deedoodah_reads's review against another edition
3.0
✧ L E T M E S U M M A R I S E ✧
When Aiden’s ex friend and past-beau Lindsey goes missing, there are lots of rumours. The biggest rumour is that Aiden had something to do with it. As a potential suspect in her disappearance, Aiden decides he has to unravel the mystery and find Lindsey before it’s too late. But with complete strangers involved, Aiden has to wonder what exactly Lindsey has gotten herself into – and how it’s going to affect him in his search for her.
✧ W H A T W O R K E D W E L L ✧
There is a decent mystery to the plot of Follow Me Back that made me want to reach the end of the novel. The book was written very simply and was quite easy to read, meaning I was able to read the book within a few hours.
The ending of Follow Me Back really revived the story and brought back all the feeling of excitement that I had anticipated when I picked up the story. The twist was unexpected and I liked that, especially considering how predictable the rest of the storyline had been.
✧ W H A T N E E D E D W O R K ✧
Admittedly, the characters in Follow Me Back lacked a lot of depth and humility. Aiden was flat as a protagonist, with little reliability as out narrator which threw into question how much we could trust. He wasn’t very likable and I didn’t particularly have any feelings towards him or the situation he found himself in as a potential suspect. Lindsey was over-dramatic and I also failed to really sympathise with her.
As easy as the book was to read, some parts of the plot were incredibly slow and it really did make the book drag out a little bit. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, flipping the pages for more and that was disappointing to me. I’d expected a little more action, a little more thrill than what was actually delivered.
✧ W H A T T H R E E W O R D S ✧
Meh mystery thriller.
✧ T O C O N C L U D E ✧
I’m keeping this review incredibly short because I don’t want to ruin the plot of the book for anyone. There was a decent plot and the simple writing style made Follow Me Back easy to get through within a short period of time. However, I failed to connect with the characters and some parts of the book felt unnecessary, dragging out the plot to make the book a little longer. I don’t particularly think this was the mystery thriller for me, as it would be more suited to the younger side of the Young Adult audience.
reviewsfromabookworm's review against another edition
3.0
This was enjoyable and easy to read, but a little bit to OTT with the reveal, so I don't know... I am torn. Full review to follow.
eubha's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
niamhmc23's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
venustheplanet's review against another edition
need to reread. read in 2020. review coming soon.
angelreads's review against another edition
3.0
This review and more can be seen at Angel Reads
I received a review copy of Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke from Hot Key Books in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way included my thoughts and feelings about the book.
When I asked to review this book, I was expecting it to blow my mind – however it fell short. I was waiting for something more, something big to happen and something did happen, but it was not what I was expecting and it was a letdown.
Follow Me Back follows Aiden as he deals with the disappearance of Lizzie Summersall. Aiden and Lizzie used to be friends – well more than friends and as the novel goes on we get to find out more information about the two of them.
I have a like/hate relationship with Aiden. I liked him at points, but he was really annoying. For a lot of the book he was just complaining. A girl was missing, a girl that he knew quite well. And all he cared about was about she wasn’t with him anymore. However, I did like that we predominately had a male protagonist. You don’t see that much in YA and it was interesting, in that sense.
I didn’t like that it changes POV in the middle of the book. Most of Follow Me Back is told from Aiden’s point of view, but then it changes to so many different people. It would have worked so much better if it was told just from Aiden’s.
I also didn’t like how the internet was portrayed in Follow Me Back. I understand where the author was coming from. The internet can be horrible, however the way that it comes across to me is everyone on the internet is horrible and that you should never meet people that you talk to online.
I found this unreal and annoying simply because I have met with people that I talk to online in real life. There are those who are not who they say they are, but not everyone.
I liked that the author used internet slag in Follow Me Back however, at times it got too much and I felt that I was reading old conversations my 14 year old self.
Even though this book was a ‘thriller,’ it was slow. The pace of the whole book was slow and took ages to find out what was really happening. Nevertheless, I liked how the book had many twists and turns. I had no idea who to believe, what to believe.
There were a few surprises here and there and I did like that, however there were other parts that were quite predictable.
The ending, sort of confused me. It was left kind of open ended and it some things did tie up, but there was so much left in the open especially between characters. I wanted to know more.
In saying that, I also felt disconnected from the characters of Follow Me Back. Aiden didn’t really have a character arc and there was no reason for me to connect with him. I also felt that way with Lizzie, I wanted to know what happened with her, however I didn’t really…care.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Follow Me Back it kept me entertained and focus while I was reading it. Though the main protagonist was annoying and acted like everything was about him, Follow Me Back does delve deep into the dangers of the internet and that sometimes it can be a dangerous place that can do harm.
I received a review copy of Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke from Hot Key Books in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way included my thoughts and feelings about the book.
When I asked to review this book, I was expecting it to blow my mind – however it fell short. I was waiting for something more, something big to happen and something did happen, but it was not what I was expecting and it was a letdown.
Follow Me Back follows Aiden as he deals with the disappearance of Lizzie Summersall. Aiden and Lizzie used to be friends – well more than friends and as the novel goes on we get to find out more information about the two of them.
I have a like/hate relationship with Aiden. I liked him at points, but he was really annoying. For a lot of the book he was just complaining. A girl was missing, a girl that he knew quite well. And all he cared about was about she wasn’t with him anymore. However, I did like that we predominately had a male protagonist. You don’t see that much in YA and it was interesting, in that sense.
I didn’t like that it changes POV in the middle of the book. Most of Follow Me Back is told from Aiden’s point of view, but then it changes to so many different people. It would have worked so much better if it was told just from Aiden’s.
I also didn’t like how the internet was portrayed in Follow Me Back. I understand where the author was coming from. The internet can be horrible, however the way that it comes across to me is everyone on the internet is horrible and that you should never meet people that you talk to online.
I found this unreal and annoying simply because I have met with people that I talk to online in real life. There are those who are not who they say they are, but not everyone.
I liked that the author used internet slag in Follow Me Back however, at times it got too much and I felt that I was reading old conversations my 14 year old self.
Even though this book was a ‘thriller,’ it was slow. The pace of the whole book was slow and took ages to find out what was really happening. Nevertheless, I liked how the book had many twists and turns. I had no idea who to believe, what to believe.
There were a few surprises here and there and I did like that, however there were other parts that were quite predictable.
The ending, sort of confused me. It was left kind of open ended and it some things did tie up, but there was so much left in the open especially between characters. I wanted to know more.
In saying that, I also felt disconnected from the characters of Follow Me Back. Aiden didn’t really have a character arc and there was no reason for me to connect with him. I also felt that way with Lizzie, I wanted to know what happened with her, however I didn’t really…care.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Follow Me Back it kept me entertained and focus while I was reading it. Though the main protagonist was annoying and acted like everything was about him, Follow Me Back does delve deep into the dangers of the internet and that sometimes it can be a dangerous place that can do harm.
ange_moun's review
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
chrissireads's review
2.0
I'm sad to say that I really didn't get on with this book. I could not connect with the characters at all and it left me incredible disinterested!
morrizzey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
angharad_cymru's review
3.0
This book was gripping from the get go, I didn't want to put it down, wanting to know what happened to Lizzie. This book is very unpredictable, not knowing who is to blame, and the end does come as a total shock. However, some parts of the book did seem a bit unrealistic. But apart from that, a fantastic YA thriller.