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The Start-Up #1
The Social Code
In a world where anyone can rise to the top, the only rule is... watch your back.
Eighteen-year-old twins Adam and Amelia Dory learned the hard way to rely only on each other, growing up in a small town where they understood the meaning of coming from nothing. But everything changes when both are offered scholarships to Stanford University – and catapulted into the dazzling world of Silicon Valley, where anyone with a good enough idea can skyrocket to fame and fortune in the blink of an eye…
Amelia is almost as pretty as she is smart – almost. A shy girl and genius, she is happiest alone in the computer lab, but her brother has other plans for her talents: A new company that will be the next Silicon Valley hit, and will thrust Amelia into the spotlight whether she likes it or not. Where Amelia’s the brains, Adam’s the ambition – he sees the privileged lifestyle of the Silicon Valley kids and wants a piece of what they have. He especially wants a piece of Lisa Bristol, the stunning daughter of one of the Valley’s biggest tycoons.
As Adam and Amelia begin to hatch their new company, they find themselves going from nothing to the verge of everything seemingly overnight. But no amount of prestige can prepare them for the envy, backstabbing and cool calculation of their new powerful peers.
Welcome to Silicon Valley, where fortune, success – and betrayal – are only a breath away...
Previously published as The Start-Up.
Eighteen-year-old twins Adam and Amelia Dory learned the hard way to rely only on each other, growing up in a small town where they understood the meaning of coming from nothing. But everything changes when both are offered scholarships to Stanford University – and catapulted into the dazzling world of Silicon Valley, where anyone with a good enough idea can skyrocket to fame and fortune in the blink of an eye…
Amelia is almost as pretty as she is smart – almost. A shy girl and genius, she is happiest alone in the computer lab, but her brother has other plans for her talents: A new company that will be the next Silicon Valley hit, and will thrust Amelia into the spotlight whether she likes it or not. Where Amelia’s the brains, Adam’s the ambition – he sees the privileged lifestyle of the Silicon Valley kids and wants a piece of what they have. He especially wants a piece of Lisa Bristol, the stunning daughter of one of the Valley’s biggest tycoons.
As Adam and Amelia begin to hatch their new company, they find themselves going from nothing to the verge of everything seemingly overnight. But no amount of prestige can prepare them for the envy, backstabbing and cool calculation of their new powerful peers.
Welcome to Silicon Valley, where fortune, success – and betrayal – are only a breath away...
Previously published as The Start-Up.
320 pages, ebook
First published October 16, 2011
13 people are currently reading
947 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
July 13, 2017
This series has now been re-released with different titles and updated covers but is a series I have had on my Kindle since 2012. I have decided to go back to my Kindle and read some of my older books and the Start-Up by Sadie Hayes looked interesting. This book is also a quick read and made me wonder if it was originally intended to be like a serial rather than series. In the Start-Up, we meet foster twins Adam and Amelia Dory, yes like the fish on Finding Nemo. Currently, they are both on scholarship funds at Stanford. Amelia is a whizz and looks like she will be one of the next big things like Mark Zuckerberg. The thing is though she is being exploited and brought. What will happen though when she after hours activities cause a massive $3.8 million dollar deal to fall through? Then, as a result, her and Adam's scholarships are rebuked, especially since this is all they have? Has Amelia rubbed the wrong people up the worst way possible with her skills? What will happen when she has an opportunity to save her and Adam from being on the streets? One of the personal things I found funny about this book was that one of the IT guys is called Amit and that's the name of one of our IT guys at work. The Start-Up ended on a massive cliffhanger as it looks like someone from Adam and Amelia's past has found them and it's not good news for the pair. This series is perfect for anyone interested in the Start-Up world with venture capitalism, and of course, this series is set right in the heart of Silicon Valley. I am now looking forward to continuing the next two books in this series and seeing where it could lead.
July 22, 2013
One big fat MEH!
The book I was given by the publisher via Netgalley appears to be all three earlier novellas(
,
,
) wrapped into one.
Interesting plot, without too much tech talk, but I feel a little cheated by the ending. Which wasn't. Too many questions unanswered.
I can't help but think that there will be additional books after this one, especially considering that this book ended in a spot that didn't even attempt to wrap up the subplots that permeated this book.
And this is precisely why this book failed for me. It starts out interesting enough - smart girl and her twin brother are freshmen on scholarships at Stanford after spending most of their lives in group and foster homes and find themselves the next big thing in the Tech World after Amelia codes an app for the iPhone that allows the user to control various other appliances in their environment.
Excellent idea for a book. Epic fail on the delivery.
For starters, the subplots (love triangle starring Lisa and Sundeep and Adam, T.J.'s daddy issues, the threat from The Family, Patty's hankering for her sister's fiance) distracted from the actual main story. I didn't get the inclusion of Patty at all, other than her purpose of functioning as a rat who tells T.J. about Amelia's findings about his daddy's next big deal.
It's a convoluted mess, and the only one I actually liked throughout this book was Amelia. And Roger. Roger was cool, a bit in the background, but supportive and savvy and smart.
The story is fast-paced, and contains a lot of well-researched information about the seedy underbelly of Silicon Valley and the Tech industry. And yet, despite all that research, there are obvious errors.
There's a sentence about lines of ones and zeros and Courier typeface while talking about Amelia sitting in front of her PC screen and coding. I don't know anyone who codes in binary - there are programming languages - and this just seems complete nonsense.
Further proof-reading was hopefully done prior to final publication, as this ARC still had plenty of errors.
There were also some plotholes that left me scratching my head. For starters, how do students on scholarships afford iPhones? Secondly, who sends their equipment to a convention ahead of time and then doesn't check it over prior to the presentation? I also found the convenience of the wedding and the convention to be on the same weekend in the same place to be rather too convenient to be realistic. That was either one huge coincidence or a cheap ploy to get Adam and Lisa into the same spot.
The characterizations were actually not bad, though Mr. Bristol as the evil mastermind was a little hard to believe, especially when he was telling his son what his plans were for Amelia's company. Adam is as naive as his sister, but where Amelia is brilliant, cool as a cucumber and acts like a young adult, Adam seems to be emotionally dependent and searching for someone to love him. Understandable, considering their upbringing, but I would have expected better street smarts from him, specifically because of how he spent the first 18 years of his life.
The writing style is rather simple and often stilted, with overly descriptive wording (a strand of hair had fallen tenderly down - LOLWUT??).
Anyway, this was disappointing. The idea for this story was brilliant. More the pity that the execution was not.
I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley. A positive review was not promised in return.
The book I was given by the publisher via Netgalley appears to be all three earlier novellas(
,
,
) wrapped into one.Interesting plot, without too much tech talk, but I feel a little cheated by the ending. Which wasn't. Too many questions unanswered.
I can't help but think that there will be additional books after this one, especially considering that this book ended in a spot that didn't even attempt to wrap up the subplots that permeated this book.
And this is precisely why this book failed for me. It starts out interesting enough - smart girl and her twin brother are freshmen on scholarships at Stanford after spending most of their lives in group and foster homes and find themselves the next big thing in the Tech World after Amelia codes an app for the iPhone that allows the user to control various other appliances in their environment.
Excellent idea for a book. Epic fail on the delivery.
For starters, the subplots (love triangle starring Lisa and Sundeep and Adam, T.J.'s daddy issues, the threat from The Family, Patty's hankering for her sister's fiance) distracted from the actual main story. I didn't get the inclusion of Patty at all, other than her purpose of functioning as a rat who tells T.J. about Amelia's findings about his daddy's next big deal.
It's a convoluted mess, and the only one I actually liked throughout this book was Amelia. And Roger. Roger was cool, a bit in the background, but supportive and savvy and smart.
The story is fast-paced, and contains a lot of well-researched information about the seedy underbelly of Silicon Valley and the Tech industry. And yet, despite all that research, there are obvious errors.
There's a sentence about lines of ones and zeros and Courier typeface while talking about Amelia sitting in front of her PC screen and coding. I don't know anyone who codes in binary - there are programming languages - and this just seems complete nonsense.
Further proof-reading was hopefully done prior to final publication, as this ARC still had plenty of errors.
There were also some plotholes that left me scratching my head. For starters, how do students on scholarships afford iPhones? Secondly, who sends their equipment to a convention ahead of time and then doesn't check it over prior to the presentation? I also found the convenience of the wedding and the convention to be on the same weekend in the same place to be rather too convenient to be realistic. That was either one huge coincidence or a cheap ploy to get Adam and Lisa into the same spot.
The characterizations were actually not bad, though Mr. Bristol as the evil mastermind was a little hard to believe, especially when he was telling his son what his plans were for Amelia's company. Adam is as naive as his sister, but where Amelia is brilliant, cool as a cucumber and acts like a young adult, Adam seems to be emotionally dependent and searching for someone to love him. Understandable, considering their upbringing, but I would have expected better street smarts from him, specifically because of how he spent the first 18 years of his life.
The writing style is rather simple and often stilted, with overly descriptive wording (a strand of hair had fallen tenderly down - LOLWUT??).
Anyway, this was disappointing. The idea for this story was brilliant. More the pity that the execution was not.
I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley. A positive review was not promised in return.
July 31, 2013
The synopsis is what caught my eye about The Social Code by Sadie Hayes. It sounded promising and very much like a book version of The Social Network. I’m a bit of a tech geek, so combine that with a YA novel and you’ve pretty much hooked me (plus, look at that cover!).
But this book pretty much sucked ass. Let me tell you why.
In the beginning, the twins are going to college, she’s a genius, he’s a wannabe social climber. She hacks a system called Gibly (a smartphone app), and finds some…really questionable things about the app and the companies that back it and are buying it. All hell breaks loose, threats are thrown about, and she gets offered a prestigious spot in a Silicon Valley incubator, plus all the dramaz.
Unnecessary Characters and Plotlines.
The primary plot of this book is Amelia and Adam’s start up company, but there is a second plot, and I totally do not understand why it’s in the novel: Patty’s affair with her future brother-in-law. Patty had a hand in the beginning of the story, with the Gibly hacking scandal, but it was minor, and frankly, I wouldn’t have missed her if she never appeared in the rest of the novel. But yet, she did, over and over, and her family life, with her sister and her sister’s fiance, really confused me, because it seemed to have absolutely no bearing on what really mattered in The Social Code, which is the say, the story that centralizes around Amelia and Adam Dory. Patty’s story felt like it was put there to create conflict and reader interest and frankly, it was not done well. It was a distraction.
This Book Tells, Not Shows
Do we need that level of detail? Part of the greatness in books is the idea that readers get to fill in some of the details themselves. I certainly didn’t care that her gold sandals had turquoise stones at the toe strap. Or that her purple silk dress was a slip dress. Or that her diamond ring was princess-cut!
Look, all that needs to be said is, “he went down to his own, state-of-the-art, private gym in his home.” I can fill in the details myself. I’ve seen Cribs.
Her Characters Are Stupid
There is a certain point in the novel (33%) where Amelia, coder-extraordinaire, is discovered as the Gibly Hacker. She tells one of Gibly’s venture capitalists exactly what she did (which was to hack in to Gibly, discover the bad things they were doing to end-users), AND THEN OFFERS EVEN MORE DETAILS:
Are you fawking stupid, Amelia? You don’t tell people your hacker secrets, you twat! No, seriously, who does that?!
Patty, you are a dolt. You already made out with the guy. *facepalm*
Later on, Amelia is wondering if Roger Fenway, her mentor and start-up backer, knows about her “criminal” past:
No lie, folks, these are my actual notes from my iPad: “Fucking really? Silicon Valley giant and you don’t even wonder if he knew???”
The Plot Is Implausible. All the Things Are Not Right.
It is totally 100% possible for a university student to come up with a genius idea and run with it, turning it into a billions-of-dollars cash cow. After all, Mark Zuckerberg did it. And that’s why I was interested in this book, because stories like that fascinate me. But it’s like Sadie Hayes did absolutely little-to-no research for this storyline, because most of it is impossible, or highly, highly improbable.
Amelia and Dory have a past that included Amelia hacking into the SAT website (LOLOLOLOLOL) and changing the SAT score of her older foster brother. And then hacked into her foster father’s company’s system to increase his sales figures. And then hacked into the company’s bank account to move money from one account to another. Including the State Insurance Bureau. And now that the twins are back in the public eye with their invention and company, their old foster family wants them to start hacking again.
I laughed. Uproariously. Because this kind of thing doesn’t happen. Look, I know it’s fiction, but I’m reading realistic fiction here, so it needs to be, OH I DON’T KNOW, REALISTIC.
(And ALSO LOOK. I know all these things are possible, but a naive teenager is not going to do them.)
Sadie Hayes also clearly didn’t do any research into what coding or being a programmer means (which, you know, surprises me, because supposedly she works in Silicon Valley as an executive and this is actually her pen name…).
No. Just, no. Being a programmer doesn’t mean you look at ones and zeroes. Ones and zeroes is computer and internet language. It’s the language computers use to talk to one another. Programmers do not stare at ones and zeroes all day, they stare at characters and symbols, like < and ” and %. LOL, “zeroes and ones.” WTF is this, The Matrix?
Amelia meets a gay person for the first time in her life. Ever. Because he might be the first gay person in the history of mankind.
“Flaming.” He grinned. She grinned back. She’d never met gay person, but she liked him.
Amelia then goes to Hawaii.
Hawaii doesn’t get into the 90s in the winter (or, really, hardly ever). I would know, because I used to live there. Was this book researched…at all?
The Book Is Horribly Written.
A ten-year-old could have written The Social Code. The writing style is simple at best, but there are a lot of syntax errors, and it is not fluid at all. It’s choppy, and inelegant.
All of these, plus many more, could have been rewritten to be fluid and easier to read, not the choppy bits they currently are. Not to mention, there is no actual timeline through the story, like, “the following week” or “on Monday afternoon.” It just goes from one scene to the next. My god, was there even an editor involved in this book?!
Final Statement
Abort. Abort. Abort. Do not read. Abort. Abort. Abort.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
But this book pretty much sucked ass. Let me tell you why.
In the beginning, the twins are going to college, she’s a genius, he’s a wannabe social climber. She hacks a system called Gibly (a smartphone app), and finds some…really questionable things about the app and the companies that back it and are buying it. All hell breaks loose, threats are thrown about, and she gets offered a prestigious spot in a Silicon Valley incubator, plus all the dramaz.
Unnecessary Characters and Plotlines.
The primary plot of this book is Amelia and Adam’s start up company, but there is a second plot, and I totally do not understand why it’s in the novel: Patty’s affair with her future brother-in-law. Patty had a hand in the beginning of the story, with the Gibly hacking scandal, but it was minor, and frankly, I wouldn’t have missed her if she never appeared in the rest of the novel. But yet, she did, over and over, and her family life, with her sister and her sister’s fiance, really confused me, because it seemed to have absolutely no bearing on what really mattered in The Social Code, which is the say, the story that centralizes around Amelia and Adam Dory. Patty’s story felt like it was put there to create conflict and reader interest and frankly, it was not done well. It was a distraction.
This Book Tells, Not Shows
She was wearing a simple purple silk slip dress and gold sandals with turquoise stones at the toe strap; her long brown hair fell in gentle curls down the front of her shoulders and her three-and-a-half carat princess-cut engagement ring sparkled obnoxiously atop the thin finger that could barely support its weight.
Do we need that level of detail? Part of the greatness in books is the idea that readers get to fill in some of the details themselves. I certainly didn’t care that her gold sandals had turquoise stones at the toe strap. Or that her purple silk dress was a slip dress. Or that her diamond ring was princess-cut!
The large room had tiled floors and seven pieces of gym equipment, plus a stretching area with a mirror and the Pilates junk his wife was obsessed with.
Look, all that needs to be said is, “he went down to his own, state-of-the-art, private gym in his home.” I can fill in the details myself. I’ve seen Cribs.
Her Characters Are Stupid
There is a certain point in the novel (33%) where Amelia, coder-extraordinaire, is discovered as the Gibly Hacker. She tells one of Gibly’s venture capitalists exactly what she did (which was to hack in to Gibly, discover the bad things they were doing to end-users), AND THEN OFFERS EVEN MORE DETAILS:
“Well, then I started thinking that maybe that was why the company had sold for so much. I mean, it’s illegal, but that kind of information would also be insanely valuable to everyone from advertisers to terrorists. So, I tracked Aleister’s accounts.”
Are you fawking stupid, Amelia? You don’t tell people your hacker secrets, you twat! No, seriously, who does that?!
Patty was blushing horribly at what was happening onscreen – two naked women were kissing in front of a casually smoking Henry Miller – when she felt Chad’s knee press against hers. He just moved in his chair, she thought. It’s not intentional. It doesn’t mean anything.
Patty, you are a dolt. You already made out with the guy. *facepalm*
Later on, Amelia is wondering if Roger Fenway, her mentor and start-up backer, knows about her “criminal” past:
She actually hadn’t thought about whether or not Roger knew.
No lie, folks, these are my actual notes from my iPad: “Fucking really? Silicon Valley giant and you don’t even wonder if he knew???”
The Plot Is Implausible. All the Things Are Not Right.
It is totally 100% possible for a university student to come up with a genius idea and run with it, turning it into a billions-of-dollars cash cow. After all, Mark Zuckerberg did it. And that’s why I was interested in this book, because stories like that fascinate me. But it’s like Sadie Hayes did absolutely little-to-no research for this storyline, because most of it is impossible, or highly, highly improbable.
Amelia and Dory have a past that included Amelia hacking into the SAT website (LOLOLOLOLOL) and changing the SAT score of her older foster brother. And then hacked into her foster father’s company’s system to increase his sales figures. And then hacked into the company’s bank account to move money from one account to another. Including the State Insurance Bureau. And now that the twins are back in the public eye with their invention and company, their old foster family wants them to start hacking again.
I laughed. Uproariously. Because this kind of thing doesn’t happen. Look, I know it’s fiction, but I’m reading realistic fiction here, so it needs to be, OH I DON’T KNOW, REALISTIC.
(And ALSO LOOK. I know all these things are possible, but a naive teenager is not going to do them.)
Sadie Hayes also clearly didn’t do any research into what coding or being a programmer means (which, you know, surprises me, because supposedly she works in Silicon Valley as an executive and this is actually her pen name…).
The sound of tapping computer keys and the sight of line after line of zeroes and ones and Courier typeface up and down the screen [...]“
No. Just, no. Being a programmer doesn’t mean you look at ones and zeroes. Ones and zeroes is computer and internet language. It’s the language computers use to talk to one another. Programmers do not stare at ones and zeroes all day, they stare at characters and symbols, like < and ” and %. LOL, “zeroes and ones.” WTF is this, The Matrix?
Amelia meets a gay person for the first time in her life. Ever. Because he might be the first gay person in the history of mankind.
“Flaming.” He grinned. She grinned back. She’d never met gay person, but she liked him.
Amelia then goes to Hawaii.
Amelia wondered what it was like to sing holiday carols when it was ninety degrees outside.
Hawaii doesn’t get into the 90s in the winter (or, really, hardly ever). I would know, because I used to live there. Was this book researched…at all?
The Book Is Horribly Written.
A ten-year-old could have written The Social Code. The writing style is simple at best, but there are a lot of syntax errors, and it is not fluid at all. It’s choppy, and inelegant.
By the following week, Lisa had emailed Amelia a thorough outline of her proposed thesis. Amelia read it on her laptop during class. It actually made the book sound kind of interesting, which led her to read the play. Well, most of it.
They drove without speaking. It was the middle of the day and traffic moved quickly. Patty stared out at the trees lining the side of the road. Sunlight moved through the branches and glanced out at her from among the leafy shadows.
No one was smiling anymore. The woman tilted her pretty head and swept her red hair over her shoulder. She glared at Amelia. She was gorgeous and terrifying.
All of these, plus many more, could have been rewritten to be fluid and easier to read, not the choppy bits they currently are. Not to mention, there is no actual timeline through the story, like, “the following week” or “on Monday afternoon.” It just goes from one scene to the next. My god, was there even an editor involved in this book?!
Final Statement
Abort. Abort. Abort. Do not read. Abort. Abort. Abort.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
March 30, 2012
My rating: 4/5 stars
Read the review in my blog!
May contain some spoilers
Amelia and Adam are twins. They're also orphans, bounced from foster home to foster home, but now they're doing better as a scholarship students in college. Even though they're twins, they aren't excactly identical, since the other one, Amelia has the the brain, and Adam the social skills.
Along the way they meet some mean people, but in the end, they have their lucky break.
Okay, first of all: Amelia makes me feel like I'm a total zero! That's sad. Yes, she's all awkward and I love her and everything, but man, do I hate her brain! Hell, where's my lucky break!? But at least she gave me a hell of a boost and I started actually doing something. I did got over this envy-why-i-suck-so-bad- phase and in the end, I really liked her. She's a brilliant girl with a sence of justice and I couldn't stop reading this story! Mainly because of Amelia.
In the beginning I actually cheered for Adam since he's sort of an underdog; he has no special skills, except getting along with people, but the only way he goes to Silicon Valley is because of his sister, not really because of himself. Which kinda sucks. On the other hand it feels like Adam is taking advantage of Amelia's talent and it did bother me occasionally. But like with Amelia's huge brain, I got over this too. Even though it did feel sometimes like there's people who can do it, and there's people who are bathing in your light, so to say. But hey!, it doesn't bother Amelia, so let's forget about it!
This story did remind me of one book series I've read: Gossip Girl. Except I couldn't stop reading this one, and I had to force myself into reading Gossip Girl (6 books, then I started to feel like I was losing my will to live. But I do love the TV show! Okay, let's move on). These two series share some similar quality, but The Start-Up has more depth and action and man, did I love the action! It was quite exciting, I can tell you that.
The story was quite short, but since I had the second part of this series already on my computer, I didn't mind. Though it kept me up too long, I should've been sleeping, but I couldn't stop reading. So prepare yourself ;) And WARNING, get the second part before reading this, because there's huge cliffhangers.
Love,
Monaliz @ Mind Reading?
Read the review in my blog!
May contain some spoilers
Amelia and Adam are twins. They're also orphans, bounced from foster home to foster home, but now they're doing better as a scholarship students in college. Even though they're twins, they aren't excactly identical, since the other one, Amelia has the the brain, and Adam the social skills.
Along the way they meet some mean people, but in the end, they have their lucky break.
Okay, first of all: Amelia makes me feel like I'm a total zero! That's sad. Yes, she's all awkward and I love her and everything, but man, do I hate her brain! Hell, where's my lucky break!? But at least she gave me a hell of a boost and I started actually doing something. I did got over this envy-why-i-suck-so-bad- phase and in the end, I really liked her. She's a brilliant girl with a sence of justice and I couldn't stop reading this story! Mainly because of Amelia.
In the beginning I actually cheered for Adam since he's sort of an underdog; he has no special skills, except getting along with people, but the only way he goes to Silicon Valley is because of his sister, not really because of himself. Which kinda sucks. On the other hand it feels like Adam is taking advantage of Amelia's talent and it did bother me occasionally. But like with Amelia's huge brain, I got over this too. Even though it did feel sometimes like there's people who can do it, and there's people who are bathing in your light, so to say. But hey!, it doesn't bother Amelia, so let's forget about it!
This story did remind me of one book series I've read: Gossip Girl. Except I couldn't stop reading this one, and I had to force myself into reading Gossip Girl (6 books, then I started to feel like I was losing my will to live. But I do love the TV show! Okay, let's move on). These two series share some similar quality, but The Start-Up has more depth and action and man, did I love the action! It was quite exciting, I can tell you that.
The story was quite short, but since I had the second part of this series already on my computer, I didn't mind. Though it kept me up too long, I should've been sleeping, but I couldn't stop reading. So prepare yourself ;) And WARNING, get the second part before reading this, because there's huge cliffhangers.
Love,
Monaliz @ Mind Reading?
July 24, 2013
Review is also posted at http://readingnookandcranny.blogspot....
I received a galley of this book from the publisher for review. When I read the description of the book, I thought it was going to be amazing. Cut throat, edge of your seat, big business corruption amazing. I could not have been further from the truth. This novel is just another cliche YA romance with one dimensional characters with just a hint of technology thrown in. Reading this novel, I came to the conclusion that Hayes has little to no background in the state of the art of current technology, and didn't bother with too much research in the subject before writing this novel. Granted, my background is in mechanical engineering, not computer science or software engineering, but even the fundamentals I have of electrical engineering and programming caused me to scratch my head while reading about this so called revolutionary app.
Not only is the whole premise of her app absurd, based on how Hayes decides it works, but then the explanation given for how it works is the CEO of Apple describes that the technology is impossible, and yet he is holding it in his hands and it is working. Yeah, sure, now I'm going to believe this app could exist with the current state of the iPhone (also, I am wondering if the author got a kickback from Apple every time she mentioned one of their products in her book. Reading this book felt like watching a blockbuster film with product placement galore). Even if I could be convinced this young hotshot developed this program using only coding and her current iPhone, it wouldn't matter because I still wouldn't care about the 'plot'.
Nothing exciting happens in this novel. All the love triangles are obnoxious, just like the characters. And, to make matters worse, I got through all 300 pages of this book and it still left a lot unresolved. Not that it mattered. I have no plans of continuing this series.
I received a galley of this book from the publisher for review. When I read the description of the book, I thought it was going to be amazing. Cut throat, edge of your seat, big business corruption amazing. I could not have been further from the truth. This novel is just another cliche YA romance with one dimensional characters with just a hint of technology thrown in. Reading this novel, I came to the conclusion that Hayes has little to no background in the state of the art of current technology, and didn't bother with too much research in the subject before writing this novel. Granted, my background is in mechanical engineering, not computer science or software engineering, but even the fundamentals I have of electrical engineering and programming caused me to scratch my head while reading about this so called revolutionary app.
Not only is the whole premise of her app absurd, based on how Hayes decides it works, but then the explanation given for how it works is the CEO of Apple describes that the technology is impossible, and yet he is holding it in his hands and it is working. Yeah, sure, now I'm going to believe this app could exist with the current state of the iPhone (also, I am wondering if the author got a kickback from Apple every time she mentioned one of their products in her book. Reading this book felt like watching a blockbuster film with product placement galore). Even if I could be convinced this young hotshot developed this program using only coding and her current iPhone, it wouldn't matter because I still wouldn't care about the 'plot'.
Nothing exciting happens in this novel. All the love triangles are obnoxious, just like the characters. And, to make matters worse, I got through all 300 pages of this book and it still left a lot unresolved. Not that it mattered. I have no plans of continuing this series.
July 22, 2013
The Social Code is a New Adult Book with a difference. It’s not overly emotional, it’s not steamy, it’s not following the rules that other NA books seem to be. So that is what it is not, stick around for a few minutes and I’ll show you what it is.
My Recap:
Eighteen-year-old twins Adam and Amelia are both attending Stanford University on a scholarship, trying to forget their foster home roots and concentrating on the future. Adam is ambitious and wants to make it in the business world. Amelia is a computer nerd who has developed a ground breaking iPhone app. Mixing their talents, they are ready to take on the cut throat business world in Silicon Valley....or are they?
My Thoughts:
This book is different. In a sea of NA books that are rehashing the same story acrs, this one is swimming against the tide. The business world setting makes for a fascinating background of backstabbing, ruthless competitors, theft, betrayal and jealousy. Adam and Amelia are innocents abroad, gullible and naive, when it comes to the new environment that they are launched into.
Amelia is a character that is very easy to like, shy, unassuming and loyal. She is never happier than when she is coding away in the computer lab where day and night cease to exist for her when she gets engrossed in her projects. She is truly selfless and has no interest in the money making potential or the fame that her innovations will bring her way. Adam on the other hand wants money and popularity and is dazzled by the lifestyle that will go with success. He is genuine but his ambitions can blind him to what is important. The bond between the twins is strong. All their lives they have been everything to each other and their loyalties are now tested as they have such different values and visions for their future.
“Amelia looked up from her computer. “What are you talking about? Why on earth would we start a company?”
“To make money, Amelia! And get out of the shit life we’ve been living. Why should we be on scholarships, riding our bikes around because we can’t afford a car, when you’ve got all the brains – probably more brains – than any of the guys that are making billions off of deals.” “
There are lots of other characters that add flavour, curiosity and twists to the story. Including potential love interests for both twins however these are very much sideline stories and not the main focus of the book. From the geeky computer pals, to wealthy preppy college friends, to ruthless business men, we meet a melting pot of human life as the twins hover on the edge of college life and business life.
Narrated in third person perspective, we get lots of insights into the various characters and see their secrets that they are fighting hard to preserve. The writing flows well and I never found my attention dragging during the book which it often can in the middle section. There is just enough of detail, dialogue and action to keep you in your seat eager to discover what happens next.
I was afraid that the book might get too technical for me but that didn’t happen. Amelia’s app is well described in relatively simple techno-talk, I could picture how it would work and I would buy it if it did exist. I am a gadget geek so this part of the book really appealed to me especially as it didn’t get bogged down in programming or mechanical overload.
My complaint with this book is something that is bugging me a lot lately with lots of new series. It ends in mid air. I know this is meant to be a hook but come on who enjoys hanging off the edge of a cliff? Every book should have a beginning, a middle and an end and be enjoyed for what it is without the need to read the next book to finish the storyline. This book has no real end and that is an issue for me.
Who should read this book?
If you enjoy rags to riches type stories then you will enjoy the journey that the twins are starting to make. Also if you enjoy NA books, then you should try this as it’s a refreshing breath of fresh air.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
My Recap:
Eighteen-year-old twins Adam and Amelia are both attending Stanford University on a scholarship, trying to forget their foster home roots and concentrating on the future. Adam is ambitious and wants to make it in the business world. Amelia is a computer nerd who has developed a ground breaking iPhone app. Mixing their talents, they are ready to take on the cut throat business world in Silicon Valley....or are they?
My Thoughts:
This book is different. In a sea of NA books that are rehashing the same story acrs, this one is swimming against the tide. The business world setting makes for a fascinating background of backstabbing, ruthless competitors, theft, betrayal and jealousy. Adam and Amelia are innocents abroad, gullible and naive, when it comes to the new environment that they are launched into.
Amelia is a character that is very easy to like, shy, unassuming and loyal. She is never happier than when she is coding away in the computer lab where day and night cease to exist for her when she gets engrossed in her projects. She is truly selfless and has no interest in the money making potential or the fame that her innovations will bring her way. Adam on the other hand wants money and popularity and is dazzled by the lifestyle that will go with success. He is genuine but his ambitions can blind him to what is important. The bond between the twins is strong. All their lives they have been everything to each other and their loyalties are now tested as they have such different values and visions for their future.
“Amelia looked up from her computer. “What are you talking about? Why on earth would we start a company?”
“To make money, Amelia! And get out of the shit life we’ve been living. Why should we be on scholarships, riding our bikes around because we can’t afford a car, when you’ve got all the brains – probably more brains – than any of the guys that are making billions off of deals.” “
There are lots of other characters that add flavour, curiosity and twists to the story. Including potential love interests for both twins however these are very much sideline stories and not the main focus of the book. From the geeky computer pals, to wealthy preppy college friends, to ruthless business men, we meet a melting pot of human life as the twins hover on the edge of college life and business life.
Narrated in third person perspective, we get lots of insights into the various characters and see their secrets that they are fighting hard to preserve. The writing flows well and I never found my attention dragging during the book which it often can in the middle section. There is just enough of detail, dialogue and action to keep you in your seat eager to discover what happens next.
I was afraid that the book might get too technical for me but that didn’t happen. Amelia’s app is well described in relatively simple techno-talk, I could picture how it would work and I would buy it if it did exist. I am a gadget geek so this part of the book really appealed to me especially as it didn’t get bogged down in programming or mechanical overload.
My complaint with this book is something that is bugging me a lot lately with lots of new series. It ends in mid air. I know this is meant to be a hook but come on who enjoys hanging off the edge of a cliff? Every book should have a beginning, a middle and an end and be enjoyed for what it is without the need to read the next book to finish the storyline. This book has no real end and that is an issue for me.
Who should read this book?
If you enjoy rags to riches type stories then you will enjoy the journey that the twins are starting to make. Also if you enjoy NA books, then you should try this as it’s a refreshing breath of fresh air.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
November 11, 2011
Original Review Posted: In the Closet With a Bibliophile
Deep-seated greed and corruption intricately blended with naivety and intelligence, The Start Up: Episode 1 by Sadie Hayes, is sharp and fun and full of angsty dramatic brilliance. Gossip, intrigue and illegal corporate tactics sing from Silicon Valley, telling us of the money to be made and the people who will destroy anyone in their way to get that money.
Adam and Amelia are scholarship entrees into Stanford. Amelia,the epitome of genius when it comes to code and computer engineering, wants nothing more than to spend her days in the computer lab, coding day in and day out.
Adam, her twin brother/bartender wants to be more than the "scholarship student", he wants to be part of the "In Crowd", he wants to go places, do things...be somebody. However, it is Amelia who is discovered by Tom Fenway--a billionaire who sold his own product to Apple in the late 90's-- and he wants to help her start her own company and eventually help her find investors to spawn her genius in computer engineering. Amelia, much to her dismay, reluctantly joins the project and suddenly is cast into the evil of Silicon Valley. With people who want her to fail and those who she doesn't think she can trust, Amelia must try to make it through with her soul in tact and hopefully her brother following closely behind.
The Start-Up is categorized as a serial story. Think of it like a nighttime TV series. The ones that take place in rich cities where the rich profit and the poor try to make it by with their smarts. Each book in the series is an episode and each episode is released monthly. To me, it's a total WIN! I don't ever get to watch TV and I love me some drama, so reading Sadie Hayes's The Start-Up is getting what I want, but better. Now, instead of watching the people on TV and their drama, I get to experience every crazy moment with them.
I get to be there while Adam and Amelia Dory try to make it through the lives they've been handed. Lives that involve foster homes in a system that was corrupt in it's own way. I get to see them make it to Stanford on scholarship and see Amelia try and keep her morals in tact while people are trying to bribe, blackmail and extort her into what they want.
I love fictional drama with characters I love to hate, characters I love to love and characters that are on that fictional line of not knowing whether I want to murder them myself or make-out with them. The Start-Up is all of that. With a huge array of characters from the bottom feeders to the spoiled to the sweet. Its a cacophony of personalities and emotions and its so fun to read and see all the characters and the dirt that accompanies their lives. Especially those who dirty up those lives on purpose. Am I evil? Who knows....what I do know is the drama in The Start-Up is jaw-dropping and hilarious and I loved every minute of it.
The book is short, and I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say the writing is excellent and well paced and the cliffies are big, but not hurtful and besides, what good drama series doesn't have cliffies? Lucky for us a book is released EVERY month. The first 2 are out now and the 3rd is out next month. So, I give The Start-Up: Episode 1 a 4/5 and recommend it to anyone who likes YA, Adult, Crossover, Contemporary, Electronic Fiction as well as fans of Gossip Girl, 90210, Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill....that is, if they all "took place in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room… and if he had a twin sister and they lived in California (Sadie Hayes)" Also, this series contains sex, drinking and swearing and I recommend it for an older YA audience (17 years on up).
P.S. I'm now in love with Episode books! Sadie Hayes, you rock!
Deep-seated greed and corruption intricately blended with naivety and intelligence, The Start Up: Episode 1 by Sadie Hayes, is sharp and fun and full of angsty dramatic brilliance. Gossip, intrigue and illegal corporate tactics sing from Silicon Valley, telling us of the money to be made and the people who will destroy anyone in their way to get that money.
Adam and Amelia are scholarship entrees into Stanford. Amelia,the epitome of genius when it comes to code and computer engineering, wants nothing more than to spend her days in the computer lab, coding day in and day out.
"She's a total nerd. Like, beyond nerd. Imagine if a computer and an iPhone had a baby--that's Amelia." [Amelia's roommate--Patty]
Adam, her twin brother/bartender wants to be more than the "scholarship student", he wants to be part of the "In Crowd", he wants to go places, do things...be somebody. However, it is Amelia who is discovered by Tom Fenway--a billionaire who sold his own product to Apple in the late 90's-- and he wants to help her start her own company and eventually help her find investors to spawn her genius in computer engineering. Amelia, much to her dismay, reluctantly joins the project and suddenly is cast into the evil of Silicon Valley. With people who want her to fail and those who she doesn't think she can trust, Amelia must try to make it through with her soul in tact and hopefully her brother following closely behind.
The Start-Up is categorized as a serial story. Think of it like a nighttime TV series. The ones that take place in rich cities where the rich profit and the poor try to make it by with their smarts. Each book in the series is an episode and each episode is released monthly. To me, it's a total WIN! I don't ever get to watch TV and I love me some drama, so reading Sadie Hayes's The Start-Up is getting what I want, but better. Now, instead of watching the people on TV and their drama, I get to experience every crazy moment with them.
I get to be there while Adam and Amelia Dory try to make it through the lives they've been handed. Lives that involve foster homes in a system that was corrupt in it's own way. I get to see them make it to Stanford on scholarship and see Amelia try and keep her morals in tact while people are trying to bribe, blackmail and extort her into what they want.
I love fictional drama with characters I love to hate, characters I love to love and characters that are on that fictional line of not knowing whether I want to murder them myself or make-out with them. The Start-Up is all of that. With a huge array of characters from the bottom feeders to the spoiled to the sweet. Its a cacophony of personalities and emotions and its so fun to read and see all the characters and the dirt that accompanies their lives. Especially those who dirty up those lives on purpose. Am I evil? Who knows....what I do know is the drama in The Start-Up is jaw-dropping and hilarious and I loved every minute of it.
The book is short, and I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say the writing is excellent and well paced and the cliffies are big, but not hurtful and besides, what good drama series doesn't have cliffies? Lucky for us a book is released EVERY month. The first 2 are out now and the 3rd is out next month. So, I give The Start-Up: Episode 1 a 4/5 and recommend it to anyone who likes YA, Adult, Crossover, Contemporary, Electronic Fiction as well as fans of Gossip Girl, 90210, Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill....that is, if they all "took place in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room… and if he had a twin sister and they lived in California (Sadie Hayes)" Also, this series contains sex, drinking and swearing and I recommend it for an older YA audience (17 years on up).
P.S. I'm now in love with Episode books! Sadie Hayes, you rock!
September 1, 2013
Read Review at Bewitched Bookworms
he synopsis was telling me one thing that this was not the usual plot I get with the label New Adult and that I knew I was going to like it! Well, yeah those are two things, but in the end, the cover and the synopsis truly made me want to read this book!
Gossip Girl For Nerds and Geeks!
The main plot follows the twins Amelia and Adam on their way to success. Coming from foster care and having just started College, Computer Geek and brainy Amelia finally feels like she belongs. Also. Adam finally founds himself with lots of opportunities to form a new life. Soon, both are tangled with the rich and the famous, a life they have never dreamed of and especially Amelia is not sure she truly wants to. These poor twin kids are thrown into the world of the smart, rich, and powerful – and now we see how they survive…
Multiple PoV’s follows kids on their way to success!
The story follows multiple characters on their way to success and all their storylines are tangled with the twins Amelia and Adam. Even though I am not usually a big fan of multiple POV’s it gave this story a feeling of something bigger, something more enormous than just the twin’s story. It was a foreshadowing of something truly big going to happen, which made the story just richer!
However, even though it’s written in third person narrative sometimes there was a small shift in the POV even within a chapter, which I didn’t like, too much.
The Twins – The Geek and The Protector
I loved Amelia so much! She was soo geeky and a true nerd and she was so cute! All Amelia ever wanted was to code, to develop programs and iPhone apps. That is her passion. But she also had high moral standards, which made her stand out even more. She never wanted to become rich and famous, unlike her brother Adam who wanted to finally have a better life than their poor foster care upbringing. Often these two minds collided, which brought a lot of tension between the siblings. But, deep down they would do anything for each other, they only ever had each other and I loved their connection. It actually was quite intriguing how close they were but also how different.
Especially, their different hopes for the future added a lot of drama when Amelia developed something incredibly smart that could change the world and made them famous and rich.
“Don’t you get it Amelia? We’re poor. We’re dependents. Taking this high moral ground? Taking risks for an ideal? That’s a freedom and it’s a luxury, and it’s not one you have”. Adam to Amelia
I get it. And I get Adam here. It was one of the major differences between the twins and it made sense for me. However, I think many people will take Amelia’s side here, but I think both are right and wrong at the same time.
Friendship & Betrayal and…. Some romance..
This book was filled with connections and friends and lots of betrayals. Again, it generated the perfect gossip girl feeling and I loved this about the story as it easily sucked me in deep into the story. The romance however came way to short for me and it was the one aspect I was missing most. There is some love and some hook ups, but the story was mainly about the twins on their way to success whether they want (Adam) or do not want (Amelia).
he synopsis was telling me one thing that this was not the usual plot I get with the label New Adult and that I knew I was going to like it! Well, yeah those are two things, but in the end, the cover and the synopsis truly made me want to read this book!
Gossip Girl For Nerds and Geeks!
The main plot follows the twins Amelia and Adam on their way to success. Coming from foster care and having just started College, Computer Geek and brainy Amelia finally feels like she belongs. Also. Adam finally founds himself with lots of opportunities to form a new life. Soon, both are tangled with the rich and the famous, a life they have never dreamed of and especially Amelia is not sure she truly wants to. These poor twin kids are thrown into the world of the smart, rich, and powerful – and now we see how they survive…
Multiple PoV’s follows kids on their way to success!
The story follows multiple characters on their way to success and all their storylines are tangled with the twins Amelia and Adam. Even though I am not usually a big fan of multiple POV’s it gave this story a feeling of something bigger, something more enormous than just the twin’s story. It was a foreshadowing of something truly big going to happen, which made the story just richer!
However, even though it’s written in third person narrative sometimes there was a small shift in the POV even within a chapter, which I didn’t like, too much.
The Twins – The Geek and The Protector
I loved Amelia so much! She was soo geeky and a true nerd and she was so cute! All Amelia ever wanted was to code, to develop programs and iPhone apps. That is her passion. But she also had high moral standards, which made her stand out even more. She never wanted to become rich and famous, unlike her brother Adam who wanted to finally have a better life than their poor foster care upbringing. Often these two minds collided, which brought a lot of tension between the siblings. But, deep down they would do anything for each other, they only ever had each other and I loved their connection. It actually was quite intriguing how close they were but also how different.
Especially, their different hopes for the future added a lot of drama when Amelia developed something incredibly smart that could change the world and made them famous and rich.
“Don’t you get it Amelia? We’re poor. We’re dependents. Taking this high moral ground? Taking risks for an ideal? That’s a freedom and it’s a luxury, and it’s not one you have”. Adam to Amelia
I get it. And I get Adam here. It was one of the major differences between the twins and it made sense for me. However, I think many people will take Amelia’s side here, but I think both are right and wrong at the same time.
Friendship & Betrayal and…. Some romance..
This book was filled with connections and friends and lots of betrayals. Again, it generated the perfect gossip girl feeling and I loved this about the story as it easily sucked me in deep into the story. The romance however came way to short for me and it was the one aspect I was missing most. There is some love and some hook ups, but the story was mainly about the twins on their way to success whether they want (Adam) or do not want (Amelia).
December 31, 2017
The Social Code by Sadie Hayes takes place in California, following a set of twins, Amelia and Adam Dory, as they attend Stanford University and begin their own company for a technological advancement. Basically, Amelia is the brains of the invention, and Adam handles the business side of things, with the help of a few others. This first book (because apparently, it’s part of a series) deals with the start-up of the company, and the ups and downs of both company issues and college/life issues.
Now…this book. Whew. I initially bought it about two years ago, and just got around to reading it. For the life of me, I can’t remember why I bought it, considering it doesn’t even sound like something I’m interested in. Yet, here I am, finished with it.
Right off the bat, I noticed issues. The first one being…it reads like something I wrote back in my freshman year of high school. I.e. not good. It’s clunky with wording, it likes to skip ahead a lot, there is way too much detail on what each individual character looks like and what they’re wearing. It just seems like it wasn’t edited very well outside of grammar. The way I put it in my progress notes as I was reading it was “…it’s reading like a poorly-written fanfic.” Not that there is anything wrong with fanfiction, but that is usually where most amateur writers begin (in my experience).
And that’s what this book is: amateur.
For starters: overall, it just seemed unrealistic and, at times, goofy and childish. I have so many examples of this. Such as: in the beginning of the novel, Adam is reading someone’s texts over their shoulder during class. It was a 100-student lecture, and he was in the back. The instructor calls him out and makes him answer a question, and he answers it by using the scenario that was in the texts (someone cheating on their partner with another person). The other students in the class end up laughing about it.
This just…doesn’t seem realistic to me? I’m a junior in college now, and I’ve never had an instructor call out a single person when there was more than thirty people in a class. It wasn’t worth the instructor’s time, and it wasn’t worth the other student’s time. Sure, the instructor could notice it, but why take the time out of class to individually call out students who weren’t paying attention? And for all the other students to laugh about his answer (because of how “funny” it was or something?). Just. Nope. Doesn’t seem like it would happen.
Another example would be Amelia describing the Gates computer lab, and how there was a sort of comradery there. Here’s the exact quote: ”When you finished running a major program, it was normal to throw your arms in the air and yell, “I am awesome!” and everyone would wildly applaud and respond “You ARE awesome!” On the occasional instance when someone’s computer crashed and they lost their work, the whole room felt the devastation. … At moments like those, no call was necessary to alert the room about what was going on at your station; the person next to you would realize it and send an instant message to everyone in the room. Then everyone would stop, gather around the computer scientist in crisis, and repeat the mantra, “If your computer never crashes, you’re not working hard enough. Or you’re an idiot.” Everyone would then pat you on the back, and you’d laugh and sigh and get back to work.”
Do I even have to explain why that is unrealistic? I’m sorry, but most of the time, people are just engrossed in their own work, and they don’t notice when someone else loses their work; people definitely don’t applaud you. I’m not an engineer, so maybe it’s different in engineering computer labs, but still. Really? This just seems like a sort of fantasy Hayes wanted to happen when she went to college.
One of the biggest issues of being unrealistic, though, is Amelia’s ability to hack. Can people be pretty good hackers? Sure. Do I believe a twelve-year-old hacked into the College Board website and was able to change her foster brother’s SAT scores? Absolutely not. Do I then believe that same girl hacked into one of the largest technology companies and found that they were storing user information, within five minutes? Again: absolutely not. It’s laughable; it reminds me of those movies with the hacker in his basement with five monitors clicking a few keys, then saying, “I’m in.”
On top of being unrealistic, we go back to the bad writing, this time regarding “The Family.” I just can’t stop laughing when I read that. Just. Really? Scare capitalization? And they were oh-so-horrible, of course, and they end up blackmailing Adam and Amelia after years of being away? It’s just…bad writing. That whole sub-plot had me rolling my eyes.
The characters were, at best, acceptable. There didn’t really seem to be any character development, except for T.J., who I ended up actually liking, instead of just accepting. But my god, can we tone down the misogyny a little bit? Every single character that was a man, and even some of the characters that were women, either slut-shamed other women or completely sexualized them. I’m pretty sure every scene with Adam and Lisa (Adam’s sorta-girlfriend), he called her “hot” or “pretty” or whatnot. These instances, not just including Adam, happened throughout the novel, and it aggravated me because yeah, outside of Amelia and maybe Patty, all of the other characters that are women have little substance to them.
Along with that, there are, surprisingly, two gay men in the novel. However, surprise surprise, they’re both stereotypes. Wow. So interesting. The first one, named T-Bag, is very into fashion and has a “posh” accent, and asks if Amelia has a “gay best friend.” Wow, great representation there, huh? And the second gay man is Patty’s hairdresser for her sister’s wedding, whom she describes as “very gay.” Cool, one gay guy in fashion, and the other in hairdressing. Tooootally didn’t see that one coming. Shitty representation is shitty.
Since we’re on the topic of representation, can we talk about how many POC are in this book? Because the way I coded them, every single person is white, outside two side characters that are stated in the novel to be Indian. They both work with technology, too. Gee, another stereotype.
Also, the sub-plot with Patty and her sister’s fiancé? Not needed. At all. It really didn’t add anything to the main plot outside of wanting to add drama because apparently """The Family""" wasn’t enough.
To wrap this up, I’m just going to give a few other, smaller complaints I have about the novel. One: I truly do not care for the woes of rich people. Especially if they lose a few million dollars when they are worth at least three times as much. I really don’t. Rich people and their issues are no interest to me. Two: the constant “oh, they’re the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs!” every ten pages was annoying, too. Cool, we get it, Amelia and Adam are both doing cool stuff, no need to compare them to the same two people every chance you get.
So, yeah, overall? The plot sucked, the characters were subpar, the representation was abysmal, the writing was amateur, and I still don’t care about rich people problems. Don’t read this book; you’ll just waste your time.
Now…this book. Whew. I initially bought it about two years ago, and just got around to reading it. For the life of me, I can’t remember why I bought it, considering it doesn’t even sound like something I’m interested in. Yet, here I am, finished with it.
Right off the bat, I noticed issues. The first one being…it reads like something I wrote back in my freshman year of high school. I.e. not good. It’s clunky with wording, it likes to skip ahead a lot, there is way too much detail on what each individual character looks like and what they’re wearing. It just seems like it wasn’t edited very well outside of grammar. The way I put it in my progress notes as I was reading it was “…it’s reading like a poorly-written fanfic.” Not that there is anything wrong with fanfiction, but that is usually where most amateur writers begin (in my experience).
And that’s what this book is: amateur.
For starters: overall, it just seemed unrealistic and, at times, goofy and childish. I have so many examples of this. Such as: in the beginning of the novel, Adam is reading someone’s texts over their shoulder during class. It was a 100-student lecture, and he was in the back. The instructor calls him out and makes him answer a question, and he answers it by using the scenario that was in the texts (someone cheating on their partner with another person). The other students in the class end up laughing about it.
This just…doesn’t seem realistic to me? I’m a junior in college now, and I’ve never had an instructor call out a single person when there was more than thirty people in a class. It wasn’t worth the instructor’s time, and it wasn’t worth the other student’s time. Sure, the instructor could notice it, but why take the time out of class to individually call out students who weren’t paying attention? And for all the other students to laugh about his answer (because of how “funny” it was or something?). Just. Nope. Doesn’t seem like it would happen.
Another example would be Amelia describing the Gates computer lab, and how there was a sort of comradery there. Here’s the exact quote: ”When you finished running a major program, it was normal to throw your arms in the air and yell, “I am awesome!” and everyone would wildly applaud and respond “You ARE awesome!” On the occasional instance when someone’s computer crashed and they lost their work, the whole room felt the devastation. … At moments like those, no call was necessary to alert the room about what was going on at your station; the person next to you would realize it and send an instant message to everyone in the room. Then everyone would stop, gather around the computer scientist in crisis, and repeat the mantra, “If your computer never crashes, you’re not working hard enough. Or you’re an idiot.” Everyone would then pat you on the back, and you’d laugh and sigh and get back to work.”
Do I even have to explain why that is unrealistic? I’m sorry, but most of the time, people are just engrossed in their own work, and they don’t notice when someone else loses their work; people definitely don’t applaud you. I’m not an engineer, so maybe it’s different in engineering computer labs, but still. Really? This just seems like a sort of fantasy Hayes wanted to happen when she went to college.
One of the biggest issues of being unrealistic, though, is Amelia’s ability to hack. Can people be pretty good hackers? Sure. Do I believe a twelve-year-old hacked into the College Board website and was able to change her foster brother’s SAT scores? Absolutely not. Do I then believe that same girl hacked into one of the largest technology companies and found that they were storing user information, within five minutes? Again: absolutely not. It’s laughable; it reminds me of those movies with the hacker in his basement with five monitors clicking a few keys, then saying, “I’m in.”
On top of being unrealistic, we go back to the bad writing, this time regarding “The Family.” I just can’t stop laughing when I read that. Just. Really? Scare capitalization? And they were oh-so-horrible, of course, and they end up blackmailing Adam and Amelia after years of being away? It’s just…bad writing. That whole sub-plot had me rolling my eyes.
The characters were, at best, acceptable. There didn’t really seem to be any character development, except for T.J., who I ended up actually liking, instead of just accepting. But my god, can we tone down the misogyny a little bit? Every single character that was a man, and even some of the characters that were women, either slut-shamed other women or completely sexualized them. I’m pretty sure every scene with Adam and Lisa (Adam’s sorta-girlfriend), he called her “hot” or “pretty” or whatnot. These instances, not just including Adam, happened throughout the novel, and it aggravated me because yeah, outside of Amelia and maybe Patty, all of the other characters that are women have little substance to them.
Along with that, there are, surprisingly, two gay men in the novel. However, surprise surprise, they’re both stereotypes. Wow. So interesting. The first one, named T-Bag, is very into fashion and has a “posh” accent, and asks if Amelia has a “gay best friend.” Wow, great representation there, huh? And the second gay man is Patty’s hairdresser for her sister’s wedding, whom she describes as “very gay.” Cool, one gay guy in fashion, and the other in hairdressing. Tooootally didn’t see that one coming. Shitty representation is shitty.
Since we’re on the topic of representation, can we talk about how many POC are in this book? Because the way I coded them, every single person is white, outside two side characters that are stated in the novel to be Indian. They both work with technology, too. Gee, another stereotype.
Also, the sub-plot with Patty and her sister’s fiancé? Not needed. At all. It really didn’t add anything to the main plot outside of wanting to add drama because apparently """The Family""" wasn’t enough.
To wrap this up, I’m just going to give a few other, smaller complaints I have about the novel. One: I truly do not care for the woes of rich people. Especially if they lose a few million dollars when they are worth at least three times as much. I really don’t. Rich people and their issues are no interest to me. Two: the constant “oh, they’re the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs!” every ten pages was annoying, too. Cool, we get it, Amelia and Adam are both doing cool stuff, no need to compare them to the same two people every chance you get.
So, yeah, overall? The plot sucked, the characters were subpar, the representation was abysmal, the writing was amateur, and I still don’t care about rich people problems. Don’t read this book; you’ll just waste your time.
May 8, 2015
I’ve had The Social Code sitting on my Kindle for a while, but when it came up on the Netgally rotation, asking what I thought of it, I decided to give it a read. I absolutely adore books about entrepreneurs, especially young entrepreneurs, like Amelia and Adam Dory. I was immediately sucked in to their world of youth, exuberance, and the startling fact every eighteen-year-old in Silicon Valley is allowed to drink without being told off from their parents. If you read The Social Code you will probably have to take everything you read with a pinch of salt, because a lot of it is hard to believe. But I enjoyed it for what it was, and didn’t think too hard about how “real” it may or may not have been, because when I’m reading I just like to immerse myself in the new world. And who knows? Silicon Valley may well really be like that.
The Social Code was such an intriguing start to the series, I love that the book had a girl coder. I have never read a book about a coder, period, so it’s nice that the first one I’ve ever read is about a girl coder and Amelia seriously kicks ass. She’s my kinda girl, and Adam was also so very, very sweet. It’s hard to see how these two very nice people fit in to the very nasty world of Silicon Valley, and it’s clearly not going to be an easy ride for either of them here on out, which makes me want to cover my eyes and run away because they’re just such good people, and deserve all the good stuff that comes from Doreye.
There are other very interesting characters in The Social Code, TJ particularly intrigues me; although I did have to hold back a laugh the first time he ever met Roger, in his shiny suit and with his presentations – at 22, really? It was a bit OTT, but he grew on me after that.
I can’t wait to dive in to the other books in the series – there are two more so far, and there was whisper of a fourth, but that was back in 2012, and since I can’t find Sadie Hayes on social media, who knows if she’s still writing books? But considering how much I enjoyed The Social Code, I very much wish she was, but I’ll savour the two I have left, for now.
The Social Code was such an intriguing start to the series, I love that the book had a girl coder. I have never read a book about a coder, period, so it’s nice that the first one I’ve ever read is about a girl coder and Amelia seriously kicks ass. She’s my kinda girl, and Adam was also so very, very sweet. It’s hard to see how these two very nice people fit in to the very nasty world of Silicon Valley, and it’s clearly not going to be an easy ride for either of them here on out, which makes me want to cover my eyes and run away because they’re just such good people, and deserve all the good stuff that comes from Doreye.
There are other very interesting characters in The Social Code, TJ particularly intrigues me; although I did have to hold back a laugh the first time he ever met Roger, in his shiny suit and with his presentations – at 22, really? It was a bit OTT, but he grew on me after that.
I can’t wait to dive in to the other books in the series – there are two more so far, and there was whisper of a fourth, but that was back in 2012, and since I can’t find Sadie Hayes on social media, who knows if she’s still writing books? But considering how much I enjoyed The Social Code, I very much wish she was, but I’ll savour the two I have left, for now.
October 24, 2011
The Start-Up by Sadie Hayes
Sadie Hayes provides a screen shot of technology’s sordid underbelly in this riveting e-book novella.
The reek of truth permeates this glimpse into the world of high finance and technology. The dot com bust is in the past, the present is dominated by the next cloud technology or aps for our ubiquitous cell phone companions. Ms. Hayes sets the plot in and about Stanford and their famous geeks. I spent 25 years in the computer industry. I was lucky enough to meet some of the starry eyed pioneers in the early years, the ones who retired to their own private islands. I actually met some of the type of person that populates the pages of this story. I employed geeks who, as long as you provided unlimited caffeine and junk food, really didn’t care about money. When you read this book, and you should, I found nothing that ran contrary to the truth as I know it.
Ms. Hayes constructed believable characters in a realistic situation and manages to sauté it with enough tension and curiosity to make it impossible to put down. This is a savory appetizer that precedes two successor books.
The cliff hanger ending just makes you hungry for more…Sadie I want on the list for your next literary treat!
I highly recommend the book.
Sadie Hayes provides a screen shot of technology’s sordid underbelly in this riveting e-book novella.
The reek of truth permeates this glimpse into the world of high finance and technology. The dot com bust is in the past, the present is dominated by the next cloud technology or aps for our ubiquitous cell phone companions. Ms. Hayes sets the plot in and about Stanford and their famous geeks. I spent 25 years in the computer industry. I was lucky enough to meet some of the starry eyed pioneers in the early years, the ones who retired to their own private islands. I actually met some of the type of person that populates the pages of this story. I employed geeks who, as long as you provided unlimited caffeine and junk food, really didn’t care about money. When you read this book, and you should, I found nothing that ran contrary to the truth as I know it.
Ms. Hayes constructed believable characters in a realistic situation and manages to sauté it with enough tension and curiosity to make it impossible to put down. This is a savory appetizer that precedes two successor books.
The cliff hanger ending just makes you hungry for more…Sadie I want on the list for your next literary treat!
I highly recommend the book.
August 11, 2013
The Social Code synopsis sounded very promising. I admit I was excited about the concept. It sounded much like the story of Facebook with some additional aspects thrown in the mix.
The main characters Amelia and Adam are an interesting combination, twins who haven't had the easiest life - it feels almost rags to riches. I warmed to Amelia after a while but felt considering she was so smart and intelligent at times was rather naive. I didn't like Adam at all and at times admit skimmed the book when dealing with him.
The story starts out at a reasonable pace, there's enough going on to keep you interested. I just found this book a little hard going when I didn't mesh with Adam at all - a shame as I feel I could have enjoyed this book more if he had of been different, make sense?
The ending left me with unanswered questions and I felt it was a little deflated in honesty - almost rushed.
Overall, The Social Code is a very interesting idea and being aimed at Young Adults I'm sure there are many who will enjoy this. I know I would have enjoyed it more if Adam had of been wrote differently. I give this book 2 out of 5 stars, I didn't hate it, I just didn't like it that much either. It was ok.
The main characters Amelia and Adam are an interesting combination, twins who haven't had the easiest life - it feels almost rags to riches. I warmed to Amelia after a while but felt considering she was so smart and intelligent at times was rather naive. I didn't like Adam at all and at times admit skimmed the book when dealing with him.
The story starts out at a reasonable pace, there's enough going on to keep you interested. I just found this book a little hard going when I didn't mesh with Adam at all - a shame as I feel I could have enjoyed this book more if he had of been different, make sense?
The ending left me with unanswered questions and I felt it was a little deflated in honesty - almost rushed.
Overall, The Social Code is a very interesting idea and being aimed at Young Adults I'm sure there are many who will enjoy this. I know I would have enjoyed it more if Adam had of been wrote differently. I give this book 2 out of 5 stars, I didn't hate it, I just didn't like it that much either. It was ok.
June 3, 2012
I'm not completely sure how to rate this one (or three really).
Lost a first mark for the fact that they separated the 3 books. One is not complete without the others. Nor are any of the three of them to rate novels on their own. They are more like novella's making up a novel - and an incomplete novel at that.
Although the characters were all adults, the writing would have been readable my a 10 year old. Not complicated at all. I felt that the author was just writing and publishing as she went.
On one hand I liked the story line enough to stick with it, but it was kinda like that soap opera you don't normally watch, but because smaller story lines were so simple you had to figure out where it was going. And I'm still wondering. Book 1 starts out with Adam driving a big fancy car because he'd obvioulsyly made big time, and then he reflects taking you into his and his sisters story. No flash forwards again - even at the close of book 3.
If this review sound confusing, I guess that how I feel about these books.
Lost a first mark for the fact that they separated the 3 books. One is not complete without the others. Nor are any of the three of them to rate novels on their own. They are more like novella's making up a novel - and an incomplete novel at that.
Although the characters were all adults, the writing would have been readable my a 10 year old. Not complicated at all. I felt that the author was just writing and publishing as she went.
On one hand I liked the story line enough to stick with it, but it was kinda like that soap opera you don't normally watch, but because smaller story lines were so simple you had to figure out where it was going. And I'm still wondering. Book 1 starts out with Adam driving a big fancy car because he'd obvioulsyly made big time, and then he reflects taking you into his and his sisters story. No flash forwards again - even at the close of book 3.
If this review sound confusing, I guess that how I feel about these books.
August 26, 2013
I went back in forth in some parts of this book about whether I loved it or not, but in all it ended up winning me over. The story was interesting enough and the ending definitely left me wanting more. I think the main thing that threw me off was the point of view and all the alternating characters. However I would still recommend this book because the story was interesting enough that it made the slight issues not matter much in the end.
See my full review:
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...
See my full review:
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...
April 14, 2015
This book was different from others that I have read. Adam and Amelia are twins who were raised in foster homes but Amelia is a computer Geek and she captures the attention of a very wealthy man who persuades her to join forces with him. The business world she and Adam enter is nothing like they expected.
Recommendation: I think it's a good book overall and it's worth a shot.
Recommendation: I think it's a good book overall and it's worth a shot.
August 13, 2013
Two-second recap:
The Social Code is far more than just a standard YA book about rich, intelligent teens with complicated lives.
This is a book that uses wealth and the tech sector to ask probing questions about class warfare, and will stay with readers long after they've closed the book.
***
Full review:
It's been about a day since I've finished The Social Code, and I've written and rewritten my review about three times. There was something about each version of the review, which felt like it didn't fully encompass the heart and soul of the book.
This isn't just a book about rich kids with complicated lives. This is also a book which initiates thought-provoking questions about wealth and social mobility, wrapped up intriguingly in a YA/NA package. Though the execution isn't always perfect - more on this later - I think that this is a book that definitely intrigue and provoke readers.
Now, with that being said...
***
Things that worked:
* The overarching story structure
The book opens with a prologue that clearly spells out the fate of several of the main characters.
While I’m generally not a fan of retrospective storytelling, I think it absolutely works in this case. Not only does the structure take the pressure off of certain elements in the storyline, but it also emphasizes the idea that the book you're about to read is a place where anything is possible. Wealth is always always up for the grabs in Silicon Valley, as long as you have the ambition and the talent to take it.
* Plotting
There are two plotlines that run concurrently throughout the book.
For the A storyline, we have Amelia and Adam struggling to figure out their way at Stanford, while setting up their startup and trying to figure out who they are, what they’re destined to do, and what they want in life. Amelia wants to fit in; Adam wants to be more like the rich boys on campus. At the same time, they're also both running from their past.
For the B storyline, we have Patty – Amelia’s roommate, and society girl – struggling with her feelings for her future brother-in-law, and working to maintain her image as a party girl who's also taken seriously.
Though I didn’t necessarily agree with some of the characterizations and the number of POVs used throughout the course of the book, I thought that Hayes did a good job of intermixing these two storylines, and using individuals from either storyline to further the respective plot.
I also thought that by establishing these two storylines, Hayes did an excellent job of emphasizing the underlying theme that Silicon Valley is a place where your background doesn't necessarily immediately determine your position in life. There is room for social mobility, which is explored in far more depth as the book progresses.
* The setting
The Stanford campus is omnipresent throughout the book, which I thought was a smart world-building choice.
Though we don’t actually spent a lot of time getting to know the campus very well – Amelia and Adam are frequently away at their startup; T.J., Patty, etc. are always hanging out at home - what we do see continues to emphasis Hayes’s overarching point that there are certain places in the world where the rich will meet the regular, and it’s possible to take advantage of these opportunities.
I think if any educators or parents were looking to get this book for their teens, I would actually use the setting as one of the main selling points. The idea that Stanford presents all of these opportunities opens up an array of questions:
E.g. How would someone take advantage of these opportunities if they were in the same position? And more importantly, is it fair that these opportunities are only open to people who are able to get to these campuses?
* The themes
Without giving any spoilers away, Hayes incorporates a number of wealth-related themes throughout the book that are genuinely thought provoking.
Hayes uses these themes to set up conflict - e.g. whether wealth is worth more than family; wealth as a motivator; class warfare/social mobility used as manipulation; losing scruples in the pursuit of wealth; and she does an excellent job of using these themes to propel the story forward.
Similar to the setting, I think parents and educators can use these themes to discuss a wide range of issues with their teens.
***
Things that didn't work/Things to consider:
* Impossibly advanced tech skills
Hayes attempts to set up Amelia as a technological wunderkid in the book. However, despite her years of experience of working in Silicon Valley, Hayes isn't always accurate when it comes to describing Amelia's background.
From the early days of her coding history, Amelia displays an array of abilities which would flummox even the most advanced computer engineers at NASA. One day, she's hacking into the ETS system to change someone's SAT scores. The next day, she's embezzling money from the state government without getting caught.
While Hayes attempts to justify these skills by explaining that Amelia can see patterns differently, I think there needs to be a more detailed explanation in future books, for people to continue to buy Amelia's sheer tech genius.
* The lack of developed characterization
I think one of the byproducts of having multiple narrators in The Social Code is the fact that none of the characters felt fully developed.
Hayes did a great job of setting up strong foundational backgrounds for all of the characters – Amelia’s guilt over being naïve and doing wrong earlier in life; Adam’s desperation to fit in with the rich kids at Stanford; T.J.’s determination to break out from under his dad’s shadow, etc.
But because the narration skipped around so much, the book never got any deeper than what we saw on the surface. Instead, it seemed like as the characters evolved, the readers kept missing out on pivotal parts of the journey. However, I'm hopeful that as the series continues, the characters will continued to be developed further, and more in-depth.
***
Final verdict:
In The Social Code, Sadie Hayes has created a story which is compelling, intriguing and in many ways, the modern literary equivalent of class study, or the 21st century's version of Old Goriot.
While the book isn't perfect - the writing can be uneven, especially in areas like characterization - I would still recommend this book to readers who are looking for a thought-provoking YA/NA contemporary book. This is a book that will make readers question their values, the importance of monetary and emotional wealth, and have them looking at the world with a different eye.
***
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of The Social Code from St. Martin's Press, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! :)
The Social Code is far more than just a standard YA book about rich, intelligent teens with complicated lives.
This is a book that uses wealth and the tech sector to ask probing questions about class warfare, and will stay with readers long after they've closed the book.
***
Full review:
It's been about a day since I've finished The Social Code, and I've written and rewritten my review about three times. There was something about each version of the review, which felt like it didn't fully encompass the heart and soul of the book.
This isn't just a book about rich kids with complicated lives. This is also a book which initiates thought-provoking questions about wealth and social mobility, wrapped up intriguingly in a YA/NA package. Though the execution isn't always perfect - more on this later - I think that this is a book that definitely intrigue and provoke readers.
Now, with that being said...
***
Things that worked:
* The overarching story structure
The book opens with a prologue that clearly spells out the fate of several of the main characters.
While I’m generally not a fan of retrospective storytelling, I think it absolutely works in this case. Not only does the structure take the pressure off of certain elements in the storyline, but it also emphasizes the idea that the book you're about to read is a place where anything is possible. Wealth is always always up for the grabs in Silicon Valley, as long as you have the ambition and the talent to take it.
* Plotting
There are two plotlines that run concurrently throughout the book.
For the A storyline, we have Amelia and Adam struggling to figure out their way at Stanford, while setting up their startup and trying to figure out who they are, what they’re destined to do, and what they want in life. Amelia wants to fit in; Adam wants to be more like the rich boys on campus. At the same time, they're also both running from their past.
For the B storyline, we have Patty – Amelia’s roommate, and society girl – struggling with her feelings for her future brother-in-law, and working to maintain her image as a party girl who's also taken seriously.
Though I didn’t necessarily agree with some of the characterizations and the number of POVs used throughout the course of the book, I thought that Hayes did a good job of intermixing these two storylines, and using individuals from either storyline to further the respective plot.
I also thought that by establishing these two storylines, Hayes did an excellent job of emphasizing the underlying theme that Silicon Valley is a place where your background doesn't necessarily immediately determine your position in life. There is room for social mobility, which is explored in far more depth as the book progresses.
* The setting
The Stanford campus is omnipresent throughout the book, which I thought was a smart world-building choice.
Though we don’t actually spent a lot of time getting to know the campus very well – Amelia and Adam are frequently away at their startup; T.J., Patty, etc. are always hanging out at home - what we do see continues to emphasis Hayes’s overarching point that there are certain places in the world where the rich will meet the regular, and it’s possible to take advantage of these opportunities.
I think if any educators or parents were looking to get this book for their teens, I would actually use the setting as one of the main selling points. The idea that Stanford presents all of these opportunities opens up an array of questions:
E.g. How would someone take advantage of these opportunities if they were in the same position? And more importantly, is it fair that these opportunities are only open to people who are able to get to these campuses?
* The themes
Without giving any spoilers away, Hayes incorporates a number of wealth-related themes throughout the book that are genuinely thought provoking.
Hayes uses these themes to set up conflict - e.g. whether wealth is worth more than family; wealth as a motivator; class warfare/social mobility used as manipulation; losing scruples in the pursuit of wealth; and she does an excellent job of using these themes to propel the story forward.
Similar to the setting, I think parents and educators can use these themes to discuss a wide range of issues with their teens.
***
Things that didn't work/Things to consider:
* Impossibly advanced tech skills
Hayes attempts to set up Amelia as a technological wunderkid in the book. However, despite her years of experience of working in Silicon Valley, Hayes isn't always accurate when it comes to describing Amelia's background.
From the early days of her coding history, Amelia displays an array of abilities which would flummox even the most advanced computer engineers at NASA. One day, she's hacking into the ETS system to change someone's SAT scores. The next day, she's embezzling money from the state government without getting caught.
While Hayes attempts to justify these skills by explaining that Amelia can see patterns differently, I think there needs to be a more detailed explanation in future books, for people to continue to buy Amelia's sheer tech genius.
* The lack of developed characterization
I think one of the byproducts of having multiple narrators in The Social Code is the fact that none of the characters felt fully developed.
Hayes did a great job of setting up strong foundational backgrounds for all of the characters – Amelia’s guilt over being naïve and doing wrong earlier in life; Adam’s desperation to fit in with the rich kids at Stanford; T.J.’s determination to break out from under his dad’s shadow, etc.
But because the narration skipped around so much, the book never got any deeper than what we saw on the surface. Instead, it seemed like as the characters evolved, the readers kept missing out on pivotal parts of the journey. However, I'm hopeful that as the series continues, the characters will continued to be developed further, and more in-depth.
***
Final verdict:
In The Social Code, Sadie Hayes has created a story which is compelling, intriguing and in many ways, the modern literary equivalent of class study, or the 21st century's version of Old Goriot.
While the book isn't perfect - the writing can be uneven, especially in areas like characterization - I would still recommend this book to readers who are looking for a thought-provoking YA/NA contemporary book. This is a book that will make readers question their values, the importance of monetary and emotional wealth, and have them looking at the world with a different eye.
***
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of The Social Code from St. Martin's Press, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2018
What I liked about this YA novel was that it talked about computer science, marketing, and business. Something more for the tech savvy young adult. What I didn't like is that it tried too hard to be a part of the cool crowd.
Adam and Amelia are orphaned twins from Indiana riding on scholarship to Stanford College. Amelia is a tech wiz and creates her own code which . T.J. is a graduate of Stanford, the son of a billionaire father, Ted Bristol, who invests in tech companies, but who wields some shady deals. T.J. is paired up with Adam and Amelia do market research for them. Adam and Amelia are bankrolled by Roger Fenway . Patty is Amelia's roommate in college . Lisa is T.J.'s sister who Adam falls for but has her own secrets .
Every character in the story has some relationship drama, does a lot of underaged drinking, or lies and cheats to get what they want. That does make for a drama-filled, page-turning story. But I wish it could have just been great writing about computer code, hacking, and business. It doesn't do either exceedingly well.
But it ends on a cliff hanger. So now we have to decide if we really care to know more.
Adam and Amelia are orphaned twins from Indiana riding on scholarship to Stanford College. Amelia is a tech wiz and creates her own code which . T.J. is a graduate of Stanford, the son of a billionaire father, Ted Bristol, who invests in tech companies, but who wields some shady deals. T.J. is paired up with Adam and Amelia do market research for them. Adam and Amelia are bankrolled by Roger Fenway . Patty is Amelia's roommate in college . Lisa is T.J.'s sister who Adam falls for but has her own secrets .
Every character in the story has some relationship drama, does a lot of underaged drinking, or lies and cheats to get what they want. That does make for a drama-filled, page-turning story. But I wish it could have just been great writing about computer code, hacking, and business. It doesn't do either exceedingly well.
But it ends on a cliff hanger. So now we have to decide if we really care to know more.
February 6, 2022
**This review is for the whole series** It takes only a couple hours to read and was very entertaining.
The Start-up follows twins Amelia and Adam Dory through their first year of college at Stanford, as Amelia – a coding genius – develops new technology and her entrepreneurial brother helps develop it into a successful start-up at an incubator ran by one of the Valley’s leading venture capitalists. Fellow Stanford classmates and big Silicon Valley players become intertwined with both business and romantic connections in this fiery and fast paced series.
The Start-Up has very CW vibes- think Gossip Girl meets Silicon Valley. I wish this had more content and was made into a TV show. It glamourizes coding and entrepreneurial mindsets for teens, I wish there were more books in the series or more works in this genre.
Downgraded because the teen romance scenes were so cringe-y and the series was short and ended abruptly. (2.5 rounded up)
The Start-up follows twins Amelia and Adam Dory through their first year of college at Stanford, as Amelia – a coding genius – develops new technology and her entrepreneurial brother helps develop it into a successful start-up at an incubator ran by one of the Valley’s leading venture capitalists. Fellow Stanford classmates and big Silicon Valley players become intertwined with both business and romantic connections in this fiery and fast paced series.
The Start-Up has very CW vibes- think Gossip Girl meets Silicon Valley. I wish this had more content and was made into a TV show. It glamourizes coding and entrepreneurial mindsets for teens, I wish there were more books in the series or more works in this genre.
Downgraded because the teen romance scenes were so cringe-y and the series was short and ended abruptly. (2.5 rounded up)
May 24, 2020
First off, I must note that this book was quite below my reading level (2020 college grad) and so if I were to rate it according to my reading level for recommendation to others of my reading level I would rate this a 4/5; however, as a recent college graduate who actually majored in business analytics and AI -- I HIGHLY recommend this book for intelligent young adults, especially those pursuing college and more particularly those pursuing business. This book very accurately depicted the university scene and the intensity of business relations and high-strung entrepreneurial environment. Highly recommend.
February 4, 2022
I enjoyed the characters and story line of this book. However, there were too many stories simultaneously among the different characters. The storylines also did not seamlessly flow from one to the other. It seemed very choppy. I also felt like the ending was very dull compared to the rest of the book. Even though there is a sequel, the ending felt underwhelming for the story line.
July 22, 2017
This book was meh. I felt like all the characters were pretty boring. The plot was semi engaging, but definitely could have been improved more by the author. I was disappointed because this book definitely had potential.
December 15, 2017
Good book if you want to clear your head.
November 4, 2022
SO good!
May 20, 2014
the social code is an interesting read. by no means is it the best I've ever read, not does it have the most original plot, when one really get's down to the bones of it. but it was entertaining, and very well written. it had just the right amount of emotional entanglements and elements that furthered the plot. very happy with this book, and I am looking forward to reading the next book as soon as I get my hands on it.
let us start of with the cover of this book. digitally, the cover is nothing special, but when I held it in my hands, boy was it nice. I'm not a fan of faces on the covers (I prefer to imagine my own characters, and that type of cover has been greatly overused in anything to do with YA), but the girl actually matches the character. to the T. had I not seen the cover, I'd have imagined her EXACTLY the same. and the typographic elements in the text just reinforces the theme, mood and feel of the story. especially the fact that the title is all lowercase in one straight line with a nice green colour of typical lettering when coding. [I'm a coder. I know.] (see how my review is mostly lowercase? huh? huh? yea?) honestly, that was my selling point, when I first considered reading it.
this book is about a relationship between two twins, with personalities as opposite as they come. one is endlessly looking for relationships, has no idea what he wants to do with his life, always looking for the first way out of the situation they're both in (wants money). the other one is someone who knows what she wants to do, has a passion, endlessly immerses herself in it, and is a little blind to social cues. one is Adam, the other one is Amelia. both came from foster care, and are in Stanford University on scholarships (illegally, on Adams part.) Amelia is a genius coder/hacker, with a strong moral code, and isn't afraid of saying no to opportunities that seem too good to be true (because they usually are.) living between high profile investors for whom a couple of million is nothing, the twins learn to navigate the waters, but they sometimes stumble and start drowning as they realize just whom they're dealing with.
one thing you've got to give to sadie hayes, she knows how to write great characters. I loved every single one of them. and they go through character development, which is usually unheard of in the first book of a series, like, ever.
let me start with the star of the show: Amelia. there was just something about her that I liked. she is not afraid to say no, no matter what's on the line. and she doesn't let herself or her brother be bullied or blackmailed into anything. but she has the realization that family is everything she has left, especially that there is only one of him left, and she will do anything to keep that relationship. she has a soft spot in her heart for her brother.
Adam is a charm in himself. this relationship that I have with this fictional character goes something like this: "you're so sweet" "you're such an idiot!" "don't do that!" "you asshole!" "you poor thing,come here let me hug you and love you and make you hot chocolate and here are some fluffy pillows" "you bastard!" "what is your fucking problem, get your shit together" "you need a hug" "stop being cute" and so on. I don't think I've had such a roller-coaster ride of emotions. yet he reminds me a little of myself, hehe, all that indecisiveness. you do come to love him.
T.J. the golden boy that just can't can't get enough approval from his dad, not that his dad gives any to him. he's living in a messed up family situation, and resorts to blackmail and corruption. he doesn't have any healthy relationships, in the beginning, but he changes a little towards the end. with the new company launch, along with Amelia and Adam (backed by a legendary investor and mentor), he finds something worth defending, and finally deals with some of his issues. I really liked him, even if he drove me nuts.
now, onto the reason that this book lost a star. there seemed to be a main plot, with the twins, but there was another subplot that coexisted with the main plot, but had nothing concrete to contribute. and honestly, it was super boring, with Patty pining after her sisters fiancé. the only thing that saved this, was the fact that it had lots of realism. Patty lives in a world where there are responsibilities, and that following ones heart is not achievable. and I liked that Patty had some self respect for herself that she honestly tried to be the responsible one. it came as a surprise. nicely done.
I recommend this book. it is entertaining, original, and uses just the right amount of tech-y terms to create the mood. the writing is a bit unusual, but not bad, and one can easily get used to it, as it's very good at communicating ideas.
Have nothing to do? Pick this novel up and read it. Comes very recommended (from ME, hehe).
let us start of with the cover of this book. digitally, the cover is nothing special, but when I held it in my hands, boy was it nice. I'm not a fan of faces on the covers (I prefer to imagine my own characters, and that type of cover has been greatly overused in anything to do with YA), but the girl actually matches the character. to the T. had I not seen the cover, I'd have imagined her EXACTLY the same. and the typographic elements in the text just reinforces the theme, mood and feel of the story. especially the fact that the title is all lowercase in one straight line with a nice green colour of typical lettering when coding. [I'm a coder. I know.] (see how my review is mostly lowercase? huh? huh? yea?) honestly, that was my selling point, when I first considered reading it.
this book is about a relationship between two twins, with personalities as opposite as they come. one is endlessly looking for relationships, has no idea what he wants to do with his life, always looking for the first way out of the situation they're both in (wants money). the other one is someone who knows what she wants to do, has a passion, endlessly immerses herself in it, and is a little blind to social cues. one is Adam, the other one is Amelia. both came from foster care, and are in Stanford University on scholarships (illegally, on Adams part.) Amelia is a genius coder/hacker, with a strong moral code, and isn't afraid of saying no to opportunities that seem too good to be true (because they usually are.) living between high profile investors for whom a couple of million is nothing, the twins learn to navigate the waters, but they sometimes stumble and start drowning as they realize just whom they're dealing with.
one thing you've got to give to sadie hayes, she knows how to write great characters. I loved every single one of them. and they go through character development, which is usually unheard of in the first book of a series, like, ever.
let me start with the star of the show: Amelia. there was just something about her that I liked. she is not afraid to say no, no matter what's on the line. and she doesn't let herself or her brother be bullied or blackmailed into anything. but she has the realization that family is everything she has left, especially that there is only one of him left, and she will do anything to keep that relationship. she has a soft spot in her heart for her brother.
Adam is a charm in himself. this relationship that I have with this fictional character goes something like this: "you're so sweet" "you're such an idiot!" "don't do that!" "you asshole!" "you poor thing,come here let me hug you and love you and make you hot chocolate and here are some fluffy pillows" "you bastard!" "what is your fucking problem, get your shit together" "you need a hug" "stop being cute" and so on. I don't think I've had such a roller-coaster ride of emotions. yet he reminds me a little of myself, hehe, all that indecisiveness. you do come to love him.
T.J. the golden boy that just can't can't get enough approval from his dad, not that his dad gives any to him. he's living in a messed up family situation, and resorts to blackmail and corruption. he doesn't have any healthy relationships, in the beginning, but he changes a little towards the end. with the new company launch, along with Amelia and Adam (backed by a legendary investor and mentor), he finds something worth defending, and finally deals with some of his issues. I really liked him, even if he drove me nuts.
now, onto the reason that this book lost a star. there seemed to be a main plot, with the twins, but there was another subplot that coexisted with the main plot, but had nothing concrete to contribute. and honestly, it was super boring, with Patty pining after her sisters fiancé. the only thing that saved this, was the fact that it had lots of realism. Patty lives in a world where there are responsibilities, and that following ones heart is not achievable. and I liked that Patty had some self respect for herself that she honestly tried to be the responsible one. it came as a surprise. nicely done.
I recommend this book. it is entertaining, original, and uses just the right amount of tech-y terms to create the mood. the writing is a bit unusual, but not bad, and one can easily get used to it, as it's very good at communicating ideas.
Have nothing to do? Pick this novel up and read it. Comes very recommended (from ME, hehe).
September 7, 2013
The story stars off with twins Amelia and Adam Dory. They're freshman at Stanford and Adam fancies himself more business-minded while Amelia is more of a computer programming genius. From the start of the book we know that they go on to become the richest family in the world, the book is the story of how they got there.
Not only are we following the Dory family, there are also several other families and people in the story. There's the Hawkins family with Patty, Amelia's conniving roommate; Shandi, Amelia's sister who's getting married; and Chad, Shandi's fiance who might have a thing for Patty. There's also the Bristols, with the patriarch Ted who's a Silicon Valley venture capitalist legend; son T.J. who's desperately trying to break out from under his father's thumb; and daughter Lisa who Adam takes an interest in. There's also Roger Fenway, the venture capitalist who ends up funding Amelia's business and hiring T.J. as kind of a business/office manager.
Got all that? It's confusing and even after reading the entire book I still was getting confused about some of the names and how everyone was connected.
When I first started reading I was blown away by how bad this was. The writing is terrible, and it remained terrible, but the more I read the more I realized what this was: it's a soap opera. It's Revenge or Days of Our Lives set in Silicon Valley. And the more I read the more I was ok with that. But it didn't really hold my attention and I can't imagine reading the sequels.
Back to the story, so Amelia creates this amazing technology that allows your iPhone to control lots of other technological gadgets, it seemed pretty cool and completely realistic. She has no interest in making any money off it, but when she does something to endanger her and her brother's scholarships she decides to join with the venture capitalist Roger Fenway and turn her invention into a business.
Meanwhile her completely moronic brother Adam, who is technically her CFO, is really an 18-year-old kid with absolutely no business sense. He's pretty much obsessed with money and fame and seems to not care at all about what his sister wants or how she feels about anything. All he cares about is getting together with Lisa Bristol, who seems great and all, but not worth ruining his relationship with his sister, the only family he has. Adam also had, in my opinion, a terrible male voice.
Meanwhile The Hawkins family is trying to prepare for Shandi's wedding with Patty and Chad trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is. And the Bristol family is trying not to be destroyed by allegations about one of Ted's businesses or by T.J.'s sudden distrust of Ted or by Lisa's complicated romantic life.
And the book kind of unfolds like that. There's lots of drama, everyone is interconnected, and there's all types of sabotage and roadblocks going on.
Bottom Line: I think this book has two main things going for it. First, the Silicon Valley setting, it's the perfect setting for intrigue and knowing what I know form a few friends who work in that world, the author seemed to do a good job with it. Second, the soap opera aspect. This is totally a guilty pleasure book, it's filled with back-stabbing, competitive, interconnected people, most of whom will do anything to destroy each other. Otherwise, it's just not very good. It's not very well written, the characters aren't very well developed, and it's just kind of cheesy.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are (obviously) my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Not only are we following the Dory family, there are also several other families and people in the story. There's the Hawkins family with Patty, Amelia's conniving roommate; Shandi, Amelia's sister who's getting married; and Chad, Shandi's fiance who might have a thing for Patty. There's also the Bristols, with the patriarch Ted who's a Silicon Valley venture capitalist legend; son T.J. who's desperately trying to break out from under his father's thumb; and daughter Lisa who Adam takes an interest in. There's also Roger Fenway, the venture capitalist who ends up funding Amelia's business and hiring T.J. as kind of a business/office manager.
Got all that? It's confusing and even after reading the entire book I still was getting confused about some of the names and how everyone was connected.
When I first started reading I was blown away by how bad this was. The writing is terrible, and it remained terrible, but the more I read the more I realized what this was: it's a soap opera. It's Revenge or Days of Our Lives set in Silicon Valley. And the more I read the more I was ok with that. But it didn't really hold my attention and I can't imagine reading the sequels.
Back to the story, so Amelia creates this amazing technology that allows your iPhone to control lots of other technological gadgets, it seemed pretty cool and completely realistic. She has no interest in making any money off it, but when she does something to endanger her and her brother's scholarships she decides to join with the venture capitalist Roger Fenway and turn her invention into a business.
Meanwhile her completely moronic brother Adam, who is technically her CFO, is really an 18-year-old kid with absolutely no business sense. He's pretty much obsessed with money and fame and seems to not care at all about what his sister wants or how she feels about anything. All he cares about is getting together with Lisa Bristol, who seems great and all, but not worth ruining his relationship with his sister, the only family he has. Adam also had, in my opinion, a terrible male voice.
Meanwhile The Hawkins family is trying to prepare for Shandi's wedding with Patty and Chad trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is. And the Bristol family is trying not to be destroyed by allegations about one of Ted's businesses or by T.J.'s sudden distrust of Ted or by Lisa's complicated romantic life.
And the book kind of unfolds like that. There's lots of drama, everyone is interconnected, and there's all types of sabotage and roadblocks going on.
Bottom Line: I think this book has two main things going for it. First, the Silicon Valley setting, it's the perfect setting for intrigue and knowing what I know form a few friends who work in that world, the author seemed to do a good job with it. Second, the soap opera aspect. This is totally a guilty pleasure book, it's filled with back-stabbing, competitive, interconnected people, most of whom will do anything to destroy each other. Otherwise, it's just not very good. It's not very well written, the characters aren't very well developed, and it's just kind of cheesy.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are (obviously) my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
November 25, 2011
Read more reviews and extras on my blog: http://remarkablereads-sandra.blogspo...
A new series that combines the wonderful world of technology with the backstabbing and glamorous life of the wealthy.
Amelia and Adam Dory have been in foster care all their lives never having a place to call home, the only family they have is each other and they will do anything to stay together. Against the odds they both got full scholarships to Stanford, and after a few life changing encounters and discoveries their world is turned upside down. Now they are thrust into a new world where it is do are die and the one person you trust most could be the one stabbing you in the back.
My first reaction after finishing The Start Up was WOAH! and then after that I immediately started reading the next book. This new series is Awesome it's like "Gossip Girl if it took place in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room" quoted by author Sadie Hayes, which is the perfect way to describe it. Now being a huge Gossip Girl fan (the show, not so much the books) and after having seen The Social Network I was more than a little excited to read this book, and it completely exceeded my expectations. I love that each book is referred to as an "episode" because it literally feels like your watching a brand new show in your head the books are each short and long enough that there is plenty going on but a the same time you are left wanting me more and waiting for the next episode. I can't say I have ever experienced anything like this before with a series. Usually I'll read a book then get to the end and pull my hair out over the cliff hanger and have to wait a couple months to a year for the next book to come out, but with this series you get a new episode every month almost like a TV show where you get a new episode every week. Sadie Hayes is a genius for using this method, it works perfectly for this series and will keep readers both content and eager for the next book and the one after that and so on....
Another thing that took me be surprise was the point of view, I was expecting Adam and Amelia to be the only ones telling the story but I was happy to discover that each main character has their own story line and we get to be inside their heads as well. I always enjoy books like this mostly because I find that this method of writing doesn't always work for certain stories but for this series its perfect. Now going back to the characters I have to say Amelia is probably my favorite thus far there are others that I find interesting and fun but she is probably the easiest to relate to, well besides being a super genius which I most definitely am not. The great thing about this series is again since its almost like a show everyone will have their own favorite character and it can be anyone there is no distinct one or two favorites each character is different in his or her own way and I am positive that readers will make a connection to one or more of them in some way, shape, or form.
Overall I have to say I am hooked, The Start Up has everything you could want in a modern day series about super geniuses changing the way we use technology, there is plenty of backstabbing, and malicious intent, along with family loyalty, and learning who your friends are, romance and of course jealousy. This series will draw many male and female fans a like, because there is no specific gender classification going on the story pertains to both and its something everyone can enjoy. I for one cannot wait to see how the series progresses.
A new series that combines the wonderful world of technology with the backstabbing and glamorous life of the wealthy.
Amelia and Adam Dory have been in foster care all their lives never having a place to call home, the only family they have is each other and they will do anything to stay together. Against the odds they both got full scholarships to Stanford, and after a few life changing encounters and discoveries their world is turned upside down. Now they are thrust into a new world where it is do are die and the one person you trust most could be the one stabbing you in the back.
My first reaction after finishing The Start Up was WOAH! and then after that I immediately started reading the next book. This new series is Awesome it's like "Gossip Girl if it took place in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room" quoted by author Sadie Hayes, which is the perfect way to describe it. Now being a huge Gossip Girl fan (the show, not so much the books) and after having seen The Social Network I was more than a little excited to read this book, and it completely exceeded my expectations. I love that each book is referred to as an "episode" because it literally feels like your watching a brand new show in your head the books are each short and long enough that there is plenty going on but a the same time you are left wanting me more and waiting for the next episode. I can't say I have ever experienced anything like this before with a series. Usually I'll read a book then get to the end and pull my hair out over the cliff hanger and have to wait a couple months to a year for the next book to come out, but with this series you get a new episode every month almost like a TV show where you get a new episode every week. Sadie Hayes is a genius for using this method, it works perfectly for this series and will keep readers both content and eager for the next book and the one after that and so on....
Another thing that took me be surprise was the point of view, I was expecting Adam and Amelia to be the only ones telling the story but I was happy to discover that each main character has their own story line and we get to be inside their heads as well. I always enjoy books like this mostly because I find that this method of writing doesn't always work for certain stories but for this series its perfect. Now going back to the characters I have to say Amelia is probably my favorite thus far there are others that I find interesting and fun but she is probably the easiest to relate to, well besides being a super genius which I most definitely am not. The great thing about this series is again since its almost like a show everyone will have their own favorite character and it can be anyone there is no distinct one or two favorites each character is different in his or her own way and I am positive that readers will make a connection to one or more of them in some way, shape, or form.
Overall I have to say I am hooked, The Start Up has everything you could want in a modern day series about super geniuses changing the way we use technology, there is plenty of backstabbing, and malicious intent, along with family loyalty, and learning who your friends are, romance and of course jealousy. This series will draw many male and female fans a like, because there is no specific gender classification going on the story pertains to both and its something everyone can enjoy. I for one cannot wait to see how the series progresses.
January 26, 2015
4/5 Plot
4.25/5 Characters
2.75/5 Writing
5/5 Originality
I could stress this enough: I wanted to like this book. Because I could be a technophile at times, I really wanted to enjoy it. There were some parts where I really enjoyed and other parts where I was scratching my head with confusion and wrinkling my nose.
The originality and the idea of this book is so interesting that I would rate the originality section of the rating up to 10/5 because I loved the setting. Silicon Valley. Never have I read a book that took place in Silicon Valley where all the technology and computer geeks as well as businessmen roamed around. Amelia and Adam Dory are twins who made it to Stanford. Amelia, a coding genius, creates a program that skyrockets them to fame in the business world. Adam, with his business and outgoing skills, is the head of the business department of their own company. Their friend, more as a business partner, TJ Bristol also helps them grow their business. The author definitely showed the darker side where greed, backstabbing, and jealousy blackened the heart of the self-indulgent Ted Bristol, a corrupt investor and business. He devised a plan to watch the Dory twin's new company burn in flames.
The plot was great and fast paced which I loved. There were moments that I didn't particularly enjoy such as the romance scenes which were no romantic at all. In fact, they were rather awkward. If the author took out all the teenage "love" parts in the book such as a cheating scandal (actually there are two!), the book would be the same, if not better than it was before. Other then that, I enjoyed the storyline, where everything makes sense and connects with backstories.
The characters in the book, some were great, others were absolutely horrific. I enjoyed the main characters, Amelia, Adam, and TJ, who all have their own flaws and shining moments in the book. Amelia, as talented as she is in computers, is awful when it comes to social skills. Her innocent and naive personality is often taken advantage of and as a young girl, was persuaded by her foster family to do immoral acts using her hacking skills. Amelia is often stuck making decisions about morality throughout the book. Adam doesn't shine as bright as his sister, especially when it comes to academics. And more than his sister, he is concerned of his appearance and reputation. His awkward stature is amusing to read about as he experiences embarrassing moments. He, like his sister, learns about how corrupt the business world actually is in Silicon Valley. And TJ, my favorite character, has father issues with Ted Bristol. Often feeling unappreciated by his father, he tries to backstab his father at times. At first, he joins Amelia and Adam's company Doreye, for his own personal gain. But as soon as he realizes how horrible his father is, he becomes closer to Amelia and Adam then ever.
The other characters are very bland. Sundeep, Lisa, Patty, and Chad are all boring supporting characters that bring the 5/5 characters to a 4.25/5.
I did not like the writing, quite frankly. Very colloquial and like "young adult" writing, it was not impressive at all. The word choice sometimes were horrible such as saying "had had."
Nonetheless, it was a very quick read that I finished in one day. The book ends with a cliffhanger (The author is evil). But I would still read the second book because I loved the plot and originality of the story so much, no matter how bad the writing could be.
4.25/5 Characters
2.75/5 Writing
5/5 Originality
I could stress this enough: I wanted to like this book. Because I could be a technophile at times, I really wanted to enjoy it. There were some parts where I really enjoyed and other parts where I was scratching my head with confusion and wrinkling my nose.
The originality and the idea of this book is so interesting that I would rate the originality section of the rating up to 10/5 because I loved the setting. Silicon Valley. Never have I read a book that took place in Silicon Valley where all the technology and computer geeks as well as businessmen roamed around. Amelia and Adam Dory are twins who made it to Stanford. Amelia, a coding genius, creates a program that skyrockets them to fame in the business world. Adam, with his business and outgoing skills, is the head of the business department of their own company. Their friend, more as a business partner, TJ Bristol also helps them grow their business. The author definitely showed the darker side where greed, backstabbing, and jealousy blackened the heart of the self-indulgent Ted Bristol, a corrupt investor and business. He devised a plan to watch the Dory twin's new company burn in flames.
The plot was great and fast paced which I loved. There were moments that I didn't particularly enjoy such as the romance scenes which were no romantic at all. In fact, they were rather awkward. If the author took out all the teenage "love" parts in the book such as a cheating scandal (actually there are two!), the book would be the same, if not better than it was before. Other then that, I enjoyed the storyline, where everything makes sense and connects with backstories.
The characters in the book, some were great, others were absolutely horrific. I enjoyed the main characters, Amelia, Adam, and TJ, who all have their own flaws and shining moments in the book. Amelia, as talented as she is in computers, is awful when it comes to social skills. Her innocent and naive personality is often taken advantage of and as a young girl, was persuaded by her foster family to do immoral acts using her hacking skills. Amelia is often stuck making decisions about morality throughout the book. Adam doesn't shine as bright as his sister, especially when it comes to academics. And more than his sister, he is concerned of his appearance and reputation. His awkward stature is amusing to read about as he experiences embarrassing moments. He, like his sister, learns about how corrupt the business world actually is in Silicon Valley. And TJ, my favorite character, has father issues with Ted Bristol. Often feeling unappreciated by his father, he tries to backstab his father at times. At first, he joins Amelia and Adam's company Doreye, for his own personal gain. But as soon as he realizes how horrible his father is, he becomes closer to Amelia and Adam then ever.
The other characters are very bland. Sundeep, Lisa, Patty, and Chad are all boring supporting characters that bring the 5/5 characters to a 4.25/5.
I did not like the writing, quite frankly. Very colloquial and like "young adult" writing, it was not impressive at all. The word choice sometimes were horrible such as saying "had had."
Nonetheless, it was a very quick read that I finished in one day. The book ends with a cliffhanger (The author is evil). But I would still read the second book because I loved the plot and originality of the story so much, no matter how bad the writing could be.
December 17, 2011
The Start-Up surprised me from the very first paragraph, or should I say before I started reading it? The blurb caught my attention immediately, it left me with a desire to know about the characters and the plot, and I was super excited to read it. It was the first time I was reading a book with this topic, a YA book. There are no YA books like The Start-Up! No! I haven't seen them! I haven't read them! So, it was something completely different to me, something really appealing! And the best thing is that it doesn't disappoint! It's awesome!
Ok, why it's awesome?
First, amazing plot. Imagine a big mix.
Gossip Girl + Technology + Dark Secret = The Start-up.
The story talks about two brothers, Amelia and Adam. They spent their childhoods in foster homes, they don't have money, but they have a lot of dreams, they want to do something with their lives. Amelia loves everything related with technology, she loves to code and to create new things. Adam is more ambitious, he wants to improve their lives, he wants to be like the people he sees around him people that make a lot of money, billionaires. They are finishing their freshmen year on scholarship at Stanford… but.. there is a big change… a complication. Amelia discovers something that she shouldn't. Now she knows something that will put her life and her brother's in danger.
Like I said before, the topic is something new, it's something different and there is a little bit of everything:
A. Drama: Family relationships, brother and sister, when they have different opinions. Father and son, when the son wants to impress his father. Sisters, when a sister falls for her sister's fiance… OMG!
B. Romance: Not only one couple… I think there are more…
C. Technology: If you're fan of technology, or if you have an Iphone, or an smart phone, you can be sure that you're going to enjoy this book a lot. Think about Apple and Silicon Valley…
Second, the characters are very realistic. They are not perfect, they have problems, and they make mistakes. They have different opinions, and the best of all is that you understand why they behave in they way they do, or why they do those things. You can't be only on Amelia's side, or Adam's. You understand their points of view. You understand them. Both of them.
And of course, there are also other characters that you will meet, some you will hate, and others that you'll love.
Like I said at the beginning, The Start-up is a really easy book to read, and difficult to stop reading. The plot is unique, complicated sometimes, but unique, and the way the author describes the story is wonderful. You think you're there. That you're part of that world. So, if you like books that talks about technology, technology that you may know, that maybe you have at home or in your pocket, if you like books like gossip girl, where there are rich girls and rich boys, rich families and big parties, and if you like a little bit of mystery, you'll will love this book. Highly Recommended! : )
Happy Reading!
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