This was an okay read - didn't really have a huge impact personally. The characters and plot could have been further developed though the concept was definitely interesting.

Chaos on CatNet is a sequel to Catfishing on CatNet about an AI, CheshireCat, who likes sharing pictures of cats online and its involvement with a group of young people who shared a group message board on the AI’s CatNet. In Chaos, Steph, the main human character from the first book, meets another new student at their school, Nell. Nell’s mother, a member of the Abiding Remnant, an extreme religious group, has vanished and so has Nell’s girlfriend, also a member of the religious group. Gradually, Steph decides to help Nell with the secret help of the CheshireCat. Meanwhile, the CheshireCat has discovered traces of another AI that may not be as benevolent and both the Remnant and the Mischief Elves, an online game that sends players on missions in the real world, are part of its plot.

I think the AI plot and the YA plot do not jell together as well as in the first book and I think a malevolent AI, even an unwilling one, would be a much greater threat than depicted here. Still, the characterization is interesting and the religious aspects of the Remnant ring true.

I am so pleased that this was just as a great as the first book. I enjoyed the new characters, still loved the old characters. Steph now lives in a new city and goes to a new school. The new girl is from a cult and her mother has disappeared, so Steph and ChesireCat help her find her mother. Loved the new mystery/thriller aspects to this story. The cult aspect being brought into this added so much more spice to the novel.

The friendships built in this book was just as strong as the first one. I love the inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ romance in this book and it being part of the plot. I enjoyed the pacing and seeing Steph come full circle.

This is a great read and I would recommend it for sure to those new to the thriller and mystery genres.

I love the CatNet crew. Naomi Kritzer has created a world I want to read about all the time. Read about but not actually live in because some crazy shit goes on here. (laugh)

Steph and her Mom have moved to Minneapolis to start a life in one place. Steph gets to go to a high school that caters to her type of education and where she can graduate from. Immediately the mysteries begin as CheshireCat is still deciding whether to respond to the mystery message from a possible AI and Steph meets another new girl at school named Nell.

Kritzer then drops us into cult mentality, conversion therapy, destruction of the world...oh yeah that’s a big one. The excitement and action from both mysteries propels the story quickly. The whole crew is on board for this caper, but not as actively as they were in Catfishing on CatNet. This is okay though because Kritzer introduces us to a slew of new characters that Nell has actually numbered as she lives in a poly household.

Once again friendship is the underlying theme. The family that you choose can and will surprise you. I love the dynamics of it all. Sometimes you can start off hating someone but by the end you’re like they are not that bad.

The mysteries work side-by-side. The background ongoing romance between Steph and her girlfriend, who is the best long-distance girlfriend ever, is awesome. CheshireCat is still the bestest of best friends to have and the crew comes in to save the day (at times).

Kritzer has created a fantastic world. If you haven’t read the first book that’s okay because CheshireCat has the best recap ever. I love Chaos on CatNet and cannot wait for the next book in this fantastic series.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

This absolutely riveting page-turner was a perfect follow-up to Catfishing on CatNet, one of my favorite books of last year. It managed to maintain the same elements that made the first book so strong--abundant queer representation, constant questioning of AI ethics, some rogue robots, thriller-like pacing, and of course, the pitch-perfect narration of CheshireCat's chapters--while also weaving in new themes and ideas including cults, fanaticism, and policing. Nell was a fascinating new POV character, with her own psychological trauma to work through, and the incorporation of "the other AI" mentioned at the end of the first book was cleverly handled. It was everything it needed to be, with stakes even higher than the first book (and some apps that reminded me a little of Pokemon Go, and a little of that creepy "Blue Whale challenge" that was in the news a few years ago) and a satisfying ending. Though the conclusion didn't leave any major threads hanging, I hope this isn't the last we will see of CheshireCat, Steph, Firestar, and all the others.

As a final note, one other detail that really made me love this book was the compelling author's note at the end. Setting this book in Minneapolis, about 10 years after the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests happened, the author said that someone reminded her that sci-fi doesn't have to be all doom and gloom; in some ways, we can let it show the future we want to see, not the one we have. While the commentary on policing in this book was obviously secondary to the plot, the tweaks that Kritzer made in order to speak to a possible better police force in the future were wonderful. I really, really like the idea of police without guns who hand out vouchers for warm winter coats.

I never read the first one in this series, honestly I didn't even realize it was book two until after I started it. It definitely has a unique storyline. I think it's easy enough to get into if you haven't read the first one.

I wasn’t sure what to think going in to this series, but I ended up getting super invested and loving it. All knowing AI who starts to feel emotions? Wild

No longer on the run, Steph and her mom adjust to having a sedentary routine. Steph starts a new school where she will be staying and meets a new friend Nell who is also new. Our new point of view character, Nell, is living with her father and his wife and both of their girlfriends. The LGBT+ representation in this book is amazing. The world they live in is very accepting of all kinds of situation as it should be! Except the religious cult Nell is originally from until her mom disappears. Her calling all the women in the house Thing 1, 2, and 3, did get annoying after a while but I understand she was adjusting to the non-cult life.

The quiet life is cut short by another A.I. There is a new social media game that has its players doing questionable things in real life in order to get points. With the help of CheshireCat, Nell, and her friends in the clowder, Steph sets off to uncover who is behind the new A.I and its why its purpose is causing destruction.

This was just as engrossing as the first installment. Super quick read and very relevant to our digital everything world.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I recommend reading Catfishing on CatNet first!

We jump back into the world of Stephanie and a new adventure that proves to be just as thrilling and dangerous as the last. We left Stephanie in Catfishing on Catnet seeing her father; someone she and her mom were on the run for go to prison. We meet Stephanie in a new city, and becoming the new kid in a new school. She sill keeps in touch with her friends form her old home and develops new friendships in this school. She also still interacts with Cheshire Cat; an AI who is more than content with cat pics

Stephanie befriends Nell, a formerly homeschooled student who had to move in with her DAD and his new wife after her mom disappeared. Nell is also struggling with no longer being part of the religious group she was brought up with. Stephanie asks for Cheshire Cat’s help in finding Nell’s Mother, all while a new addicting game has surfaced that rewards people for completing real life tasks. The story takes us on a journey of figuring out the origins of this new game.

Okay, so this read was wild and kept me questioning whether the game was something that was actually in real life. I will have to look it up but I do feel like there was a game similar to what the app is in the book and it didn’t end well. I could be wrong but reading that portion of the book felt so surreal. In terms of my favorite focus of the book, friendships were the theme that shined throughout the story. You are able to see Stephanie and Nell’s friendships grows as they are on the search to find Nell’s girlfriend and take down the creator of the game. It allowed us to see Stephanie creating a new friendship and bond on a mission. I also enjoyed the additions of Stephanie’s sassy and loving grandmother. She exuded warmth and strength and added some levity in a semi-tense storyline.

This book was a page turner for me because I was itching to find out who the creator of the online game was. I was in for a twist I didn’t expect. The story started slow but built up so well. The storyline was pretty solid like the first story, while also tackling so many themes and conversations involving tolerance, violence, etc. If you enjoyed the first Catnet book, you will enjoy Chaos on Catnet.

I absolutely loved Catfishing On CatNet, the first book in this series, so I was really excited to read the sequel. While the story was still an interesting read, I just wasn't as engaged with this book as I was with the first one. However, I still think it's a good story and I would definitely recommend the series to anyone who's looking for more mystery/thriller books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Naomi Kritzer, and Tor Teen for the opportunity to read Chaos on CatNet in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the CatNet series. While it is recommended to read the first novel, Catfishing on CatNet, to get a feel for Steph and her family, Chaos on CatNet has a wholesome plot of its own and can probably be read with little confusion. 

Steph's father is in jail. She and her mom can finally live somewhere permanently, though the stress of always being on the run still affects their daily actions. When Steph meets another girl named Nell at her new school, they become quick friends. Nell show Steph an app called the Catacombs, which send players on quests and actually know their location if they went out to do what the app told them too. Steph and CheshireCat, Steph's AI friend and the main runner of CatNet, believe the Catacombs--and some other apps that have similar quests--are being run by an AI, but where did this AI come from and are the requests getting to be a bit malicious?

When an old colleague of Steph's mom's appears, once thought to be dead, Steph investigates if this is in fact that same person and if he may have tried to make a copy of CheshireCat for his own means. Chaos ensues as the requests from Catacombs (and the other apps) start to become chaotic and violent.

Meanwhile, Nell's mom is missing. She was raised on a strange religious cult that finds Nell being a lesbian not okay. Nell's girlfriend has gone missing, and Steph turns to CheshireCat to try and find the missing girl. The religious cult seems to be behind the Catacombs and the actions of people following the apps orders without question.

Steph calls on her own girlfriend to come and help solve the mystery. Between new friends, religious cults, chaos across apps, and trying to stop terrible things from happening across the United States, Steph and CheshireCat have quite the problem on their plate. 

This book was great, just like the first one, though I certainly wasn't expecting the amount of religious aspects to it. I do appreciate the very open LGBTQ+ elements in this novel. The interesting question of an AI being sentient and the morality of them being thought of as a person is subtle, but certainly comes up, a near-future topic that takes a lot of thinking. I also really liked the afterward and the inspirations the author had for the setting and how Minneapolis has changed over the course of drafting this novel. A great book for a young adult audience, a fun and unexpected sequel, and a trove of subtleties relating to contemporary social issues.  A powerful novel indeed.

Chaos on CatNet (CatNet #2) by Naomi Kritzer was one of my most anticipated reads of April and luckily it mostly lived up to my expectations. 2019's Catfishing on CatNet was such a pleasant surprise that I was really excited to for this sequel. I honestly don't know why this isn't on more peoples radar because this YA near-future sci-fi thriller series hits the right notes. Whatever the case, it really deserves to become a sleeper hit. Tonally, this time around the story is a bit different than it's predecessor, but it's just so compulsively readable and I can't resist the world and characters Kritzer has created. Plus, there's a cool AI character that really enjoys a nice cat photo. I can't wait to read more from Kritzer in the future.

Steph and her mother no longer need to run from her father, thanks in part to the help of Steph’s online friends from CatNet and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that runs CatNet, who calls themself CheshireCat. Now Steph is living in Minneapolis and registering for a private school that’s designed for students who may have gaps in their education.

On her first day at the new school. Steph meets Nell, who had been homeschooled by her mother. But over winter break, Nell’s mother had gone missing, so now she’s staying with her father. Nell’s mother had been very religious, in a group that may have been a cult. Then the police found her car and nothing else. There had been no sign of her. Nell doesn’t think that her mother would just leave her and stage her own disappearance, but there is nothing she can do to find her.

As Nell and Steph sit talking about their unusual backgrounds, another student comes over and asks them if they know about the Mischief Elf app. and when they say no, she gets them to add it, so she can get rewarded for getting new members into the group. It’s an app that asks you to do things, and the more of the tasks you complete, the more you get rewards. Nell notes that it seems similar to another app she uses calls Catacombs, which has the same format but is religious based.

Steph is excited to have a real friend who lives close by (her girlfriend is a couple of hours away), so she signs into the new app (under a pseudonym—she’s smart about internet security)—but she finds some of the tasks to be questionable. Some are fine, innocuous tasks, but others could have unwanted consequences—like, when someone is asked to cross the street against the light or steal a tool from a hardware store.

But then Nell’s best friend—girlfriend—goes missing, it’s up to Steph, Nell, and CheshireCat to try to figure out where she might have gone. And as they try to find her, they get the feeling that there is something more happening to them. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that the Mischief Elf app and the Catacombs app look so much alike. Maybe they’re related to each other, and to Nell’s mother’s religious doomsday cult. But for that to be true, for someone to be able to synthesize all that information together, there would have to be a very intelligent human behind it all. Or another Artificial Intelligence, like CheshireCat,.

But how many programmers out there are smart enough to create another AI? And what could their intentions be with it? As Steph and Cheshire get closer to finding out, the danger around them rises. There are riots and fires, bombs and people spilling into the streets ready to fight each other. Could it be the Tribulation that the cult has been prepping for, or is the AI using them to burn humanity to the ground for a deeper purpose?

Chaos on CatNet is the follow-up to Catfishing on CatNet, and not only does it continue the story started in the first book, it expands the danger from Steph and her mother to entire cities of people. Although you don’t have to read the first book to understand this one, I recommend that you do, just because it’s a very good book. Author Naomi Kritzer has taken the future she started in Catfishing and applied it to society, weaving in subversive questions of what makes us human and if programming can be changed once it’s set.

I loved Catfishing on CatNet and was so excited to find out that there was a sequel. I was a little apprehensive reading Chaos on CatNet, because there’s always the worry that the next book in the series won’t be as good. But I think Chaos was even better. Introducing the religious cults and unusual families added personality and danger to the story, and Steph herself was smarter and more confident in very impressive ways. I did have the urge to wipe all apps from my phone, but other than that, reading Chaos on CatNet made my week. I highly recommend both CatNet books. I mean, what else is the internet for, if not cat pictures (and book reviews)?

Egalleys for Chaos on CatNet were provided by Tor Teen (Macmillan) through NetGalley, with many thanks.

The sequel to the excellent Catfishing on CatNet, Chaos on CatNet opens with Steph and her mother finally safe and settling into life in Minneapolis. Steph befriends another queer teen at her new school, which sets her on the track of apps that seem harmless but coordinate a lot of people to do random things and a missing girl. Hijinks with a social conscience ensue. An enjoyable story, if not a groundbreaking as the first. Read it for hope for our world, because the teens are trying to do what's right.

**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of Chaos on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.
Chaos on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer is a young adult near-future science fiction novel. It is the sequel to Catfishing on Catnet and the second book in the Catnet series. This book picks up some time after the events after the first and we see Steph and her friends dealing with everything that happened while also embarking on a new misadventure. Chaos on Catnet is set to publish on April 27, 2021. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Here's the summary from NetGalley:
It takes an AI to catch an AI in Chaos on CatNet, the follow-up to Naomi Kritzer's award-winning near future YA thriller.
When a mysterious entity starts hacking into social networks and chat rooms to instigate paranoia and violence in the real world, it’s up to Steph and her new friend, Nell, to find a way to stop it—with the help of their benevolent AI friend, CheshireCat.
I was intrigued by the idea of a sequel and seeing what happened to Steph and Rachel and CheshireCat after the conclusion of the previous book, which is ultimately what drew me to request this book. I will keep things a little bit vague because it's a sequel but I feel that this book is less dependent on its predecessor than other sequels are.
The big standout for me with this series is how inclusive it is when it comes to the LGBTQ2S+ community. There are characters of all sexualities and genders, and this book even featured what seemed to me a healthy depiction of polyamory. It's great to see this kind of accepting representation. It's just a fact and I really love that.
I also still really enjoyed the characters. Steph is really interesting and I liked that she actually went to adults for help in this one. That's not something you see often in YA books. I liked seeing CheshireCat develop. I also enjoyed the introduction of Nell, who was not what I expected but it was nice to see her grow as a character. The other AI was also an interesting inclusion and really added to the tension of the novel.
The pacing of the novel was good. Every scene felt necessary and there was a good amount of action and things to keep me guessing about what was going to happen next. It felt like it was the perfect length and there's not anything I would have cut or shortened. I really enjoy how it's our world but just some steps further, and I liked that the author was able to envision a world she wanted to see. I still felt like some of the dialogue was a little awkward, but that's probably because it's fairly realistic dialogue all things considered.
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this book and if you're at all interested, you should definitely check it and it's predecessor out!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this young adult sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This be the second full-length CatNet series novel by Naomi Kritzer.  The first novel was based on "Cat Pictures Please" which won the 2016 Locus and Hugo awards for best short story.  Book one followed Steph who was on the run from her evil father.  She is saved in the end by her friends from a social media site called CatNet and the AI in hiding called CheshireCat who runs the site.

I enjoyed the first book and was glad to hear that it was getting a sequel.  Turns out that I liked this book even better.  Steph is back and trying to live her life out in the open and gain some stability.  At her new school, she makes a new friend, Nell.  Nell's mother happens to be missing.  And Nell happens to have grown up in a cult.  The two friends join an online social media game.  But something seems weird about it.  Steph, Nell, and Cat find themselves trying to solve the mystery of Nell's mom and maybe also save the world.

What I loved about this one was how lovely the friendships are, how grown-ups are involved in saving the day, and of course CheshireCat.  I really do enjoy getting to see Steph again.  But I thought Nell was an excellent character.  Watching her change during the course of the book was awesome.  I also thought her family was a hoot.  Old friends make an appearance and well as some new unexpected arrivals.  The larger themes of privacy, family, and trauma are here too.  This book was fun and I was glad to see what was evolving with the AI.  I recommend this book but make sure ye read book one first! 

So lastly . . .

Thank you Tor Teen!

Side note: I have to admit that the cover of this book in the series also doesn't thrill me.

4.5 stars. Steph's world opens up further with the resolution from book one. She's now in a city, living in an apartment, getting together with her girlfriend on weekends, and things feel semi-permanent! Also, she's discovering that she has more family than just her mother and father.
Then at her new school she meets Nell, a young woman from a cult who's been homeschooled and whose mother has disappeared. And Nell's girlfriend has also disappeared, adding to Nell's worries and stress.
Steph kind of takes Nell under her wing, and the two begin getting to know each other. While they do this, they, and many other people, start playing an online game, which tasks each player to perform a specific task, often something odd, and eventually increasingly alarming, for in-game points.

Also, ChesireCat, along with continuing to moderate CatNet, has its hands full helping search for Nell's mother and figure out who the other possible AI is.
There's a lot happening this time around, and things get progressively tense as the various story threads progress, but the story is still greatly enjoyable, and just made me happy.
I LOVE the friendships in this book, and how funny and supportive the many Clowder conversations are.
There are many more characters in this second CatNet book, and my favourite of these is Steph's grandmother with her warmth, humour, no nonsense attitude to the evolving situations, and her driving.
Naomi Kritzer also raises a lot of serious points along the way, such as privacy (again), parental responsibility, religion and what and who it “others”, tolerance, and family; the story zips along in such a way that the author is never heavy-handed when considering these ideas.
I totally enjoyed this book, and would love to spend more time in this world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This is the 2nd in Naomi Kritzer's extraordinary YA series starring Steph and the online community of oddballs that became an important part of her life - CatNet, administered by AI CheshireCat. By the end of the first episode, CheshireCat's secret was outed to the CatNet crowd.

As this episode opens, another AI makes contact with CheshireCat, while Steph befriends Nell who was raised in a religious cult. Nell is gay and suspects her girlfriend Glenys (still with the cult) is being mistreated. There's a daring rescue operation, after which they learn of plans (working through the other AI) for a complete demolition of world order. Can CheshireCat and Steph stop them in time?

Releases April 27, 2021

Book 2 in the CatNet series. Review of Book 1 can be found HERE. If you have not read book 1, I suggest you not finish reading this review as it will contain spoilers for book 1.

Content warning: abuse, kidnapping, cult, bullying

I received an ARC of Chaos on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb thanks to Goodreads:

“In this follow-up to the award-winning near future YA thriller Catfishing on CatNet, It takes an AI to catch an AI…

When a mysterious entity starts hacking into social networks and chat rooms to instigate paranoia and violence in the real world, it’s up to Steph and her new friend, Nell, to find a way to stop it—with the help of their benevolent AI friend, CheshireCat.”

Review:

Despite having the same characters (plus a few more), Chaos on CatNet felt like it had a very different vibe but was just a good. While book one focused on the life of Steph and uncovering her background, book two takes a broader look at the world if social media ran our lives, which is pretty realistic tbh. While book one focused on the positives of AI, book two took a darker turn.

The new characters I was really hesitant about, but that was also how Steph felt. It was also interesting to see how these new characters would react to some of the ‘big-reveal’ events those in book one already went through. Especially because the backgrounds of the new characters were completely different from what the others have experienced.

Everything in the story flowed really well. There were no ‘slow’ parts because every event fed into the main plot in some way.

I do want to shout-out the LGBTQ+ and polyamory presence within this book. It was really well done, despite societal stigmas due to cult beliefs. There was never a question that sexuality, gender, and relationship structures do not have fit into one box, which is always a massive positive for me.

Overall, I really liked this book and series. If you are someone that likes spec-fiction, sci-fi, and/or Black Mirror I highly recommend!

This was an amazing sequel in a series I already loved. The clowder continues to be my favorite part. I love this found family element and watching this team support each other and help brainstorm solutions for problems. I will say I found the plot of the first book more gripping than this one but I still had an amazing time and could read one of books in this series for a very long time. This is the type of wholesome but suspenseful YA that I love. I enjoy that the drama is not because of social tensions between characters but has to do with the outside world. This is exactly the type of YA sci-fi I would have devoured as a teenager and still love it today.