Review: Want to go private? By: Sarah Darer Littman

Title: Want to go private?
Author: Sarah Darer Littman
Publisher: Scholastic, 336 Pages (August 1st 2011)
From: the Publisher & Amazon Vine

Synopsis: Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.


Abby is starting high school—it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself? Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke—he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does. But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

Review: 5 Stars - Want to go private? By: Sarah Darer Littman is more than just a shocking story. It’s realistic, emotional and very well written.

Abby’s a young teen that’s just started High School. She’s scared of all the changes going on around her and worries about all the normal teen things when facing the jump from middle school to high school. Her best friend since second grade is there for her, but in Abby’s eyes, her best friend is pulling away, making her own mark with new friends and the drama club. Abby’s home life is somewhat strained, with her dad always gone working late as he continues to keep his business going and a younger sister who knows just how to push her buttons.

So when Luke finds Abby online and they start chatting, she thinks she’s found someone who finally gets her, who finally understands all she’s going through. But Luke isn’t a good guy and Abby doesn’t see it. Luke isn’t who he claims to be, but Abby doesn’t question it. And when their online relationship changes Abby’s instincts are pushed aside and she quickly goes along with it to make Luke happy, because Luke loves her. Luke gets her, Luke understands and, no, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or anything that’s wrong or bad.

The story quickly broke my heart. And Abby’s choices made turning the pages even harder. Littman has taken such a serious problem as Internet predators and written a shocking tale that could be anyone, even the girl next door. This is such a seriously dangerous thing that sadly kids and parents have to worry about and I commend Littman for writing something that I can only imagine was hard to write, yet harder to research.

All in all, Want to go Private? was very hard to read at times, I didn’t want to keep turning those pages because my heart was breaking and my stomach was twisted in on itself. But sometimes you have to push through and I was glad that I did with this one. It’s a book that has without a doubt left its mark on me and one I won’t be forgetting about anytime soon. Would I recommend this book? Yes, I highly recommend this one. Characters that’ll pull hard on your heart strings, and others you’ll want to… do not so many nice things to and writing that is so realistic that you’ll picture every little thing vividly while reading… if these are things you look forward to, than this is surely the title for you.

Note: Parts of this book are somewhat graphic and I would only recommend this title to older teens and adults. Some of the story I wasn’t quite prepared for and I think Abby’s story has a stronger affect on me because of this.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.