Book Review #24: Never Talk to Strangers by T.L. Hanigan

Hello Dear Reader!

Welcome to the first book review of 2021!

Never Talk to Strangers is a book that carries a super important message, and that is to always be careful when talking to strangers online. I believe this book did a good job of what can happen if someone isn’t careful about who they talk to on the internet, but before I get into that, here’s the back-cover summary (from Goodreads):

When you're younger, your parents usually tell you one rule over and over. Never talk to strangers. They tell you not to get in someone's car who asks you to help look for an animal they lost, or take candy from them, or talk to people you don't know on the Internet, also, right? Yeah, that is where Summer Key messed up.

End back-cover summary! I wish I can write ones this short.

Anyway!

Main character Summer Key is a super relatable character. I was a lot like her when I was in high school, and I sorta still am. She’s shy, a bit self-conscious, doesn’t prefer being in super social settings, and loves her small groups of very close friends.

She also loves books! And fantasy ones at that!

Summer is also very kind and considerate, even to the point of hiding her problems so her friends and family don’t worry about her. She can also stay pretty calm and think logically under pressure, and she does this throughout all of the rather exciting events throughout the book. I won’t say what kind of events because of major spoilers, but they’re the kind of events where I’d think most people would be too afraid to try anything in fear of something worse happening.

I love the cast of characters surrounding Summer, minus the antagonist of course. It’s so clear all her friends and family love her, and I’m all for it! I also like how her brother is in a relationship with another guy and her parents treat it as if it’s normal and just normalized in general. Summer’s eventual boyfriend is also a super sweet and supportive guy, and I just love how protective he is of her. All of her relationships with the people surrounding her also seem pretty realistic. While they all love each other and know it, there are a few rocky sides shown, which I really like since no relationship is without even the smallest of conflicts.

The most important aspect of this book is its message, and that is to be careful about who you meet online. Put simply, this book is a written version of stories we hear on the news, of girls meeting someone online and then have something bad happen to them when they meet that someone in person or when they just simply continue messaging them on social media. It’s a story that will happen and has happened in real life, and the emotions expressed by all the characters in this book, especially Summer, are realistic and not exaggerated. There’s a lot of worry, concern, fear, and trauma expressed by the characters in this book. It’s those emotions and the events of the book that’s made it such an intense read.

Even though I love all the things above, there were some things that pulled at me while I was reading and did take away from the experience a bit for me personally. The book was really fast-paced, and a bit too fast-paced in my opinion. While I enjoyed how fast it was a good majority of the time, there were times where I wished it slowed down a bit, just to let me calm down from a really intense part before throwing me into another one again. There were a few character dialogues I wish were a bit longer because they felt a bit rushed and stale to me. Same with characters’ actions. There were also some parts that didn’t make much sense to me, mainly how the antagonist finds Summer and her friend after they’d gone into hiding and also how the antagonist escapes a certain situation after being injured enough to the point where he can’t move that well. The ending was also pretty abrupt, and I wish there was a bit more to it, but I guess that’s what the sequel is for!

So, Never Talk to Strangers rating:

7/10 and thinking about reading that sequel when it comes out. I seriously recommend this book, especially with the relevancy it has in today’s world. Also, be sure to check out T.L. Hanigan on Instagram. You can find her @tlhanigan.

Thanks for reading!