Don't Turn Around (2012) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“See my review on natashasshelf.blogspot.com.”

• Rated 4 stars

“What an intense ride!

The minute I heard about this book I started panting for it. It sounded like a YA Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which I loved. The only thing I didn’t like (about GWTDT) was Larsson’s long, drawn out descriptions, but the stories were great.

In Don’t Turn Around we meet Noa, a product of the system who has sworn off foster homes and learned to make it on her own thanks to her amazing hacking abilities. When Noa wakes up on a table with a scar on her chest and an IV in her arm, she has no idea how she got there or why. Since Noa isn’t the type to sit around and just go with it, she kicks ass and escapes, hell-bent on finding out what happened to her. Her research connects her with a fellow hacker named Peter who has troubles of his own. They soon learn that their problems are connected, and that the people after them will do anything to stop them from finding out their secret.

I totally loved this book. While there was a lot about Noa that reminded me of Lisbeth Salander, she was still very much her own person. I loved her strength and determination and seeing her vulnerabilities. All of the characters are very well-developed. The plot never disappoints and Ms. Gagnon has expertly balanced the intense action with just the right amount of “down time” to give the reader a chance to catch their breath. I warn you, if you pick up this book, make sure you’ve allowed yourself plenty of time because once you start you can’t stop.

Filled with memorable characters, a fast-moving plot and plenty of thrills, Don’t Turn Around is a perfect thriller that is not to be missed. This is definitely one of my favorites of 2012.”

• Rated 4 stars

“3.5/5 stars.

This one's interesting - it seems that the YA market is trying to capture the feel of the thrill in books like "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", and you can feel a bit of that thrill here in "Don't Turn Around". There's the same sort of hacktivism, being lost in the government foster system, and conspiracy going on, too. However, if you're looking for major character arcs and development, this book may not be the one for you. But it's still a pretty good opening book in what looks like is going to be a fun trilogy.

This book is very plot-driven, so much so that I was a bit disappointed. I wanted a little more character arc exploration, but I suppose there's another two books for that to happen. Still, we get Noa and Peter's characters quick and dirty, enough for the action to push us forward to book two. These characters don't quite feel 3D enough for me, so thus, a lower score. I think had this book had one more draft and the characters sketched out a bit more, I would have been satisfied. But that's me - I'm extremely picky about things like character development and characters getting their own arcs. And it's not like there are NO character arcs here whatsoever - we do see Noa transform a bit from the very closed, guarded kid in the system to someone more emotionally open to Peter and, in the end, Zeke. And that was nice to see - I love it when we see strong heroines' vulnerable sides, and to see them grow is even better. I just think that that character development that she got could have been also given to Peter (but since Zeke was such a tiny character until the end, it's okay to leave his development until book 2). It felt a bit unbalanced.

I just really, really hope that this doesn't turn into a love triangle.

Now to the action - as I said before, very plot-driven so there's lots of action and lots of tension. I literally read this one in ONE sitting - it's that riveting. I felt very physically tense the whole way through reading it. However, there were still parts of the plot that could have been developed a bit more in this first book - and for me, that mostly centered around the fictitious disease, PEMA. It gets written in, and it's a pretty big deal, but it feels like the details are given as an afterthought at the end. Again, another draft to weave these details in a bit better might have really helped me emotionally connect more to characters in the book who have lost loved ones to PEMA, or fascinated me more with the disease in general. It felt more sketched out here than anything else, much like the characters, and that let me down.

However, I do think this will be good for younger YA fans that want the same thrilling action of the adult "Millennium" trilogy - but for me, it just didn't pop off the page as much as I wished it had. I felt like William Richter's "Dark Eyes" did a better job in the thriller department, even though these two books are very different animals. "Dark Eyes" is for an older YA audience, I feel, when comparing the two.

Still, this is a really fun book, and I will definitely be reading book 2. "Don't Turn Around" is out from HarperTeen on August 28, 2012, so be sure to check it out then!

(posted to goodreads, shelfari, and birthofanewwitch.wordpress.com)”

• Rated 4 stars

“Ever since her parents died, Noa has been a victim of the system, shuffled in and out of foster care. Now sixteen, she’s finally found a way to beat the system by using her hacker skills to create herself a quiet and comfortable life. But whatever sense of calm Noa had built up for herself shatters when she wakes up on an operating table in a warehouse and no memory of how she could have gotten there. On the run from an enemy she doesn’t even know, Noa crosses paths with Peter, a fellow hacker. He needs her help digging up info on a mysterious corporation that seems to be after him, and, though she doesn’t realize it at first, she needs his help too. It turns out that both have unwittingly become embroiled in a terrible plot involving disappearing kids and controversial human experimentation—and their enemies will stop at nothing to keep their deadly secrets from being exposed.

When I picked up Don’t Turn Around, I was hoping for a lot of great action, and thankfully, that’s what I got. The plot of this book is absolutely packed full of serious threats, desperate chases, fights, escapes, and close calls, which makes reading all of it certainly a thrilling experience. Noa’s and Peter’s hacking efforts added another layer of excitement to this story, and I found that the mystery and investigation aspect of the plot was quite smart and well structured as well. So overall, the action-packed plot most definitely lived up to my expectations. However, I did find myself distracted at times while reading because some of the exposition and descriptions were awkwardly integrated into the story; while I did enjoy learning these little details about various characters, more often than not they weren’t necessary to the plot and caused the pacing in these instances to lag a bit. Despite this, I was thoroughly entertained by Don’t Turn Around and look forward to seeing where Noa’s and Peter’s paths will take them next.

Don’t Turn Around will be enjoyed by readers who also liked The Lab by Jack Heath, A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan, Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein, and Tunnel Vision by Susan Shaw.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com ”