Reviewed by whisperingchapters on
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 25 June, 2020: Finished reading
- 25 June, 2020: Reviewed
"Repeatedly surprising and genuinely chilling." - E. Lockhart, bestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud
From the acclaimed author of The Leaving comes a new psychological thriller that challenges our trust in the electronic devices we keep close.
Eden, Eli, Marwan, and Ilanka barely know each other beyond having a class or two together. But when they are all summoned via messaging app to an empty classroom after school, they find a small cube sitting on a desk. Its sides light up with rules for them:
Do not tell anyone about the device. Never leave the device unattended.
And then, Take me with you . . . or else.
At first they think it's some kind of prank or a social experiment orchestrated by the school administration. Still, they follow its instructions until the newly-formed group starts to splinter. Nobody has time for these games--their lives are complicated enough. But the device seems increasingly invested in the private details of their lives. And disobeying its rules has scary--even life-threatening--consequences . . .
This timely thriller probes our dependence on personal technology and challenges the notion that our devices are keeping us connected. The truth may very well be the opposite.