Posted to Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhTWTDvWg_Y&feature=youtu.be

Posted to Goodreads: In the near future the justice system has changed. Serious criminals, once convicted, are sent to an island called Alcatraz 2.0 to be hunted by government sanctioned serial killers. Dee Guerrera has been convicted for the murder of her stepsister, a crime she did not commit. When Dee awakes on the island prison she knows that she will have to fight to stay alive. Her only hope is to solve her stepsisters murder and with the help of other falsely accused inmates Dee may be able to take down Alcatraz 2.0 from the inside.

This book had such an interesting premise however the execution didn't work for me. The book feels very much like a reality tv show with characters and their backstories just barely being developed and making it impossible to connect with the main character. I never cared what happened to Dee so I never really felt the need to keep reading. Also, the tone of the book felt a little disjointed. I couldn't decide if it was a spoof, a commentary on social media and reality television, a horror book, or a mystery. There were elements of each genre in the book however the book had issues that made it not work for most of the genre. Plus, the story feels like it's trying to be YA however some of the gorier parts felt more adult then teen while the trajectory of the plot and the quickness of the resolution felt more suited for a juvenile book. It was the resolution of the book that was my biggest issue, for a story that has even a sliver of mystery in it the end felt both anticlimactic and obvious.

When eighteen-year-old Dee Guerrera comes to in a warehouse, she realizes she’s about to be the next victim of The Postman app, which allows citizens to stream the executions of convicts from Alcatraz 2.0, a suburbanized prison island. It's one thing knowing that the worst of the worst are facing justice at the hands of legalized serial killers, but Dee isn't going to pay the ultimate price for a crime she didn’t commit. Will Dee survive long enough to prove her innocence? Or will The Postman’s cast of executioners pick her off?

#Murdertrending is my first novel by Gretchen McNeil, but I liked it well enough with some minor snags. My favorite aspect of this story is that I felt like I should have been eating a big bag of movie theater popcorn while I was reading this action packed near future thriller. It's a fun and fast paced ride that feels like it meant for the big screen. I also particularly liked that it feels so current with the language, the app, and the social media usage. Plus, I have to admit that the dash of politics (and overall future world) we get don't come across as all that far fetched at the moment actually. The only place where it really stumbled for me was the character development - it's a bit lacking and everyone is little too flat for my taste - and that pacing is a bit choppy from chapter to chapter.

Overall, #Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil is an over the top, bloody, and darkly hilarious YA mystery thriller. If you like The Running Man, Scream Queens, Battle Royale, The Hunger Games, and bloodshed with a side of Disney princess references, then you may want to try McNeil's newest release. I think I'll have to read for more her work in the future such as Ten and Relic.

Dee knows she is innocent, but that doesn't matter in a society where egregious crimes are met with justice at Alcatraz 2.0. The twist? Being charged with the death at Alcatraz 2.0 means a gruesome murder that is live streamed to the world.

With a plot reminiscent to "The Purge," #MurderTrending was thrilling, and captivating. From the moment I started the book I couldn't wait to see what happened next, the plot was intriguing and moved quickly. Unfortunately there were some things that made the last half of the book fall flat for me.

I thought in this age of social media obsession and making a live video of everything, Alcatraz 2.0 was relevant and thought provoking. Commit a crime? Why shouldn't you have to pay the price? However, I felt like a book marketed as "young adult" should be markedly less gory than #MurderTrending was. I enjoyed the story, but I also thought the author could have left out some of the gore without sacrificing the story line. I felt the same way about the crude language. I am not opposed to author's using explicit language in their books. Teens use this language every day; however, I feel that there are some cases where the author just takes things to far and once again, could have edited the language to make the story more powerful.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and its story. I think it definitely needs to only be in high school libraries but I know some students will gravitate towards the story line and will be excited about the prospect of a sequel.

Unable to share review. Ghostwritten for a website client. NDA protected (between website and writer).

Do not read if you don't like gory murders!

Ok, now that warning is out of the way... wow. This is one of those "this couldn't really happen, right?" books - the idea of Alcatraz 2.0, the app and live feeds, the Postman, etc. all are so over the tip but... maybe... perhaps... it could really happen here. After all, we're in the land of Big Brother (the tv show, not the Orwellian idea, although perhaps that's not so far off) and we have a reality star for a President. This lost points for one (really two) obviously glaring plot holes. But anyone needing an thriller/murder adrenaline rush will appreciate this despite that.

eARC provided by publisher.

“#Murdertrending” is a solid and entertaining thriller that easily pulls the reader in. It feels like “The Running Man” meets a John Hughes movie, and its a combination that McNeil finds a lot to work with. The world building was well laid out and it felt realistic enough to be relatable. From the descriptions of the reality show to the social media commentary, the plot was immersive and addicting. The characters themselves were pretty standard tropes, however, and I wasn’t particularly attached to them. The most important part was that it was a gripping and entertaining read, and entertained I was.

Wow. Okay, this book was so much more than I was expecting. Centering around a setting that's really a character all its own, Alcatraz 2.0, "Murder Trending" shows us a glimpse into a plausible future America where murderers are hunted and killed on an island and it's all streamed live for sport. What happens when the supposed convicted murderers are all claiming innocence? Five such innocents band together to survive and expose the corruption behind Alcatraz 2.0. Dee is our main protagonist. She's 18 and supposedly killed her stepsister (she didn't - not a spoiler). Through Dee's eyes, we inhabit the island with her and unravel the uncomfortable truths and outright lies in her path. Dee is dealing with so much trauma - her stepsister's death and its fallout, plus the kidnapping she survived years before. Dee is damaged and strong. I think she was an amazing character.

The story itself is heart-pounding. I was completely unable to put the book down. It left me unsettled and captivated and concerned for our future. Gretchen McNeil can WRITE. She's got action and death and brokenness down pat. Details are perfectly sprinkled throughout so the bigger reveals are obvious but also make complete sense. However, there is one thing that will divide her audience. Read the book. You'll figure out what it is in an instant.

#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil

It is sometime in the future and Dee Guerra wakes up on Alcatraz 2.0. She was wrongly accused of killing her stepsister, found guilty and sent to the island of Alcatraz. This is not the old prison island but a new one, hence the name 2.0. Dee and several others have been all sentenced there to survive against the executioners in this app driven punishment. Where popularity helps in staying alive. 

Another page turner from Gretchen McNeil that will not disappoint fans nor readers who like fast-moving, trying to escape books. Dee is a character which you begin to like when she befriends her next door neighbor. Each of the characters in this story are quirky on their own but like the movie Breakfast Club, you begin to root for their success and survival. The alternative world does get the reader thinking and at times having to reread the descriptions to get a sense of where the characters are in this world. The end was a twist that the readers will not see coming until the last few chapters. 

Give this to anyone who enjoyed Gretchen's novel Ten or someone looking for a book to cheer on the characters such as the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins or Maze Runner by James Dasher. 

received an ARC ebook from Netgalley  and the publisher, Disney Book Group in exchange for an honest review.

Are you familiar with the way the movie "Death Race" starring Jason Statham updated the original? Well, this book reminds me of an update of the movie "Running Man." There are the thematic executioners, the well publicized deaths of those convicted and sent by the Justice Department to serve their sentence within the reality show, and the betting on the outcome of each match-up. There is even the rigging of a trial to send someone into the show that does not belong there.

But the updates make the show seem so much more possible, which makes the whole story frightening on an entirely different level. It's bad enough that those sent to Alcatraz 2.0 are killed off by government sanctioned psychos like Prince Slycer who dresses his victims as Disney princesses before stabbing them, or by Gassy Al in his poison chamber. Now add the modern habit of posting everything to social media, creating memes of it, tagging it and watching it trend, all the while discussing whether the video feed is real or not. (#FakeNews)

The characters themselves are varied and interesting. A teen accused of murdering her stepsister. A fitness nut convicted of killing a client. A premed student who supposedly poisoned his own parents. Everyone has a backstory, as well as the role that has been chosen for them within Alcatraz 2.0 - the moody Brit, the hottie, the young princess, etc.

If you enjoy stories that are uncomfortably close to real life in some ways, while being incredibly imaginative in others - then pick up a copy of #Murdertrending as soon as possible. Highly recommended for YA and older readers.

I usually don't post spoilers on my reviews because, well, i hate spoilers. BUT OMG. DEATH BY POTTERY WHEEL? MOLLY THE MAULER? Just some of the gruesomely AWESOME THINGS you will find in #Murdertrending.

This is a fantastic murder mystery (heavy on the murder), set in the near future where anyone who has been sent to Alcatraz 2.0 is fair game to the serial killers there. They mete out justice in any way they see fit - all of them with strange and wonderful motifs. and of course, it's all captured on camera for the viewers of the Postman app to watch and rate!

It was so much fun to read this book. it's heavy on the snark -(which is always a good thing in my book), and while it's definitely full of horrific horrors and ghastly deeds -- you can't help but laugh your way through this book. it's one of the best books i've ever read. i hope that the ending means that there will be another.

In the near future, the DOJ has outsourced capital punishment to a private institution coined Alcatraz 2.0, where a team of executioners orchestrate elaborate deaths for the prisoners. Intriguing, right? But what if we added a social media live stream option, so that people from around the world can WATCH these convicted killers are executed? That is exactly the premise of #MurderTrending.
Despite some of the more gruesome moments, the tone remains humorous throughout. The intensifying pace is driven by the twists and turns of the story. It ha been a while since I read something that grabbed me this hard from the beginning and kept me racing through until the final sentence. Lovers of the Hunger Games will find it highly satisfying.

This book is a cross between Hunger Games and reality TV - so disturbing and clever. It's a bit violent in places, but the premise of the book requires it.

In this alternate future, convicted criminals are sent to an island called Alcatraz 2.0, which doubles as a reality show. Criminals face serial killers, who create elaborate killing scenes, which Americans can watch from an app on their smartphones. When Dee is unjustly convicted of killing her stepsister, she decides to fight for survival instead of just giving up. She wants to find the true killer of her stepsister and get justice for the right people. However, she must first stay alive on the island to get the proper information uncovered. Dee will use her experience from being kidnapped when she was young, by a deranged serial killer and his daughter, and the new friends she is creating on the island. Everything is recorded and everyone is a potential enemy. As things begin changing for the worse on the island, will Dee be able to survive and get justice?

Okay, let’s move past the highly unbelievable premise and the fact that this feels like a cathartic expression on Trump’s presidency. I was in a constant state of terror throughout this book. Death and horror were around every corner. This felt like the book form of Saw. I know that this will be popular with YA readers, because they are always asking me for scary horror books. This one will keep them coming back for more.

I was really excited to read this book. I've really enjoyed Gretchen McNeil's books, and this one sounded intriguing, I mean, a island holding the worst of the worst, where they are filmed, and killed in pretty gruesome ways, yeah, that's different and interesting! And I really enjoyed how it was executed!

The idea that someone innocent would be sent to this island, that's a bit scary! I mean, being in prison while innocent, that sounds horrible. But on this island, being recorded, with betting and and the world watching, yeah, even worse!

Dee was a really great character! Well, all of them were, with their quirks, given that they'd all landed on this island/show. Dee had a past with secrets, and wasn't going to take this standing down. Her tenacity and the social media of people talking about what was going on where some of my favourite parts of this book!

I really enjoyed that ending! It was tricky, and clever, using framing and focus like in filming to good uses and keep us readers guessing until the end! Plus, there were some pretty creative threats posed by the bad guys, and survival techniques!

This book was really awesome, and I can't wait to see how the next book is going to play out!

This book reminded me a lot of a Black Mirror episode! It was very interesting and brought up a lot questions on crime, murder, and morality.

Welcome to the near future where crime does pay, well it pays the betters, the ones betting on how long each criminal can stay alive on the new Alcatraz. See it has now become a App (The Postman) where citizens can watch the criminals get hunted down and killed by special serial killers for their crimes than, make comments like on twitter. But what happens when they send a bunch of teens to Alcatraz 2.0 that aren't ready to die?
This was a fun and exciting book. There was always plenty of action and suspense but the eclectic group of characters (including the group of serial killers) really pulled this book together. A futuristic breakfast club where death is the endgame not just detention. This will be a book that will be liked by many for its strong characters that cross all barriers as well as the social media aspect and that some parts of this book are just funny.



The review will go live on my blog on Aug 7th

I recently (last night) finished reading #MurderTrending. I got this book as an ebook ARC recently and was super interested to give it a go. I started reading this and I was interested pretty quickly. I stopped for the night about 50 pages in only because it was after one a.m.. The next day I picked right back up and finished within the next two days. It was a wild ride! If you liked the anime Dead Man Wonderland, this is definitely the book for you.

SPOILERS AHEAD**Since this was an ARC I will be limiting how many spoilers there are so you are able to fully enjoy this book when it comes out.

This book takes place mostly on Alcatraz but it's not the one we currently know. The world is a little different here. Alcatraz is a prison of sorts again, the justice system now sends convicted criminals (not all of them) to the island to be killed by a hired killer (someone hired by the Postman). The Postman is running the island and has his hired killers, kill certain inmates at certain times. However, the catch to all of this is, that this is all televised and put up online. Everyone watches these kills, they follow certain inmates and killers, and even subscribe to certain live feeds. Our main character Dee is convicted of killing her stepsister and sent to the island at the start of the book. On the island, the inmates are expected to work their assigned jobs, wear the clothes left for them by the Postman, and live in their home on the island until they are killed.

However, our main character Dee has a troubled past and she knows she did not kill her stepsister so she has to find a way to survive. To prove she is innocent. I will say that I truly enjoyed the overall story and idea. I loved the character that was given to Dee when she was put on the island and how each of the killers had such a unique personality. No one killer was the same and they all had an interesting story to them. However, I feel like the situation that took place at the end of the book put me off of the story a little. I do not want to give away what happened but I will say that I thought one thing and then the author changed this opinion twice. I love being surprised but this time it felt a little off. Additionally, the last line, I wanted to be more satisfying. However, overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved Dee, I loved her backstory and the characters surrounding her. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves an interesting thrill or likes Deadman Wonderland! This book comes out in August and I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this book!!!

It had the right amount of suspense and intrigue to keep me reading, I finished it in a day. One of the cooler things about it, is that the narration wasn't all knowing - there were things happening that we didn't know about, including things that the main character kept from the audience, which really upped the suspense factor.

Interspersed throughout the text was periodic social media posts that were supposedly made by people living in America who were watching the murders on TV and commenting on them live. I thought this was a really cool way to make it apparent how much of an impact they were having on society as a whole. (although the formatting of the texts was odd and difficult, I imagine this will be corrected in the printed text).

Overall this was an excellent book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in murder mysteries / suspense books.

This review will appear on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/ on July 11, 2018.

Dee Guerrera is innocent of killing her step-sister, but this doesn’t stop her from being convicted of first-degree murder and sent to the country’s top prison – Alcatraz 2.0.  However, Dee doesn't to spend the rest of her life trapped in a tiny cell. Instead, she becomes one of many stars of a sick reality TV show. Everyday she goes to work at an ice cream parlour on the island called “I Scream” and returns home to her house in the barracks.  But this isn’t an idyllic existence.  She—along with all the other convicted criminals—are always in danger. Because on Alcatraz 2.0, there are serial killers who hunt down the prisoners, and the killings are live-streamed for the millions of fans watching from the luxury of their homes.

I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting.  It is a fun, campy, thrilling read with lots of relevant references to pop culture.  However, there aren’t any pop culture references that would date the book. McNeil limits herself to mentions of things like Disney princesses, and classic movies like Rambo and Die Hard. It’s definitely a good idea to stick to the classics, because if you focus too much on a movie that’s a passing fad, the book will lose its relevance in a few years.

#Murdertrending reminds me a lot of The Hunger Games, but it’s a lot less emotionally taxing.  While I loved those books, they took themselves very seriously and Suzanne Collins was absolutely relentless in her attempts (successful attempts, I might add) to make me bawl my eyes out.  This is a much more “fun” approach to the reality-TV show where teenagers are hunted down and killed. There’s quite a bit of humour (a lot of it black, but not all of it), but the book isn’t without its intensity.  McNeil makes us care for characters before she does what she will to them.

Some of the complaints about this book are that it’s far-fetched.  A former reality star turned president is the cause of what society has turned into! How far-fetched! America would never elect a former reality TV—never mind.  All joking aside, the story isn’t too inconceivable, and it definitely holds a mirror up to what society is becoming, which adds a hint of unsettling-ness to an otherwise fun read.

As I just mentioned, the novel’s concept and many of the elements introduced throughout the story are a commentary on current society.  For example, there are a few times in the book where the readers are treated to the comment feeds of the viewers who are watching this reality TV show.  Viewers have become apathetic towards the pain of others.  These are “criminals” in Alcatraz 2.0, so they apparently deserve to be serial killed.  (Insert exaggerated eye roll here).  There’s a lot of #fakenews thrown around, conspiracy theorists who question everything, and this TV show has amassed an obsessed and decidedly-creepy fandom.  At one point the audience is fangirling over a character’s outfit when she’s fighting for her life.  McNeil is definitely making a statement here!

While the ridiculousness fit with the satire quite nicely, I did find that it got a little too far-fetched for me towards the end. The ways that the protagonist outsmarts the bad guys are very implausible. Very. I mean, maybe one or two villains can be stupid and gullible, but they all shouldn’t be.  These twists were still enjoyable, but I did groan a few times.

This satire is extended to the characterization of the protagonists of the novel.  Dee Guerrera meets several other prisoners her age when she’s first imprisoned on Alcatraz 2.0.  At first, they’re all two dimensional people – the jock, the cheerleader, the nerd.  But it’s quickly revealed that they’re voluntarily playing the role that they were assigned by the “Postman”, the producer of this widely-popular reality show.  I loved the characters and the directions that McNeil chose to go with them.  They’re quite diverse in every way, and I think that any teenager will have a hard time reading this book and not relating to at least one of these criminals.

All in all, I recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a fun summer read—so long as they aren’t afraid of a little (okay maybe a lot of) gore.

*3.5 stars
#MurderTrending had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. The idea of Alcatraz 2.0 itself is rather quite creepy. An island where convicted felons go to live before they die sounds innocent enough until you add in the fact that the island is like a giant reality TV show, everybody watches your every move, and there are a bunch of serial killers who, well, want to kill you. I really liked how texts/ comments from the live streams were included as well as profiles. They helped to give life to the story and made it seem like you were reading the comments in real life. The comments also added extra information to the story that would have been hard to include without it.

There are about 7 killers on the islands. All have their own trademark and their own following on the Postman app. I think my favorite killer would be Gucci Hangman. He constructs a “designer noose... expertly crafted to match her complexion and outfit and the latest trends from New York Fashion Week”. Yes, I shouldn’t like these characters, but there is a certain appreciation that I have for the elaborate setups and thought that goes into each killing.

The other characters were okay. They all had their own personalities, but the Postman gave them roles (shown through their clothing) which made them (purposely) have very cliché personalities. The characters, while an effort was made to make them distinct, really just blended together. I am able to remember parts of a person, but not everything. The only character, besides Dee that I really remember is Mara. She is just this super analytical person who was able to use screenshots from the app to figure out who each killer was off the island. That information really proves useful!

The backstory felt a bit flat, unbelievable, and too coincidental. That being said, I really enjoyed Dee’s story and how her past is told in snippets. It isn’t described as a flashback chapter, as it is typically shown, but through flashbacks from triggers on the island. Being revealed in the story helped to keep the momentum of the story going, as opposed to stopping, giving a flashback, and then continuing with the story.

The world building was decent. Not a lot needed to be done and explained as #MurderTrending was set in a near future world, with the only main difference being Alcatraz 2.0. However, some parts were weird. For example, what happened to the eighth amendment? That there are to be no cruel and unusual punishments? I mean, it might just be me, but making convicts be televised living their lives and being (often brutally) killed, is very unusual and cruel. A mention is made about this amendment and how a killing (a decapitation) would be violating the amendment. Maybe something was done about the amendment, perhaps the fact that it was government sanctioned made it okay, but it just wasn’t mentioned.
I also wish that there were more descriptions of the island. Snippets of information were given, but I was never able to form a complete image of what it looked like.

As much as I really wanted this book to be wonderfully original and unpredictable, it fell short. I had pretty much figured out who The Postman was early on and basically how the story would end. Some parts were really easy to see through which ruined the suspense for me. One element that really bothered me was that the “you saw us doing this, but what you didn’t see was this, and now look! you just fell into our trap” trick was used. I feel like it’s often like a cop-out. I’m pretty sure that I let out a sigh when the trick was “revealed.”

I also feel the need to mention that there is a lot of gore and a lot of strong language.

Overall, this book was fine. Going in, I knew that I would really like the story. I had higher hopes for the book, as it was very predictable which ruined the suspense. The characters partially blended together but that may be because The Postman pretty much made the people fit into a specific role. That being said, the story was interesting, and I couldn’t put it down. Even though I knew what was going to happen at points, I just needed to see how it was done. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, gory, suspense story!