Don't Turn Around: An Intricate YA Techno-Thriller About a Hacker's Fight for Survival

Going into this book, I was pretty sure I was going to like it. I mean come on, it¡¦s got an AMAZING concept and that opening scene was fantastic, to put it mildly. The question then was; how much am I going to like this book. The answer to that was A LOT!! So here is my breakdown of the book.THE PREMISENoa is an orphan, which means no one cares. She escaped the system and has been on her own, going as far as to creating a fake family. When she wakes upon a metal table with an IV on her arm, she is understandably frightened. So she, fights her way out and manages to escape. Peter, the rich boy, is bored, so he snoops through his father¡¦s desk and finds a file about the AMRF. He does not leave it at that and instead he hacks into the AMRF website. Twenty minutes later men in black break down his front door, take his laptop, and tell him to make sure that his parents call the man called Mason. That is where Peter¡¦s and Noa¡¦s stories first start which eventually leads to them meeting each other.THE PROS1. I loved Noa. She was a great character with lots of depth. I love how the author gave her a reason to react to the situations as she did. So many times you will read a book and wonder why a character chose to do that instead of doing the more logical thing. I also loved that she was a great hacker.2. Peter. He was pretty awesome, too, though he was nowhere as near as awesome as Noa was. I liked him and his story.3. The concept. This was a great concept. I loved how they were trying to figure out why Noa was in that lab and also how they used their hacking skills to get things done!4. The other characters. I loved how evil some of the characters were and all of the different personalities.5. The writing style. I loved all of the descriptions and the flow of the book! I could not put the book down!THE CONS1. There was so much death. It seemed like so many people, including a character that felt unnecessary. A lot happened before the book started, like Peter¡¦s brother and Noa¡¦s parents, but it was just a bit much.OVERALLI loved this book. I was fun, fast, and a great read. There was not a lot that I found wrong with it. (Not that I was really looking) I was a really great read and I can¡¦t wait to read the next one in the series!!WOULD I READ THIS BOOK: YES!!! :)WOULD I BUY THIS BOOK: YEP!WOULD I REREAD THIS BOOK: YESWOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: YEAH, to like everyone above like 12(maybe older, seeing how there was violence)WILL I READ THE NEXT ONE: I CAN¡¦T WAIT!!!WILL I READ MORE BY THIS AUTHOR: YES!

Don't Turn Around sounded like a promising book. It had a different plot, interesting sounding characters and I felt it had the potential to be great. For the most part, it was. The only thing I can fault is not being able to fully connect with the characters, however I'm going to hope that since this is the first in a series, there will more to the next two books.Noa is a foster kid runaway. She lives off the grid and has found ways of taking care of herself. She's a genius when it comes to hacking and she's got a pretty severe attachment to her computer. She wakes up one day on a cold table, an IV in her arm, and a scar down her chest. Right away, we are thrown into the middle of the action.Don't Turn Around really packs in the action. Peter and Noa are constantly on the move, running and hiding from the people that cut Noa open. There are very few safe places they can go and they aren't sure who they can trust. Gagnon writes the action very well. It's clear enough to picture in your head, but it's not too simple. It really plays out like an action movie.I'm glad there wasn't a full-blown romance in this book. It would have felt a little rushed and possibly a little forced, I think. Instead, there's a foundation built. There's clearly something there, but it's not a love story yet. I like that there's the potential, but that the focus was kept on the mystery aspect of the plot.Overall, Don't Turn Around is a strong start to a promising series. I wish there had been a little more character building, but the base is there and I feel like Gagnon could really do something great with this series. I can't wait to see what comes next.

I ended up reading this one via Pitch Dark Books read along and I am so glad that I decided to join. Not only did I get to read a great book! But, I was also fortunate enough to win a copy of book two Dont Look Now! So how great is that! For me this book had no issues which was great! I have heard others compare this to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I haven't read those so I cant say. I do think it compared to Lauren Oliver's Delirium series as well as Susan Young's The Program. But that is in no way a bad thing. Where Delirium and The Program are slow this one is jam packed with action. Never letting up or getting stagnate! There is enough plot to go on for a few more books so you deff wont be disappointed with this one! The mystery that lingers here is also great. With a great cast of characters both good and bad guys this book will have you reading until the very last page!With all of these books being turned into movies and tv shows. This is definitely one I would want to see! This was such a great book mystery, thriller, with a touch of science fiction. I so can't wait to read book two! @pitchdarkbooks#dontturnaround"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."