Customer Reviews

Exposed

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very realistic book about online predators, but it is also about much more. I haven't really read much about a teen dealing with an STD, and I think that its really important to talk about, because no matter how gross or uncomfortable, it is REAL LIFE. Sometimes things in fiction can make something in real life easier to deal with and hopefully that will make someone less ashamed of themselves, and realize that even though a mistake, it can happen, and you can still live your life.
That said, the main character was sympathetic in some ways. She did in a sense have it all, but she also had a broken heart, an STD, and attracts the wrong sort of attention online, so really, she didn't. I didn't connect with her personally the best, but I still was invested in what happened to her, and I saw the bad things coming and didn't want it to.
I love the realistic, but strong connection she has with her sister. She's dramatic, bratty at times, but underneath vulnerable and young. I love it when Chan's protective instincts kicks in, and the soft moments where she lets her in her bed after a nightmare, and other ways she looks out for her. I also love her bff Devin, it makes me long for a friend like that.
The plot was fast moving and kept me interested, especially after the first few chapters of set up. I liked Vaught's writing style and want to read more of her stuff.

This was my first time reading Susan Vaught's work. It is also my first review on Amazon. I'm writing under my husband's account. I was pretty impressed with this book. As one reviewer stated, it is a thriller. Be prepared to experience intense emotions because the subject matter is very serious. A 16-year-old girl, vulnerable and lonely, decides to escape her mundane life through an online chatroom. The Internet is a place where anyone can be who they want to be. She hopes to find love and acceptance. She comes from a loving but dysfunctional family. Her best friend is self-centered. She deals with the pressures of school and hostility from her peers, who call her a "slut". Chan is simply a girl trying to discover what life is all about. She wants to be loved and to express herself freely. She is insecure, despite being smart and talented. I won't spoil the book for those who haven't read it, but I will say this...you're in for a treat.

Since it is Young Adult Fiction, it is very easy reading. The writing is clear and concise. It flows pretty well. The author writes from the perspective of a lost, confused girl in contemporary language without attempting to sound overly "hip". I was a bit annoyed by a few of the characters because they were unrealistic and somewhat one-dimensional. Her coach is caring and protective, but in real life it wouldn't be that deep. Her mother is a "helicopter mom" who cares, but is blind to the emotional needs of her children. Her best friend, Devin, is portrayed as this wealthy black girl with a perfect life and a constant bevy of boyfriends. Devin doesn't seem to have any problems at all. She's intelligent and funny, but a bit selfish. She is blind to Chan's pain. She comes from a Baptist Republican family and has very little in common with Chan in general. I'm glad she wasn't stereotyped, but most young African-American girls don't live privileged lives without any problems whatsoever. And Chan's little sister? Annoying. I wanted to slap that kid.

The conclusion was a bit too pat. In real life, stories like this often don't have happy endings. The whole family needed counseling. "Exposed" will make you take a closer look at what your children do online and who they talk to. It reveals the dark side of technology and the illusion of power through sexuality. It exposes the horrors of sexual abuse. It forces us to strip away masks and wonder who we're really letting into our lives. It is a cautionary tale about self-respect, dignity, and Internet safety. People aren't always who they seem to be. I recommend this book to kids and their parents...it could make all the difference in the world.

I am extremely happy that I am not a parent. I cannot even imagine how challenging and scary it must be to be someone's parent in this day and age.

Reading Exposed has simply confirmed this for me. Author, Susan Vaught has written an absolutely scary and unfortunately all too realistic book about a young girl who is confused, living in a dysfunctional family and is desperate for some love and attention - desperate to be "understood" and desperate for total and unconditional acceptance - I have basically described almost every teenager out there. The difference is that Chan decides that she is going to go out into cyberspace to do this.

As the storyline develops, the author clearly shows us the denial Chan, our main character, is going through when it comes to her "online idea". Somehow, by the time she does decide to go ahead and post her profile on a dating site, she has convinced herself that this will be the solution to all her problems and getting reinforcing confirmation from her best friend simply adds to the attraction of the whole idea.

Early on, we discover that Chan's family life is a mess, with an obese father who suffered a heart attack but refused to stop eating, to a controlling mother and an absolutely neurotic younger sister, who herself, seems primed for disaster. Chan has also suffered at the hands of a former boyfriend and is now being excluded from most of her school friends.

In other words, Chan was a perfect victim - and what makes Exposed so realistic is that you can actually see Chan's progression from "maybe wanting to do this" to the point where she actually starts feeling very scared about her exchanges with the "not so perfect" Paul.

I gritted my teeth through so many of their exchanges - it was so spooky how easily this predator had it all figured out - as if he knew exactly what Chan needed and when she needed it.

The storyline was extremely engrossing and I found myself going through a variety of emotions while reading this book. This to me, is the sign of a good book.

The only thing I found was that the storyline was a tad slow in starting up. I am glad I persisted as the plot gets very, very interesting, but the first few chapters (setting up the introduction and the set up of Chan's life) were a little long.

Chan has PIRs (parental Internet rules) when it comes to being on the computer and the Internet at home. The key rules are:

1. Never put any identifying information on the Internet without parental approval.
2. No public profiles.
3. Everything that is done on the computer gets supervised or reviewed.

Chan is about to break every one of these rules in the next few weeks.

After a horrible breakup at school the previous spring with the school quarterback, Chan avoids dating and boys. But she wants to find the perfect companion somehow. And the best and safest way, Chan decides, is to find one on the Internet. But this goes against all three of the cardinal rules.

So with begrudging help from her best friend, Devin, the two girls set up a secret Blahfest profile. The two also add streaming video of the two twirling batons in Chan's room. Before they know it, Chan has a message on her profile. It's from Knighthawk859. The two start secret harmless chat sessions that go long into the night. Knighthawk (aka Paul) tells Chan how to download a screen saver that will also help purge and hide any talks and keystrokes. Paul seems perfect and can even recite Emily Dickinson back to Chan. (Chan adores Emily's poetry.)

Chan's schoolwork starts to suffer, and she's getting less and less sleep. It doesn't help that her 8-year-old sister, Lauren, wakes up with nightmares each night and comes into Chan's room for comfort. With lack of sleep, and bruises from Lauren's restless sleeping, all Chan can concentrate on is her next chat session with Paul. The only bright spot outside of the chatting is her twirling. With Paul's assistance (financial and educational), Chan has gotten onto a training routine and her twirling has never been better.

But soon, the chatting turns darker. And when Chan encounters a similar screen saver on the family's computer downstairs, she starts to panic that her younger sister has gotten in above her head as well. Can Chan come clean with her secret boyfriend to save her sister, or will everything come crashing down because of her?

EXPOSED is one of those books that are ideal to be shared between parents and their teenagers. It explores the hazards of seemingly harmless chatting on the Internet. It shares how anyone determined enough can piece the puzzle pieces together with relatively limited information. Chan's PIRs may seem silly to the average teenager, but in reality, and in light of today's identity thefts and predators, they may even be too simple.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Also reviewed on my blog, the Vintage Bookworm.

First, I'm going to honestly say that I'm not completely sure what to say about this book. It took me a while to get into and I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to get fully into it, but by the page number I was going to stop at if I couldn't get into it passed me by which I was happy for.

This book made me uncomfortable. It made me want to keep reading, but at the same time made me want to put it away and say heck no to it.

Something that seriously bothered me about Chan, the main character, is that even though she's sixteen she makes it sound like she's a lot younger than she is most of the time. I guess that's from being sheltered by her parents for so long? And for good reason.

I can relate to her about some things with the guy trouble. Sometimes you want to be in a relationship, but not fully in one. I've had an online relationship before that got really serious, but it was nothing like Chan's. My online relationship wasn't a creep, didn't make me tell him things I didn't want to and didn't try and get me to do things I wasn't comfortable with like taking my clothes off and making videos to sell online.

That's a big no, no for being online! This book really teaches you that you have to be extremely careful of who you talk to and who you tell things to online. Just because you think you know someone online and think you can trust them, doesn't mean you always can. You have to take extra precautions in what you do, or it could seriously put you in danger.

I really loved this part of the book. What it teaches. I really struggled with what to rate this book. I really liked what it was about, but didn't like the book itself enough to give it four hearts. I do recommend this book, though. I recommend this book for everyone and thinks everyone should at least read it once.

Overall, it's an uncomfortable subject, but a good lesson learned. Worth the time spent trying to get into it.

this was such an easy read. I love it with a passion. I have nver read a book that delt with this subject before and I would recomend it anybody!!!!!

Excellent, very well written, fast paced, shocker of an ending. Can't wait for the next work from this author.