Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teen-drama overload in social media-driven romance/mystery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
At a prom afterparty, Lucy and Cole kiss. Normally that's not too big a deal, except that Cole is Ellie's boyfriend, and Ellie is Lucy's best friend. Compromising photos of Lucy and Cole together, as well as of other teens at the party, are uploaded to Facebook and tagged. As if that weren't bad enough, whoever uploaded the pictures hacked Lucy's account to make it look as if she did the posting. Now she's lost her best friend and become a victim of cyberbullying, and then someone creates a Facebook page called Juicy Lucy to make her seem promiscuous. Even if Lucy can prove she wasn't the one who uploaded the photos, she can't take back the kiss and may have lost Ellie forever.
Is It Any Good?
The latest from Sarah Ockler has a lot less to offer than her previous novel, The Book of Broken Hearts. There's a lot of appeal here for kids who are big fans and users of social media and will provide them with a lot of important food for thought. Stretching the last month of senior year out over 400 pages makes for a lot of minutia, though, limiting the appeal to highly social teens.
Lucy's voice is believable, and she's easy to root for, but the drama overload and slow unfolding of the mystery ultimately get in the way of making Lucy a truly compelling character. Frequently peppering the story with pop-culture and consumer-product references firmly root it in the here and now, making it a much less universal story than Broken Hearts and assuring an appeal that should last about as long as Fruit Ninja tops the best-selling apps list.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Do you use them every day? How do you use them? Do they make it easier or harder for you to have satisfying relationships with the people around you?
Do you know anyone who's been a victim of cyberbullying? Have you ever posted something that could be considered cyberbullying? Why? What happened as a result?
Did what happened to Lucy make you feel differently about how you use social media? What about your own online privacy? Is that something you should be concerned about? How can you protect yourself online?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , School ( High School )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Simon Pulse
- Publication date : June 17, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 416
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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