A Great Trash Read: Follow Me Back by AV Geiger
A frequent topic of conversat—no, mockery in my house is my affinity for what the family calls, "Trash TV." I've been known to binge watch appallingly bad reality shows. Like all of Toddlers & Tiaras, or Impractical Jokers or Untold Stories of the ER or most recently, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant. While I try to keep my reading standards a little higher (I don't read romance novels, for example), occasionally some literary clickbait slips in. AV Geiger's novel is perfect for those times when you want a good book that's written well but isn't going to make you work too terribly hard.
Engrossing and full of twists and turns. I loved the premise in Follow Me Back of an agoraphobic girl connecting via social media with her crush—a famous pop star. The characters were well-drawn and unique (with the exception of one, which I won't go into because, spoiler). Plus I loved seeing the world of the rich and famous as just another aspect of setting—it never became central. I found the emotions to ring very true regarding fangirls, fear, etc.
On the downside: I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll only say that the ending seemed “cheap” to me, like someone’s editor said, “hey, we need some sequel bait!” And the Big Reveal of the Bad Thing that happened to the protagonist, the thing that caused her agoraphobia, well, there was a lot of promise, not a lot of payoff. I still found myself looking for details on when the next in the series is coming out. So I guess the sequel bait worked. Hmmm.
In this delicious interview, discover Sandra Nickel’s forthcoming book Nacho's Nachos, which tells the true story of Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya, who invented one of the world’s favorite snacks.