being starkly different. that's sloppy, and it's lazy.
more than literally anything, i would like to make it known that this book is absolute bullshit: it's exploitative of victims of abusive situations like this, and in all honesty, it's a thinly veiled psa about internet safety, the book equivalent of a lifetime movie. it's actually kind of insulting.
all of her family and friends are just fucking awful people from abby's pov and surprisingly, when we switch to her sister's pov, she's still a fucking awful person. she's selfish and bratty and completely unconcerned with her sister, despite claiming to be every five sentences so you don't forget that she's meant to be an okay girl, just a teenager. she is one of the most self-absorbed, shallow girls i've ever had the misfortune of reading about. did the author intend to make her seem like an emotionally-stunted, idiotic little girl with less empathy and understanding of the world than your average newborn? if so, bravo.
her friends, however, turned out to be decent enough. faith did nothing wrong other than wanting to move on with her life and, well, have one, and abby couldn't stand that because she's not even her own person, honestly. billy was a sweet, albeit unrealistic, boy that stood by abby and still wanted to be with her no matter what she did or what happened to her, which i thought was a very sweet sentiment, in a way. in another way, it's shitty that he only supported her and wanted to be there for her because he had a romantic interest in her. if he hadn't thought he could end up as her boyfriend, would he have stood by her side? probably not. but no one asks those questions - everyone pushes her to date him or act on her crush on him, less than a week after she returns home from this huge "trauma" with a "monster." some goddamn support system.
her parents were shitty. her mother wanted to brush it under the rug and forget about it and her father blamed her. he was a horrible, unsupportive parent. i hated her family so much. but i also hated abby, so... it makes sense that she would sprout from such rotten roots.
the way that her "situation" with luke plays out is absolutely ridiculous. later on in the book, everyone talks about how he groomed and conditioned her so that he could exploit her but truthfully, from what i read, he didn't actually do very much at all. abby was desperate and needy, a codependent girl who couldn't stand that her friends and family had a life outside of her -- it was called loneliness but in reality, it was a complete and total lack of a sense of self. she fell into a badly-woven trap very, very easily. she was a selfish, naive little girl and at the end of the day, barely anything even happened to her. sure, she's traumatized, but... she got out of her situation with little to no consequences. when she escaped, she was in love with luke still, yelling at everyone about how he was nothing like what they thought and then at complete random with no actual development, she was talking about how much she'd been through and having horrible nightmares and dealing with, and i quote, "post-traumatic blasts from the past."
on top of everything else, the author tried much too hard to sound like a teenager - their im dialogue, their actual dialogue, their actions, their personalities, their thought processes, literally all of it was fucking stupid and horrible and unrealistic. it was all cheesy. it was all stupid. there was a complete lack of any character development/growth, and no changes of heart that happened ever got explained. there was quite a bit of pov hopping that, in my opinion, was a complete copout so the author didn't have to write about what happened or why it happened or how it happened, she could simply pick up after it did and expect everyone to be ok with the character's thoughts and opinions suddenly being starkly different. that's sloppy, and it's lazy.
more than literally anything, i would like to make it known that this book is absolute bullshit: it's exploitative of victims of abusive situations like this, and in all honesty, it's a thinly veiled psa about internet safety, the book equivalent of a lifetime movie. it's actually kind of insulting.
February 11, 2012
The first quarter of the book is narrated by freshman Abby, who is school-smart, but feels like she does not fit in with her fashion-obsessed mother and sister, absent father, and best friend who is starting to make new friends in high school. When she meets "27-year old" "Luke" online, her self-esteem goes up as Luke showers her with compliments and attention. They soon go to private chatrooms where Luke convinces her to have web-camera sex with him. He sends her a secret cell phone and they engage in sexting. At the conclusion of Part 1, Abby agrees to meet him at a mall and gets in his car so they can express their "love" in person. Of course, Luke is not the ideal boyfriend that Abby believes him to be and is in fact a 32-year old internet predator. The entire middle part of the book is narrated by Abby's sister, best friend, and boy from school (who wants to be her boyfriend), and is about Abby's sudden scary disappearance and the police investigation that eventually tracks her down. The final quarter of the book is narrated by Abby as she recovers from the shock of finding out that she was violated, not loved. It is also about her ability to be resilient about her terrible ordeal as she returns to a school that is abuzz with rumors about her involvement with a sexual predator.
The characters, and especially, Abby, are anemic and unappealing. They are like stock characters from any run-of-the-mill YA book: the disapproving mother obsessed with looks and conformity; the bratty fashonista younger sister; the barely-fleshed out "mean girl" and hot "king of the grade". Abby's concerns that her best friend is drifting away are in no way substantiated as the friend is caring and attentive, so it is difficult to feel sympathy for the main character. The "teen speak" that the, like, author, like, uses is strained and artificial and sometimes grating. The alternating narration structure of the book does not work, in part because none of the characters' voices are particularly compelling.
In the acknowledgements to this book, the author says that her inspiration was that she attended her 7th grade son's assembly about internet predators. The book's message about internet safety is front and center, while the characters and plot structure suffer. What is particularly bizarre is that when Abby is first interacting with Kyle, she keeps mentioning that she knows all about internet safety because she learned it in school and from her parents, yet none of this information prevents her from meeting up with a stranger 17 years older than herself. Why would the author think this poorly-written book do any better? This book contains explicit and sometimes disturbing descriptions of sex.
The characters, and especially, Abby, are anemic and unappealing. They are like stock characters from any run-of-the-mill YA book: the disapproving mother obsessed with looks and conformity; the bratty fashonista younger sister; the barely-fleshed out "mean girl" and hot "king of the grade". Abby's concerns that her best friend is drifting away are in no way substantiated as the friend is caring and attentive, so it is difficult to feel sympathy for the main character. The "teen speak" that the, like, author, like, uses is strained and artificial and sometimes grating. The alternating narration structure of the book does not work, in part because none of the characters' voices are particularly compelling.
In the acknowledgements to this book, the author says that her inspiration was that she attended her 7th grade son's assembly about internet predators. The book's message about internet safety is front and center, while the characters and plot structure suffer. What is particularly bizarre is that when Abby is first interacting with Kyle, she keeps mentioning that she knows all about internet safety because she learned it in school and from her parents, yet none of this information prevents her from meeting up with a stranger 17 years older than herself. Why would the author think this poorly-written book do any better? This book contains explicit and sometimes disturbing descriptions of sex.
January 15, 2012
As soon as I got finished reading this book, I texted a friend and said, “If I could put one book into the hands of every 13 year old, this is that book.”
Want to Go Private? is a powerful, moving, and emotional rollercoaster of a book that is not only horrifically accurate, but gracefully written. Sarah Darer Littman pulls no punches as she describes how easy it really is for a predatory to worm their way into your home.
Abby is the typical American teenager. She feels awkward, out of sorts, and in that horrible transition period between middle school and high school. It’s, quite possibly, the worst time to be a female. Abby finds solace in a boy/man she meets on a teen chat site. Luke listens to her, cares about her, and seems to be genuinely interested. He says and does all the right things to make a 14 year old girl fall hard and fast for him all in the comfort of her own bedroom.
I love the way Littman breaks this novel down into three sections. It starts with Abby, chronicles her first few months in high school and shows how Luke it able to prey on her. How he gets her to do things she wouldn’t usually do because he manipulates her needs to feel accepted and loved. The second part is told after Abby is gone, from three points of view: her younger sister, her best friend, and a classmate. Their alternating perspectives help piece together what went wrong with Abby at home and at school. Finally, the last section deals with the painful aftermath.
I won’t lie: This book had me cringing and grimacing at several points. Littman has a tendency to get a bit graphic, but I really feel like it was needed to drive the point home. Abby does things on her computer, for example sending topless pictures of herself to Luke, that horrified me. I think what scared me the most is that I was Abby growing up.
Did I send naked pictures of myself? No. But I was a 14 year old girl who felt horribly out of place in school because I had just moved and I found solace with internet friends … some who claimed to be boys, but looking back now, I think they may have been adults. The difference is, my computer was angled so the screen faced my door (which I wasn’t allowed to shut while on the computer) so that my parents could see everything I was doing when walking by. At the time I thought they were insanely overprotective and determined to take away my privacy.
I see now how smart they are, and I can’t thank them enough.
Parents need to read this book. Teens need to read this book. I cannot find the words to recommend this book enough.
Want to Go Private? is a powerful, moving, and emotional rollercoaster of a book that is not only horrifically accurate, but gracefully written. Sarah Darer Littman pulls no punches as she describes how easy it really is for a predatory to worm their way into your home.
Abby is the typical American teenager. She feels awkward, out of sorts, and in that horrible transition period between middle school and high school. It’s, quite possibly, the worst time to be a female. Abby finds solace in a boy/man she meets on a teen chat site. Luke listens to her, cares about her, and seems to be genuinely interested. He says and does all the right things to make a 14 year old girl fall hard and fast for him all in the comfort of her own bedroom.
I love the way Littman breaks this novel down into three sections. It starts with Abby, chronicles her first few months in high school and shows how Luke it able to prey on her. How he gets her to do things she wouldn’t usually do because he manipulates her needs to feel accepted and loved. The second part is told after Abby is gone, from three points of view: her younger sister, her best friend, and a classmate. Their alternating perspectives help piece together what went wrong with Abby at home and at school. Finally, the last section deals with the painful aftermath.
I won’t lie: This book had me cringing and grimacing at several points. Littman has a tendency to get a bit graphic, but I really feel like it was needed to drive the point home. Abby does things on her computer, for example sending topless pictures of herself to Luke, that horrified me. I think what scared me the most is that I was Abby growing up.
Did I send naked pictures of myself? No. But I was a 14 year old girl who felt horribly out of place in school because I had just moved and I found solace with internet friends … some who claimed to be boys, but looking back now, I think they may have been adults. The difference is, my computer was angled so the screen faced my door (which I wasn’t allowed to shut while on the computer) so that my parents could see everything I was doing when walking by. At the time I thought they were insanely overprotective and determined to take away my privacy.
I see now how smart they are, and I can’t thank them enough.
Parents need to read this book. Teens need to read this book. I cannot find the words to recommend this book enough.
December 23, 2015
♥ Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah
- - -
Abby and her best friend, Faith, are beginning high school. Faith has been encouraging Abby to be more outgoing, positive, and maybe more stylish as well. Abby just wants to be herself, and feels nothing but nerves at the thought of dealing with high school - because surely, it's going to be just as terrible as middle school.
Shortly after school begins, Abby feels as if Faith is leaving her behind. Her parents want her to be perfect; A+ Abby. Her slightly younger sister is nothing but a pain in the rear, and Abby has no one to turn to. She feels like no one understands her.
Abby turns to the internet. On a popular site called ChezTeen.com, Abby begins talking to “BlueSkyBoi”; AKA Luke. 27-year-old Luke seems to agree with everything Abby says and feels. He listens to her problems and feelings and sympathizes with them. He offers advice, compliments, and a shoulder to cry on. He's everything Abby needs in a confidant. Pretty soon, the relationship turns into something Abby never expected. Luke asks her for topless photos, asks her to strip for him on webcam, and then sends her a “secret” cell phone so they can talk even more. After that, things get more and more intense until Abby makes what could be the biggest mistake of her life.
- - -
Alrighty, let me get my complaints out of the way first. My complaints will make this review a tad bit spoilery! I'll try not to give away too much though.
First of all, when Abby goes “missing”, her family reacts to the situation backward. When she is missing for just 2 hours they jump to the conclusion that she's been kidnapped! Seriously, in real life.. I don't think I know anyone who would think that about a 14 year old who just fought with her parents the night before. I would think that she was being stubborn and rebellious. They don't seem to consider that until hour 4 or 5. Er, what? Backward!
The second issue I had was the fact that Part 2 of 3 was narrated by the friends and family. It skipped completely over Abby's POV during the time she was with Luke. I understand why this was probably done - maybe to avoid too much sexual content, to show how it is for the family and friends when something like this happens, or to show the legal side of it all? Either way, I think it would have been easier to connect with Abby and understand her feelings if we'd at least been able to partially experience her time with him.
Now, on the other hand, the beginning - where Abby is dealing with her life issues and getting to know Luke, I found this very realistic. I myself used to talk to strange guys online and pretty much believed the things they told me without question. I was 14-15 and I can't say that I never would have tried to meet one of them if my parents hadn't been so observant of my online life. 14 (Abby's age) seems a little old to fall for it, but it really just depends on the child's situation at home. If you are somewhat sheltered or inexperienced, like in the case of Abby.. well, you know. It's easy to fall for and part of you ignores that little voice of reason because you want to believe someone gets you. I just think Sarah did a fantastic job of creating both Abby and Luke's character, as well as the situation between them. This is something that could happen to any teen out there and she did a truly amazing job of showing that.
The aftermath was truly emotional. I cried a lot during the last chapters of this book. I liked that we were able to see snippets of Abby's experiences with Luke so that we could understand what happened and how the outcome came about. It was tragic and terrible, but seeing Abby grow and turn her experience into something positive was beautiful and inspiring.
This book will leave a huge impression on you. It's a cautionary tale that all teens should be required to read. It's raw and full of emotion. There are multiple lessons to be learned and it's all put together quite fantastically. There is sexual content, so beware. It's real. It's scary. It doesn't teeter totter around the real life issues. A definite must-read!
- - -
Book source: Purchased
Publisher: Scholastic
March 28, 2023
A very important read to teach minors about internet safety. It’s quick and easy to read but still contains substance and made me sick to my stomach quite a few times. Definitely look up triggers before reading. I enjoyed the ending.
September 27, 2011
I have to say I haven't read many (zero really) books on internet predators. It's obvious that's what the book is about from just the cover. What did shock me was how young our main character Abby was, 14!
She is a freshman in high-school. Yes, some parts were cheesy, but on the whole, this is a pretty important read.
Spoilers coming up:
Abby is lonely and confused. She is a normal and smart 9th grade girl. She makes some incredibly stupid decisions, ie., giving "luke" her address, telling him her real name, sending him naked pictures, agreeing to meet him and run away with him for a while. I feel judgemental sitting here saying she was stupid, I'm sure a lot of us have let tidbits slip out online, especially when you've been talking to someone for a while and feel comfortable. But, we are all stupid. Seriously, there are some sicko mean-ass people out there. We should all (not just teeny-boppers) be more careful than we are.
For me everything happened too fast. Abby and Luke had talked what, all of two times, before he was asking for her bra size???? Seriously, red flag there girls!!! All of which led to asking him to show her "tits" and touch herself. Another Red Flag! Creep factor is definitely reconizible, but she feels flattered and like he wants her. I get it to a point, but another part of me is just in awe at how STUPID (yes, I said it again) she is being. Then he asks her to keep them a secret?!?!?! Seriously?!?!?!?!?
The end was a huge shocker for me. I am very suprised that the author chose to let Abby live. It's probably not the realistic ending.
I'm also suprised at how long the police department took to report her missing, retrieve information from her computer and turn over to the FBI. It's scary.
If I was a mother to a teenage daughter I would try my hardest to slip this one into her lap. It's a taboo topic, but this one is realistic without scaring the pants off you. It's all from Abby and her friends/family's point of view, so there is no inside the pedophile's mind scenarios.
4 stars.
(with the acknowlegdement that this book could have been written better, but there is not much else on the subject, so it feels important)
She is a freshman in high-school. Yes, some parts were cheesy, but on the whole, this is a pretty important read.
Spoilers coming up:
Abby is lonely and confused. She is a normal and smart 9th grade girl. She makes some incredibly stupid decisions, ie., giving "luke" her address, telling him her real name, sending him naked pictures, agreeing to meet him and run away with him for a while. I feel judgemental sitting here saying she was stupid, I'm sure a lot of us have let tidbits slip out online, especially when you've been talking to someone for a while and feel comfortable. But, we are all stupid. Seriously, there are some sicko mean-ass people out there. We should all (not just teeny-boppers) be more careful than we are.
For me everything happened too fast. Abby and Luke had talked what, all of two times, before he was asking for her bra size???? Seriously, red flag there girls!!! All of which led to asking him to show her "tits" and touch herself. Another Red Flag! Creep factor is definitely reconizible, but she feels flattered and like he wants her. I get it to a point, but another part of me is just in awe at how STUPID (yes, I said it again) she is being. Then he asks her to keep them a secret?!?!?! Seriously?!?!?!?!?
The end was a huge shocker for me. I am very suprised that the author chose to let Abby live. It's probably not the realistic ending.
I'm also suprised at how long the police department took to report her missing, retrieve information from her computer and turn over to the FBI. It's scary.
If I was a mother to a teenage daughter I would try my hardest to slip this one into her lap. It's a taboo topic, but this one is realistic without scaring the pants off you. It's all from Abby and her friends/family's point of view, so there is no inside the pedophile's mind scenarios.
4 stars.
(with the acknowlegdement that this book could have been written better, but there is not much else on the subject, so it feels important)
January 7, 2012
I hated this book, I hated it. I hated. Yeah, I can see the significance of it, but I was just creeped out and disgusted with it. It did a great job of opening my eyes to something that I thought was foolish and that no person would ever do and showed me that it really does happen. I just couldn't even finish it. I could not feel anything for the main character, it just makes me want to shout out, "ewww, you're stupid. Don't do it. Why would you meet him?" The character actually seemed like she had some freakin' common sense. It's sad that girls fall prey to it and I don't like it. I'm just not that type of person. I picked up the because of the intrigue. This book was graphic and usually that wouldn't phase me, but however this did. I'm sorry for the main character, but I have no sympathy for people who fall prey to that. The character just fell flat to me. I just could not get into this book, I wouldn't let myself. It seemed so stupid to me and creepy (OHHH the creepiness..) However, I do think it has an intriguing plot and it was well-written, and it seemed like it was obviously well planned out. I would recommend this to people who have more of an open mind that I do who are looking for a dark and realistic read. Hope the girls at the school library (which is where I picked this book up) will be prepared. However, the plotline is as I've mentioned intriguing. I'm off to search good reads for a book similar, not as graphic, and with a main character who is smart but has a different circumstance and motivation to fall prey to this than just being "lonely." (Even though, I realize that is the main ingredient in the recipe for this type of thing) a.k.a meaning something not so real and with obviously more fiction than this one.
August 26, 2011
I started this book and couldn't stop--I read it straight through. This is the story of
Abby, who is having trouble adjusting to high school, especially since she doesn't see
very much of her best friend anymore. They don't have classes together and Faith is
getting into new activities, like school plays, that Abby is just not into. So she
relies more and more on her online friends at a teen targeted chat site. Especially
Luke. He compliments her, he agrees with her, he's THERE for her when no one else is.
He's interested in her, and that feels so wonderful that at first she doesn't mind
answering some rather personal questions from him, after all, he's probably hundreds of
miles away and she's never going to meet him anyway. Then he wants pictures. Then he
wants to webcam. Then he sends her a phone. Then he wants....other things...but he says
he loves her, so it's all right, right?
This is about online preditors and how they "groom" teens, tweens and even younger
children, making them feel safe and loved and special, when in reality it's about
exploitation, pornography and sometimes kidnapping and murder. This book takes Abby from
the very first online comment to the aftermath of exploitation. It is hard to read
because of how easily it is done to thousands of children and teens every day. This book
shows the whole trap--and the wide range of consequences for the victims. This book will
cause a stir, and I think that is a good thing. This needs to be talked about, and just
like this, in real terms within real, average situations. I applaud this author and this
book for taking on this subject so boldly.
Abby, who is having trouble adjusting to high school, especially since she doesn't see
very much of her best friend anymore. They don't have classes together and Faith is
getting into new activities, like school plays, that Abby is just not into. So she
relies more and more on her online friends at a teen targeted chat site. Especially
Luke. He compliments her, he agrees with her, he's THERE for her when no one else is.
He's interested in her, and that feels so wonderful that at first she doesn't mind
answering some rather personal questions from him, after all, he's probably hundreds of
miles away and she's never going to meet him anyway. Then he wants pictures. Then he
wants to webcam. Then he sends her a phone. Then he wants....other things...but he says
he loves her, so it's all right, right?
This is about online preditors and how they "groom" teens, tweens and even younger
children, making them feel safe and loved and special, when in reality it's about
exploitation, pornography and sometimes kidnapping and murder. This book takes Abby from
the very first online comment to the aftermath of exploitation. It is hard to read
because of how easily it is done to thousands of children and teens every day. This book
shows the whole trap--and the wide range of consequences for the victims. This book will
cause a stir, and I think that is a good thing. This needs to be talked about, and just
like this, in real terms within real, average situations. I applaud this author and this
book for taking on this subject so boldly.
April 18, 2024
I bought this book almost two years ago, and to this day, I still tense up when I see it on the shelf at Target. It genuinely enrages me knowing that $10.99 (plus tax) of my hard-earned money was wasted on this. I had such high hopes for it. The idea was there, but the book was poorly executed.
I finished it in one day. It usually takes me a while to complete books, but I couldn't set this one down. I remember laying on my bed laughing as I read, which isn't the ideal reaction for a book that covers topics like child grooming, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
This book could have been decent if the author hadn't split it up into three different sections. The first section is in Abby's pov, and honestly, it wasn't terrible. It didn't accurately portray high school, in my opinion. Also, Abby and Luke's messages were bland and unrealistic at times, but I was intrigued enough to keep on reading it.
Section one ends with a cliffhanger; Abby meets up with Luke. If I remember correctly, they don't exchange any dialogue, which I understand was for dramatic effect, but still annoying. The second section changes the pov to Abby's family and friends. Going from section one to two was similar to losing a sneeze.....just sheer disappointment. I want to assume the author has her artistic reasoning for the pov switch, but it just came across as lazy writing.
The third section was predictable.....insanely predictable.
Aside from the pov stuff, my main issue was just how idiotic the characters were. I'm convinced they all share a single brain cell.
Starting with our main character, Abby, I understand young girls are impressionable but like.....Jesus, this girl must be colorblind the way she ignores red flags.
Luke is such a idiot that it is somewhat shocking that he could achieve his goal of kidnapping Abby. It's been two years, so the details are a little fuzzy, but I remember he tells Abby he is 27 or around that age. Later it is revealed he is actually in his early thirties. He is trying to groom a 14-year-old, and when he lies about his age, he barely lowers it. Like... if you're going to be a bad enough person to groom children online, at least put some thought into it. If Abby had the ability to use critical thinking skills, Luke would have been screwed.
I don't remember if Abby's sister was also an idiot because her selfish and shallow personality consumed me. With that being said, I was able to really relate to her <3
After I finished this book, I immediately called my closest internet friends on facetime and told them how awful it was. (note: facetime is this thing young hip teens use to verify strangers' identities online.) We discussed what I should do with my copy of the book. Donating it was out of the question; those poor people are going through enough already. I was going to burn it in my friend's bonfire, but I got impatient and ended up making a paper mache project out of the pages.
My heart goes out to all the teenage girls who have been gifted this book by their paranoid family members and cheated out of receiving an actual gift on whatever special occasion was being celebrated. Keep your head up, queen; your tiara is falling. xx
I finished it in one day. It usually takes me a while to complete books, but I couldn't set this one down. I remember laying on my bed laughing as I read, which isn't the ideal reaction for a book that covers topics like child grooming, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
This book could have been decent if the author hadn't split it up into three different sections. The first section is in Abby's pov, and honestly, it wasn't terrible. It didn't accurately portray high school, in my opinion. Also, Abby and Luke's messages were bland and unrealistic at times, but I was intrigued enough to keep on reading it.
Section one ends with a cliffhanger; Abby meets up with Luke. If I remember correctly, they don't exchange any dialogue, which I understand was for dramatic effect, but still annoying. The second section changes the pov to Abby's family and friends. Going from section one to two was similar to losing a sneeze.....just sheer disappointment. I want to assume the author has her artistic reasoning for the pov switch, but it just came across as lazy writing.
The third section was predictable.....insanely predictable.
Aside from the pov stuff, my main issue was just how idiotic the characters were. I'm convinced they all share a single brain cell.
Starting with our main character, Abby, I understand young girls are impressionable but like.....Jesus, this girl must be colorblind the way she ignores red flags.
Luke is such a idiot that it is somewhat shocking that he could achieve his goal of kidnapping Abby. It's been two years, so the details are a little fuzzy, but I remember he tells Abby he is 27 or around that age. Later it is revealed he is actually in his early thirties. He is trying to groom a 14-year-old, and when he lies about his age, he barely lowers it. Like... if you're going to be a bad enough person to groom children online, at least put some thought into it. If Abby had the ability to use critical thinking skills, Luke would have been screwed.
I don't remember if Abby's sister was also an idiot because her selfish and shallow personality consumed me. With that being said, I was able to really relate to her <3
After I finished this book, I immediately called my closest internet friends on facetime and told them how awful it was. (note: facetime is this thing young hip teens use to verify strangers' identities online.) We discussed what I should do with my copy of the book. Donating it was out of the question; those poor people are going through enough already. I was going to burn it in my friend's bonfire, but I got impatient and ended up making a paper mache project out of the pages.
My heart goes out to all the teenage girls who have been gifted this book by their paranoid family members and cheated out of receiving an actual gift on whatever special occasion was being celebrated. Keep your head up, queen; your tiara is falling. xx
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2011
so I'm a bit behind on reviews, but on the brighter side of things I've reached my reading goal which although sad and pathetic compared to karen and greg was not insignificant. meaning I am a success, and this book here deserves credit for being part of my success being a book that I read. congrats book you are helpful.
The book is actually really quite well written, but clearly a propaganda piece, it reads like a giant well written scare tactic screaming THE INTERNET IS FOR SERIOUS! okay that was really just me fucking around it's really trying to scare children out of using the internet and doing stupid things like calling people from the internet.
on one level, everyone meets people on the internet these days, on another level, children are stupid and aren't people so maybe they shouldn't be allowed on the internet it's possible that's the case.
as a kid of about 12 I use to meet people in chat rooms with my best friend and they would ask the questions asked in this book then my friend would get her mom's permission and call them on the phone, and yeah it was creepy I wasn't going to do that. What's interesting here is the guy doesn't claim to be her age or anything and I think the internet gets dangerous when people tell us the truth and we write that off as them being good people because they told us the truth. A person is the person they are online and we have to recognize if that's a person we want to be around. The guy in this book wasn't nice online he was a creepy jerk but she was too young to notice. I wouldn't say the moral is stay off the internet I would say the moral is get educated about how to use it safely and educate your kids. No child listens to "No" they might listen to "meet in a public place" or "tell someone where you are" or "get a real phone number" lets tech safety, you can't ban a way of communication and meeting people that is part of culture now.
The book is actually really quite well written, but clearly a propaganda piece, it reads like a giant well written scare tactic screaming THE INTERNET IS FOR SERIOUS! okay that was really just me fucking around it's really trying to scare children out of using the internet and doing stupid things like calling people from the internet.
on one level, everyone meets people on the internet these days, on another level, children are stupid and aren't people so maybe they shouldn't be allowed on the internet it's possible that's the case.
as a kid of about 12 I use to meet people in chat rooms with my best friend and they would ask the questions asked in this book then my friend would get her mom's permission and call them on the phone, and yeah it was creepy I wasn't going to do that. What's interesting here is the guy doesn't claim to be her age or anything and I think the internet gets dangerous when people tell us the truth and we write that off as them being good people because they told us the truth. A person is the person they are online and we have to recognize if that's a person we want to be around. The guy in this book wasn't nice online he was a creepy jerk but she was too young to notice. I wouldn't say the moral is stay off the internet I would say the moral is get educated about how to use it safely and educate your kids. No child listens to "No" they might listen to "meet in a public place" or "tell someone where you are" or "get a real phone number" lets tech safety, you can't ban a way of communication and meeting people that is part of culture now.
March 25, 2017
I can't decide how to rate this book, so I just went down the middle.
Sometimes the pacing felt off and the drama was too easy and I felt like I was watching a cheesy thriller starring Tara Reid.
Other times, I'd think...yeah my students are this clueless and they'd totally do this, this is pretty realistic.
I've read a lot of Littman's books and this is by far the most mature and dark...I mean Luke says, "I'm so turned on, I could break your door down with my c---." at some point, and I'm the opposite of a prude but I was like, whoa Littman!
However, a creep like Luke WOULD totally say this.
I'm torn on my final impression but I'm CONFIDENT my students will find it juicy and enjoyable. Will they learn from it? Jury is still out.
Sometimes the pacing felt off and the drama was too easy and I felt like I was watching a cheesy thriller starring Tara Reid.
Other times, I'd think...yeah my students are this clueless and they'd totally do this, this is pretty realistic.
I've read a lot of Littman's books and this is by far the most mature and dark...I mean Luke says, "I'm so turned on, I could break your door down with my c---." at some point, and I'm the opposite of a prude but I was like, whoa Littman!
However, a creep like Luke WOULD totally say this.
I'm torn on my final impression but I'm CONFIDENT my students will find it juicy and enjoyable. Will they learn from it? Jury is still out.
October 31, 2017
4.5/5
(PS. This review contains slightly personal information, since this book addresses such a sensitive issue.)
The world is not a safe place. Books like this are vitally important to help prevent minors from falling victim to sexual predators from the Internet. I know what it's like, I used to prowl online chatrooms, Habbo Hotel and the like as a high school student, and trust me, there was an abundance of creeps out there. Luckily I never did come across any creeps who had the opportunity to exploit me in person in my naivete, but I suppose I know more than anyone else just how easy it might be, how real and scary this issue is. We NEED books like Want to Go Private? in the world. We need these books to be shared and discussed.
Want to Go Private? follows 14-year-old Abby, a slightly shy and studious girl who is nervous about starting her first day at high school. Over the summer holidays, she and her best friend Faith, while on their favourite online social media/chat room platform, one where you create your own avatar and explore a world (sort of like Habbo Hotel), they meet some guy who shares the same musical taste as Abby, her "musical soulie". What starts off with a WTGP? (Want to Go Private) catapults Abby into a dizzying spiral of LukeWorld, in which she gets wrapped up in the sweet guy who listens to her, calls her beautiful and sexy and understands her like no one else. Her grades start slipping, her best friend is too busy with her new boyfriend and drama club, and she starts to blow off her cute science lab partner after one date. And then after her parents ground her for getting a D on a maths test - her best subject - she gets a chance to run away from home with (and finally meet) her boyfriend Luke who loves her, which is a dream come true! Right?
This book was just so scary and upsetting. It chills me to think it's been 10 years since I was 14, but I still remember how I was like back then. I actually met my first boyfriend on the Internet, a fan message board, at 13/14, and he was 25, and luckily I played it safe because we first met up with a group of fellow fans of the musician. But reading this made me think of how things could have turned out, and that thought chills me to the bone.
I appreciated the way Littman tells this story, through multiple perspectives so we get to see how this event affects her family and friends, too. It definitely makes the underlying message much stronger. The way her family breaks down and is slowly built up again moved me to tears!
I empathised with Abby, and I think what helped was that I was able to see a little of myself in her, particularly my awkward high school self. I was anxious to know what was going to happen to her, and I inwardly pleaded with her not to meet up with Luke. In general I quite liked all of the characters and somehow didn't mind if we didn't get to know everything about them - in this kind of book I don't think it's necessary to know everyone's backstories and the like. I adored Faith, she is an awesome best friend. And Billy, who is just the sweetest ever, though I'm not sure how many high school boys there are like him out there in the world.
The writing is crisp and easy to breeze through, despite the troubling and unsettling subject matter.
I did not enjoy this book, nor is this the kind of book that can be enjoyed. The immensely important underlying message marks this book as a highly recommended read for young adults, especially those who think This could never be me. I'm sure that many victims out there thought the exact same thing, it's not like they woke up one day and decided to meet up with a sex offender. A real eye-opener. Will definitely pick up more from this author in the future.
(PS. This review contains slightly personal information, since this book addresses such a sensitive issue.)
The world is not a safe place. Books like this are vitally important to help prevent minors from falling victim to sexual predators from the Internet. I know what it's like, I used to prowl online chatrooms, Habbo Hotel and the like as a high school student, and trust me, there was an abundance of creeps out there. Luckily I never did come across any creeps who had the opportunity to exploit me in person in my naivete, but I suppose I know more than anyone else just how easy it might be, how real and scary this issue is. We NEED books like Want to Go Private? in the world. We need these books to be shared and discussed.
Want to Go Private? follows 14-year-old Abby, a slightly shy and studious girl who is nervous about starting her first day at high school. Over the summer holidays, she and her best friend Faith, while on their favourite online social media/chat room platform, one where you create your own avatar and explore a world (sort of like Habbo Hotel), they meet some guy who shares the same musical taste as Abby, her "musical soulie". What starts off with a WTGP? (Want to Go Private) catapults Abby into a dizzying spiral of LukeWorld, in which she gets wrapped up in the sweet guy who listens to her, calls her beautiful and sexy and understands her like no one else. Her grades start slipping, her best friend is too busy with her new boyfriend and drama club, and she starts to blow off her cute science lab partner after one date. And then after her parents ground her for getting a D on a maths test - her best subject - she gets a chance to run away from home with (and finally meet) her boyfriend Luke who loves her, which is a dream come true! Right?
This book was just so scary and upsetting. It chills me to think it's been 10 years since I was 14, but I still remember how I was like back then. I actually met my first boyfriend on the Internet, a fan message board, at 13/14, and he was 25, and luckily I played it safe because we first met up with a group of fellow fans of the musician. But reading this made me think of how things could have turned out, and that thought chills me to the bone.
I appreciated the way Littman tells this story, through multiple perspectives so we get to see how this event affects her family and friends, too. It definitely makes the underlying message much stronger. The way her family breaks down and is slowly built up again moved me to tears!
I empathised with Abby, and I think what helped was that I was able to see a little of myself in her, particularly my awkward high school self. I was anxious to know what was going to happen to her, and I inwardly pleaded with her not to meet up with Luke. In general I quite liked all of the characters and somehow didn't mind if we didn't get to know everything about them - in this kind of book I don't think it's necessary to know everyone's backstories and the like. I adored Faith, she is an awesome best friend. And Billy, who is just the sweetest ever, though I'm not sure how many high school boys there are like him out there in the world.
The writing is crisp and easy to breeze through, despite the troubling and unsettling subject matter.
I did not enjoy this book, nor is this the kind of book that can be enjoyed. The immensely important underlying message marks this book as a highly recommended read for young adults, especially those who think This could never be me. I'm sure that many victims out there thought the exact same thing, it's not like they woke up one day and decided to meet up with a sex offender. A real eye-opener. Will definitely pick up more from this author in the future.
July 23, 2012
First Impression: Yes, I did pick up this book because of the summary and because of how important this type of knowledge is. I am so glad that this is actually a "young adult" novel and I found it in the teenage section. Of course it is crammed between other novels with ideas of 'boyfriends' and 'love' and 'friends' and the reality of being a teenager. But in the midst of these tales, there is the little fragile hope a teenager has. To grow up and have a typical, easy-going, spectacular life. And the big shock is that you will not live every day satisfied although you a positive, glowing person. There will be terrible people you will meet and people who break your heart, and people who give you amazing feelings. The main character is Abby, and she is fourteen and unknowing of what how easy it is to fall to a predator. I may not be an omniscient person, but when you are young; everything feels like a challenge. The way we think that our parents do not understand us, or that we have no idea how it is to truly 'live'. But that's all mixed feelings, and it's the fact that children are innocent. And when they venture into the life-style of someone else, or they think they need to act older and be older, they lose a bit of who they are. But the tremendous feeling of losing someone to this act of running away and trying to be older is senseless. I can remember some days in high school, wondering why my sister had not come off the bus yet. And quickly sending messages to ask of her whereabouts. The answer was simply, 'after-school' or she would sooner or later make it home. But it's that tingly of fear, running down my and our throats. The idea that our developed populace can produce people that take advantage of others. It's the truth, and we have to live with it, we have to live with people who do terrible things to others. It's a sad fact, and a sad way to bring children up in the world. To know that, having a child outside without a parent is terrifying. That a child cannot be with friends, and not be a target. Going into this novel, I did not think it would be as effecting as it is. Because it is a very touchy subject and harming one at that. In our lives today, we must know how to protect one another. We cannot live in fear because of what happens, we have to survive and trudge through our heart-aches.
December 8, 2018
This book is a doozy. It's almost too life like for me to like it, but for the same reason it's why I appreciate it.
In the first part, even though I knew this book was about online predators, I couldn't help but start to like Luke. I honestly started bawling as the book went on. How could someone enjoy preying on innocent children? And just watching everyone's life crumble because of this one man's horrible actions made feel like I'd been punched in the stomach.
Even though it's "just a book" it made me think about my life. I thought about the random strangers who would chat me on a gaming site, and make me thank God they hadn't been predators. I thought about how I also felt like no one understood me sometimes, and how vulnerable that makes you. It made me consider how important my friends and family are, but most of all it made me realise this isn't just a story. Right now, there are kids in the exact same situation, but they aren't lucky enough to be going home.
The author just cuts straight to the bone in this. This book gives a lesson, so that we don't have to it happen to us and around us to understand how close to home it is.
In the first part, even though I knew this book was about online predators, I couldn't help but start to like Luke. I honestly started bawling as the book went on. How could someone enjoy preying on innocent children? And just watching everyone's life crumble because of this one man's horrible actions made feel like I'd been punched in the stomach.
Even though it's "just a book" it made me think about my life. I thought about the random strangers who would chat me on a gaming site, and make me thank God they hadn't been predators. I thought about how I also felt like no one understood me sometimes, and how vulnerable that makes you. It made me consider how important my friends and family are, but most of all it made me realise this isn't just a story. Right now, there are kids in the exact same situation, but they aren't lucky enough to be going home.
The author just cuts straight to the bone in this. This book gives a lesson, so that we don't have to it happen to us and around us to understand how close to home it is.
December 2, 2013
This book was really uncomfortable to read at time but really adorable at other parts. I understand the message of the book, don't run off with anyone from the Internet. This book could have been a lot better. I predicted what was going to happen just after reading the cover. "Don't judge a book by its cover" well I did and I was right. I read this book until 2:30am to see what was going to happen. So it was interesting but it seems to be another cliche about child predators. This book=ehh okay
July 14, 2019
This book was addicting. On the addicting factor, it was amazing. However, as you would guess, it was disturbing. Really disturbing.
That’s not why I gave it three stars.
Let’s talk about why.
I gave this book three stars because, the relationship that “Luke” and Abby had was just not natural, it was too quick and not at all genuine, besides the basics of child predator tactics you could not see why she fell for his act, his tricks seemed blatantly obvious.
Regardless though, I loved the format of the story and how it was written, I loved all the characters and I loved how it turned out. While I couldn’t stand reading the gruesome parts I’m glad it was put in, it makes the creepy predator factor more real and realistic. I would have felt the author held back with this plot if she didn’t add the gruesome parts.
Overall, I wanna say I enjoyed this book but I didn’t enjoy it like it made me happy, I was entertained by this book. That’s the right word. Overall, I was entertained by this book and I am very happy with the message it sent. Recommended for 16 up in my eyes.
That’s not why I gave it three stars.
Let’s talk about why.
I gave this book three stars because, the relationship that “Luke” and Abby had was just not natural, it was too quick and not at all genuine, besides the basics of child predator tactics you could not see why she fell for his act, his tricks seemed blatantly obvious.
Regardless though, I loved the format of the story and how it was written, I loved all the characters and I loved how it turned out. While I couldn’t stand reading the gruesome parts I’m glad it was put in, it makes the creepy predator factor more real and realistic. I would have felt the author held back with this plot if she didn’t add the gruesome parts.
Overall, I wanna say I enjoyed this book but I didn’t enjoy it like it made me happy, I was entertained by this book. That’s the right word. Overall, I was entertained by this book and I am very happy with the message it sent. Recommended for 16 up in my eyes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2024
Δεν γνωρίζω αν έχουν γραφτεί και άλλα μυθιστορήματα με κεντρικό άξονα, την παραπλάνηση και την κακοποίηση ανηλίκων στο διαδίκτυο όμως, το "Θέλεις Να Κάνουμε Chat;", είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο σχετικής θεματολογίας που έπεσε ποτέ στα χέρια μου και ειλικρινά, με έκανε να ανατριχιάσω και μέσω της απλότητας και της αμεσότητας της γραφής του, να καθηλωθώ από την πρώτη, μέχρι και την τελευταία σελίδα. Μπορεί το συγκεκριμένο πρόβλημα να είναι στις μέρες μας πιο επίκαιρο από ποτέ, να ακούμε δεκάδες ιστορίες στην τηλεόραση, σαν κι αυτή που το βιβλίο πραγματεύεται, όμως είναι πραγματικά ανατριχιαστικό να το βιώνεις βήμα-βήμα και όχι απλά, ως μια γενική εικόνα της όλης κατάστασης. Και το παράδοξο είναι πως σήμερα, που υπάρχει περισσότερη ενημέρωση από ποτέ άλλοτε, τόσα περισσότερα είναι και τα κρούσματα ανάλογων περιπτώσεων και τελικά όλο αυτό, γεννά ένα μεγάλο ερώτημα. Φταίνε τα παιδιά που είναι αφελή ή οι γονείς και διάφοροι φορείς;
Η Άμπι είναι ένα 14χρονο κορίτσι που ξεκινώντας το Λύκειο, αντιμετωπίζει τα προβλήματα και τις ανασφάλειες που αυτή η αλλαγή φέρει στη ζωή της, όπως τόσα και τόσα παιδιά. Βλέπει την καθημερινότητά της να αλλάζει, την καλύτερή της φίλη, Φέιθ, να απομακρύνεται και να ασχολείται και με άλλα πράγματα πέραν της φιλίας τους και σε συνδυασμό με τις υψηλές απαιτήσεις που έχουν από εκείνην, οι απόμακροι γονείς της, αναστατώνεται και αισθάνεται πιο μόνη από ποτέ. Διέξοδο από αυτά της τα προβλήματα βρίσκει μέσω του ChezTeen.com, ενός διαδικτυακού κόμβου για εφήβους στον οποίο τελικά, δεν συχνάζουν μόνο παιδιά της ηλικίας της. Εκεί είναι που γνωρίζει τον Λουκ, έναν 27χρονο που δείχνει να την καταλαβαίνει περισσότερο από οποιονδήποτε άλλο και που σταδιακά, καταφέρνει να κερδίσει την εμπιστοσύνη της και να την πείσει πως την αγαπάει και την νοιάζεται, πως είναι το αγόρι της, πως είναι σημαντική για εκείνον και τίποτα άλλο δεν έχει σημασία. Έτσι, ένα ερωτικό παιχνίδι ξεκινά ανάμεσά τους και η Άμπι δεν αργεί να του ανοιχτεί, ακόμα και να του στείλει γυμνές της φωτογραφίες και η κατάσταση, δεν αργεί να ξεφύγει με εκείνη, να δέχεται να τον συναντήσει και να τον ακολουθήσει.
Διαβάζοντας την υπόθεση, πολλοί αναγνώστες θα μπείτε στην λογική του αστυνομικού μυθιστορήματος όμως η πραγματικότητα, είναι πολύ διαφορετική. Το βιβλίο, έχει καθαρά κοινωνικό περιεχόμενο και αυτό είναι ξεκάθαρο, από τις πρώτες κι όλας γραμμές. Η συγγραφέας, πολύ εύστοχα, επιλέγει την πρωτοπρόσωπη αφήγηση θέλοντας να μας κάνει να ταυτιστούμε με την Άμπι, να μπούμε στο μυαλό και την καρδιά της, να κατανοήσουμε την ψυχοσύνθεσή της και τελικά, να μην την αντιμετωπίσουμε ως επικριτές ενήλικοι, να μην την κατηγορήσουμε για την αφέλεια και την ευπιστία της αλλά, να την δούμε όπως πραγματικά είναι. Ως ένα ανασφαλές κορίτσι που επιζητεί την προσοχή και την αγάπη των οικείων, την αναγνώριση του περίγυρού της, την κατανόηση και την στοργή που τόσο πολύ χρειάζεται, την ανάγκη να την αντιμετωπίσουν ως ένα ώριμο πλάσμα και όχι ως παιδί. Γιατί μπορεί η Άμπι να αφήνεται να παρασυρθεί από τον Λουκ και τις υποσχέσεις λατρείας του ωστόσο, δεν παύει να είναι το θύμα μιας μάστιγας που απειλεί τα παιδιά και τους έφηβους ολόκληρου του πλανήτη. Ναι, ευθύνεται για όσα θα αντιμετωπίσει όμως τελικά, μήπως το λάθος δεν είναι μόνο δικό της;
Η ιστορία χωρίζεται σε τρία μέρη. Στο πρώτο, παρακολουθούμε αποκλειστικά και μόνο την οπτική της Άμπι γύρω από την κατάσταση την οποία βιώνει και δεχόμαστε, μόνο τα δικά της συναισθήματα. Στο δεύτερο μέρος, η μορφή της αφήγησης δεν αλλάζει αλλά βλέπουμε την οπτική των ανθρώπων που αποτελούν το περιβάλλον της και πως ο καθένας από αυτούς, αντιμετωπίζει την φυγή της, ψάχνοντας να βρει τους λόγους που την οδήγησαν σε μια τέτοια, εξωφρενική απόφαση και κάνοντας μια βαθύτερη ενδοσκόπηση, να ανακαλύψουν, αν έχουν κι εκείνοι, κάποιο μερίδιο ευθύνης. Στο τρίτο και τελευταίο μέρος, η αφήγηση μοιράζεται ανάμεσα στην Άμπι και τους οικείους της, με τον καθέναν από αυτούς να αντιμετωπίζει τα προβλήματα, που ως κατάλοιπα άφησε η περιπέτειά της. Ο τρόπος με τον οποίο η συγγραφέας μας μεταφέρει τις αλλαγές μέσα σε μια οικογένεια, ακόμα και ανάμεσα σε φίλους, έπειτα από γεγονότα σαν αυτά που εκτυλίσσονται στο βιβλίο της, είναι συγκλονιστικός και μας κάνει να καταλάβουμε, πόσο βαθιά μπορεί να βρίσκεται η ρίζα ενός κακού και πόσο δύσκολο είναι να την ξεριζώσουμε αλλά, και να αντιμετωπίσουμε και να διαχειριστούμε, όλα όσα θα αφήσει πίσω της.
Αν υπάρχουν μυθιστορήματα που θα έπρεπε να διαβάσουν μικροί και μεγάλοι, σίγουρα το "Θέλεις Να Κάνουμε Chat;", ανήκει ανάμεσά τους. Η λογοτεχνία, δεν έχει ως μοναδικό της στόχο να ψυχαγωγήσει αλλά και να ενημερώσει και το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, το αποδεικνύει περίτρανα. Το σίγουρο είναι πως το βιβλίο, δεν θα σας αφήσει χώρο να αναπνεύσετε και θα διαβάζετε μανιωδώς, προκειμένου να φτάσετε στην τελευταία σελίδα ώστε να ανακαλύψετε μόνοι σας, ποια είναι η κατάληξη στην ιστορία της Άμπι. Ένα καλογραμμένο μυθιστόρημα, με δυνατές στιγμές, που χωρίς να χρησιμοποιεί φτηνά κόλπα εντυπωσιασμού, μέσα από τον ωμό ρεαλισμό και την απλότητα, περνάει το μήνυμα που θέλει ξεκάθαρα, χωρίς να χρειάζονται διευκρινίσεις. Ένα ταξίδι στην ψυχολογία των εφήβων σε μια εποχή που οι νέοι, χάνονται στις σελίδες του διαδικτύου και οι γονείς, βυθισμένοι στην καθημερινότητα, ή και την αφέλειά τους, δεν μπαίνουν στον κόπο να διερευνήσουν προκειμένου να διασφαλίσουν, τα ίδια τα παιδιά τους. Το "αυτό δεν θα συμβεί σε 'μένα", δυστυχώς, δεν υπάρχει και γι' αυτό, καλό θα ήταν ο καθένας από εμάς, να λαμβάνει τα μέτρα του.
Η Άμπι είναι ένα 14χρονο κορίτσι που ξεκινώντας το Λύκειο, αντιμετωπίζει τα προβλήματα και τις ανασφάλειες που αυτή η αλλαγή φέρει στη ζωή της, όπως τόσα και τόσα παιδιά. Βλέπει την καθημερινότητά της να αλλάζει, την καλύτερή της φίλη, Φέιθ, να απομακρύνεται και να ασχολείται και με άλλα πράγματα πέραν της φιλίας τους και σε συνδυασμό με τις υψηλές απαιτήσεις που έχουν από εκείνην, οι απόμακροι γονείς της, αναστατώνεται και αισθάνεται πιο μόνη από ποτέ. Διέξοδο από αυτά της τα προβλήματα βρίσκει μέσω του ChezTeen.com, ενός διαδικτυακού κόμβου για εφήβους στον οποίο τελικά, δεν συχνάζουν μόνο παιδιά της ηλικίας της. Εκεί είναι που γνωρίζει τον Λουκ, έναν 27χρονο που δείχνει να την καταλαβαίνει περισσότερο από οποιονδήποτε άλλο και που σταδιακά, καταφέρνει να κερδίσει την εμπιστοσύνη της και να την πείσει πως την αγαπάει και την νοιάζεται, πως είναι το αγόρι της, πως είναι σημαντική για εκείνον και τίποτα άλλο δεν έχει σημασία. Έτσι, ένα ερωτικό παιχνίδι ξεκινά ανάμεσά τους και η Άμπι δεν αργεί να του ανοιχτεί, ακόμα και να του στείλει γυμνές της φωτογραφίες και η κατάσταση, δεν αργεί να ξεφύγει με εκείνη, να δέχεται να τον συναντήσει και να τον ακολουθήσει.
Διαβάζοντας την υπόθεση, πολλοί αναγνώστες θα μπείτε στην λογική του αστυνομικού μυθιστορήματος όμως η πραγματικότητα, είναι πολύ διαφορετική. Το βιβλίο, έχει καθαρά κοινωνικό περιεχόμενο και αυτό είναι ξεκάθαρο, από τις πρώτες κι όλας γραμμές. Η συγγραφέας, πολύ εύστοχα, επιλέγει την πρωτοπρόσωπη αφήγηση θέλοντας να μας κάνει να ταυτιστούμε με την Άμπι, να μπούμε στο μυαλό και την καρδιά της, να κατανοήσουμε την ψυχοσύνθεσή της και τελικά, να μην την αντιμετωπίσουμε ως επικριτές ενήλικοι, να μην την κατηγορήσουμε για την αφέλεια και την ευπιστία της αλλά, να την δούμε όπως πραγματικά είναι. Ως ένα ανασφαλές κορίτσι που επιζητεί την προσοχή και την αγάπη των οικείων, την αναγνώριση του περίγυρού της, την κατανόηση και την στοργή που τόσο πολύ χρειάζεται, την ανάγκη να την αντιμετωπίσουν ως ένα ώριμο πλάσμα και όχι ως παιδί. Γιατί μπορεί η Άμπι να αφήνεται να παρασυρθεί από τον Λουκ και τις υποσχέσεις λατρείας του ωστόσο, δεν παύει να είναι το θύμα μιας μάστιγας που απειλεί τα παιδιά και τους έφηβους ολόκληρου του πλανήτη. Ναι, ευθύνεται για όσα θα αντιμετωπίσει όμως τελικά, μήπως το λάθος δεν είναι μόνο δικό της;
Η ιστορία χωρίζεται σε τρία μέρη. Στο πρώτο, παρακολουθούμε αποκλειστικά και μόνο την οπτική της Άμπι γύρω από την κατάσταση την οποία βιώνει και δεχόμαστε, μόνο τα δικά της συναισθήματα. Στο δεύτερο μέρος, η μορφή της αφήγησης δεν αλλάζει αλλά βλέπουμε την οπτική των ανθρώπων που αποτελούν το περιβάλλον της και πως ο καθένας από αυτούς, αντιμετωπίζει την φυγή της, ψάχνοντας να βρει τους λόγους που την οδήγησαν σε μια τέτοια, εξωφρενική απόφαση και κάνοντας μια βαθύτερη ενδοσκόπηση, να ανακαλύψουν, αν έχουν κι εκείνοι, κάποιο μερίδιο ευθύνης. Στο τρίτο και τελευταίο μέρος, η αφήγηση μοιράζεται ανάμεσα στην Άμπι και τους οικείους της, με τον καθέναν από αυτούς να αντιμετωπίζει τα προβλήματα, που ως κατάλοιπα άφησε η περιπέτειά της. Ο τρόπος με τον οποίο η συγγραφέας μας μεταφέρει τις αλλαγές μέσα σε μια οικογένεια, ακόμα και ανάμεσα σε φίλους, έπειτα από γεγονότα σαν αυτά που εκτυλίσσονται στο βιβλίο της, είναι συγκλονιστικός και μας κάνει να καταλάβουμε, πόσο βαθιά μπορεί να βρίσκεται η ρίζα ενός κακού και πόσο δύσκολο είναι να την ξεριζώσουμε αλλά, και να αντιμετωπίσουμε και να διαχειριστούμε, όλα όσα θα αφήσει πίσω της.
Αν υπάρχουν μυθιστορήματα που θα έπρεπε να διαβάσουν μικροί και μεγάλοι, σίγουρα το "Θέλεις Να Κάνουμε Chat;", ανήκει ανάμεσά τους. Η λογοτεχνία, δεν έχει ως μοναδικό της στόχο να ψυχαγωγήσει αλλά και να ενημερώσει και το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, το αποδεικνύει περίτρανα. Το σίγουρο είναι πως το βιβλίο, δεν θα σας αφήσει χώρο να αναπνεύσετε και θα διαβάζετε μανιωδώς, προκειμένου να φτάσετε στην τελευταία σελίδα ώστε να ανακαλύψετε μόνοι σας, ποια είναι η κατάληξη στην ιστορία της Άμπι. Ένα καλογραμμένο μυθιστόρημα, με δυνατές στιγμές, που χωρίς να χρησιμοποιεί φτηνά κόλπα εντυπωσιασμού, μέσα από τον ωμό ρεαλισμό και την απλότητα, περνάει το μήνυμα που θέλει ξεκάθαρα, χωρίς να χρειάζονται διευκρινίσεις. Ένα ταξίδι στην ψυχολογία των εφήβων σε μια εποχή που οι νέοι, χάνονται στις σελίδες του διαδικτύου και οι γονείς, βυθισμένοι στην καθημερινότητα, ή και την αφέλειά τους, δεν μπαίνουν στον κόπο να διερευνήσουν προκειμένου να διασφαλίσουν, τα ίδια τα παιδιά τους. Το "αυτό δεν θα συμβεί σε 'μένα", δυστυχώς, δεν υπάρχει και γι' αυτό, καλό θα ήταν ο καθένας από εμάς, να λαμβάνει τα μέτρα του.
November 5, 2021
This book gave me goosebumps, it is so scary to think this happens in real life. Predators are real and also sheds light on the harsh reality of how cruel kids can be in high school. Definitely worth the read
August 26, 2022
i enjoyed reading this book! i wished the author would have given more of the male character’s perspective, but i recommend.
btw, i do not really like highlighting in my books, but i did a lot in this!! that’s how i know i enjoyed the book.
btw, i do not really like highlighting in my books, but i did a lot in this!! that’s how i know i enjoyed the book.
March 24, 2018
The first half of this book is basically just our teenage protagonist making bad decisions, written in a way that comes off as dated and pulpy. It's really hard to identify with Abby's perspective on anything except the fact that her younger sister is a jerk. It's also a bad sign whenever authors literally write out OMG or one of its alternate forms as part of a character's inner monologue.
The second half of this book is more interesting. I like mysteries and police procedurals, so the investigation into Abby's disappearance held my attention, and the after-the-fact fallout her family deals with is more compelling than anything in the first half.
Overall, the point of this book is obvious throughout and then is explicitly revealed in Abby's "internet safety" talk at the end. Want to Go Private? is a warning that anyone can fall prey to creeps on the internet; it's not something only crazy or stupid people have to worry about. The second half of the book gets the message across by clearly showing the injustice of Abby's family members and schoolmates blaming her for her own victimization. Unfortunately, the whole first half of the book weakens the point so much that the second half loses almost all of its punch.
The power of someone listening to you, complimenting you, and validating your perspective on everything? Check. The illusion of safety when you're in your room at home that can make unusually risky behaviors seem reasonable? Check. The general vulnerability of young teenagers? Check. I mean, I spend a ton of time chatting to strangers on the internet. I know the very real trust that can build up solely through text-based IMs. But Abby still comes off as stupid in the first part of the book because of, mainly, two reasons.
1) Her online romance with Luke is WAY TOO FAST. She's telling him her bra size in like their 4th conversation and sending him nudes in like their 25th exchange. In my experience, you would need WAY more of a history than that to build up enough sunk cost to rationalize that kind of thing to yourself. Abby begins to lose sleep obsessing over Luke when they've only talked like six times. The dopamine hit from positive online interaction is real, but it doesn't become an addiction THAT fast. They go from zero to webcam stripteases in what comes off as a very unrealistic time frame. This makes the whole scenario seem unrealistic, and more like something that could only happen to someone wacky.
2) The shallowness of every single character. Everyone gets way more real in the second half of the book, but in the first half there's not a one of them that couldn't be easily replaced with a cardboard cutout. Abby herself is nothing but 100% pure distilled angst for seemingly no reason. Does she have any hobbies? Does she have any goals? Does she do anything, ever, besides hate everyone in her life and go online? The answer is seemingly no. Her sister is nothing but a cliche: hateful, popular, loves fashion. The people at school are cutouts. Her parents are disapproving, distant nobodies. Abby's best friend, who gets the most work put into her character by the narrative, is just as vacant. She says "talk, really talk about things, like you and I do" at one point -- but we never see her and Abby really talk about anything at all, except for cute boys and how Abby should do her makeup.
The fact that you can't care about anybody in the first half of the book, or see them as a real person, gets in the way of being able to see the events that take place as real dangers that threaten real-life teens. This, coupled with Abby's weirdly immediate fixation with Luke, all serves to push off internet predators as an issue that "haha could only happen to stupid people, I'm not like them." Even though the back half of the book is chilling in spots, its message is massively weaker than it could have been because of the blah-y cringe of the first half.
Also: WARNING, this book is awfully explicit and gross in several places. One time it said "he erupts like a fleshy volcano." Yeah. You think you're safe from this kind of thing if you avoid trashy romance novels and smutty fanfiction, but I GUESS NOT.
Another minor yet cringey concern: THE TEXT SPEAK? Or should I say "txt spk"? Like, on the one hand, I'm not fourteen anymore? Maybe it is I WHO AM THE DATED ONE? But on the other hand, I spend a lot of time... talking to strangers... online...? One of us is using some pretty dated texting lingo, and I kind of suspect it isn't me.
The second half of this book is more interesting. I like mysteries and police procedurals, so the investigation into Abby's disappearance held my attention, and the after-the-fact fallout her family deals with is more compelling than anything in the first half.
Overall, the point of this book is obvious throughout and then is explicitly revealed in Abby's "internet safety" talk at the end. Want to Go Private? is a warning that anyone can fall prey to creeps on the internet; it's not something only crazy or stupid people have to worry about. The second half of the book gets the message across by clearly showing the injustice of Abby's family members and schoolmates blaming her for her own victimization. Unfortunately, the whole first half of the book weakens the point so much that the second half loses almost all of its punch.
The power of someone listening to you, complimenting you, and validating your perspective on everything? Check. The illusion of safety when you're in your room at home that can make unusually risky behaviors seem reasonable? Check. The general vulnerability of young teenagers? Check. I mean, I spend a ton of time chatting to strangers on the internet. I know the very real trust that can build up solely through text-based IMs. But Abby still comes off as stupid in the first part of the book because of, mainly, two reasons.
1) Her online romance with Luke is WAY TOO FAST. She's telling him her bra size in like their 4th conversation and sending him nudes in like their 25th exchange. In my experience, you would need WAY more of a history than that to build up enough sunk cost to rationalize that kind of thing to yourself. Abby begins to lose sleep obsessing over Luke when they've only talked like six times. The dopamine hit from positive online interaction is real, but it doesn't become an addiction THAT fast. They go from zero to webcam stripteases in what comes off as a very unrealistic time frame. This makes the whole scenario seem unrealistic, and more like something that could only happen to someone wacky.
2) The shallowness of every single character. Everyone gets way more real in the second half of the book, but in the first half there's not a one of them that couldn't be easily replaced with a cardboard cutout. Abby herself is nothing but 100% pure distilled angst for seemingly no reason. Does she have any hobbies? Does she have any goals? Does she do anything, ever, besides hate everyone in her life and go online? The answer is seemingly no. Her sister is nothing but a cliche: hateful, popular, loves fashion. The people at school are cutouts. Her parents are disapproving, distant nobodies. Abby's best friend, who gets the most work put into her character by the narrative, is just as vacant. She says "talk, really talk about things, like you and I do" at one point -- but we never see her and Abby really talk about anything at all, except for cute boys and how Abby should do her makeup.
The fact that you can't care about anybody in the first half of the book, or see them as a real person, gets in the way of being able to see the events that take place as real dangers that threaten real-life teens. This, coupled with Abby's weirdly immediate fixation with Luke, all serves to push off internet predators as an issue that "haha could only happen to stupid people, I'm not like them." Even though the back half of the book is chilling in spots, its message is massively weaker than it could have been because of the blah-y cringe of the first half.
Also: WARNING, this book is awfully explicit and gross in several places. One time it said "he erupts like a fleshy volcano." Yeah. You think you're safe from this kind of thing if you avoid trashy romance novels and smutty fanfiction, but I GUESS NOT.
Another minor yet cringey concern: THE TEXT SPEAK? Or should I say "txt spk"? Like, on the one hand, I'm not fourteen anymore? Maybe it is I WHO AM THE DATED ONE? But on the other hand, I spend a lot of time... talking to strangers... online...? One of us is using some pretty dated texting lingo, and I kind of suspect it isn't me.
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