Viral by Helen FitzGerald

Viral

by Helen FitzGerald

So far, twenty-three thousand and ninety six people have seen me online. They include my mother, my father, my little sister, my grandmother, my other grandmother, my grandfather, my boss, my sixth year Biology teacher and my boyfriend James.

When Leah Oliphant-Brotheridge and her adopted sister Su go on holiday together to Magaluf to celebrate their A-levels, only Leah returns home. Her successful, swotty sister remains abroad, humiliated and afraid: there is an online video of her, drunkenly performing a sex act in a nightclub. And everyone has seen it.

Ruth Oliphant-Brotheridge, mother of the girls, successful court judge, is furious. How could this have happened? How can she bring justice to these men who took advantage of her dutiful, virginal daughter? What role has Leah played in all this? And can Ruth find Su and bring her back home when Su doesn't want to be found?

Reviewed by Leah on

2 of 5 stars

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Wow, where to start? This sounded like an AMAZING read. Seriously, when I saw it on Amazon, I was dead excited because it sounded great. Not only is it very topical, but it sounded addictive, the kind of novel you devour in one sitting. Which I did, to be honest, but not in a good way. More in an I-want-to-be-finished-with-this-book way.

However Viral was one of those reads I just didn't understand. WHAT WAS GOING ON? Yes, what happened to Su went Viral, and yes that first line is ehhhh interesting to say the least, but none of it was actually illegal, as Su consented to what she did. I mean it was icky times a thousand, and I kind of wished for a different outcome, where what happened to Su was illegal, and all involved could have been punished, but it wasn't.

Not to mention, there's an incident a quarter of the way through and it was as if it came out of nowhere, one minute the character was all fine and dandy, next minute the character was dead, and it was like those involved couldn't have cared less. It was all dealt with so strangely and it just came off as a bit ridiculous really. Almost for shock value, without any shock. Almost as if it was an afterthought, it was bizarre.

So, no, this one wasn't for me. It just didn't go anywhere, and I'm not even sure what kind of genre this book falls into as it certainly wasn't a psychological thriller, which is what I thought it was?

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  • Started reading
  • 24 January, 2016: Finished reading
  • 24 January, 2016: Reviewed