Das Spiel Ist Aus, Wenn Wir Es Sagen (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Nerve tells the story of Vee, a girl who, used to being in her best friend's shadow, finally tries to emerge and make herself known. She does so by playing NERVE, an online game of dares. She gets partnered with Ian, the nicest guy in this book. The dares start off relatively small but get increasingly dangerous and personal as the game progresses.I really like a lot of the ideas brought up in this book, since they're really relative to society today. People rely on technology more and more and this book shows how what you post on the internet can be used in order for people to find out a lot about you. This book also shows how sometimes, when we see things on TV, we don't get the full impact of what we are seeing. This is shown through how people in the book enjoy watching NERVE contestants and do not even process the fact that the contestants are in danger. Also, the book brings up the disturbing fact that people often ENJOY watching others in difficult situations. As Vee says on page 186 "Even though I feel bad for Daniella, part of me is curious about how the call will play out. God, what's wrong with me?"There were definitely some aspects that I did not like about this book. For instance, some of the characters and their actions seemed really unrealistic and exaggerated. Micki, for example. I get that she was angry and violent but she seemed almost too hostile and volatile for it to be realistic. Also, her use of the word "cupcake" to refer to Jen just seemed really out-of-character for such an aggressive character.Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. Read through the whole thing without putting it down. Thought the concept was very interesting. GUIZE. GUIZE. This was so good.I want to start with the cover. I know we’re supposed to reserve our judgment for covers until we’ve gotten to the meat of a book, but holy effin crap. You think that image up there is intense? The real live in-person cover has a linear RAINBOW holo on it. It’s freaking gorgeous and even if I didn’t enjoy the story, I’d want my own copy to hold and sit on my shelves and love.But the fact is that NERVE absolutely lived up to my expectations. Not only the standard set by the pretty, but also my own standards regarding the suspense, tension, and “un-putdownability.” The story starts quickly enough and as soon as Vee took her first dare, I was hooked. On the edge of my seat, biting my nails hooked.Vee was a fantastic protagonist. In the early stages of the book, I had some character issues, though. It seemed to me that Vee was stuck in that cycle perpetuated by many YA authors, of hating her best friends. We’ve all seen the trope before: the heroine is ugly and twisted with jealousy of her so-called friend, the friend is uber-bitch-queen, and we’re all left wondering why they’re pretending to be friends in the first place. I was really angry at NERVE for incorporating this woman on woman hateful stereotype. But the growth of character Vee experiences is beyond exponential, veers into tangible, and is so evident that it made me love her even more. Vee is not without faults, but you can tell that she is compassionate and thoughtful.Syd, Vee’s best friend who I was sure I was going to hate, grew on me as well. At first, because of Vee venomous attitude, I had painted Syd in that same unflattering light of stereotypical mean girl. She is pretty, and talented, and steals the show – quite literally. But beneath the veneer of queen bee is a truly loyal and loving friend. She sacrifices a great deal to stand by Vee no matter what. It warmed my heart to see a real friendship like this in a YA book, where so many YA relationships are more like frienemies than anything else.The other side characters, namely Tommy and Ian, are wonderfully drawn, too. They each have their own motivations to join in on the daring game, Nerve. It was refreshing to experience such deep characters with rich stories of their own.My favorite aspect of NERVE was the paranoia and tension. With the limited perspective of first-person, we only know what Vee knows (and even then, not always. Vee has her own secrets she’s hiding.) We are constantly second-guessing each revelation, and along with Vee, I had no idea what was real, what was manufactured, and who I could trust. NERVE really did have me guessing the whole way through.NERVE, while mysterious and tense and nerve-wracking, is also host to loveable characters, and heart-warming friendships. With an open ending, there is room for a sequel, but it is also tied up well enough to be left alone. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire ride, and I highly recommend this book to… everyone. Those who love action, those who love suspense, those who want their characters to be like close friends. NERVE has something for everyone.
What do You think about Das Spiel Ist Aus, Wenn Wir Es Sagen (2013)?
Fantastic! What a thrill ride. I love the characters, flawed but so authentically teen.
—Tristen
3.5 starsInteresting premise, very fast paced. A little irritated with the ending...
—emc10755
Oh, what a great book! Interesting, intriguing, really, really good! Loved it!
—Bia
Kinda sounds like a YA version of The Running Man.
—AJ84
