by Alex Ford
From Goodreads:
Alex Ford’s Dark Comedy. Have you accepted a 'friend request' when you should have clicked ignore? Do you really know all the people listed as 'friends' on your Facebook page? What if somebody from your past assumed the identity of someone from your present, so they could get close to you? What if they wanted to get close to you, just to hurt you - again.
David Andrews’ life is going well. With an imminent promotion at work he’s content in his job. His girlfriend is gorgeous and looking at the amount of friends on his Facebook page he’s very popular too. So, when he sees a friend request from a Barry Taylor, he doesn’t understand why it makes him so nervous, he’s not sure he even recognizes the name.
Eventually he forgets all about it, until the day he is forced to remember a past that was erased from his memory by a terrible accident. Little does he realize that all the information on his Facebook page might make him a little too vulnerable, especially to a sociopath like Barry Taylor, who is intent on destroying David’s life – for a second time. This leads David, with a little help from his friendly shopkeeper, on a journey of revenge and self-discovery.
My Thoughts: Do you know how many free books I've downloaded for my Kindle since I got it? Probably dozens upon dozens upon dozens. How many have I actually read? Like, three. I'm happy to say The Friend Request is one of them. No, it's not a spectacular book, but it wasn't bad. It was like watching a dark comedy on BBC. I quite enjoyed how Barry was able to manipulate so many people just through the powers of Facebook.
It gives me hope for when I go all Revenge on someone someday. Seriously, are ya'll watching Revenge? Because it's awesome!
Not that Barry has a good reason for revenge, in fact his motivations are as shallow and full of flatulence as he is. But it is nice to know that I can conquer England and be named Queen if I simply learn to make a good cup of tea, because that's all it takes for Barry to ingratiate himself with David's friends and co-workers.
I almost didn't finish with this book. I'm not even sure why I started reading it other than the fact that the premise sounded good even I take for granted that no one is all that interested enough in me to Facebook stalk me. But I'm glad I stuck with it. It's not the most brilliantly written book in the world, but it's entertaining. The obsession with Facebook is brought to light (seriously, how many of you have checked your Facebook today before reading this blog?), and it's handled with humor.
It also made me realize that I post some dumb status updates on my page. And nothing is sadder than when I post something wonderfully witty or snarky and people can't be bothered to even click "like". It messes with a person's self esteem.
So, The Friend Request gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
This is an interesting premise! I am pretty "reckless" with what I put out there on Facebook... Maybe I should read this, then clean up my friends list! LOL
ReplyDeleteJac @ For Love and Books
Definitely the type of premise that makes you wonder who you've friended and what you have on your Facebook page that could be used against you. Thanks for bringing the book and the series to my attention.
ReplyDeleteNew follower :-)
Safari Poet
I tell my cousin all the time not to put such personal info on fb cause once it's out there you can't get it back and people are crazy!
ReplyDeleteI promise from now on I will like all of your fb status's. :)
I know what you mean! I really don't spend that much time on facebook at all, I only ever get on check to see if I have a little red box at the top of my page and if I don't I get right back off. But I always feel a little disappointed if there is no little red box.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that huge into Facebook and my only friends are people I actually know so no worries. I LOVE Revenge! I'm so addicted to that show.
ReplyDeleteI am a professional facebook stalker. :) Also, I hate when people don't "like" my brilliance. :)
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