Blog Tour: Who R U Really? by Margo Kelly

Welcome to my stop on the Who R U Really? Blog Tour

hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

Who R U Really?

by Margo Kelly

Release Date: September 18th, 2014

Blurb: Thea’s overprotective parents are driving her insane. They invade her privacy, ask too many questions, and restrict her online time so severely that Thea feels she has no life at all. When she discovers a new role-playing game online, Thea breaks the rules by staying up late to play. She’s living a double life: on one hand, the obedient daughter; on the other, a girl slipping deeper into darkness. In the world of the game, Thea falls under the spell of Kit, an older boy whose smarts and savvy can’t defeat his loneliness and near-suicidal despair. As Kit draws soft-hearted Thea into his drama, she creates a full plate of cover stories for her parents and then even her friends.

Soon, Thea is all alone in the dark world with Kit, who worries her more and more, but also seems to be the only person who really “gets” her. Is he frightening, the way he seems sometimes, or only terribly sad? Should Thea fear Kit, or pity him? And now, Kit wants to come out of the screen and bring Thea into his real-life world. As much as she suspects that this is wrong, Thea is powerless to resist Kit’s allure, and hurtles toward the same dark fate her parents feared most. Ripped from a true-life story of Internet stalking, Who R U Really? will excite you and scare you, as Thea’s life spins out of control.

Cindy's Thoughts: 
At a Glance/The Cover:
I wasn't really sure where I was going with this book. It isn't like my usual reads about romance and high fantasies. Who R U Really? is a deep novel that expresses the everyday concerns of life. This book speaks up about issues of internet stalking and cyber stalkers. And what makes it even more noteworthy is that this is based on a real event.

That just proves how much internet stalking actually happen these days. This book was based on a game online, but it can definitely happen on other websites, especially social media networks. 

The Characters/My Opinion: 
Thea - Well, Thea's a somewhat normal girl, with a best friend. And some crushes. Boy problems. School. The normal everyday teenage issues. Then, she gets introduced to a game. She gets obsessed. Literally obsessed. She meets new people. This is the type of game where players can chat online. Kind of like xBox and Play Station stuff. Yeah, normal. 

But when a playmate gets super close and friendly, Thea befriends them and slowly falls into his trap. Keep in mind that Thea is about 14 or 15 years old. That's about my age. #scary.

Kit - Thea doesn't really know much about the guy she meets online. She thinks she does, but honestly, it doesn't seem enough. She learns that Kit is 19 and he has issues. And then she shares her number with him.

Personally, I have so much issues with this. Okay, playing a game online. Fine. Meet new friends. No problem. Befriending a 19-year-old guy. Okaaaay. Ummm. Okay. I guess. Then he asks for your number? Ummm. No way. First off, you have to stalk their Facebook first. Look through all their social media websites. Check out their friends. Help yourself get an image of him. What he's like. 

Thea does none of these. None. Well, if your parents area as overprotective as Thea's and doesn't let her do anything without adult supervision, then I guess it makes sense she doesn't know anything about social medias. 

Next, when your friends start doubting things you do.....well, things get serious. When people around are freaking out about the things you're doing, then you're probably doing something wrong. Another thing, sharing numbers with someone? Why don't you give them a texting app number first? I understand Thea did use email to talk to Kit, but why give them your number so fast? 

Finally, when he starts getting clingy, asking about your personal life, wanting more, saying i love you. No freaking way. That's when you ignore them and never talk to them again. Hopefully they will go away. In this case, it doesn't happen.


I have so much thoughts and feelings about this topic in general. And it's sad to say it does happen in everyday life: bribing girls away. This kind of give me the creeps, since i can be that protagonist myself. 

But Who R U Really? teaches people things. Me things. Be on your toes while online. Don't just befriend anyone. Don't share your number. They can be a total different person behind the computer screen. 

Overall Thoughts: 
Who R U Really? gives a huge moral lesson to all girls out there, don't be so quick to trust someone, especially when you don't really know them. 

Besides that, I mean obviously, there are actually real people out there that are genuine. You can meet other people online. I've known some people who met online and ended up getting married. It works. But just be sure to double check there background information. And really get to know them. 

Even though this is categorized in the YA section, I think this works for middle grade too. Young kids go online all the time nowadays without supervision and who knows what crazy people are out there? Better to start educating kids early and give them an idea of how to protect themselves. 

The Rating: (1-10): 8.5

PS. I think I spoke a whole lot more about the topic than about the book, so here's some opinion of the book. 

Who R U Really? definitely kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. I had an idea of how things were going to work and I dismissed it. It was really suspenseful and the ending was somewhat satisfying. One phrase: the world is smaller than you think. 


The Author: 
Margo Kelly loves to be scared … when she’s reading a good book, watching a good movie, or suffering from the hiccups. She loves writing thrillers for young adults and hopes her stories give you the goose bumps or the itchies or the desire to rethink everyday things. Margo is represented by the not-so-scary, but totally awesome, Brianne Johnson of Writers House.



Links:
Website: http://www.margokelly.net
Goodreads
Amazon
B&N