Helpful Score: 6
Despite a fairly original storyline and some interesting characters, I would not recommend this book. From the first page I was interested in Izobel, the website, and finding out who was behind it. However, the story was dragged out in many places that didn't further character development or the plot line. About half the book could have been removed without taking anything away from the storyline, which says a lot since it's only 271 pages long. I found myself skimming through the pages searching for movement in the plot and for the few characters I was interested in.
I won't give it away, but the ending was a huge disappointment for me. The reveal of who was behind the website and why made no sense. As I said, I did skim through a lot of the book, but I assure you that's not why the ending was stupid. It felt like the author was trying to surprise you with the unexpected but ended up just pulling something ridiculous out of left field with flimsy reasoning.
I do have to give the author some credit though. Despite all it's flaws, I was still interested enough to keep picking up the book. I may have skimmed past half of it, but through the skimming my attention was held by Izobel's relationships with George and Ivan as well as the overall mystery of the website. A better job editing out the filler and a more appropriate ending would have made a huge difference in this story.
I won't give it away, but the ending was a huge disappointment for me. The reveal of who was behind the website and why made no sense. As I said, I did skim through a lot of the book, but I assure you that's not why the ending was stupid. It felt like the author was trying to surprise you with the unexpected but ended up just pulling something ridiculous out of left field with flimsy reasoning.
I do have to give the author some credit though. Despite all it's flaws, I was still interested enough to keep picking up the book. I may have skimmed past half of it, but through the skimming my attention was held by Izobel's relationships with George and Ivan as well as the overall mystery of the website. A better job editing out the filler and a more appropriate ending would have made a huge difference in this story.
Helpful Score: 4
Cute, quick story about a girl who discovers a website devoted to her. She spends the book wondering who could be behind it and why and in the process takes a look at her real life versus the created life on the internet.
Helpful Score: 3
The first few pages intrigued me... I wanted to know more about Izobel & her life, who built the site, etc. I liked the concept of this story.
BUT THEN... it dragged. There were many spots where I had to put the book down & try to read it again later because I could feel my eyes glazing over. For 271 pages, there was very little plot development.
And, not to be a spoiler, the ending (who was behind the site) was disappointing & made very little sense. After reading the (very disappointing) ending scene, I wondered why I read this book at all!
Maybe I was not the right person for this book... Just not my cup of tea :)
BUT THEN... it dragged. There were many spots where I had to put the book down & try to read it again later because I could feel my eyes glazing over. For 271 pages, there was very little plot development.
And, not to be a spoiler, the ending (who was behind the site) was disappointing & made very little sense. After reading the (very disappointing) ending scene, I wondered why I read this book at all!
Maybe I was not the right person for this book... Just not my cup of tea :)
Helpful Score: 2
I found this book a bit lacking in believability (for example, it's set in 2003 yet half of the characters don't know the first thing about the internet), but overall it was a fun read. The concept of discovering yourself via somebody else's perception of you is an interesting one.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was very British, which I found kinda hard to get into. I also didn't really like Izobel's character, as I had difficulty relating to her and her actions/reactions to things in the book. Basically, it wasn't really a bad book per se, just not my cup of tea.
