Nerve by Jeanne Ryan *SPOILER ALERT*
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MindyW
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Nerve by Jeanne Ryan *SPOILER ALERT*
In a days time, you too can devour this book by audio, or in an afternoon you can read it from cover to cover. You have find the same issues as I did. First, let's talk about the book;
Nerve, a game that is online for those who want to Watcher. Watchers, as they are called. Yet, for those who play, Players, this is all reality. Until you are part of it, you may doubt that truth. Until it's you who has to embarrass yourself, confront those who have seemingly wronged you, or to do something so daring that it actually is breaking the law, you may just believe it is all scripted.
Most of V's friends likely thought just that. When Matthew, the big and handsome co-star of the school play, suggests to V that she should play the game, just for fun, she laughs it off. Her focus was on being the smart, sensible, and down to earth girl everyone knew her to be. Which explains why they are all shocked when she decides to step out of her comfort zone and do just that. One little dare couldn't hurt, right?
Her friend, the set designer who has an eye for perfection, Tommy, joins her on the dare to be her film man. He's hoping to score points with her, but she has no clue just how big of a crush Tommy actually has on her. V is shocked at her own bravery when she steps into the coffee shop, pours cold water over her own head, and declares that cold water makes her hot. So hot, in fact, that she just had Tommy unwittingly send a live feed of her dousing herself with a white shirt. White, now mostly see through shirt. Mortified, you would think V learned her lesson.
The video goes viral and earns a decent audience, mostly because of her humiliation. The next night, after the play, Nerve entices her to do it again. The first was just a freebie to them. This one, though, will earn her the shoes she wants. V wonders how they knew she even wanted them. Not wanting to pass up the chance, she gets Tommy to go with her again, back to the same coffee shop.
This time, she needs to meet up with another kid, Ian. As it turns out, Ian brought a side kick of his own. Not that either needed it, as there were Live Watchers, those who are paying to watch but win prizes as live watchers who film feed directly to the creators. The dare Nerve gives her seems simple enough. She needs to meet Ian, demand he buy her a latte, and then closer her eyes. When she closes them, it's her job to sing 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall until he gives her the latte.
Only, there is a catch. Ian has his own instructions. His are to be a jerk, then get her to declare to everyone that he is the best lover she has ever had. After giving her a hard time, he finally agrees to get her the latte. When he returns, after her singing, he hands her the latte, only to do singing of his own. She declares him a great lover, to which he makes embarrassing statements too.
Remember, this is all filmed, live, with very little editing before being seen by the Watchers online.
V survives all this, gets home on time for curfew, and feels secretly proud. That is, for the moment. The third night of the show, her parents come. They are impressed and proud of all the hard work on costumes and makeup that their daughter has done. Sydney, her best friend, is the star of the play. When the kissing see happens, V thinks Sydney and Matthew are purposely kissing far longer than they should. The count of three does not end the lip lock this time, and Matthew is holding Sydney so tight it's clear who he really as the host for. All that flirting for nothing! Matthew, not one to turn down the chance to pull at her heart strings, secrets V away to an open room after the play. She thinks maybe he really does like her. Maybe she was just imagining things on stage.
Then he gets to what he actually wants, after buttering her up. He wants to look hot with touched up makeup. She blames her kindness on being a Capricorn. V feels as if Sydney was only warning her away from Matthew for selfish reasons. After all, Sydney always gets the attention. V is angry, hurt, and sick of being the nice girl in the shadows.
Nerve sends her the chance to actually compete for real, in the big event. Overridden by emotions, she agrees. Tommy has to stay behind, to his chagrin. They teamed her with Ian again. If she felt embarrassed before, she has some serious reconsideration of it after the next stunt.
They are sent to the bowling ally, The idea is to ask ten people each for condoms, then sing a song about hooking up. The catch? It's a purity gathering for those who are saving their virginity for marriage. Watchers are not allowed inside this time. Which is why, when kicked out, they are surprised to find a huge crowd of Watchers out in the parking lot. Wanting in Ian's car together, they try to get to know one another before their next dare is sent to their phones.
The next one, though, sends them both into serious trouble. Ian must proposition the women in a shady area of town to give him sexual favors for free. He succeeds with the help of his partner, V, who pretends to be a groupie in search of the supper famous "Ian Jagugr," fake son to Mick Jaggar. For V, it's harder. She needs to convince a man to agree to pay her $100 for sexual favors. Neither needs to go through with it, just to secure the promise. Thinking she finally had, V is instantly aware that her customer is actually a cop. They make a run for it. Two Watchers follow in pursuit. The cop, unable to find V, arrests the two Watchers and takes their footage.
Resisting arrest seems not enough for V or Ian. They are both promised the very things they always wanted just to get the them to the final round. There, finishing is all or nothing. Finishing means that the other players who join them must also complete the game.
I wont spoil the end by telling you those details. But, I will say that the beginning of the book starts where the end should be. Yet, they two do not match. At all. V was in the woods, alone, followed by someone who seems creepy. He takes her picture, then goes to the other pocket for what seems like something sinister. That's when we are taken to the month before when she started the games. The actual ending, she is in the woods. Not alone. Not followed by one creep. Not on the verge of being attacked by the guy who smells of bacon. It only mentions her car smelling of bacon and her having a weird feeling. Dumb.
Also, I have all kinds of issues with the last scenes from the game. I'm sure those who read it will also be just was upset. The author has her sliced up in the legs, then running in the woods with Ian after it all ends? No. Not buying that. Much more than that is wrong with the ending, but you can go read the book to find out.
Well written in most of the book, but as I mentioned, the start and finish do not match. Nor is the final game scene realistic.
I originally rated this a 2 out of 4. Having a second thought, I have scored this 3 of 4. I would have liked to scored it as 2.5. The skill of writing was good. The originality was good. Two bad factors really set it back. I am sticking with the 3 out of 4 stars due to depth of main character. Remember, when reading, it is a bunch of teens.
Mindy W.
Nerve, a game that is online for those who want to Watcher. Watchers, as they are called. Yet, for those who play, Players, this is all reality. Until you are part of it, you may doubt that truth. Until it's you who has to embarrass yourself, confront those who have seemingly wronged you, or to do something so daring that it actually is breaking the law, you may just believe it is all scripted.
Most of V's friends likely thought just that. When Matthew, the big and handsome co-star of the school play, suggests to V that she should play the game, just for fun, she laughs it off. Her focus was on being the smart, sensible, and down to earth girl everyone knew her to be. Which explains why they are all shocked when she decides to step out of her comfort zone and do just that. One little dare couldn't hurt, right?
Her friend, the set designer who has an eye for perfection, Tommy, joins her on the dare to be her film man. He's hoping to score points with her, but she has no clue just how big of a crush Tommy actually has on her. V is shocked at her own bravery when she steps into the coffee shop, pours cold water over her own head, and declares that cold water makes her hot. So hot, in fact, that she just had Tommy unwittingly send a live feed of her dousing herself with a white shirt. White, now mostly see through shirt. Mortified, you would think V learned her lesson.
The video goes viral and earns a decent audience, mostly because of her humiliation. The next night, after the play, Nerve entices her to do it again. The first was just a freebie to them. This one, though, will earn her the shoes she wants. V wonders how they knew she even wanted them. Not wanting to pass up the chance, she gets Tommy to go with her again, back to the same coffee shop.
This time, she needs to meet up with another kid, Ian. As it turns out, Ian brought a side kick of his own. Not that either needed it, as there were Live Watchers, those who are paying to watch but win prizes as live watchers who film feed directly to the creators. The dare Nerve gives her seems simple enough. She needs to meet Ian, demand he buy her a latte, and then closer her eyes. When she closes them, it's her job to sing 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall until he gives her the latte.
Only, there is a catch. Ian has his own instructions. His are to be a jerk, then get her to declare to everyone that he is the best lover she has ever had. After giving her a hard time, he finally agrees to get her the latte. When he returns, after her singing, he hands her the latte, only to do singing of his own. She declares him a great lover, to which he makes embarrassing statements too.
Remember, this is all filmed, live, with very little editing before being seen by the Watchers online.
V survives all this, gets home on time for curfew, and feels secretly proud. That is, for the moment. The third night of the show, her parents come. They are impressed and proud of all the hard work on costumes and makeup that their daughter has done. Sydney, her best friend, is the star of the play. When the kissing see happens, V thinks Sydney and Matthew are purposely kissing far longer than they should. The count of three does not end the lip lock this time, and Matthew is holding Sydney so tight it's clear who he really as the host for. All that flirting for nothing! Matthew, not one to turn down the chance to pull at her heart strings, secrets V away to an open room after the play. She thinks maybe he really does like her. Maybe she was just imagining things on stage.
Then he gets to what he actually wants, after buttering her up. He wants to look hot with touched up makeup. She blames her kindness on being a Capricorn. V feels as if Sydney was only warning her away from Matthew for selfish reasons. After all, Sydney always gets the attention. V is angry, hurt, and sick of being the nice girl in the shadows.
Nerve sends her the chance to actually compete for real, in the big event. Overridden by emotions, she agrees. Tommy has to stay behind, to his chagrin. They teamed her with Ian again. If she felt embarrassed before, she has some serious reconsideration of it after the next stunt.
They are sent to the bowling ally, The idea is to ask ten people each for condoms, then sing a song about hooking up. The catch? It's a purity gathering for those who are saving their virginity for marriage. Watchers are not allowed inside this time. Which is why, when kicked out, they are surprised to find a huge crowd of Watchers out in the parking lot. Wanting in Ian's car together, they try to get to know one another before their next dare is sent to their phones.
The next one, though, sends them both into serious trouble. Ian must proposition the women in a shady area of town to give him sexual favors for free. He succeeds with the help of his partner, V, who pretends to be a groupie in search of the supper famous "Ian Jagugr," fake son to Mick Jaggar. For V, it's harder. She needs to convince a man to agree to pay her $100 for sexual favors. Neither needs to go through with it, just to secure the promise. Thinking she finally had, V is instantly aware that her customer is actually a cop. They make a run for it. Two Watchers follow in pursuit. The cop, unable to find V, arrests the two Watchers and takes their footage.
Resisting arrest seems not enough for V or Ian. They are both promised the very things they always wanted just to get the them to the final round. There, finishing is all or nothing. Finishing means that the other players who join them must also complete the game.
I wont spoil the end by telling you those details. But, I will say that the beginning of the book starts where the end should be. Yet, they two do not match. At all. V was in the woods, alone, followed by someone who seems creepy. He takes her picture, then goes to the other pocket for what seems like something sinister. That's when we are taken to the month before when she started the games. The actual ending, she is in the woods. Not alone. Not followed by one creep. Not on the verge of being attacked by the guy who smells of bacon. It only mentions her car smelling of bacon and her having a weird feeling. Dumb.
Also, I have all kinds of issues with the last scenes from the game. I'm sure those who read it will also be just was upset. The author has her sliced up in the legs, then running in the woods with Ian after it all ends? No. Not buying that. Much more than that is wrong with the ending, but you can go read the book to find out.
Well written in most of the book, but as I mentioned, the start and finish do not match. Nor is the final game scene realistic.
I originally rated this a 2 out of 4. Having a second thought, I have scored this 3 of 4. I would have liked to scored it as 2.5. The skill of writing was good. The originality was good. Two bad factors really set it back. I am sticking with the 3 out of 4 stars due to depth of main character. Remember, when reading, it is a bunch of teens.
Mindy W.
