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Wow. I had been dying, I mean completely dying to get my hands on this book since I first heard about months and months ago. This right here is my ideal novel. Right up my alley and it did not disappoint. At all.I remember when chat rooms and AIM where the cool things and people were talking to strangers from all over the world. I have never been the type of person who connects with people easily so thankfully I don't have a story about meeting someone in a chat room. But I know that I am in the minority there. But my best friend growing up did talk to a lot of people online. One guy I remember well because she gave him her address. He only ever sent her things and they would voice chat with each other. (These were the days before video chatting was standard. It was cool to be able to hear each other, we never in a million years would have thought we could see each other too) The reason I remember it so well is because this guy told my friend that he was from New Zealand and yet when we voice chatted with him he had no accent at all. Not even an accent that would make it seem like he was from a different part of the US. Now at the time I was 13 and thought nothing of it but now, and I brought this up with my friend and she agrees, it seems to us that he was most likely from somewhere close to us since we didn't hear even a hint of an accent in his voice. And I thank my lucky stars that he never came after my friend. He had her address. He easily could have. Let's face it, she was a lucky one.Abby's story could easily be found on a survivor's message board online. If someone had handed this book to me with no idea of what it was I would think that it was a true story. Littman holds true to life in such a way that I walked away from the story hoping Abby was ok. She became real to me while reading the book and I connected very well with the character. I was a lot like Abby in high school. I didn't connect well with my peers. I am different from her in the way that it never bothered me that I was a misfit. If I had a little bit more Abby in me when I was 14 who knows. I may have wound up in a chat room talking to a stranger. That's the beauty and also the chilling truth about this novel. It could be anyone of us in her shoes. Even with the internet safety programs out there kids are still kids. They don't think it can happen to them. And predators are so good at what they do that they know how to be convincing and enticing to these minors. The one thing I liked about the book is that "Luke" didn't even pretend to be Abby's age. He came out and admitted right away that he was older. But he did it in a way that made her comfortable with the fact. And that is a way of earning the child's trust. Kids think "If he is a predator he would be pretending to be my age. He wouldn't admit to being so much older than me." And without knowing it they are playing right into the predator's hand. It's downright chilling to think how smart these people are.This book belongs in every school library in the country. It belongs in classrooms and it needs to be featured in teen sections in libraries. Parents need to read it so they can be educated on this very real threat. The language is strong in this novel. But parents, please. Put that aside. Your teen needs to read this. I urge all parents of teens to buy this book for their child. You will not regret it.

Eye opening book on the ease of online predators targeting grade school, middle school and high school young people and grooming them to trust and confide in and eventually think they are in love with the one person who truly understands them. This is far from actually caring, however, and is a carefully planned assault on the target's friends and family, slowly isolating them from all those who truly care and convincing them that the predator is their only true friend who loves and understands them completely. Illustrates how skillful these predators are and how successful they can be in convincing their target to trust them. Their targets are the victims of a horrific undermining of their lives. Must read for everyone as anyone of us can be or know someone who can be a target. These people are accurately called predators as they stalk their targets. Be aware and careful!!

Abby and her best friend, Faith, are beginning high school. Faith has been encouraging Abby to be more outgoing, positive, and maybe more stylish as well. Abby just wants to be herself, and feels nothing but nerves at the thought of dealing with high school - because surely, it's going to be just as terrible as middle school.Shortly after school begins, Abby feels as if Faith is leaving her behind. Her parents want her to be perfect; A+ Abby. Her slightly younger sister is nothing but a pain in the rear, and Abby has no one to turn to. She feels like no one understands her.Abby turns to the internet. On a popular site called ChezTeen.com, Abby begins talking to "BlueSkyBoi"; AKA Luke. 27-year-old Luke seems to agree with everything Abby says and feels. He listens to her problems and feelings and sympathizes with them. He offers advice, compliments, and a shoulder to cry on. He's everything Abby needs in a confidant. Pretty soon, the relationship turns into something Abby never expected. Luke asks her for topless photos, asks her to strip for him on webcam, and then sends her a "secret" cell phone so they can talk even more. After that, things get more and more intense until Abby makes what could be the biggest mistake of her life.- - -Alrighty, let me get my complaints out of the way first. My complaints will make this review a tad bit spoilery! I'll try not to give away too much though.First of all, when Abby goes "missing", her family reacts to the situation backward. When she is missing for just 2 hours they jump to the conclusion that she's been kidnapped! Seriously, in real life.. I don't think I know anyone who would think that about a 14 year old who just fought with her parents the night before. I would think that she was being stubborn and rebellious. They don't seem to consider that until hour 4 or 5. Er, what? Backward!The second issue I had was the fact that Part 2 of 3 was narrated by the friends and family. It skipped completely over Abby's POV during the time she was with Luke. I understand why this was probably done - maybe to avoid too much sexual content, to show how it is for the family and friends when something like this happens, or to show the legal side of it all? Either way, I think it would have been easier to connect with Abby and understand her feelings if we'd at least been able to partially experience her time with him.Now, on the other hand, the beginning - where Abby is dealing with her life issues and getting to know Luke, I found this very realistic. I myself used to talk to strange guys online and pretty much believed the things they told me without question. I was 14-15 and I can't say that I never would have tried to meet one of them if my parents hadn't been so observant of my online life. 14 (Abby's age) seems a little old to fall for it, but it really just depends on the child's situation at home. If you are somewhat sheltered or inexperienced, like in the case of Abby.. well, you know. It's easy to fall for and part of you ignores that little voice of reason because you want to believe someone gets you. I just think Sarah did a fantastic job of creating both Abby and Luke's character, as well as the situation between them. This is something that could happen to any teen out there and she did a truly amazing job of showing that.The aftermath was truly emotional. I cried a lot during the last chapters of this book. I liked that we were able to see snippets of Abby's experiences with Luke so that we could understand what happened and how the outcome came about. It was tragic and terrible, but seeing Abby grow and turn her experience into something positive was beautiful and inspiring.This book will leave a huge impression on you. It's a cautionary tale that all teens should be required to read. It's raw and full of emotion. There are multiple lessons to be learned and it's all put together quite fantastically. There is sexual content, so beware. It's real. It's scary. It doesn't teeter totter around the real life issues. A definite must-read!

I recommend this book to anyone who actually still believes that the internet is a safe place to talk to strangers online.I recommend this book to people who don't.This book follows the viewpoint of one young girl in the beginning, before later switching viewpoints between various characters. It's a fascinating read, that keeps you wanting more. However, the book does delve into some areas that are rather dark in nature, but it keeps you in suspense. It's an interesting book, but I urge you to read with caution. I myself enjoyed it, but it is aimed at teenagers in particular, along with their parents.The characters were all diverse, although sometimes you had a hard time sympathizing for some. The writing was very enjoyable and easy to read.

Excellent novel for teens , chilling, realistic and great teaching tool because of the teaching resources that go with it.