Book Savvy: Blog Tour: CYBER STALKER by Jens Hildebrand

CYBERSTALKER
Author: Jens Hildebrand Standalone
Publication date: October 1st, 2013
Publisher: Warped Tomato Publishing
Number of pages: 242
Date read: February , 2014
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Review copy from Fiction Addiction Blog Tours
Format: Ebook
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(Description source: Goodreads)

3 Rules Against Cyberstalking:

1. Don't accept friendship requests from people you've never met.

2. Don't look at their photos.

3. Don't fall in love.

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A gripping YA novel for the Facebook generation.

"I love you."

Lilly's heart misses a beat when these words appear on her screen. Okay, she'd love to have a boyfriend, and when Ian sends her a friendship request, she eagerly accepts. He just looks so gorgeous in the pictures. But when she's about to meet him in person, things take a dramatic turn.

Who is Ian really? And how far will he go to get what he wants?

PRAISE for "Cyberstalker":

"Gripping and insidiously convincing, CYBERSTALKER will simultaneously thrill and appal readers, who may start to wonder who might really be on the other end of every Internet conversation." MG Harris, international best-selling author of "The Joshua Files"

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Cyber Stalker tells the story of fourteen year old Lilly as she discovers that the internet and social media is always just fun and games.

Lilly thinks nothing of it when she accepts a new friend request, and is quite happy to talk to the mysterious Ian, who seems to be taking an interest in her - she might finally get her first boyfriend! But things quickly spiral as she continues to talk to him, they spiral further when she decides to meet him.

What does she really know about Ian? And what, exactly, does he want from her?

Lilly is like any teenager, she wants to be accepted, to have friends and experience a first relationship, and she sees social media as a fun way to interact with others, not realising the potential dangers of the online world before they are upon her.

Emma is Lilly's best friend and someone she is lucky to have looking out for her, Emma is clever and protective of her friends.

Isa and Sophie are a little more outgoing, a bit more experienced and don't always give the best advice, but their hearts are in the right place.

Cyber stalking is a huge issue that isn't often properly considered by teenagers when utilising the net, but Cyber Stalker will bring this issue to the forefront of your thoughts and remind you that it is an issue, an issue that can have very real and very dangerous consequences that aren't always limited to the online world.

Events in the novel are set out in a way that will have the reader wondering if something is really as innocuous as it seems, while details in scenes combine to creep you out whilst remind you that this is something that can actually happen - and does happen.

The pacing of Cyber Stalker is quick and will keep the reader engaged as they wonder what will happen next and hope for the best for Lilly as she navigates her feelings about her circumstances and empathise with her desire for acceptance. Her learning curve is gradual but something that is obvious - especially by the changes in her at the end of the novel.

The different characters in the story express a wide range of reactions to the circumstances presented to them, each authentic and unique to them, but realistic never-the-less - ranging from sympathy to anger, to fear, and always highlighting the importance of being away of what you put up on the internet, and of speaking up when you think something isn't quite right.

It shows how families need to come together in times of strain and how tarrible circumstance can show you just who your real friends are and to never underestimate them.

A very well written novel, Cyber Stalker is definitely very thought provoking and I recommend it to everyone as it covers a very important issue thoroughly!

I rate Cyber Stalker Four and a Half out of Five!

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About the Jens Hildebrand:

I’ve always read a lot and started writing when I was ten. Reading and writing have always helped me in my life, and I need both the same way that I need air to breathe. During my time at school I wrote a Sherlock Holmes novel, one horror and two adventure novels, and lots of short stories. My inspirations were Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen King and Ray Bradbury – quite a weird mixture, I know.  My great mentor was my granddad, who was hilariously funny and inspiring. He read all my stuff and was happy for me, and he also found out that in the early 19th century one of our ancestors, Wilhelm Zahn, produced amazing books about the ancient murals in Pompeii and was friends with Goethe. This provided even more inspiration, as did all those late-night films I watched when I was home alone: mostly old B-monster-movies by Jack Arnold (“Tarantula”, “Creature from the Black Lagoon”), “The Thing from Another World”, and John Carpenter’s “The Fog”. Our old house always creaked and cracked, and that didn’t help. Well, it sure got my imagination going…

Later, while studying at uni I started producing computer software, for example the first language learning software on CD, and guidebooks for teachers about the new media, like the first didactical treatment of teaching film analysis.

On my way to school one morning I came up with the idea for “Granny

Gertrude”, which then led to the stories about Tom and “TEAM 002″. I’ve always been a great fan of James Bond, and it’s kind of funny that there even is a Bond story titled “The Hildebrand-Rarity”, which was used as a source for the Bond film “Licence to kill” (1989). So it’s only logical for Tom, the hero of my secret agent thrillers, to admire James Bond. The idea for “Cyberstalker” came about during my work as leader of our team for crisis intervention. It’s more grounded in reality than you would like to know.

I love England, first and foremost our English friends and Dartmoor, where Sherlock Holmes chased the “Hound of the Baskervilles”. The small village of Postbridge has become our second home, and we love exploring the area and sitting round the fireplace, chatting with friends.

At our school, I currently hold the post of Deputy Headmaster. I also coordinate our crisis & counseling team. We endeavour to help our pupils, mostly to make them resilient against bullying, cyberbullying, cyberstalking etc. What’s most important job is creating a good atmosphere at school. We also work within a great network of partners such as other schools and counseling centres.