Risk in Aussie Bloggers Book Club

Aug 12, 2015 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it liked it

Shelves: thriller, love-oz-ya, ya-contemporary, young-adult

This review has been posted on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Actual Rating: 3.5

The scariest thing about Risk aren't the thrills or the twists that are usually present in a thriller - it's that everything written in the novel could happen in real life. As a blogger who pretty much lives online, we tend to get comfortable speaking to people we meet up online, but it's important to remember that everyone can hide behind an online persona.

And that's what happened to Sierra, the bea This review has been posted on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Actual Rating: 3.5

The scariest thing about Risk aren't the thrills or the twists that are usually present in a thriller - it's that everything written in the novel could happen in real life. As a blogger who pretty much lives online, we tend to get comfortable speaking to people we meet up online, but it's important to remember that everyone can hide behind an online persona.

And that's what happened to Sierra, the beautiful, wild and carefree girl who falls in love with a guy she meets online. Little does she know, she's placing herself at risk, by sharing her personal details with him, her social media accounts and her photos. Soon Sierra goes missing, and that's what Risk deals with, the aftermath in the wake of a missing person's case. Her best friend Taylor, does everything in her power to bring justice for Sierra and to come to terms with the grief and loss of a silly decision.

Going into Risk expecting an edge of your seat thriller probably isn't the best way to go, but going in and reading a contemporary story that would shed some light on online predators is what the novel aims to achieve. I did find it repetitive at times, going over things that had been said again, but it really drives home the precautions you have to take. There were quite a lot of issues touched upon here, friendship, jealousy, grief, depression, a quiet romance, but Risk stays on track with its messaging.

I also had a few problems with the characters, for example Riley is a jealous, mean bitch who has no empathy for her best friend, Sierra is selfish and doesn't care who else gets in trouble for her own excitement and Taylor is plagued with self esteem issues. I liked how the characters were flawed, but when they are flawed to the point of being one-dimensional, that didn't really want me want to root for them.

Risk explores the consequences of meeting up with a stranger online in detail, that one time where it turns out to be a predator. It's an important novel, especially for high school students who may be naive about guys that seem too good to be true online. Despite the few problems I had with it, it was a compelling and quick read. ...more

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Jul 22, 2015 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2015, young-adult, loveozya, genre-mystery

How many girls are online right now, taking risks they don’t even know about?

Taylor and Sierra have been best friends since before they were even born. They did almost everything together, practically sisters. But when Sierra goes off after school one Friday afternoon to meet a guy she met on the internet, Taylor’s life is torn apart.

The beginning of this novel was a little shaky. It was very much your typical “plain girl with the outrageous best friend that she loves but is insanely jealous ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 22, 2015 Eugenia (Genie In A Book) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, 2015-release

*This review also appears on my blog Genie In A Book*

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley

4.5 stars

How safe are you online? How much do you share? Who is seeing it? It is these questions which Fleur Ferris's thought-provoking debut novel Risk raises, and with shocking results. The presence of online predators is unfortunately a chilling reality, and there are grim consequences when swept up in a dangerous web of lies.

The feeling inside me is numbness. A massive,
...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 08, 2015 Seahorse Library rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-ya, genre-contemporary, genre-crime, on-my-bookshelf

Review also posted to Words Read & Written

Why I picked it up:

I'd seen this one around a couple of times online. But I picked it up in August as part of the brand new Aussie Bloggers Book Club #bookclubaus

My Thoughts:

Before even starting this novel, I knew I would enjoy the subject matter – the dangers of Internet dating is something that is so important and relevant now that social media and dating apps are so popular. A book like this reminds us that even though it may be instinct to trust new ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 02, 2015 Michelle added it

Shelves: ya-contemp, aussie-ya, australia, i-own-a-copy, 2015-read, ya-crime

The premise of Risk is frighteningly real and unfortunately, all too topical at the moment. I started reading this right around the time news broke that a Brisbane teen had been killed after meeting a man she knew through an online dating site. The circumstances were a little different, but the situation was no less tragic than that mirrored in fiction. It was chilling to finish reading Risk knowing it wasn’t just a fantasy; this could, and has, happened to other people in reality.

Risk is an eng ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2015 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-ya, 2015, debut-15

Risk was a book I was really looking forward to this year, especially because I've never read a book like it before. It sounded like a great story (it was) and one that would hook me from the start (it certainly did).

Firstly, let’s chat characters. Sometimes Taylor’s voice felt too young for a 15 year old, but I think something to take into account is that no two teens are the same and also, teenagers will be teenagers. Maybe it was also the fact that a) I don’t normally read characters this you ...more

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Aug 26, 2015 Jenna rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, aus-ya, young-adult

This review also appears on my blog, Reading with Jenna.

This is a novel that deals with a very important topic in society today, which is online safety. It raises awareness about the dangers of meeting people online because they may not be who you think they are. It also deals with grief and survivor’s guilt. I think online safety is definitely a topic or issue that teens should be made aware of, and I appreciate that the author tried to target this book to a younger audience who might be suscep This review also appears on my blog, Reading with Jenna.

This is a novel that deals with a very important topic in society today, which is online safety. It raises awareness about the dangers of meeting people online because they may not be who you think they are. It also deals with grief and survivor’s guilt. I think online safety is definitely a topic or issue that teens should be made aware of, and I appreciate that the author tried to target this book to a younger audience who might be susceptible to the charms of online predators. However, I had quite a few issues with the book.

I had a very hard time connecting with the characters from the very first page. The characters are 15 year olds, but they felt very juvenile and immature in their behaviour and the way they spoke. They seemed to be falling in love with everyone they saw, and I didn’t enjoy that at all. Taylor goes from being completely uninterested in the guy they met online to imagining herself married to him within the span of just a couple of pages. It irked me because I think even 15 year olds have more sense than that. A lot of teenage drama did get left behind after Sierra went missing and the book turned more serious, but we still see glimpses of it throughout the book. Most of the side characters were underdeveloped. I wanted to know about their experiences and feelings on the situation, but I felt like their main role in the novel was to create conflict in Taylor’s life.

I was not a fan of Taylor or Sierra. Sierra was portrayed as someone who was very unlikeable, even to her friends, so it was a little bit difficult for me to even care about what happened to her. I liked Taylor a little bit more than Sierra, but her thoughts and feelings fluctuated a lot and it was just hard to be in her head. She seemed to disregard the feelings of those around her and justified all of her actions and decisions by saying that Sierra would have loved it/thought it was glamorous, or that Sierra would want her to be happy. I thought Taylor was a very frustrating protagonist and I didn’t feel like her character went through very much development. She compares herself to Sierra throughout the whole book and by the end of it, I wasn’t really sure how she had grown as a person.

I was also not very impressed with the plot. I had gone into the book knowing that it wasn’t going to be a thriller but the story fell short for me in terms of where it went. Most of it was very predictable and it didn’t feel like a very original story. I also didn’t like the romance that was in the book. I thought it was unnecessary and I would have much preferred it if the book had focused on friendship and supporting each other through grief.

The style of writing was also a little bit of an issue for me. The writing felt very basic and was composed of too many short sentences. I felt like it was too direct. Instead of discovering for myself what was happening, I was just being told the main messages of the book and what Taylor was thinking and feeling. I’m not opposed to simple writing if it’s used effectively, but I thought the writing in Risk was too assertive and was almost telling me what I should be thinking and feeling. I think it just goes back to the “show, don’t tell” rule that we learn in school.

I’m glad that this book is out there and I do think that teenagers should read it to learn more about internet safety because what happened to Sierra in the book could happen to anyone. But while I did like the message in this book and the awareness it raises, I thought it was a little bit of a missed opportunity. ...more

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Sep 14, 2015 Carolyn Gilpin rated it really liked it

Shelves: loveozya, oz-women-writers

Risk is definitely a book for its time - two 15 year old girls are fooling around one night on their computers when one of them starts to chat to a guy online. Both girls chat to him, and one, Taylor, is very cynical but then finds herself becoming interested in 'Jacob'herself once Sierra goes home for the night. Excited, she thinks she may meet up with him, but on going to school the next day, she finds that Sierra had hooked up with him again online and is now going on an IRL (in real life) da Risk is definitely a book for its time - two 15 year old girls are fooling around one night on their computers when one of them starts to chat to a guy online. Both girls chat to him, and one, Taylor, is very cynical but then finds herself becoming interested in 'Jacob'herself once Sierra goes home for the night. Excited, she thinks she may meet up with him, but on going to school the next day, she finds that Sierra had hooked up with him again online and is now going on an IRL (in real life) date with him.
Jealous, she keeps her crush to herself, and goes on with her own life, with friends Riley, Callum and Joel. Sierra is to contact her that night, but rings to say she's staying with Jacob - she'll sneak over early in the morning to Taylor's place where she's meant to be staying.
Then the weekend slips by and... no Sierra. They can't get in contact with her. Finally Taylor realises the dreadful truth - Sierra is missing and she needs to confess all to her mum & Sierra's mum (close friends themselves).
What then occurs is a nightmare of guilt, worry, expecting the worse and hoping for the best, plus the intrusion of the police as they desperately try to track down Sierra and the mysterious Jacob.
But Jacob is not Jacob, and is an expert at hiding his online tracks. I knew the net could be dangerous, but I didn't realise just how easy (proxy boxes!) and how slippery the predators can be.
This is where the book slows a little, as the awful truth is out, but now they're trying to find 'Jacob' before he can strike again. I also wasn't sure about the ending, when Taylor risks a lot getting herself involved, but I could understand her desperation and distress.
Risk does contain some annoying teens in the flighty Sierra and guilt-ridden, confused Taylor, whose moods change at any moment, but that's what they are - moody teens! I'm not a parent either, but it was a great touch to show the emotional distress of Sierra's mum - she has known Taylor since birth but struggles with seeing or talking to her after Sierra's disappearance.
Risk is a good short read, realistic enough to hopefully teach teens (& adults) about online risks. And of course I loved the Melbourne setting - it's great to read about your own hometown! A very good debut. ...more

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May 14, 2015 NicoleHasRead rated it it was amazing

Such an important book. Everyone should read it. Full review to follow.

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 12, 2015 Elizabeth Fitzgerald rated it liked it

Shelves: aww2015, borrowed, australian-author

A contemporary YA about a young girl who goes missing after meeting her online date in person. Not my usual sort of thing but I thought I'd give it a try for the Aussie Bloggers Book Club. It packed quite an emotional punch ...more

1 like · Like · see review