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22nd out of 88 books
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114 voters
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Very LeFreak
by
Rachel Cohn
Very LeFreak has a problem: she’s a crazed technology addict. Very can’t get enough of her iPhone, laptop, IMs, text messages, whatever. If there’s any chance the incoming message, call, text, or photo might be from her supersecret online crush, she’s going to answer, no matter what. Nothing is too important: sleep, friends in mid-conversation, class, a meeting with the de...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
January 12th 2010
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
(first published December 18th 2009)
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This book is a reflection of what the technology age has done to us. This new form of addiction is just as destructive as any other, only it also has the potential to do more good. I found myself wondering why I feel driven to check my email up-teen times per day and why I drop large sums of money on a new gadget. This book made me stop and think about why I do the things I do. Any time a book makes me examine how I live my life is pretty powerful thing.
That being said, this book wa...more
That being said, this book wa...more
OK, it is all Sequoyah reading for the foreseeable future if this book doesn't cause me to break stuff and swear off reading forever before I get through it.
I very rarely give 1 star to a book (Dan Brown, anyone?) because it is rare that a book can be so consistently offensive, insulting and just all around bad. I'm not giving this rating begrudgingly. It has fully deserved its rating.
I very rarely give 1 star to a book (Dan Brown, anyone?) because it is rare that a book can be so consistently offensive, insulting and just all around bad. I'm not giving this rating begrudgingly. It has fully deserved its rating.
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Helga
added it
A technology-addicted Columbia freshman finds relief from her hedonistic party-girl lifestyle at ESCAPE (Emergency Services for Computer-Addicted Persons Everywhere). I've never read anything written (or co-written--the cover gives a shout-out to Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist) by Rachel Cohn, so I didn't have any preconceived notions, other than what I read in this SLJ article (thanks to Cassandra), which had me scratching my head. She waited until the book was finished to see what it would b...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Ugh. WTF was this book seriously?
Curly red-haired curvaceous free spirit (read: a-hole)pansexual girl is addicted to her Iphone (aren't we all?), organizing flash mobs, sending out memes, hooking up with errbody and obsessing over her secret online lovah El Virus, so she is on her way to getting booted out of Columbia University.
Someways into this mess, Very (ugh, the name. I know its just a nickname but UGH) gets strongarmed into rehab for technophiles, by her roomie, so...more
Curly red-haired curvaceous free spirit (read: a-hole)pansexual girl is addicted to her Iphone (aren't we all?), organizing flash mobs, sending out memes, hooking up with errbody and obsessing over her secret online lovah El Virus, so she is on her way to getting booted out of Columbia University.
Someways into this mess, Very (ugh, the name. I know its just a nickname but UGH) gets strongarmed into rehab for technophiles, by her roomie, so...more
I cannot do Rachel Cohn anymore. I just--I’ve tried. I really have. I’ve read most of her books, I even enjoyed one or two, but the latest ones were torturous to get through and just--ARGH, I’m on the edge, BIG TIME.
Quick assessment: the first part is kind of really jumbled up and sometimes boring and if you're anything like me, you'll have no desire to go on but only do so because you must finish the book to be fair in your review. Nothing really happens; the characters are just......more
Quick assessment: the first part is kind of really jumbled up and sometimes boring and if you're anything like me, you'll have no desire to go on but only do so because you must finish the book to be fair in your review. Nothing really happens; the characters are just......more
In Rachel Cohn's newest book, Very Lefreak, we meet a girl named Veronica who calls herself Very. She is a party girl with an addiction to all things technological. Very is the girl everyone wants to know, wants to see and even wants to be. There is more to Very than her online and her party life college girl personas show, but will she ever learn to be just Veronica? Things in her real life get out of hand and Very is sent off to techno-rehab at a place called ESCAPE. The story then follow...more
Very is a girl who is completely plugged in and its interfering with her real-world life. When she's finally forced to unplug she can deal with all the emotions and issues she's been escaping from. The book is divided into two parts I'll call escape and real life. As someone who is not part of the plugged in generation I definately enjoyed the real life part of the book best. A lot of problems become medical issues when they interfere with daily life. I think this book shows not only how te...more
Columbia University freshman Veronica, better known as Very, has a technology problem. Sure, she could focus on her schoolwork and her work-study job, but she’d rather organize killer parties and ridiculous flashmobs using the social networking site she created with her dorm-mates. Oh, and there’s the alluring El Virus, a fellow technophile she’s been flirting with online. All the fun has to come to an end, however, when El Virus suddenly disappears and her college friends stage an intervention ...more
I had to pick up this Advanced Reader's Copy at ALA Midwinter in January because of the great cover. Doesn't it look intriguing? I showed the book trailer at a presentation a few weeks ago, too. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OxDa1fl2...)
Very (short for Veronica) is very everything. She's constantly multitasking--creating social networks for her friends at Columbia University, listening to/creating music, texting, and partying hard. She was smart in high school and didn't have ...more
Very (short for Veronica) is very everything. She's constantly multitasking--creating social networks for her friends at Columbia University, listening to/creating music, texting, and partying hard. She was smart in high school and didn't have ...more
I gave this book one star because I that's the lowest rating that you can give a book on here. If I could, I would give it negative stars. Yes, this book was that bad.
When I first picked up this book and read the inside jacket, I thought that it had an interesting idea, a girl addicted to technology. I personally believe that you can become addicted to anything, so first reading the inside jacket, I didn't think that it was a totally fantasy plot. I mean, I'm sure that sometime in th...more
When I first picked up this book and read the inside jacket, I thought that it had an interesting idea, a girl addicted to technology. I personally believe that you can become addicted to anything, so first reading the inside jacket, I didn't think that it was a totally fantasy plot. I mean, I'm sure that sometime in th...more
I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't believe that there is such a thing as "technology addiction" which is a main premise, but maybe that is because I have this addiction and am in the denial stage (ha!). She goes to rehab after trying to kill one of her friends for damaging something her dead mother gave her. The item was a piece of technology, but I felt that the sentimental value was dismissed. Author knows best? Some of the other rehabbers did such cheesy things to g...more
Not one of Rachel Cohn's best works, that I'll admit. While it did pick up on a v. relatable topic, though, which is tech addiction, a disorder most common among practically everyone now, my main problem was that Very LeFreak, the main character who sounds like that bootylicious girl you hate to be around with. She was written in the third person POV and I found it not workable, given Cohn's egocentric-ish writing style. Also, towards the end of the story, Cohn injected the element of SURPRISE! ...more
One day Rachel Cohn will write a novel I can safely recommend to parents shopping for their teenage daughters. Until then, she'll keep putting out issue-driven, terrifyingly real little gems like this one that deal with all the things (sex, drugs, rock n' roll) mommies and daddies would prefer not be in their babies' vocabularies. Very's hardly Pollyanna - she's an occasional user and drinker who's too free with her body and who's flunking out of college due to her inability to unplug. All of w...more
It was an OK book for me. I liked some parts, while others I didn't like, or just didn't get. For the entire book, I wasn't sure if it was suppose to be funny, or serious. I just don't think it flowed well.
The reason it got 3 stars from me, is because a certain part (El Virus) was so oblivious, that I would have given it 2.5 but the ending with Very and a (*cough*) friend was so cute and really great that I added a half a star.
I like Very, I liked how honest she was with herself. In ...more
The reason it got 3 stars from me, is because a certain part (El Virus) was so oblivious, that I would have given it 2.5 but the ending with Very and a (*cough*) friend was so cute and really great that I added a half a star.
I like Very, I liked how honest she was with herself. In ...more
Pitched as a book exploring the dangers of technology-addiction, the story does not follow through on this theme. Rather than focusing on how college freshman Veronica (screen name: Very LeFreak)’s technology addiction is ruining her life, the book recasts Very’s hyper-connectedness as an escape mechanism, a symptom of her real-world problems. It turns out that Very experienced a traumatic event during her nontraditional childhood in India which indirectly resulted in her mother’s death. Whi...more
Full review here
I'm a big fan of Rachel Cohn and so I just had to read her new book. I liked it a lot. Like Gingerbread and the like, Cohn doesn't shy away from gritty details so Very LeFreak has a lot of sexual details, nothing pornographic or anything though. But these details are important as they reflect how Very feels about herself and why she behaves the way she does. I have had friends similar to Very; ones who want to be protected, want to be the fun ones, and who self-de...more
I'm a big fan of Rachel Cohn and so I just had to read her new book. I liked it a lot. Like Gingerbread and the like, Cohn doesn't shy away from gritty details so Very LeFreak has a lot of sexual details, nothing pornographic or anything though. But these details are important as they reflect how Very feels about herself and why she behaves the way she does. I have had friends similar to Very; ones who want to be protected, want to be the fun ones, and who self-de...more
“Very LeFreak” had such an interesting premise: Witty college student deals with technology addiction. Hilarity ensues, right? Well, not exactly.
The main character, Very, is well, to put it nicely, VERY, VERY annoying.
I realize that chatacters have to have flaws to grow and everything, but jeez!
There are even characters that I actually enjoyed in the book, if only they were the title characters.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this book does have some redeeming qu...more
The main character, Very, is well, to put it nicely, VERY, VERY annoying.
I realize that chatacters have to have flaws to grow and everything, but jeez!
There are even characters that I actually enjoyed in the book, if only they were the title characters.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this book does have some redeeming qu...more
I adore Rachel Cohn. Her writing style always leaves me feeling like I'm hanging out with a close group of friends. I'm never looking in on the story, I'm involved.
Very LeFreak is the story of a girl who just can't switch off (something I could really relate to. Between IMs, email, blog posts, and playlists, Very (aka Veronica), is always plugged in. In today's culture i imagine it's hard to find a girl under the age of 30 who can't relate to that at least a little.
The st...more
Very LeFreak is the story of a girl who just can't switch off (something I could really relate to. Between IMs, email, blog posts, and playlists, Very (aka Veronica), is always plugged in. In today's culture i imagine it's hard to find a girl under the age of 30 who can't relate to that at least a little.
The st...more
I have always loved Rachel Cohn. I have always loved her writing, the humor that covers a much deeper subject matter. The Cyd Charisse series is brilliant, as is Pop Princess and You Know Where To Find Me. Her collaborations with David Levithan are magical and I was surprised when I read about this book.
The cover, the title, everything about this book just...put me off.
Rachel Cohn is one of my favorite writers. She writes about girls who somehow find a way to smile and laugh, even if...more
The cover, the title, everything about this book just...put me off.
Rachel Cohn is one of my favorite writers. She writes about girls who somehow find a way to smile and laugh, even if...more
Jaclyn
added it
Very felt familiar and real. She was a number of girls I have known who are hilarious and indulgent and quirky and fun to be around and irresponsible and maddening. I breezed through this book on the strength of her characterization. She had me at ABBA!
I also loved that this book took place at college, at least in part. I never went to college, but from what I heard about it, it sounded familiar and reminded me of when I used to sort of wish I was at college because it sounded fun and ...more
I also loved that this book took place at college, at least in part. I never went to college, but from what I heard about it, it sounded familiar and reminded me of when I used to sort of wish I was at college because it sounded fun and ...more
Score! I got an advanced copy!
This wasn’t a book that hooked me in right away, but rather lulled me into its embraces until I found that I couldn’t put it down. Very is a crazy girl, who does crazy-girl things, and although she could have easily been written off as another eccentric, desperate for attention kind of person, she really couldn’t be further from that.
On the one hand, this is a story about Very’s addiction and her drug of choice—-technology. But of course it’s...more
This wasn’t a book that hooked me in right away, but rather lulled me into its embraces until I found that I couldn’t put it down. Very is a crazy girl, who does crazy-girl things, and although she could have easily been written off as another eccentric, desperate for attention kind of person, she really couldn’t be further from that.
On the one hand, this is a story about Very’s addiction and her drug of choice—-technology. But of course it’s...more
Very (short for Veronica) is a freshman at Columbia who spends way too much time plugged into an electronic world that barely passes for reality. She learns the hard way that her reliance on her laptop, iPhone, and online social networking contacts can't actually take the place of real human connections.
Very is an appealing character, despite all of her self-involvement and technology "addiction." I enjoyed her habit of constantly creating playlists in her head to suit ever...more
Very is an appealing character, despite all of her self-involvement and technology "addiction." I enjoyed her habit of constantly creating playlists in her head to suit ever...more
Not as messy as Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, but the beginning was very drawn out. The overall pacing/exploration of sexuality in relation to technology addiction was questionable, but I did come to sympathize with Very and found her personality appealing despite the initial annoyance that I had with her. It's technology addiction to the extreme, but the hyper-pop-culture nature of the book works well with it. Not a bad read, and I can appreciate the literary writing Cohn brings to the table...more
I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't like Very as a person so it's always hard to get into a book when I don't like the main character. I also have a problem figuring out who the audience is for this book. I would have to say it's the 18-22 year old crowd but most of them are so busy with college (and technology) that they wouldn't have time to read a book like this - unless they were fans of Cohn from her previous books. Despite these issues, it was classic Cohn with edgy characters ...more
Sally said: "I fell in love with Very LeFreak. She is a little out of control and everyone loves to be around her. She has a dark past that is slowly exposed and she must deal with all of her demons. One of her battles is with her obsession with technology. This ...more I fell in love with Very LeFreak. She is a little out of control and everyone loves to be around her. She has a dark past that is slowly exposed and she must deal with all of her demons. One of her battles is with her obsess...more
Ultimately disappointing, and way too much telegraphing of what was eventually to come as far as Very's relationship with her roommate. The gradual reveal of Very's past was nicely done, but also a bit of a copout; why must there be a Big Issue in the past? Especially since there were already Issues of sex and addiction... sometimes it's ok to let things be a little less than perfectly explained, and leave readers wanting more (especially if the alternative is to leave them wishing there was les...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Very LeFreak is really Veronica, but even her mother said that she is very Very. She is in second semester of her freshman year at Columbia but may be in the process of failing out because of her addiction to all things technological. Since coming to school, she has endeared herself to her fellow dorm mates by throwing wild parties, organizing an online forum called The Grid, coordinating flash mobs around campus. She is living beyond her means by going online shopping and maxing out her credit ...more
I first picked up this book because of the title, seriously I'll read almost anything with the word freak in the title, and I could definitely put this cover on my favorite's list. I love how simply complex it is and I adore the font they used!* Then when I found out that it was about a girl named Very LeFreak who had an internet addiction, I was hooked.
Sadly this was where the awesomeness ended. Upon opening the book I quickly realized that all those expectations of awesomeness I ha...more
Sadly this was where the awesomeness ended. Upon opening the book I quickly realized that all those expectations of awesomeness I ha...more
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Rachel grew up in the D.C. area and graduated from Barnard College with a B.A. in Political Science. She has written many YA novels, including three that she cowrote with her friend and colleague David Levithan. She lives and writes (when she's not reading other people's books, organizing her music library or looking for the best cappuccino) in New York City.
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“They were tricky, those demons. Could they be trusted? Of course they could be trusted. She'd created them. She owned them. They wouldn't lead her astray.”
—
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