Book Review: Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
Overview
Genre: ThrillerPROS:
thrilling tension, badass heroine, believable action, no gratuitous misplaced romanceCONS:
too short—the end left me wanting more Persef_ArmyAn intense, finish-in-one-sitting hacker thriller, with a nice blend of action, paranaoia-inducing mood, and mystery.
Don’t Turn Around is an intense, finish-in-one-sitting hacker thriller, with a nice blend of action, paranaoia-inducing mood, and mystery. The story is one of the most addictive I’ve read in a long time—I literally did not put it down until the last page was turned. I’m thrilled that the ending seems to leave room for future paranoid hacking adventures.
A few things that made Don’t Turn Around so enjoyable:
Hactivism
Whatever your opinion is of Anonymous and similar hactivist groups that continually show up in the news, there is some pure joy to be had in a group of young, brilliant minds coming together to right wrongs that cannot be addressed through the justice system. Peter and his group, /ALLIANCE/, hack serious bad guys—perverts, criminals, animal abusers etc. When one of their own is threatened by a company that has eyes seemingly everywhere, the group must mobilize to pull of one of the biggest coordinated hacks ever (giving a much welcome 90′s flashback to the Hackers “Hack the Gibson!” scene).
I expect even bigger and bolder uses of the Persef_Army in future books.
"Hack the Gibson! Hack the Planet!"
Lisbeth Salander Lite
I think Lisbeth Salander is a great character, I really do. So I don’t want this compliment to come off the wrong way, but Noa has all the features I love about Lisbeth—toughness, self-reliance, a healthy mistrust of authority, and the ability to live off the grid by her wits—without Lisbeth’s rougher tendencies (like setting people on fire, etc.). Bearing a Scandinavian name, with a pale, thin, and raven-haired appearance, she could be Lisbeth’s slightly better adjusted little sister.
You feel such empathy for Noa, but never pity her—she’s more on her game than even the most dangerous bad guy. She can melt into the city, disappearing at will at any time. All she needs is a laptop and her mad hacker skills, and she’ll land on her feet.
Home is where the laptop is.
Conspiracy Clustereff
These hackers are on the run from big baddies at AMRF, a company responsible for some seriously messed up experiments on foster children. There are times when the danger level is so high, and the reach of AMRF so comprehensive, you want to slap Peter and Noa over the head and tell them to run to the nearest police station ASAP. But quickly it becomes apparent that NO ONE can be trusted, which means these kids are on their own, and in pretty much never-ending danger. Nail-biting commence……
SERIOUSLY. NO ONE.
Twitter
Facebook
Wow, this sounds really great! I hope my library has it. I love Hackers (I still watch it, yeah I’m dorky).
I have heard nothing but good things about this book. I think it’s time to finally pony up some cash and just buy it.
I need to read this!
I am really looking forward to this one! I liked the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it was too violent for me. I couldn’t read the next one. It sounds like I’ll like this better! I’m surprised there aren’t more books in that style. It’s been such a hit in the adult world.
This is in my TBR, and I’m definitely moving it up! I love hacker stories.
Hack the planet! Aweosme
I loved this book! I was on the edge of my seat, sweating everything Noa did. The author is really talented at suspense and mystery!! I wish I could read more books like this. A lot of YA books I read lately are so slow, or just kind of dull. This was a real thrill. I need more books like this. I don’t like the Stieg Larsson or I would read those.