Book Review #4: Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger

Good evening fellow bookworms! Today I'm excited to review AV Geiger's new book Follow Me Back! I was really excited to read this book because Geiger got her start on the writing website Wattpad, and that's where Follow Me Back was originally published. I used to write on Wattpad, and I really liked that places like where writers can freely express their creativity can turn into actual successes. This book has so far been HUGELY successful on GoodReads and currently has a 4.02 rating. I was so excited about this book that it was the only book I packed in my carry on on my way home from my trip to Puerto Rico!

Unfortunately for me, I absolutely hated this book. But even worse, I didn't like but I couldn't stop reading it. If nothing else, this book is addictive. But no in the "OMG I love this book so much I can't put it down" sense, but more in the "WTF I have to know what's happening" sense. Also, it was the ONLY book in my carry-on, and what else was I going to do on a four hour flight? Sleep? Watch in-flight entertainment?? No, that's for the weak.

So I read on. I finished this blessed book. And then I didn't have access to a computer to write this impassioned review until now. As I was reading, I was far too lazy to write my notes down, so I wrote them in the notepad of my phone. Towards the end, I was a little bit going insane and my notes were more satisfying to read than the book itself. Let's take a look shall we.

So let's get into it.

*WARNING: This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk*

Let's start this on a more positive note.

Pros:

*I really liked the format of this book. The tweets and private chat logs made it read really fast.

*I liked the idea that mental health issues are discussed in a realistic and accurate manner (to a point).

*The cover was really, really beautiful. I was drawn to it immediately after I saw the smears of blue glitter. TBH I even got my nails done in the same blue glitter the next week. I'm not ashamed.

*This is a bit heavy, but I actually liked the way sexual assault and rape were discussed in this book. Unfortunately, I find that a lot of the time in books written online (not all the time) that rape kind of gets just tossed in randomly. But in this book it was actually a key part of the plot and the character development.

Aaaaand that's about it for this one. Yikes.

Cons:

*I really felt like this book read like a fanfic. It just seemed very much like a book written in parts online, and not seamlessly like an actual novel. Not to mention a lot of their feelings were described not expressed, much like in online stories. But it's also her first published book, so a bit more understandable.

*This book genuinely made me uncomfortable. The way Tessa got obsessed with Eric and the way Eric got obssessed with Tessa felt creepy. Like I felt like I was reading the thoughts of two stalkers.

*Tessa has extreme social anxiety, which just didn't make sense to me if she was comfortable posting very private and personal things on twitter and even writing stories Wattpad. People with social anxiety like this tend to feel that people are judging them, so it wasn't really realistic that Tessa would be so comfortable doing things like this.

*How. Did. Her. Boyfriend. Not. Find. Her. Twitter? Someone explain this to me.

*I called that Scott was cheating from the moment that we first saw him. Nice try pal. I'm on to you.

*Her mom was downright horrible. Like honestly. As a medical professional, a mother, and even a decent human being she would be wayyyyy more understanding of Tessa's anxieties. It didn't really make sense for her mom to say "Really Tessa it's just a doorknob!" and then three seconds later, (when Tessa panics) say "Oh honey you're okay".

*The police transcripts were literally the only things keeping me going.

*Why doesn't "Taylor" says he's a guy? But more importantly, WHY DOESN'T SHE FIGURE IT OUT WHEN HE STARTS CALLING HER BABE AND SWEET PEA. Come on mate.

*I hated that Eric was such a whiner about being famous. I get it, it sucks that you have to live your life in the spotlight and you're worried about being murdered by a stalker, but at least people like you.

*Ok he knew she still had a boyfriend (if Scott even counts) and he still flirted with her like crazyyyyy

*It was creepy to read his flirtatious messages. "Tweet a nude" was probably the worst. I cringed so hard.

*I hated that Tessa was so dramatic when she found out he was a guy. Honey, he didn't ruin your life. IDK why you didn't figure out he was a boy. But that's not his fault it took you forever to literally read that he was flirting the entire time.

*Eric should have seen that his account was hacked when he had to keep logging in all the time. Dead giveaway.

*I was very confused with the scene where Tessa's stalker comes to the meet and greet. With Eric describing him as a female, and hearing the stalkers thoughts from a male perspective really muddled what was happening, I almost couldn't follow. Eric kept calling him a girl and I literally kept saying "What girl???"

*Ok impressed with Tessa for getting out of her stalkers clutches. Do think she would be a little more panicked and a lot less rational.

*That scene made me horribly uncomfortable as well. Stop snuggling this freak please.

*I did enjoy when she slapped Eric because he really was being a douche.

*I got really frustrated with Tessa when Eric was trying to explain the whole Taylor/Eric situation and she literally WOULD NOT LISTEN. He's explaining everything to you! Shut up and listen!

*I liked where they were sweet and in love and together at the end. The book should have left off there. It would have been perfect.

This is where I really get upset about this book. Tessa should not have killed him. It was so out of character for her it just felt random. The entire book she was sweet, and shy and a bit timid and still loving and genuinely cared for Eric. And then she goes and MuRdeRs HiM? What??? That doesn't even make sense. But even worse, the impact that scene had are significant. Tessa murdering Eric perpetuates the stereotype that people with mental health issues are unstable and violent. Especially in a time where there's such a push to spread mental health awareness and empathy, and when the stigma is still so prevalent. And to make matters worse, AV Geiger studies psychological health. She had such an opportunity to show that people with mental health issues are normal people and can function just like everyone else. It really was just disappointing and was what made me dislike the book the most. Was that plot twist really worth the stereotype?

THE END

This was the first book that I read in a long time that I just really didn't like. I could have somewhat enjoyed it if it weren't for the end. To me, that ending just destroyed this book. Overall, I can't help but give this book 📚📚 out of 5 :( I genuinely wanted to like this book. And I'm pretty sad I didn't.

Did you like Follow Me Back? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

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Kayla