When I received my email about this book I was told not to give me a review that tells about the story. So all I'm going to say is this is a really really cool sci-fi story line. I actually would love to see a part two of this book because the storyline was very unique and it was very interesting.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I’m going to be honest, the ending disappointed me. There was this huge build up and it got so good, but then it just slowly fizzled out. I was hoping for a dramatic ending. Overall though, I liked the characters and the storyline

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was unlike any other book I’ve read before. 4 high school students are called to the music room after school. They don’t know each other well, and they don’t know why they’re there. No one is in the room - just a black cube that begins flashing messages like “nobody leaves” and “take me with you...or else.” What is it? And what are the consequences if they don’t follow its rules?

I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I found it very intriguing, and I was really into the first 3/4 of the book. The end, however, was disappointing. I wanted the device to be creepier/scarier than it was - it started off pretty promising but then didn’t really follow through on its consequences. I didn’t fully understand the goal of this book - there seemed to be a larger message intended that didn’t fully click for me. It could have been great, but it was only good. That being said, the writing was good, the characters were strong, and the premise was great at first, so I’ll still give it 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I'm wondering if the reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I expected is because I'm older than the targeted audience. I'm thinking someone who is more immersed in social media will relate to this more, because I personally am not glued to my phone. But for me, another reason is because not a whole lot was happening in the first half or so of the book.

Something that bugged me right away was that there were four protagonists, but only two got POV chapters for a good while. As a reader, that signaled to me that those two were more important somehow. Eventually the other two got POV chapters, but it didn't feel balanced since the first two got so much more focus right away. Another thing that bugged me was that Eden took the device seriously right away. Why? The text never explains.

Which leads me to another problem: at least during the first half, readers don't get to see any consequences for the kids breaking the device's rules. One of the students doesn't care about the device and walks away from it. But does anything happen to them because of that? Nope. Even when the kids ask what could happen, all they get is a vague "consequences". It's like the author hadn't even thought up a punishment. For me, this made their actions to take the device seriously and follow its rules feel a little silly. Let me explain more by using the example of the horror movie "Truth or Dare". In that one a group of friends get tricked into playing a cursed version of the game. The rules there are pretty simple: you have to tell the truth or do the dare. Some of the kids break the rules and the consequences are they die. That motivates the remaining kids to take the game seriously. But here, at the halfway mark some of the kids broke the rules and nothing serious happened to them. So what's the motivation to take this seriously? Some of them do get curious about it, and yeah, human curiosity is a pretty powerful motivation, but why even threaten consequences if you won't follow through?

On the upside, this book did illustrate how immersed some people can be in social media and technology. It showed just how much of our lives depend on technology these days, and how we can sink ourselves into it rather than experience the world outside. Those parts would be good for book discussion. I will also say that there were parts where the device felt unsettling. There were moments that felt like they were out of a Black Mirror episode.

I guess I was hoping for the device to mess with the kids more, or to see actual consequences to breaking the rules. As it is, the book got pretty boring because it just felt like stuff happening with some brief spurts of unease. Maybe the second half is stronger, but honestly I wasn't interested enough to find out.

I really liked this book. It was a very interesting concept. I loved the characters. You get a POV for each character. Some of them don't come until halfway into the book, which isn't a bad thing (for me). Like her other book, The Leaving, this one builds the suspense with strange things happening.

The ending was strange. It didn't leave me disappointed per say, but it also certainly wasn't satisfying. That was the only reason it was not a 5 stars for me.