Populatti by Jackie Nastri BardenwerperMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received as a free ARC from Netgalley.
You think Facebook has a play in today's bullying? Imagine if it was private and monitored only by teenagers.
This book is about Livi, a seemingly normal--but insecure--teenage girl who's at the top of her High School's society because she's friend's with the right people.
Jackie has a flair for writing teenagers, and while I was sitting here questioning Livi's choices and self-contradictions on every page, I could still recognize my own adolescent voice in Livi's experiences.
Livi is on the Honor Council at her school, meaning she helps decide if students are suspended or not. It's only briefly explained in the book, but it helps paint the picture of the Main Character. She's a good student, basically.
However, when the adults aren't looking (Not that her doctor parents are much present in the book) she uses her time on the social networking "Populatti". Livi's friend Crystal is a child-genius, and in order to ace her way into a good college, she created this secret network. Completely without adult supervision or moderating.
When Livi's place on this exclusive, invite-only social network is threatened, she has to figure out where the truth ends and the lies begin. She's fed information from her best friend's but over time, she realize that her so-called friends may not be as great as she'd hoped.
What I liked: There was a lot of great teen-angst coming from Livi. That's not always easy to pull off. And I especially liked how naturally the author portrayed Livi's thoughts.
What I didn't like: Unfortunately, there's a few things I absolutely didn't like.
1. I know my version was an ARC, but I sincerely hope the publisher/Author has looked through for formatting mistakes. There was quite a few, along with jumbled sentences switching place. The start of every chapter, didn't really work on kindle on my phone, and it was only a tad better on my tablet.
2. It dragged on. And not in an entertaining way. The middle was too... bland. And my interest faded after the first 30% and didn't pick up until after 60%. The rest of it, however was intriguing, though.
3. I'm a bit sad it ended when it did. After taking a long break from the book, I was just getting into it again, and was looking forward to seeing the aftermath of Livi's choices. However, this opens up a possibility for a sequel, and I guess that's also good.
Conclusion:
All in all. It's an okay book. It tackles issues with online-bullying, and I would certainly give this to my sister to read once she starts going online.
I think my issues with the book has more to do with formatting, and my age than the content of the book, because it's a light read that leaves you thinking.
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