Member Reviews
Reading Follow Me Back is like opening your favorite bag of candy and eating it all in one sitting. It’s that good. I don’t remember the last time a book had such a high level of suspense that made me want to read it all in one sitting. This fish couldn’t resist the hook. And this comes from a person who typically avoids all contemporary if I can—and especially anything to do with boy bands or celebrities. So I was 100% impressed.
Tessa has agoraphobia, something I can personally relate to, and uses Twitter and her obsession of Eric Thorn as a coping mechanism. Eric Thorn is a pop singer, feeling trapped by his fame and fans. Fame aside, the two aren’t really all that different. But it’s not easy starting a relationship when one of them is catfishing. There are twists and turns, and none of them are predictable.
I connected so much with Tessa, at her best and at her worst, because I have and still am experiencing what she’s going through—minus a certain situation—but it’s nice seeing this portrayed in a book that doesn’t look down upon the person. As for Eric, I also understood where he was coming from. The ending (omg!!) left me feeling confused and conflicted. What even happened? I have theories but I need answers.
I could not put it down! We have all had atleast a small fangirl crush on some celebrity at some point in our lives. Who could ever believe that they would actually end up in a relationship with them. This book had me fangirling over the characters right till the end that I defiantly didn't see coming but should have. The story is almost to good to be true but i guess thats why the twist at the end is so perfectly placed but also a little confusing to why. I may have missed it because i couldn't put the book down and read it almost all in one night. This is a great book warning teens of the use of social media and the good and the bad that can come of it and you just never know what side your on ;).
Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger is a fast paced, twisty, thriller. Pop star, Eric Thorn, is unhappy in his record contract and afraid of the rabid obsession of his fans. Tessa Hart is one of Eric's biggest fans, using the fandom and the fanfiction she writes to cope with Agoraphobia and a traumatic past. When Eric tries to undermine his own public image, he finds himself relating to the one person he never expected.
This novel has a nice smattering of tweets, messages, and police transcripts scattered through the chapters. I would have even enjoyed more!
I enjoyed this novel. It was a quick, exciting read. I liked the themes of fame, trauma, fear, trust, and anonymity. Eric was the most fully fleshed out character, I wished Tessa had been. However, near the end he got kind of arrogant and frustrating. The side characters are pretty two dimensional, in that crime drama extra way. I will say, I thought I had the ending predicted pretty early on, I was wrong, and then I felt silly for not seeing the twist coming, but it was pretty good. I was furious at the ending. I mean...what!?
I found out that the author wrote this book on wattpad and it's still there. You can read it and about halfway through, at the point where this book ends, there is a warning that there will be a sequel coming out. The rough draft is there on Wattpad to read, but the author notes that plot changes were made to the upcoming print edition. I only read far enough to confirm a final prediction I had. I will most likely read the sequel when it comes out. I'm hoping for more epistolary content, a deeper connection with the character of Tessa, and some unexpected plot twists.
Note: As of 2017 I am no longer giving star rating to books. I think the review speaks for itself and it's an arbitrary metric.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me this ebook ARC for honest review.
This one started out strong with an interesting concept, but I had difficulty connecting with both main characters.
Tessa is obsessed with Eric Thorn. Eric Thorn is obsessed with staying safe from his obsessive fan girls. So, what happens when he tries to attack one of them? Of course he finds out he likes her more than he thought he would! He even finds himself falling for her, as he learns more about what drove her into her sever agoraphobia. And she even helps him navigate his anxiety over ending up like another pop star, murdered at the hand of a crazy stalker-fan.
Told in varying POVs, the book gives you a chance to see things from Tess's perspective, Eric's perspective, and even through the police interviews that lead up to the thrilling end.
I wasn't as much of a fan of the back and forth on Twitter, or the police interviews. Not sure if it was the formatting on my Kindle, or what, but it was just a little hard for me to read. I much rather would have had the POVs on their own, even though it did randomly switch to the POV of one of the lesser characters somewhat randomly. That was weird, and interrupted the flow of the story.
Also, what the heck, with the ending?! I'm not sure exactly what happened, to be honest.
Welcome to the YA world of Twitter, fangirls, and celebrity crushes! Told through narratives, tweets, and police transcripts, we see Tessa navigate her agoraphobia as her obsession with rock star, Eric Thorn spirals out of control. I really had no idea where this was going and was surprised up until the very last page! Very readable and exciting, it's not only for YA audiences. I enjoyed it as a perfect thrill ride!