Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Interactive book, October 17, 2006
"Cathy's Book" is an interesting, great read! It is about a girl who is suddenly dumped by her boyfriend, Victor, after mysteriously fainting and waking up with a needle mark on her arm. The story follows her and her friend, Emma as they unfold the mystery of why her boyfriend dumped her and where this mysterious mark on her arm came from. As they get deeper and deeper into their investigation, they learn shocking things about Victor, and Cathy ends up suspecting that Victor is a murderer. That is only the main plot. If I were to write about all of the sub-plots, I'd have a good three of four paragraphs.
The various doodles and notes drawn alongside the writing in the story give you a better feeling of who Cathy is. What is even better is that the phone numbers (such as the one on the cover of the book, and the ones mentioned throughout the book) are actually real, working numbers that take you to the voicemails of each character. The book comes along with a small, clear package that containes pictures, letters, drawings and even more "proof" to go along with Cathy's story. This book was really entertaining, and it had a mysterious plot that kept me reading.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go ahead, do it. Call the number on Cathy's Book., November 6, 2006
You know you want to. Don't worry. I guarantee she won't answer. You'll get her voicemail. You don't have to leave a message. ... But if you're clever, you can figure out her voicemail access code and learn a little more about her. And you know ... this book is Cathy Vicker's personal journal. If she's in trouble, it might be your duty to poke around in a bit to find out what's going on. But wait -- what's all this crap glued to the inside front cover in a baggie? Newspaper clippings, vital documents, a take out menu, business cards, sketches, a ripped up photo? Aw man. This could become pretty time consuming.
At least it did for me. I've spent the better part of two days following up on every lead I can find in this little parcel. I've been calling phone numbers, cracking access codes, comparing signatures, and piecing together dates. Seems that this precocious 17-year-old girl has hooked up with a fella named Victor of about 23 -- probably too old for her to be dating in any case -- and he may be involved in drugs? Questionable genetic research? The Chinese Mafia? At any rate, Victor's co-worker has been murdered, Cathy's got a mysterious needle mark on her arm, and her best friend Emma needs Cathy to pitch in on their joint Biology project.
To solve the mystery I've mostly been investigating web sites: both factual, pre-existing ones and fictional ones constructed for the conceit of this ARG. (That's "alternate reality game," Mom.) Cathy and Emma have their own My Space and AIM pages, of course. But there's even a site for a fictional wireless phone company with a forum in which all of Cathy's new helpers can share secrets. Here, let me get you started in your investigation.
I really can't say enough about this book. It's quite ingenious. Of course, this sort of strategy has been used before to market products, as in the ingenious ilovebees.com ARG for Halo 2, but this is the first full-scale attempt (that I've been aware of) to actually incorporate real world knowledge discovery, interactive media, realia, and Web 2.0 applications to complete a literary work. And some of the reasearch is kinda hard, so to get the most from the book, you'll likely have to spend some time engaging in the online community. It really raises this use of social networking tools from "viral marketing" to "community building" -- from a trick to a tool, from a gimmick to an experience.
Of course, you can just read the book if you want. It's not Proust or anything, but it's written well enough. I'm sure the young women it's marketed to will appreciate that Cathy is both amazingly confident and a bit of a screw up. She has no problem driving into San Francisco and wandering Chinatown by herself, but she has a problems fulfilling the basic responsiblities of friendship. And her problems range from the amusingly minor to frighteningly serious. It's a wild ride worthy of Buffy Summers.
Really, though, if you don't follow through on the questions you still have by getting your nose out of the book, you know you'll regret it. Go ahead. Open up the baggie. Pick up the phone...
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting approach...., December 19, 2006
Cathy's boyfriend, Victor, unexpectedly breaks up with her and Cathy is not handling it well. Two days prior to their breakup, she woke up after an evening with Victor in which her memories remain fuzzy with a mark on her arm that looks like a needle track. Cathy isn't one to just sit back and take this, regardless of what her best friend Emma thinks, and soon she finds herself deeply involved in a complex puzzle with a murder, a biotech company, and some really scary men in Chinatown. What dark secrets will be revealed in CATHY'S BOOK?
Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman have written an unusual tale in which reader participation appears to be encouraged. A packet is included with clues from the story, such as pictures and newspaper clippings, which adds to the hands-on feel of CATHY'S BOOK. The approach is definitely engaging although only time will tell if this RPG style will work with young adult readers.
CATHY'S BOOK is written as if it were the journal of a 17 year old girl. The artwork and doodling is interspersed throughout the story and provides a very realistic touch to the overall effort. The storyline veers off in a rather odd track, but is a plot that will more than likely appeal to fans of RPGs. As a character, Cathy is very well developed although her reckless behavior may give parents a few qualms about younger readers. However, Cathy's actions are very much in line with the type of person she is.
CATHY'S BOOK is an interesting meld of mediums. The modern day RPG element is definitely kitschy and will certainly obtain some fans on that aspect alone. CATHY'S BOOK is recommended for older teenagers based on the content and is an interesting book that fully engages the reader in the story.
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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