Risk by Fleur Ferris

Title: Risk
Author: Fleur Ferris
Publisher: Random House Australia
Date of Publication: July 1st 2015
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

Blurb: 

Taylor and Sierra have been best friends for their whole lives. But Taylor's fed up. Why does Sierra always get what – and who – she wants? From kissing Taylor's crush to stealing the guy they both met online for herself, Sierra doesn't seem to notice when she hurts her friends.

So when Sierra says Jacob Jones is the one and asks her friends to cover for her while she goes to meet him for the first time, Taylor rolls her eyes.

But Sierra doesn't come back when she said she would.

One day. Two days. Three . . .

What if Taylor's worrying for nothing? What if Sierra's just being Sierra, forgetting about everyone else to spend time with her new guy?

When Taylor finally tells Sierra's mum that her daughter is missing, Taylor and her friends are thrown into a dark world they never even knew existed.

Can Taylor find Sierra's abductor in time? Or should she be looking for a killer? 

Review:

I'm going to say this straight up - everyone needs to read this book. Whether you're a teenager, a parent, or a teacher, you need to get your hands on this book. It is so important that stories like these are heard and that parents and young people have an understanding of what's possible on the internet, and how to protect yourself from it.

Sierra is a bit of a wild child, and so it's no surprise to her friends when she runs off to the city to meet a guy she has fallen for on the internet, even if she's been chatting to him for only a week. It's infuriating, but still not a huge shock, when she doesn't come home when she says she will. She's done it before, and used her friends as an excuse, so some of them aren't overly concerned about her whereabouts. But when she hasn't come home by Sunday, everyone is worried, and Taylor knows that she has to tell Sierra's mum what's going on. 

In the aftermath of Sierra's disappearance, Taylor starts to look at how easy it is to create an anonymous persona online, and what exactly can be done to protect your anonymity. Obsessed with the idea of finding Jacob Jones and Sierra, she's shocked at what she finds. Taylor starts a blog to warn other young people about the possible dangers of meeting people online

Apart from being a really compelling story that's brilliantly told, Risk impressed me by conveying a message without being preachy at all. There is absolutely no victim blaming here, or where it does exist, it's shot down quite convincingly. Sierra did nothing more than many of us have done - she connected with someone on the internet and met up with them. The difference was the cost.

It's obvious that Fleur Ferris is writing from a position of authority on this topic, she knows her subject matter inside out, but at no point was the writing patronising or condescending.

This is one of my top reads for the year, and I can't give it enough hearts. Go, preorder it now so that you can read it as soon as it's out. It's that good.