A review by charliauthor
Last Seen Online by Lauren James

informative mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Original, creative and inventive, a 3.5 because i was so engrossed but it tripped a bit at the end. 

Wannabe actress Delilah gets caught up in a murder conspiracy about the stars of a  cult tv show. Along the way she gets caught up with the son of one of the stars of the show building a little teen romance as they try to work out whodunnit. 

What made this book so entertaining was the very real connection to the Internet and the obsessive nature of fandoms. I found myself laughing at some of the insane comments and blog posts inserted into the book, simply because I had seen so many of them online and knew that people could be this outrageous and this ridiculous.

It spoke a lot about social media culture, fandoms, and the price of fame, which is a very important point to make in a climate where teenagers are so exposed to the negatives of social media. I enjoyed the snippets that allowed for Delilah to understand the toxicity of an online presence and how a lot of that was built into the reasoning for the murder. 

It tripped at the end for me simply because it felt wrapped up a little too easily. When the killer eventually does their monologue, explaining why they did it, didn’t make sense that they would confess to a teenager so randomly. 

Other than that, it was fairly enjoyable.