Nerve by Jeanne Ryan

Publisher’s summary: A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly.

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it's exhilarating--Vee and Ian's fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they're directed to a secret location with five other players for the Grand Prize round. Suddenly they're playing all or nothing, with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?

Debut author Jeanne Ryan delivers an un-putdownable suspense thriller.

My take: It was fun to read a book that is out of the norm for me. Nerve is one of those books that make you believe “it actually could happen.” It realistically portrays how personal information and desires can be easily hustled by someone else through the Internet, and then used to control and manipulate that person. Nerve combines that idea with the obsession people have with wanting to be a part of a reality TV show. Only, this reality TV show actually plays Live, on the internet!

In the prologue of Nerve, we read from the POV of a girl (named Abigail) who is still dealing with the psychological and emotional aftermath of having taken part in a risky reality “dare” game called Nerve. And leaves you wondering if the game ever ends. Everything that happens in that prologue sets the tone and suspense for the remainder of the book. The main character for the remainder of the book is a girl named Vee. And, after feeling humiliated by her girlfriend and a boy she has a crush on, in the heat of the moment Vee decides to test out a dare on Nerve. At this point, you are left curious if it is at all possible if you would/could have a happily-ever-after when taking part in this game? Or will the game destroy you and/or become your worst nightmare?

This was a really quick, easy read! There is always something going on and the action kept me on my toes until the very last page. I will admit that since the story was moving so fast, I didn’t think that all of my questions would be tied up in the end, but the twists that happen close to the end of the book tied up all my questions perfectly.

I think that what I loved most about this book is that there is a definite ending to the story, but the ending also left some things hanging that open the door to the possibility that something more could later happen.