Bestselling YA author Melinda Salisbury exposes the dark underbelly of new technologies and online friendships in this gripping thriller.
Ruby Brookes and her best friend Deva have won free places at the Ash Tree Foundation Performing Arts Camp over the summer, but only if their school grades seriously improve. So when Deva suddenly starts getting high marks in all their subjects, leaving Ruby behind, she is confused and jealous.
Until she finds out Deva's success is down to EchoStar, a new app that's helping her get ahead.
Ruby is desperate to start using it too, but there is much more to EchoStar than she has imagined. Because EchoStar is always watching and listening …
Title : Echostar Is Always Listening
Author : Melinda Salisbury
Format : eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 136
Genre : YA thriller
Publisher : Barrington Stoke
Release Date : March 14, 2024
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : unrated
Hollis' unrated review
Because of how young this YA is, in addition to being a short novella, I'm choosing not to rate it because I am not the intended audience. I'm a little too far removed to feel anything but some frustration over the behaviours of fourteen years olds at this point.
Having said that, I only picked this up because I received an ARC of the next book, AdelAIDE Wants To Help -- though I didn't realize until the very end of this one that they were actually connected, I initially assumed they were just unrelated standalones with a tech theme. As far as this opener goes, though, it does make you think about the people, companies, technology, running things behind the scenes.
This definitely is a timely warning to young people, and maybe a reminder to the adults!, to be cautious about what we sign away, agree to, and input into these devices and these systems we rely on so much these days. And which everyone is brought up taking for granted these days. Plus, you know, stranger danger is a biggie.
So, yes, worth a read for sure. And I'm looking forward to what AdelAIDE brings to the mix.
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