The Glare

May 15, 2020
Teens discover a computer game said to be deadly. When Hedda's mother needs to visit a sick friend, Hedda gets to leave the technology-free desert ranch she's been sequestered at since she was 6 to stay with her tech-developer father in California. Based on Hedda's neurological episodes which prompted the desert move, her mother's convinced that "the Glare," Hedda's childhood nickname for technology, is addictive and dangerous. Plagued by strange nightmares and some missing memories, Hedda wants to go to a real school and be a regular teen, and so she takes advantage of the temporary move to give technology another try. But when she finds a mysterious message written by her child-self, she ends up on the Dark Web encountering a game called the Glare. By the time she learns the creepypasta viral legend about it (if you die 13 times on the unbeatable 13th level, you die for real), it's already too late--and worse, it's gotten out to her fledgling circle of friends. The psychological manipulations mirror augmented reality games, and the theories behind the game are built on too-real conditioning techniques used by ads, games, and social media. The teens struggle to tell what's real, what can hurt (or kill) them, and if they can escape. The expertly balanced reality-blurring storyline and strategic technology depictions seed psychological scares that will linger long after reading. Side characters' names signal ethnic diversity. A chilling way to turn screen time into scream time. (Horror/science fiction. 12-adult)

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June 1, 2020

Gr 7-10-Hedda lives a technology-free life with her mother on their bucolic Arizona farm, sequestered from what she calls the "Glare" of the ubiquitous, omnipresent universe of cell phones, computers, tablets, and other screens. An extended trip to stay with her estranged father's family in Silicon Valley rips her world apart in ways she could never imagine. Deadly secrets are revealed, plunging Hedda into a mystery that will reveal staggering truths from her past. Ambitious in scope, this dark novel takes on a range of topics and themes: adolescent coming-of-age, techno-dystopia, and a little romance thrown in for good measure. At first this thematic range feels unfocused, but Harrison fully engages readers by the last 100 pages or so, locking on to the critical mystery which is resolved in an extraordinarily compelling manner. VERDICT This is a novel with topical appeal for mystery collections; patient readers will be rewarded by the fantastic final act.-Ted McCoy, Austin P.L., Austin, TX

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Something scary happened to Hedda when she was six, something she hid deep in her memory. It was so traumatic that her mom moved them to a ranch in Arizona, away from the heavy prevalence of the Glare (cell phones, tablets, anything with a screen). Ten years later, Hedda returns to her dad's in California, reacquainting herself with the technology her mother warns can be deceptively persuasive. As Hedda settles into life with her old friends, the past resurfaces: the terrible thing her babysitter did and what the Glare really is?a game on the dark web that kills you in real life if you die 13 times on level 13. When her friends start ticking off one by one, Hedda comes face-to-face with her buried demons and discovers a new one lurking near. Harrison (The Killer in Me, 2016) will thoroughly scare readers in this eerie tale of playing people's fears against them with the power of suggestion. The first chapters, propelled by Hedda's mysterious past, are immediately transfixing; they're followed by the details of the ominous creatures in the Glare and heightened stakes at the finale as more people fall prey to the game. Harrison's ability to lead suspicions astray, her spine-chilling descriptions, and a main character with a distinct arc make for a worthwhile read for lovers of horror and beyond.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)