Nerve

By: Jeanne Ryan

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly....

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy: sizzling-hot Ian. At first it's exhilarating - Vee and Ian's fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they're directed to a secret location with five other players for the grand-prize round. Suddenly they're playing all or nothing - with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?

With Nerve, debut author Jeanne Ryan delivers an intensely gripping suspense thriller perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.

©2012 Jeanne Ryan (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Better than the movie

I loved this book. The narrator was so easy to listen to and to follow along. The suspense was great and better than the movie!

Good, not great.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is a hard question. I'm excited for the movie, because Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are amazing young actors; however, this book is just too simplistic. I'm glad I read the book, so I have something to compare it to, but there is a chance (AND I NEVER SAY THIS), that the movie might be better than the book. Obviously, I haven't seen the movie, so I have no clue.

Would you recommend Nerve to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Unfortunately, I don't think my friends would find this as "okay" as I did. I think they'd hate it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Caitlin Davies?

Maybe. Her take on our society's OBSESSION with social media and our lack of privacy is very interesting. It wasn't executed perfectly, but it did have its moments. It would depend on the synopsis of another book.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Like I said above, I'm excited for the film to come out!

Any additional comments?

This all sounds negative, but it was semi-entertaining and I was able to get through it. I'm the type of person that can drop a book and never pick it back up if I'm not liking it. I will say there's one scene that bugs the crap out of me. The scene where all of the NERVE players are brought together and everyone acts the way they do. It made no sense. I'm not going to give anything away, but if you read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about. No one acts this way. I feel like they must have all been drugged, but there was no reference to that happening. So, read it for the sake of reading a book where the movie is coming out. That's what I did.

Movie was better?

I'll admit I watched the movie before I read the book and this rare time, I actually prefer the movie. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy some of the dares more than the movie dares but the grand finale dare took FOREVER. The ending was a total cliffhanger and the beginning chapter (where she's in the woods) was never brought up again so you don't know if it takes place after Nerve is over.

Ok.

Not a bad book. Kept my attention. Ending could have been stronger and characters developed more. The reasoning behind premise left me with more questions than answers.

Slow to go, but good!

Overall I gave this listen a 4 out of 5. This is because I really enjoyed the story, but I was hard/slow to get into.

Wow!

I had seen the movie (I see a lot of movies that I wouldn't normally watch because I donate plasma 2x/week) and was intrigued. On a whim, I thought I'd listen and am glad I did. The plot was slightly different than the movie (which was good) and absolutely riveting. I'm a high school teacher and think this would be very appropriate for a class - it deals with all sorts of issues of belonging, trust, friendship, risk-taking etc. Well worth the listen.

Just okay

I really liked the movie version and I was excited that this book is totally different! Except the main character is so annoying! Just insufferable really hard to get on her side and since the book is in her perspective it was hard to get through in the end.
Narration was great

edge of your seat

I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It's almost like a very modern take on The Hunger Games except I could actually see this being done at one point in our future which made it creepier.

the girl is a bit melodramatic.

I find it annoying when main characters feel the world owes them something, or that it revolves around them... I don't know just my opinion.
the story could be better

Instantly gripping

I had no trouble finishing this book in fact it was harder to stop listening, I have kids so had to pause it a few reluctant times. I feel like the whole book was very memorable and it was easy to love the characters and their dynamics as well as the fast pace on action and emotion. The storyline was was well laid out And the inner monologue was surprisingly honest and felt super genuine and made me bond with the lead character pretty quick and easily.