Who R U Really? Review

Title: Who R U Really?

Author: Margo Kelly

Thea's overprotective parents are driving her insane. They invade her privacy, ask too many questions, and restrict her online time so severely that Thea feels she has no life at all. When she discovers a new role-playing game online, Thea breaks the rules by staying up late to play. She's living a double life: on one hand, the obedient daughter; on the other, a girl slipping deeper into darkness. In the world of the game, Thea falls under the spell of Kit, an older boy whose smarts and savvy can't defeat his loneliness and near-suicidal despair. As Kit draws soft-hearted Thea into his drama, she creates a full plate of cover stories for her parents and then even her friends.

Soon, Thea is all alone in the dark world with Kit, who worries her more and more, but also seems to be the only person who really "gets" her. Is he frightening, the way he seems sometimes, or only terribly sad? Should Thea fear Kit, or pity him? And now, Kit wants to come out of the screen and bring Thea into his real-life world. As much as she suspects that this is wrong, Thea is powerless to resist Kit's allure, and hurtles toward the same dark fate her parents feared most. Ripped from a true-life story of Internet stalking, Who R U Really? will excite you and scare you, as Thea's life spins out of control.

Who R U Really? Wow... this book hit close to home. I could relate a lot with this story. I did have some problems with it, but over all it was a very powerful story. I actually think it should be mandatory for kids in high school to read this book, just so they know. The internet is such a dangerous place. Not only for kids, but for adults as well.

What I Liked:

• Thea. I liked her character. She was very strong. She had her stupid moments, but I am not putting those against her. She was only fourteen and I have to remember that when reading.
  
  
• Tim. I LOVED TIM! He was awesome and supportive through the entire thing!
  
  
•  Issues. I liked the issues it dealt with. It took you through the challenges of being a teenager in high school and the troubles they face. It also hit on another testy subject, which I wish it had went into detail more with.
  
  
• The Ending. This was a dislike for awhile, but I got to thinking about it. It was like WOW. You didn't expect it, but then again, it did make a lot of sense. I balled my eyes out.

What I Didn't Like:

• Choppy. At the first of the book it was VERY choppy, but it did get better as the book went on. I know this doesn't bother some people, but I like smooth transitions.
  
  
• Not Descriptive. Kelly didn't go into detail about a lot of things. I feel it could have been better and I could have imagined it better with more detail. 
  
  
• Jaine. I liked Jaine's character, but I don't like that we didn't get to see what was going on with her more. I think it would be a good idea to make a companion of this book from Jaine's POV. I would have loved to see her issues played out a little bit more.
  
  
• Rushed. This is another one that applies a lot to the first part of the book. It was very rushed through. Didn't take too much time in one place before jumping straight to the next thing. It was hard to keep up.
  
  
• Thea's mother. I liked the fact that her mother was protective and everything, but before any of it happened she was smothering. I know you can't spell smother without mother, but it was just too much. It almost made it unrealistic in a sense.

Would I Recommend:

Yes. I think all teenagers should read this book. I think it brings to light the dangers that the internet can bring.