Nerve

Nerve
Written by Jeanne Ryan
Contemporary, Thriller
Published July 2016
320 Pages
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★☆
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. It tempts her with amazing prizes taken from her personal online page and teams her up with her 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. Just how far will Vee go before she loses Nerve?

Nerve is in cinemas now, starring Emma Roberts, Dave Franco and Juliette Lewis.
For quiet and reserved Vee, she's always lived her life behind the theatre curtain, adhering to authority and rebuilding her tentative relationship with her parents. Nerve, a reality show based on the daring and provocative, where players compete for honour and pride. Fuelled by spite, Vee applies to both challenge herself and the misconception of her innocence by entering a preliminary dare by dousing herself in water at a local coffee house.

Enticed by cash and prizes, Vee and fellow stagehand Tommy begin their night of adventure, despite her promise to Sydney, Vee's best friend and Nerve enthusiast. As the stakes increase, so does the danger and Vee is playing a game in which there are no winners. Only survivors.

My Thoughts

Nerve was highly entertaining, a cautionary storyline of actions, consequences and foremost, greed. Vee is a quiet achiever, a stagehand which sees her transform her fellow students behind the curtain. Vee has always lived in Sydney's shadow, her best friend and leading lady of their high school theatre is loved by all and adored by many. It's Sydney's onstage leading man in which Vee has developed an interest but he sees her as little more than a juvenile. Insecure and anguished, Vee completes her application for Nerve, an online sensation which sees thrill seekers compete for cash and prizes, often with dire consequences.

I found it difficult to invest in Vee's character, she didn't feel genuine and as the game of Nerve progressed, she was conquered by greed and allowed herself to be manipulated. The romance was chaotic. Vee was interested in best friend Sydney's leading man but it soon becomes apparent that he has feelings for Sydney so naturally Vee believes that Sydney has betrayed her. Fellow stagehand Tommy is interested in Vee, but Vee then turns her attention to her Nerve game partner Ian, who's attractive but without substance. 

The enticement of Nerve is the game itself.

Contestants being pursed by a faceless organisation to entice them with lavish prizes and the lure of becoming minor celebrities. The more popular participants become, their lives belong to the faceless organisers. I'm still not entirely sure why the game existed. Profit from paid Watcher subscriptions? To humiliate and manipulate participants? Monetary gain from sponsorships? Who are they? Apart from two game hosts in the final rounds, the reader never learns who the Nerve organisers are, how the game begun or how they are not held responsible for what can be seen as torture entertainment of teens. The prologue is confusing, it mentions a young woman named Abigail, who is a former contestant on Nerve but plays no part within the storyline and the open ending posed more questions than answers.

Although entertaining, Nerve felt incomplete, lacked character development and world building. The overall storyline was wildly captivating but sadly a little too ambitious for so few pages.

31 comments

  1. This is reminding me of The Spy Kids and The Hunger Games plus the cover is so cool! 😍
    Haniya
    booknauthors.blogspot.com

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    1. It's a strange mixture and reminds me of Panic by Lauren Oliver. I love the premise and the film looks pretty good. The book was a little shallow on the details though.

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  2. Reading the synopsis made me think this is not my type of book then reading your review confirms that. Thanks for the review :)

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    1. It's highly entertaining Hana, just lacking in character development and world building. Having said that though, it was impossible to put down!

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  3. Sorry you didn't really enjoy this one. I am really curious about the movie. It seems like a story that might be better suited for the big screen, you know?

    -Lauren

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    1. It really does Lauren, completely agree. I think the storyline would be more engaging to see the NERVE contest, as the book lacks that world building and descriptive.

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  4. I'd never heard of this story until I saw a preview for the movie. I wondered whether I should check the book out (as generally the books always better). So glad you reviewed it, I've got a heads up now :-) I'll save my dollars for something else.

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    1. I can't imagine that that's the case here unfortunately, the film looks like it's translated much better in the adaptation. The book lacks world building and character development, but looking forward to seeing it when it comes out on Blu Ray.

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  5. Oh no, I'm sad you didn't enjoy this one very much! I know my sister said she really enjoyed the movie, so I was going to try to read the book...might hold off on that and just watch the movie instead, I reckon!

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    1. I'm looking forward to seeing the film too, even though the book didn't work for me. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it Geraldine.

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  6. I haven't heard of this, but after reading your review I'm not really in much of a rush to give it a try either. :( It sounds entertaining, but it's unfortunate it isn't quite as complex and well-developed as you would have liked. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review Kelly! <3

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    1. My thoughts exactly Zoe. I was enthralled though, but expected a bit more. For all it lacked, I'm surprised how entertaining it was.

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  7. The movie sure looks and feels different from the book but i don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, it doesn't scream "read me. Lol.

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    1. The movie looks quite good in comparison Joy. I think with the lack of world building, the adaptation would be much more imaginative. Looking forward to seeing it.

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  8. I've been seeing this book around but hadn't realised a movie was about to be released. The premise sounds intriguing but I'm not sure it's my kind of book... And it sounds a bit disappointing.

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    1. I actually didn't realise it was a book first until I found it in my letterbox actually. It was entertaining, but disappointing at the same time. It needed more character development as they felt awfully one dimensional.

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  9. The blurb is so interesting. I hate it when there is no character development or environment build up. It reallly messes up the read

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    1. It does doesn't it Resh. Although I found it lacking, it was still so entertaining. It's not too bad for a rainy day.

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  10. Well, now I don't feel all that bad for not wanting to read it before watching the movie :D

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    1. I'm really looking forward to seeing it too actually, I think I'll appreciate it much more as we'll be able to see the world that lacked description.

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  11. I read this when it first came out and I'm pretty sure I liked it but obviously it wasn't memorable. The movie sounded silly, which means the book probably was too :)

    Nereyda│ Nick & Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist

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    1. I did actually enjoy it too strangely. It was entertaining, but too light on details and character development to really invest in. Are you planning on seeing the adaptation?

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  12. Aw, I have heard that this wasn't great, and I am sorry you found that to be the case too. I have also heard that the movie was better than the book (which, it sounds like it almost has to be haha) so maybe I will give it a shot and bypass the book altogether. The world building (or lack thereof) would drive me nuts, especially in a book where I think it is extra important! Great review, sorry it didn't work out so well for you!

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    1. I'm really looking forward to seeing it too Shannon, just from the previews alone it looks as though it translates much more fluently into the adaption. When you've got a lack of descriptive world building, I think the movie would help visually. I'm still glad I read it and fingers crossed the movie is as great as it looks.

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  13. I've been socurious about this one! Do you think the movie might do better in some respects with the problems you saw in the book?

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    1. I truly believe so Verushka. I think it needs that visual to help fill in for the lack of descriptive world building and character likeability too.

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  14. The game sounds interesting but the romantic aspect frustrating.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. The romance wasn't great Karen sadly, but the mystery and adventure surrounding the game more than made up for it. It just needed that little bit more from an okay read into a great one.

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  15. There's definitely an interesting concept here but it kind of sounds a bit chaotic and ill developed? I think it would probably be better as a movie. Although it kind of reminds us for our bid for more popularity on social media, maybe it's something to do with that?

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    1. It really does doesn't it. I think it's also the lure of greed, having cash and prizes dangled in front of the contestants just lures them further into the game. I'm really looking forward to the film, I think you need that visual that was missing throughout the book.

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  16. I did not know that Nerve was an adaptation! I watched Nerve because DAVE FRANCO, babe. IT'S DAVE FRANCO! <3 Anyway, since I did not know that Nerve was adapted, I have to say that, I did not expect that from the book, the movie was good for me, I was expecting the same way for the book, and it's clear it's a meh. Thank you for your review, Kelly! :*

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