TMI by Patty Blount

Sep 11, 2018 WaltS_C2 rated it really liked it

It was a good book. The part where the protagonist's friend ditches her for a guy is relatable to me, due to how I've had a friend ditch me for another friend or a crush. All in all, this reminds me of the book "The Boyfriend App" because of the technology aspects in it. ...more

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Oct 06, 2013 Sonia rated it did not like it

I really wanted to like this book. The cover is attractive. I went in expecting some terrible betrayal and an online predator and maybe a love story, but that's not exactly what I got. Sure, the story is about the dangers of posting things on the internet without a care, and there is a love story, but what I got was two self-involved characters who call themselves best friends, but whose relationship was more frenemies than friends.

Bailey's character and story just pissed me off. Talk about a s ...more

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Mar 12, 2020 Suzy Seerden rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-selves

Keep your secrets close and never tell your secrets.
What would you do if your bff started talking to this guy online. She has never meet him, never seen what he looked like and has never hear his voice or has she....
Next thing you know Bailey and Meg have started World War 3.
I really enjoyed this book, got really shocked in the last chapters
I recommend this book

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Aug 14, 2013 Heidi rated it it was ok

Two stars: A book that exposes the dangers of posting too much online.

Bailey and Meg have been best friends forever. They share their deepest and even darkest secrets. When Bailey's longtime boyfriend, Simon, douses her in the school cafeteria with red Gatorade Bailey ends the relationship. Thankfully, Meg has her back. Bailey can't understand why Meg continually pushes away the one boy who she is crazy about and he, in turn, feels the same way. Bailey would like nothing more than to see them to ...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Alyssa rated it really liked it

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

TMI by Patty Blount
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: August 6, 2013
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC from the author

Summary (from Goodreads):

Best friends don’t lie.

Best friends don’t ditch you for a guy.

Best friends don’t post your deepest, darkest secrets online.

Bailey’s falling head-over-high-heels for Ryder West, a mysterious gamer she met online. A guy she’s never met in person. Her best friend, Meg, doesn’t trust smooth-talking Ryder. He’s ...more

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Jul 25, 2014 Michelle Wrona rated it liked it

Shelves: i-feel-it-in-the-heart, messed-up-in-some-sorts, dumb-mc, sorry-not-sorry, expected-better, contemporary, weird, death-sickness, tough-subjects, meh

TMI was one of those books that you feel like you'll instantly want to read when you spot it in the bookstore. Even by looking at its cover, you'll be able to tell what it's about, but even by looking at that, it automatically pops into your head that this is a unique story.

I'm really proud of this book for impressing me. But before you start thinking, "Why is she saying that it impressed her if she only gave it three stars?" let me tell you that it was a good book, not to get you thinking twi ...more

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Aug 06, 2013 Thiemba rated it liked it

Talk about a refreshing read of a female character that is into gaming. Ms. Blount, with her tech background, made sure to portray Bailey, when in her element, with all the passion that a gamer has when playing. Her best friend Meg, in all her need to control everything around her and keep others besides her best friend away, was handled with the utmost care. Her big reveal left you nodding your head as if to say, "Yes! That would totally make since for Meg to behave in that manner all this time Talk about a refreshing read of a female character that is into gaming. Ms. Blount, with her tech background, made sure to portray Bailey, when in her element, with all the passion that a gamer has when playing. Her best friend Meg, in all her need to control everything around her and keep others besides her best friend away, was handled with the utmost care. Her big reveal left you nodding your head as if to say, "Yes! That would totally make since for Meg to behave in that manner all this time."

The mutual friend between both girls, Chase, is such a sweetie pie and has the patience of Job when it comes to Meg. If he was real I'd give him a cookie and some hot cocoa for his troubles. The few things I had issues with are the lack of parental figures and the fact that Ms. Blount did not give any full details of HOW certain secrets were found out by 3rd parties in the first place. If I missed it in the text, my apologies. The lack of parents or other high school friends was a little weird. It was like the kids were in a vacuum. I think it would have given our 3 main characters meatier scenes if they had a few interactions with school staff. You know, some that care, some that don't and some that are neutral to the drama of everyday high school life.

Ms. Blount did an amazing job with Meg's mom at the end of the book but Meg only sees the back of mom's head as she's running off in the introduction of said character. I get that Ms. Blount is trying to portray a single mom but as a single mom, even though my free time is minimal and I have to work a lot you better believe my child will get a text daily from me or a note or some form of personal interaction (despite how brief) to let my kid know I am thinking about them. Perhaps if Meg's mom had decided to have a neighbor check in on Meg while mom is at one of her many jobs it would give the impression that the mom really was caring and not just put in at the very end. It would have been nice to have seen Meg try to protect her mother by keeping her at arm’s length via a longer conversation with mom that involves mom trying her damndest to talk with her daughter but failing.

All in all, I'm curious to see what other stories Ms. Blount will share with us in her promising career. She has an eye for tech and I'd love to see her have more tech savvy heroines. It's too bad Ms. Blount didn't populate our characters high school with more friends and other secondary high school classmates. Would love to see her bring more young adult issues to the forefront and create more characters that make you do a little chair dance at the end of the story.
...more

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Nov 07, 2016 Angela Auten rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star-books, nook-books, standalones

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. TMI Review

Book Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

Story Line: 4 stars out of 5. This book shows the dangers of posting online. I agree with the theme of this book. It is dangerous to post stuff online about other people. It can hurt this person worse than we know. Rumors are easily spread this way. People can turn words ugly. Baily and Meg are completely opposite people. They are best friends. After a break up Bailey posts online. She gets a message from a guy named Ryder. She starts to fall in love wit TMI Review

Book Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

Story Line: 4 stars out of 5. This book shows the dangers of posting online. I agree with the theme of this book. It is dangerous to post stuff online about other people. It can hurt this person worse than we know. Rumors are easily spread this way. People can turn words ugly. Baily and Meg are completely opposite people. They are best friends. After a break up Bailey posts online. She gets a message from a guy named Ryder. She starts to fall in love with Ryder. He starts to help her work towards her goals. Meg doesn't trust Ryder. She thinks he is some old guy. She thinks he could be someone out there to hurt her friend. Ryder starts to get in between Meg and Bailey. After Bailey thinks Meg told Ryder about secrets they kept Bailey posts on Facebook. That leads to a lot of events. Meg also posts about Bailey. This book was great. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't fall in love with it completely. I had a deeper connection with Bailey than I did with Meg. In fact I hated Meg so much. Other than her I enjoyed the book.

Characters: 4 stars out of 5. Bailey was an amazing character. She really wanted to prove that she could take care of herself. She didn't need her best friend holding her hand. She also didn't want to be lonely. She just wanted to find love. I had a deeper connection to her. She loves video games as much as I do. I'm not really a fan of COD, but she referenced other games that I've played. I also loved her personality. She was just so much fun!

I hated Meg with a burning passion. She was stupid. A guy was in love with her. She wouldn't give him the time of day. How stupid can you be? She had feelings for him too. She should have just gone out with him from the get go. I wanted to punch her in the face throughout this whole novel. I don't like that she tried to bring Bailey down. I also hated reading when it was in her P.O.V. There is always one character you love in books like this and one you dislike. Meg will always be the one I dislike.

Chase...he loved Meg. He definetly deserved much better. He was a sweetheart. He showed he cared about Meg although she didn't deserve it. I'm mad that he got with Meg in the ending. He was hurt by her so many times. Yet he stilled ended up with her. Meg was just lucky he loved her!

Favorite quotes will be added later when I reread this book. I don't know when that will be, but I probably will reread it.

Writing Style: 5 stars out of 5. I really just love her writing in general. I really can't wait to read the other books that I have by her. They are coming up pretty soon on my to reads list. ...more

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Oct 11, 2014 PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it it was ok

Bailey and Meg, inseparable best friends since kindergarten, are having issues. Bailey is making plans to meet a stranger she met online, Ryder, and Meg won't allow herself to like her neighbor Chase, who is in love with her. When Bailey thinks Meg shared a secret from second grade, she retaliates online resulting in a domino effect of unfortunate behaviors and actions that just might damage the friendship beyond repair.

Written in the third person POVs of both girls in alternating chapters, TMI ...more

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Jul 28, 2013 Randi Marshall rated it it was amazing

Its been a long time since I've read a young adult book but when offered an advanced copy jumped at the chance to read this one. The story is so real and heartfelt. Bailey, Meg and Chase really come to life. It was completely engrossing and filled with enough plot twists to keep me wondering. It brought back so many memories of high school and deep lasting friendship. Kudos to the author for finding a way to write a story that any age from teen up can relate to. I'm looking forward to more of Pa ...more

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Jan 17, 2017 Lanee rated it liked it

It started off pretty slow. I almost gave up several times but I am one of those readers that only abandons a book if the situation is dire. It picked up about halfway through and I was happy I stuck with it. Not a bad book if you can make it through the beginning.

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Jan 12, 2015 Imani rated it it was amazing

I am so glad that I chose this as my independent reading book for English. This is the BEST book ever! Ever time I picked up the book, I would never want to put it down. :)

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Feb 19, 2015 Mikaela G rated it it was amazing

Very dramatic, with a different concept, but still the entire consequence of cyber bullying. If you are wavering on whether or not you want to read this, you should definitely give it a chance.

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Dec 16, 2017 Cassidy rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is another reread for me and this one is worse than I remembered, unfortunately. The characters are extremely annoying. Bailey is the typical dumb blonde bimbo who can’t think for herself and does everything to impress men. Sure, she realizes this and decides to change in the end, but I’m pretty sure after living that way for seventeen years it will be really hard to change her entire personality. I also can’t stand how big of a deal it is that she’s a girl gamer. This book is the definitio This is another reread for me and this one is worse than I remembered, unfortunately. The characters are extremely annoying. Bailey is the typical dumb blonde bimbo who can’t think for herself and does everything to impress men. Sure, she realizes this and decides to change in the end, but I’m pretty sure after living that way for seventeen years it will be really hard to change her entire personality. I also can’t stand how big of a deal it is that she’s a girl gamer. This book is the definition of the “I’m so special because I’m a gamer and I’m so not like other girls because I’m beautiful too” stereotype that everyone hates. Meg is super annoying and I’m pretty sure if her mom knew that she blamed herself for her dad’s death she would have brought up therapy herself instead of waiting for Bailey to do it. I know she’s rarely home but there’s no way Meg’s emotional distance never came up before. Also if Meg is supposed to be the super logical smart one I’d think she would realize at some point that it was her dad’s choice to commit suicide, not her fault, and Bailey can’t be so stupid that she knew Meg blamed herself without pointing out how wrong that assumption is. Chase is also really annoying with his “waaaa waaa waa” you hurt my feewings every two seconds just to change his mind and go back to Meg again, and then change his mind again and try to get with her. The ending with Simon getting in legal trouble for having the fake Ryder profiles is not realistic at all. People lie about their indentities all the time online and unless they’re manipulating minors I’m pretty sure that’s not illegal, even if you do emotionally hurt someone because of it (I’d hardly call what he did cyberbullying compared to what went down between Bailey and Meg). Meg and Bailey are also super petty and annoying in how quickly they get angry over nothing and turn on each other. They’re supposed to be best friends since childhood, yet they fight at the drop of a hat. That’s not friendship, that’s just a toxic relationship. Sure they may have reconciled by “changing” in the end, but as someone who has had the same best friend since the second grade I will tell you right now that a healthy friendship, even over a span of many years, is nothing like Bailey and Meg’s. I’ve maybe fought twice with my best friend the entire time I’ve known her and never bad enough to drag her online like Meg and Bailey did to each other. None of the characters are relatable at all and their drama is just annoying. ...more

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Nov 14, 2016 Breanna rated it liked it

Rating 3.5 Stars***

The story is about two teenage high school girls who turn into enemies due to one of them dating a boy online. Meg is very overprotective and controlling towards Bailey. Bailey's boyfriend, Simon breaks up with her and starts dating someone else. Throughout the whole book, Meg keeps pushing her childhood friend and neighbor, Chase, away the whole time because of "her plan". Bailey thinks Meg need to admit her feelings for him because he likes her a lot. So Bailey comes up wit ...more

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Dec 21, 2018 Angelique Banchs rated it really liked it

I just got done reading a book called “TMI” by Patty Blount. This book shows the actual problems that can occur between two best friends. Not every friendship or relationship in general is always perfect. Sometimes you need to see when the friendship is getting to the point where it’s just toxic. I admire this book because it shows that there are actual problems in relationships and that everything isn’t about being perfect. In the book the protagonist, Meg had a best friend named Bailey and Meg ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 Paula rated it it was ok

Predictable. Too many different things going on! The love story between Ryder and Bailey, the love story between Meg and Chase, the friendship issues between Bailey and Meg, Bailey and Simon’s relationship, etc. Meg was annoying. Bailey became unlikeable. The only good character was Chase who I wished in the end moved on. The author used the phrase “She twisted a curl” and “He/she shot out a hip” so many times.

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Jul 07, 2019 Jennifer Henschel rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 25, 2018 Grace Yale rated it liked it

i wasn't the best book ever, it was descent i guess ...more

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Aug 27, 2019 Catie rated it it was ok

Not great but it probably would have been something I loved like six/seven years ago.

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Jun 02, 2020 Skyelar rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2020, young-adult

An 'in between books' read. I didn't like either one of the main characters. The pettiness between two supposed best friends - even for high schoolers - was too much for me to handle. ...more

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Feb 11, 2018 Liz rated it it was ok

TBH, I’m disappointed in TMI. I read Some Boys by Patty Blount a few years ago and loved it so I was expecting the same from TMI. SMH.

You can read my full (potentialy spoiilery) review at https://www.lizzylovesgoodbooks.com/r... ...more

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Jun 21, 2013 Chrissy rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013

Bailey and Meg are best friends, despite the fact that they have entirely different personalities. Bailey, insecure and confused in her identity, lives like a chameleon, adapting the likes and interests of whatever boy strikes her fancy at the time. Spontaneous and romantic, Bailey is not intensely worried about her future -- everything will happen, in due time, as it should.. hopefully. Meg, on the other hand, is serious and artistic, fiercely controlling of herself and her emotions. Prone of b Bailey and Meg are best friends, despite the fact that they have entirely different personalities. Bailey, insecure and confused in her identity, lives like a chameleon, adapting the likes and interests of whatever boy strikes her fancy at the time. Spontaneous and romantic, Bailey is not intensely worried about her future -- everything will happen, in due time, as it should.. hopefully. Meg, on the other hand, is serious and artistic, fiercely controlling of herself and her emotions. Prone of bouts of melancholy for the purpose of her art, Meg is determined to get the perfect scholarship to the perfect college -- and no boy will interfere with her destiny.

After a messy breakup with her high school boyfriend, Bailey throws herself into her ideas for creating her own video game, going to the internet for inspiration and technical assistance. She soon finds Ryder, a mysterious guy on the internet who seems to be her perfect match in every way. Ryder offers his assistance with Bailey's gaming project and meanwhile manages to captivate Bailey's attention and affection with his frequent emails and texts. He seems like the perfect guy, but Ryder always has an excuse as to why he can't meet up with Bailey. What is Ryder hiding?

Suddenly, Ryder reveals something to Bailey that makes her question the loyalty of her best friend Meg. Surely Meg wouldn't reveal Bailey's deepest darkest secrets to Ryder, right? But, how else would he know so many hidden things about Bailey? After a devious act of brutal revenge, Meg and Bailey find themselves in an entirely new territory. Who is Ryder and what dangers are really in store for a teenage girl who reveals a bit too much about herself to a total stranger?

I can't deny that I loved the concept of this young adult novel -- I'm a sucker for any story that explores the medium of online messaging or texting as a way to integrate parts of the story line. And, with the popularity of the show CATFISH, who can resist a story about the mystery lurking on the other side of the internet? There were so many possibilities for this book, I think, and so many potential lessons to teenagers about the dangers of emotional intimacy with utter strangers on the net.

However, there were several problems I had with the story that really kept me from elevating it to the LOVE level. For one, I just found the characters of Bailey -- and to a much greater extend, Meg -- to be very extreme and unrelatable. Don't get me wrong -- I adore extreme characters, especially those plagued by deep psychological problems -- but these girls were almost TOO much to handle. They constantly referenced their daddy issues, they were very fickle and ridiculously quick to turn on pretty much everyone, and especially the character of Meg just seemed to try TOO hard to present herself as dark and disturbed. I'd like to see a little more relateability to these characters, I think, to make them a bit more likeable to keep me more invested in their stories.

Also, the identity of Ryder felt like a bit of a dud. I guessed pretty early on who was hiding behind the computer, and I was disappointed to find that I was correct. I just feel like it would have been much more effective to infuse a bit more mystery and dangerous into the message here. There really weren't any huge repercussions to these girls revealing 'TMI' to a stranger, which I presumed to be the significance of the title. On the positive side, though, there was a lot more discussion of the evolution of the girls' friendship than what I expected from the description, which was definitely interesting to see. The girls both experienced character growth which led to a pretty happy ending, which is never a bad thing.

I appreciate getting the opportunity to receive an advanced reader's copy of this novel and I look forward to more from this author in the future. TMI had a great foundation to an interesting idea, and I'd like to see more like this one in the future, for sure. ...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Chapter by Chapter rated it really liked it

TMI by Patty Blount TMI by author Patty Blount sounded like an interesting read to get started on. I personally was very excited to get started reading because I have never read any novels that centered around internet romances and characters who may be falling for a catfish (a person who uses social media to create an identity that isn’t their own in order to find romance online). After finishing TMIall I can say is that I am so glad I got to check out this read.
In TMI best friends Meg and Bail TMI by Patty Blount TMI by author Patty Blount sounded like an interesting read to get started on. I personally was very excited to get started reading because I have never read any novels that centered around internet romances and characters who may be falling for a catfish (a person who uses social media to create an identity that isn’t their own in order to find romance online). After finishing TMIall I can say is that I am so glad I got to check out this read.
In TMI best friends Meg and Bailey both find themselves going head to head after Bailey ends up meeting Ryder online. After constantly changing herself to impress her then-current boyfriends, Ryder is everything that Bailey could ever want. He’s sweet, understanding and a gamer just like herself. Bailey believes that Ryder is perfect. Her best friend Meg wouldn’t understand and she knows that which is why she’s trying to keep Ryder her own secret. So when she finally does tell Meg she knows nothing good can come from Meg’s pessimistic attitude toward Ryder.
Meg has always followed her plan. She wants to graduate from high school, go to university and get a degree, a good job and be good in the finance department. Being madly in love with Chase doesn’t exactly benefit her plan. There’s no room for him. Meg can’t understand why her best friend Bailey wouldn’t want to have a plan just like hers. When Meg finds out about Ryder she knows that something isn’t right about Ryder or why he constantly finds excuses not to meet Meg or Bailey IRL (in real life). So when Bailey believes that Meg has told a series of secrets that best friends shouldn’t tell the two girls find themselves feeding an angry fire over the internet that could destroy their friendship.
What I really liked about TMI was how emotional the writing and the characters made me. I’m not talking sobbing into a pillow emotional, I’m talking about angry emotions. The interactions between Bailey and Meg were realistic to the point where it had me furious. The two girls both do a lot of things that best friends should not do. Ever. Yet, both characters would constantly forgive each other or push the things that happened away in order to keep their friendship intact and I personally could see how in the real world teen girls do that a lot to keep their friendships.
TMI has two main characters who I think a lot of teen readers will be able to relate to in some way or form and both girls are very different from each other. Meg is an ambitious, artistic teen girl who wants to go far in life and turns away her emotions if it means keeping herself and her secrets safe. Bailey is a beautiful, flirty girl who puts her emotions aside whenever she has a boyfriend and centers her entire life around what her boyfriend thinks of her and what her boyfriend may want. I think teen readers will be able to take away from the plot in TMI and create ways to better themselves in some of the situations the main characters find themselves in.
TMI also kept me guessing. All the time. Mostly over who Ryder could really be. I had a few guesses and while my guesses weren’t correct (darn!) I think that readers will have fun with guessing the plot twists that the novel introduces. TMIis definitely a novel that will keep readers on their toes and on the edge of their seat as they try to anticipate plot twists and who Ryder must really be IRL and if he and Bailey will ever end up together.
I would recommend TMI to readers who want an original read, readers who are big fans of teen fiction and to any readers who want a novel that deals with internet romances and also the dangers that can come with posting certain things on social media sites. ...more

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Jul 22, 2013 Ellen rated it liked it

Shelves: blog-tours, netgalley

TMI is focused around the lives of two girls, Meg and Bailey, who are best friends and though they are really opposites, they just click and get along really well. Both girls come from dysfunctional families where the dad is absent. Bailey has never known her dad and really wants to, and Meg's dad died tragically when she was very small. She still remembers her dad, especially the last things he told her, and his death has left Meg very scarred and emotionally wounded, more than anyone really k TMI is focused around the lives of two girls, Meg and Bailey, who are best friends and though they are really opposites, they just click and get along really well. Both girls come from dysfunctional families where the dad is absent. Bailey has never known her dad and really wants to, and Meg's dad died tragically when she was very small. She still remembers her dad, especially the last things he told her, and his death has left Meg very scarred and emotionally wounded, more than anyone really knows. Bailey has always had a boyfriend, is outgoing, a gamer, and is very carefree in nature. Meg, on the other hand, doesn't have time to fit a boyfriend in her life. She is driven and focused on her "goals," is really more of a loner, and she and her mom have very little money, so Meg tries to pitch in as best she can. Her passion is art. She loves to paint and is very good at it. Her mom works and goes to school, which means Meg is by herself most of the time. Then, there is the hottie Chase, Meg's neighbor, who has had a thing for Meg for a long time, and secretly, Meg is crazy about him to, even though she pushes him away and is mean to him because he doesn't fit into her "long-term plan." Whether she admits it or not, Chase is often the glue that holds things together and has been there to pick up the pieces when things fall apart on more than one occasion.

Both girls think they know what is best for the other, especially concerning Meg's relationship with Chase, and Bailey's relationship with the mysterious Ryder West. Meanwhile, things are getting more complicated with Chase and it is getting harder for Meg to deny her feelings, and despite the "red flags" that Bailey refuses to see, she is falling harder for Ryder. One thing leads to another, things are said, lies are told, feelings are hurt, and when it all comes to a head via Facebook posts and other online social media, everyone involved winds up in even more of a mess, one which is now very public and very ugly....something that both girls cannot walk away from unscathed.

TMI was a book that I think would mostly appeal to tweens and teens. It does deal with important issues that many of them could very well find themselves it. While the Ryder West thing was a part of the story, I didn't really feel like he was the main focus of the story, but was more of a catalyst for the other issues that these girls deal with. Friendship is tested, the consequences of of "online revenge/bullying" is focused upon, and the emotional issues that stem from the girls pasts and how their pasts affect their actions and decisions, both in the present and the future are looked at. TMI is told from both Meg's and Bailey's POV. I did like both girls, though the way Meg treated Chase really aggravated me. On the other hand, Chase was great, and so patient with her. The mysterious Ryder West causes a lot of problems that result in some major drama, but that drama also results in both of these girls facing the reality of their issues, which in turn leads to both of them dealing with these issues and their root causes that have been too long ignored. As I said above, I think TMI would appeal to younger teens, as it does highlight some really good points as the reader watches these girls mature and take their journey in life, progressing from unhealthy ways of coping to healthy ways of dealing with issues, and learning what is really important along the way. ...more

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Oct 04, 2013 Vickie rated it really liked it

Meg has had a hard life. Her father died when she was small, leaving her and her mother on their own and struggling. Her mom worked two jobs and went to the local community college at night, trying to make a better life for her and her daughter. Meg was left on her own a lot, but her friends kept an eye on her…..her best friend Bailey and her friend Chase. Meg was a no nonsense kind of girl. She had a plan and had her future all mapped out. She did extremely well in school and was a gifted artis Meg has had a hard life. Her father died when she was small, leaving her and her mother on their own and struggling. Her mom worked two jobs and went to the local community college at night, trying to make a better life for her and her daughter. Meg was left on her own a lot, but her friends kept an eye on her…..her best friend Bailey and her friend Chase. Meg was a no nonsense kind of girl. She had a plan and had her future all mapped out. She did extremely well in school and was a gifted artist. She just wished that her bff, Bailey, was as channeled.

Bailey loved her video games. So when she met a guy online, (after a big breakup with her current boyfriend), whom was just as interested in her as he was video games, she was ecstatic. Until she told Meg about Ryder West. Meg immediately went into “mother hen” mode. After all, Ryder could be a forty-two year old perv. Bailey wishes that just for once, Meg could be happy for her and not be so uptight.

Chase has been in love with Meg for years. Bailey has tried to get Meg to loosen up and give Chase a shot, but Meg is too afraid of ending up like her mother and won’t let anyone stand in her way of attaining her goal of finishing high school, then college and securing her place in the world. She wasn’t even willing to entertain the idea, until that one kiss that had her thinking………..what if? And, when Bailey decides to “help things along”, none of our trio had any idea the things that would be set in motion. Will Meg finally give in and let Chase in? Will Bailey finally get to meet Ryder in person? And, will Meg and Bailey survive the tumultuous ups and downs of being bff’s? You’ll have to read to find out.

TMI is an intriguing young adult novel that didn’t really grab me at first. Everything seemed typical, mundane and ordinary. Then, bam! I got pulled in and couldn’t turn the pages of the last half of the book fast enough. TMI is full of teenaged angst, as are most YA novels. What sets this one apart from the others, in my humble opinion, is that you can see these things happening in the real world. There are life lessons in this book. You can see how social media can have such an adverse affect on an unsuspecting person when one post is made and then spreads like wildfire. And, the dangers of meeting someone online whom you nothing about? I don’t even need to elaborate on that. But, what grabbed me the most, and not always in a positive way, was the viciousness of one of the girls. Having two daughters myself, I’ve always told them no one is more vicious than a teenaged girl who thinks someone has wronged her. To say I was mortified by what played out would be like saying the Titanic hit an ice cube. If I could have reached through and slapped the crap out of the girl, I would have. Well, actually, I would have crawled through and beaten the hell out of her, but since that wasn’t a viable option, I sat here with my mouth gaped open in disbelief. TMI is ultimately about building trust and what happens when that one person lets you down and you have to decide whether it’s worth trying to rebuild. This book should be recommended reading for teenaged girls everywhere, as it shows some shining examples of what “to” do and what “not” to do.

Copy supplied by publisher ...more

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Jun 11, 2013 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: blog-tours, 3-stars

Review originally posted at Step Into Fiction

This book is told from the points of views of best friends, Bailey and Meg; while they're both best friends they have very different story lines. In fact, Meg's storyline is really talked about in the book's description so it was a lovely surprise to find out she a love interest of her own (I was kind of terrified of a best friend type love triangle).

That being said, there was one storyline I thoroughly enjoyed and one I did not. Bailey and her storyl Review originally posted at Step Into Fiction

This book is told from the points of views of best friends, Bailey and Meg; while they're both best friends they have very different story lines. In fact, Meg's storyline is really talked about in the book's description so it was a lovely surprise to find out she a love interest of her own (I was kind of terrified of a best friend type love triangle).

That being said, there was one storyline I thoroughly enjoyed and one I did not. Bailey and her storyline really pissed me off about 90% of the time. It made me cringe and I think why it makes me cringe more is because it's pretty realistic. I can't stand people like Bailey. People who seem to choose a guy over a best friend. It happens a lot and it's a horrible thing. Especially when it's a friend you've had for basically the majority of your life. No guy is ever worth the friendship like that; ever.

Maybe because of situations like this happening to me during my teenage years that I hold a personal grudge against it or maybe it's because I really disliked Bailey. Her logic just didn't make sense to me though maybe it's my age (Not that I'm old just older than seventeen). But because of these reasons I had a really hard time enjoying any chapter that was told from Bailey's pov.

Now, like I said, I thought there might be some twisted best friend love triangle but I was glad that wasn't the case. Meg has men issues of her own, with her neighbor and friend, Chase, who happens to be crazy about her. Because of her father, who is now dead, she feels like Chase isn't meant to be part of her plan; her future. Falling for him will just screw up everything her father ever told her. Her story line was full of surprises that I never suspected based on the description and I do believe that's why I enjoyed this book, because of all this.

There's many different issues dealt with in this book besides the meeting of guys on the internet, which is usually never a good idea. The whole situation is twisted and while Bailey has fallen in love with this Ryder guy, who refuses politely (filled with excuses) to meet in person her best friend, Meg, is arguing how bad of an idea this is. How this Ryder guy is probably some old man whose a pervert and just looking for his next victim. Hey, it's happened plenty of times so it's not like she's wrong thinking this but it causes so many problems. But then Ryder starts causing all sort of problems himself with both the girls and it just goes from bad to worse in no time at all.

While I didn't find the book great, it wasn't bad either - I feel like younger folks might like it more; like maybe actual teenagers. It's set for your age group and I really think this might be one of those books that are definitely more for teenagers where most YA can be read by any and all ages.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks for allowing me to be a part of this two-part TMI tour. Thank you to Patty Blount for coming on our blog last month with a guest post. ...more

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Jul 29, 2013 Sacha rated it liked it

Rating: 3/5 stars

I was given an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meg and Bailey are both seventeen years old, and they are best friends. They talk about their plans for the future, or lack thereof, and they keep each other’s secrets. That is, until Bailey starts to ditch Meg for a boy she met online. It’s classic teenage girl in high school drama.

Meg has a solid plan for the future, and that plan doesn’t include any distractions. It certainly doesn’t include Chase, the handsom Rating: 3/5 stars

I was given an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meg and Bailey are both seventeen years old, and they are best friends. They talk about their plans for the future, or lack thereof, and they keep each other’s secrets. That is, until Bailey starts to ditch Meg for a boy she met online. It’s classic teenage girl in high school drama.

Meg has a solid plan for the future, and that plan doesn’t include any distractions. It certainly doesn’t include Chase, the handsome, slightly older jock with the most amazing green eyes that Meg has ever seen.

When things between her and Bailey start to go south, Chase is there for Meg. She’s trying desperately to ignore (or at least suppress) her feelings for Chase, but as things get worse between Megan and her best friend, the bond between her and Chase gets stronger.

Chase and Meg are both worried about Bailey. She appears to fall harder for the faceless Ryder West with every passing day, and she has never met him. She has shared some personal details with him online, and her friends are justified in worrying about her well-being. Bailey sees them as interfering, and that they just don’t want her to be happy.

When Ryder tells the girls things about themselves and each other that he couldn’t have known without inside information, Meg starts to worry and Bailey starts to get really angry. The girls begin to very publicly share secrets about each other that could get them in trouble and hurt others.

Will their friendship be saved? Will Meg let herself fall for Chase and take a chance at deviating from ‘The Plan’? Who is Ryder West?
The blurb about this book on its Goodreads profile is a little bit misleading. It seems like the book will be quite suspenseful and mysterious, centering around the discovery of Ryder West’s identity. What I got from this book was that there was a little too much going for such a short read. When I was reading the book, I was much more interested in Meg’s past, and why she didn’t want a relationship with Chase than I was in who Ryder really was and whether or not Meg and Bailey would patch things up.

I think that many teenaged girls would eat this book right up, and that it’s a good cautionary tale about the dangers of sharing too much information online. It wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t a great book either. I think there were too many sub-plots for a book this short, and as I mentioned earlier, if the main plot was unveiling the mystery behind Ryder West, then either I missed the point, or less of the book should have been devoted to developing a relationship between Meg and Chase. I think if the book had been marketed a little differently, perhaps just using the first three lines of the blurb, I may have felt differently about it.

All in all, I would recommend this book to young teens as it’s relatable, and teaches a good lesson. I wouldn’t recommend it to adults who enjoy the YA genre, as it’s just a bit too young as compared to others that I have read and really enjoyed. ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 Camille Warner rated it liked it

Shelves: arc-netgalley

The first three lines from the publisher's summary:

Best friends don��t lie.
Best friends don��t ditch you for a guy.
Best friends don��t post your deepest, darkest secrets online.

If the publisher stopped at those first three lines, I think my expectations would've been met. But Sourcebooks marketing team did not do a good job with this book. The full publisher's summary would lead you to believe that the entire book is about Meg investigating her best friend's, Bailey, new secret online boyfri The first three lines from the publisher's summary:

Best friends don��t lie.
Best friends don��t ditch you for a guy.
Best friends don��t post your deepest, darkest secrets online.

If the publisher stopped at those first three lines, I think my expectations would've been met. But Sourcebooks marketing team did not do a good job with this book. The full publisher's summary would lead you to believe that the entire book is about Meg investigating her best friend's, Bailey, new secret online boyfriend Ryder West. While Meg does hold suspicions about this Ryder West person, the book is more about the girls' friendship.

I'm having a little problem motivating myself to write a review for this book. So I must apologize in advance so such a boring review. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a good book either, just meh.(Is "meh" a word? I saw it somewhere and kinda describes what I feel about this book.) It took too long for me to get interested in it. I was just about ready to give up, but I was about 50% through the book before I wanted to keep reading. As an adult, I am so glad that I survived my teenage years, something I would NEVER want to relive again. And TMI just reiterated that feeling, especially in the world of Facebook and Twitter.

Meg and Bailey have been best friends since their earliest childhood memories. Through the years, they've managed to keep each other's secrets until Bailey gets an online boyfriend, Ryder West, that Meg doesn't believe is an actual teenage boy. Bailey allows Ryder West to interfere in her friendship with Meg. Believing that Meg told Ryder an embarrasing secret, Bailey posts an equally embarrassing secret of Meg on Facebook. Wow, I do forget how mean girls can be to one another!

Both girls suffer from being "daddyless daughters" (yes, I just coined a phrase from Oprah and Iyanla). Meg has over-planned her life because that's what her father told her to do before he committed suicide when Meg was a young child. Bailey looks to find love in her boyfriends because she didn't never knew her father. Bailey has been looking for her father since the beginning of the book. Okay it was probably longer than that, but I don't remember.

I'm struggling here and I'm going to put myself out of my misery. TMI is a good starting place for a discussion on friendship and trust, the pros and cons of Facebook and Twitter, and how not having a father-figure in your life can affect a girls life.

My overall grade: C

Expected publication: August 6th 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire.
http://lccn.loc.gov/2013011794 ...more

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Aug 05, 2013 Amy Alessio rated it really liked it

Everyone knows friendships can change and end especially when girls enter the teen years. In this engrossing yet painfully realistic book, readers change point of view from Meg to Bailey and see how miscommunication online and in person can lead to badly hurt feelings and result in damage to a relationship built since the girls were young.

Meg is still traumatized from finding her father dead when she was young. She buries the memories in her quest to get into a good school and find a financiall Everyone knows friendships can change and end especially when girls enter the teen years. In this engrossing yet painfully realistic book, readers change point of view from Meg to Bailey and see how miscommunication online and in person can lead to badly hurt feelings and result in damage to a relationship built since the girls were young.

Meg is still traumatized from finding her father dead when she was young. She buries the memories in her quest to get into a good school and find a financially successful path in life, as her father used to discuss with her. Her passion for painting is not on her imagined path, but she works on her masterpieces whenever she can. She can't afford to be distracted by her attraction to cute Chase from the neighborhood, though his persistence begins to crack her shell.

Bailey doesn't want a path. She goes from interest to interest and boy to boy. Her steadfast hobby is video gaming and she has talked for years about creating her own. Meg is pushing her to do it and to take computer programming in college. Meg also encouraged her to break up with Simon after seeing him with another girl. Bailey finds a new guy online, Ryder, and soon forgets to meet Meg for planned outings.

The friends fight over Bailey blowing Meg off and then about Bailey's online guy. Meg is sure he is an older pervert, and Bailey is sick of Meg always thinking that Bailey doesn't know what she is doing. She spends more time texting with Ryder and Meg confides in Chase.

Ryder texts with Meg then to try and show he is an okay guy, only to add another layer to the girls' fights and miscommunications. The girls reveal secrets about each other online and then in a fight at school. Bad test scores and getting laid off from her job has Meg on edge already, and the drama with Bailey brings everything to a boiling point.

Making plans for the future and moving forward without the friends known since childhood is definitely stressful, and Bailey and Meg are realistic. It is all too easy to post or do things online and regret the fallout later. Readers will know where these two are headed long before they do as suspense and tension build over the Ryder issue.

They have to find a way to be honest if they want their friendship to move forward and the scene where they iron out issues is one of the strongest in the book. Chase is a dream of a boyfriend, and a fun character. At times the timeline jumps in a confusing way and readers may wonder why Meg did not get help dealing with her father's death before now. Overall this is a good picture of two friends ready to grow in different directions yet hold on to their friendship. ...more

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