It’s taken me a while to get around to writing this review, but mostly that’s a time issue…it’s not because of the content. 4 to 16 Characters, by Kelly Hourihan, is not for the weak at heart when it comes to the internet and other electronic communication. It is composed of a lot of emails, texts, and online communication, which can make it difficult to read if you care about that (probably the target teen audience does not, and neither did I…it felt more real because of that). The story is about a teen girl who has retreated from the real world into the online one. She has many different personas that eventually become impossible to juggle, and she ends up having to deal with the real world, much as we all do.
The core story was good and kept my attention; it’s only fault was that hey, teens can be irritating sometimes, and she’s a teen. And the writing could be a difficult adjustment for those who don’t live on the Internet; most teens would have no issues with either of those things.
I reviewed this from an ARC via NetGalley; no money etc. changed hands. The book is due to release in early November.
Kathy Nida 