Dropped!

This contemporary story explores teens living their life in an online bubble, obsessed with popularity and fame in a pressure-cooker environment. As the back-cover summary states, “He has to be more daring to get the likes that he needs. But how extreme can he be? And is it worth it to win?”

Dropped onto a deserted island for a high-stakes internet show, a group of teens experiences a compelling but false reality, and how each character deals with the temptations, pressure and shallow falseness of it all is both realistic and intriguing.

Selfie mode – Me sitting in the helicopter. One thumbs up.

IF YOU GUYS LOVE ME THE MOST, I WIN $250,000! AND THAT SICK TRIP TO DUBAI!!! REMEMBER…WHEN I GET TO ADVENTURE ISLAND, FOLLOW ME.

The four-day episode is all told from the point of view of Dexter, a teen brokenhearted by being dumped by a girl and delusionally hopeful that winning this contest will win her back. He is forever comparing his media posts with those of his competitors while trying to figure out who he really is and what it means to be authentic. That’s not just a theme to which every teen can relate; it’s particularly appropriate in the social-media era.

As a reluctant-reader book, Dropped! is dialogue-heavy with a fast-paced plot and short, easy-to-read sentences.

The helicopter sounds like a roaring monster. And I’m in its belly.

While the pilot prepares for takeoff, I quickly edit my video. Type words over it. Move the text around. Then I hit upload.

In this sense, Dropped lives up to its promise to be an “ultra-readable page-turner” and will definitely entice less-than-avid readers to pick it up and zip through its 79 pages – which is no mean feat; the value of hi-lo books is never to be underestimated for capturing next generation’s readers and converting potential non-readers into lifelong readers.

The dialogue, including short social-media posts, is outstandingly realistic, fun and intense. It puts the reader right there beside Dex. And it’s all so relatable for today’s teens. The dialogue also mixes nicely with the first-person narrative which truly reveals Dex’s personality, inner struggles and situation. Also, as if the competition and constant need for social-media posting aren’t enough, there are hidden cameras on the island, forcing contestants to play for the audience physically and in what they post, while on guard every second.

Does the dog-eat-dog atmosphere allow for any private moments, friendships or self-reflection? Barely. Dex’s better self has to do battle with his goal to win, and, in order for these to happen; his more authentic self has to rise to the surface on occasion.

“You’re addicted to it,” Em says, next to me. She scratches at the earth with a stick.

“Not at all.” I put my phone away. But it tugs at my attention. Maybe Em is right. “What’s your story for today?” I ask.

Em shrugs.
I sit up. “What?”

“My mom is sick. I have to look after her. Cook for her. Clean for her. My aunt came to stay so I could be here. We thought the money would help. A lot.”

Em draws a smiley face on the ground with her stick. “Whatever. I don’t want to share all that.”

“You should tell everyone. People would like that.”

“That’s not who I am,” Em says. “I’m not holding my mom up for the world to look at.”

Her reply gets to me. This person is so quiet and ordinary, but Em has a strength in her that I don’t.

So, how far will Dexter take things to command attention and steal followers from his island mates?

I check for any broken bones. And say, “I seem to be okay.”

That looks so dangerous, Dex! someone writes.

Dangerous Dex! That could be how I play this game. Willing to take a risk. Showing how daring I am.

Daring Dex!

Indeed, the various roles Dex contemplates along his journey lend themselves to playful self-naming: Deadly Dex, Delightful Dex, Daring Dex, Dangerous Dex, Desperate Dex. We know his character arc is complete (and it rings credible and believable) when he turns his phone off and concludes, “I’m just me. Dex.”

Author Alice Kuipers in her concluding author’s note says, “I want you, the reader, to know that sometimes reality is more astonishing than stories.”

We get it, Alice, thanks to this trim novel. We get it.