Glaze
Young Adult, Science Fiction
Jurassic London
May 2014
Hardcover
293
ARC c/o Pinoy Book Tours
Petri Quinn is counting down the days till she turns 16 and can get on GLAZE – the ultimate social network that is bringing the whole world together into one global family. But when a peaceful government protest turns into a full-blown riot with Petri shouldering the blame, she’s handed a ban. Her life is over before it’s even started.
Desperate to be a part of the hooked-up society, Petri finds an underground hacker group and gets a black market chip fitted. But this chip has a problem: it has no filter and no off switch. Petri can see everything happening on GLAZE, all the time. Including things she was never meant to see.
As her life is plunged into danger, Petri is faced with a choice. Join GLAZE… or destroy it.
Right from the start, I knew this book would be interesting because it talks about social networks, how it affects society, and how much of what we share should be considered too much. I believe that everyone, at one point or another, have had their share of concerns about the security of the information they share online.
Are we sharing private information that people can use against us? Is social networking still safe? Is the Internet safe? I’m sure all of us, in the back of our heads, have thought about the risks we are taking when we share our lives online. Do we really know who else can access the information we share on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (or in our blogs, for that matter)? What if someone is behind all this and is gathering all this information so that he can control the world. Scary thought, isn’t it? I admit, this book kind of left me feeling a bit paranoid.
Well, that’s what makes this book really exciting. A lot of people will find the story easy to relate to because almost everyone is into social networking these days. Glaze is just like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined, but way more complex and so cool, to a certain degree. It works through a chip planted in people’s brains. But not everyone can be on it. You have to be at least 16 years old, much to the disappointment of the novel’s main protagonist, 15-year-old Petri Quinn, who couldn’t wait to be on Glaze because she just wanted to be like everyone else.
This thought-provoking novel gives us an idea of what social networking can be like in just a few years. It makes one realize that while there are advantages of being connected to people online, there are disadvantages and risks too. The author did a great job in using this novel to serve as a reminder to us that we should always take extra precaution of whatever we share online because sometimes they can do us more harm than good. This quote from the book explains it quite well.
There seem to be hundreds of them. Watching me. I never realised how many there were, monitoring our every movement. Some cultures used to think cameras took our souls. Maybe that’s what’s happened to us. Maybe our need to document our every thought, our every emotion, has robbed us of everything. Stripped us down to nothing but pixels on a screen.
Technology-talk aside though, I think a lot of people will also relate to this book because of the characters in it. Character-wise, they’re all pretty predictable. They’re your usual high school crowd. Petri, for one, is your typical outsider, who just wants to belong and be part of the cool crowd. There’s Ryan McManus, the good-looking popular guy, who’s part of the cool crowd and whom Petri has a crush on. And of course, there’s Ethan Fisher, the mysterious rebel outcast, who hangs with the “wrong” crowd but ends up being Petri’s knight in shining armor.
Because the characters were predictable, it wasn’t so hard for me to figure out who Petri’s going to end up with in the end and who the real bad guys are. I could already predict that because Petri was so desperate to be on Glaze, she would do something terrible in order to get what she wants and that she would end up regretting it. It’s your usual case of “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it” type of situation.
However, despite the predictability of the characters, this novel was very exciting because it is fast-paced. There’s always some action or some new twist in the story happening in each chapter. I think it makes for a great movie. I also really liked the side story of the romance between Petri and Ethan. I wish there was more of it though I know it’s really not the whole point of the book.
Overall, I really liked this book. It’s an exciting read. I would love for my tween daughters to read it so that they can be warned against the potential dangers of social networking.
**************** GIVEAWAY ***********************
For those of you interested to read Glaze, you can join this giveaway to try and win a Kindle copy. Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. Good luck!
this looks like an interesting read! great review on this book :] i might as well look at it on our local lib if they have a copy. :]
They probably won’t have a copy yet. This book will be out only starting this month. 🙂
Janice Lim recently posted…New Programs for Kids and Parents at John Robert Powers
The story looks cool. It leaves you thinking and getting drawn on the ending.
Franc Ramon recently posted…Design the Ordinary to Extraordinary with Breakout Design
sounds interesting! would love to try reading this one.
Shine recently posted…Real horse hair material on my sling bag
The story looks interesting and exciting. Do you have any idea about the price?
Michi recently posted…DIY: Clock
No idea about the price yet since the book will only come out this month. 🙂
Janice Lim recently posted…New Programs for Kids and Parents at John Robert Powers
looks interesting, might give a try..perfect during spare time.
andrew recently posted…TRAINERS COLLABORATION
Looks like a nice read! I’m extra careful when sharing info or just about anything online. I’ve had an experience back in 2009 where all of my accounts online were hacked. Such terrible experience to go through. Now I change my password often, don’t share too personal info online, especially on Facebook. And I keep my social profiles usually on private.
Roxi – Mr. Jacob’s Mom recently posted…Absolute Water Celebrates Mother’s Day with #SelflessMom Contest
Yikes! That really is a terrible experience, Roxi. It’s really a good idea to change passwords often and set our profiles to private. I do those too. 🙂
Janice Lim recently posted…New Programs for Kids and Parents at John Robert Powers
How very interesting! Part of my job is to manage social networks so this one here hits right at home. Would love to know how the characters have been formed for this novel. 🙂
Oh for sure you’ll relate to this one! The way Glaze was created and how it was being used is really interesting. 🙂
Janice Lim recently posted…New Programs for Kids and Parents at John Robert Powers
I’ve been really loving YA books lately, and I think that this would be a great read. I’m always online on social media, too,so I’m sure it’s something I can relate to.
Patricia Cuyugan recently posted…Empowered Moms Shine at Mrs. Philippines Globe 2014
Would love to have a copy but I need to have my Kindle fixed pa.
Que Sullano – Gavan recently posted…Benefits of Baby Sign Language
You got my attention with this book!
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen recently posted…Five Unforgettable Desserts I Sometimes Dream About
Interesting. I have a long list of books I want to read, I’m adding this one.
Kim | Mom On Duty recently posted…World’s #1MOMS Receive a Surprise Treat From Their Families and Nido Fortified
Oooh.. sounds like an interesting book to read! I hope I can make time to read books like these again! 🙂
Chinky recently posted…3 Fun Reasons To Go To The Movie Stars Cafe
This is creative, imaginative, and resourceful. If before stories were about conspiracy theories of governement, aliens and the likes, now is about the internet, blogging, and social network.
Mitchryan recently posted…The Secret Hotel
Sounds really interesting and I can’t wait to have my own copy. By the way, I really love the way you review this book. It really did caught my interest.
Angie Vianzon recently posted…4th Wedding Anniversary At The Purple Owl, Tagaytay