{BLOG TOUR} iFRANKENSTEIN (iMONSTERS) by BEKKA BLACK

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the iFrankenstein Virtual Book Tour. Today I have my review of the book, along with a guest post from author Bekka Black.


Series: iMonsters
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Amazon
Publication Date: 9/16/12
Format: ebook (Kindle)
Source: Received from publicist for review.
 

Frankenstein comes to life for the wired generation.

Following her critically-acclaimed iDrakula, award-winning author Bekka Black breathes life into a modern re-telling of iFrankenstein, using only text messages, web browsers, tweets, and emails.

Homeschooled teenager Victor Frankenstein is determined to write his own ticket to independence: a chatbot to win the prestigious Turing prize and admission to the high tech university of his choice. He codes his creation with a self-extending version of his own online personality and unleashes it upon the internet. But soon he begins to suspect his virtual clone may have developed its own goals, and they are not aligned with Victor’s. The creature has its own plan, fed by a growing desire to win darker and more precious prizes: unfettered power and release from loneliness.

As the creature’s power and sentience grows and its increasingly terrible deeds bleed over from the online world into the real one, Victor must stop his creation before his friends and humanity pay the ultimate price.

Have you ever read a book, finish, and thought "What just happened?" That's what happened when I read iFrankenstein. It's not that I didn't like the story, but I really didn't understand what was going on throughout the first half of the book. I felt as if I had been dropped into the middle of an ongoing story.

Once I got my bearings, I actually got into iFrankenstein. The story is told in a series of texts and emails, a format I happen to enjoy. I will say though, that actual story doesn't include many of the details from the synopsis, so reading that is a must.

I think iFrankenstein would be a good fit for younger readers. It was an interesting, yet bizarre story, with a cool format.


Buy iFrankenstein at Amazon.

Guest Post from author Bekka Black

 

Thanks for having me!

I’d like to talk about happy endings and alternate realities (it’s been that kind of week). No, this is relevant to the novel you invited me to talk about, iFrankenstein, really it is! In the original Frankenstein, everybody dies by the end—Victor Frankenstein, every member of his family, and the creature. The only one left is the captain of a vessel conveniently stranded in the Arctic Ice who tells us the story.

When I wrote iFrankenstein, I thought that might be a little bleak. Maybe a couple of characters would live through it (not telling you who or which ones). Then I had a change of heart and wrote the following prologue. I went back and forth on whether to include it in the book, but decided not to. Here it is. What do you think?

Notes on this document:

Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor Frankenstein, and Henry Clerval all disappeared. To date, all that has been found of them is their cell phones.

Ms. Lavenza and Mr. Frankenstein were last seen on board the cruise ship the HMS Walton in Iceland, while Mr. Clerval was last seen in his bedroom in Palo Alto.

Law enforcement personnel were able to piece together the following accounts from recovered text messages and emails between the principals involved. It is unclear which, if any, of these communications are accurate and truthful, but they can provide context to the events.

This journal has been written to provide physical proof of both their existence and their disappearance. The cyber-world can be manipulated by the savvy, and I have reason to suspect that their foe is very savvy.

Be careful not to read this journal where you might be electronically monitored. You must avoid stores, airports, and other locations with surveillance cameras. Remember too that your own computer may have a web cam and even your cell phone can be used as a monitoring device. Secrecy is key if you don’t wish to fall victim to the most clever cyber-criminal ever discovered, or perhaps, invented.

I hope only that we can find them in time.

Mary Shelley (Investigator, Interpol)

 

Want to learn more about the series?

 

AWARD-WINNING iMONSTERS SERIES CONTINUES WITH FRANKENSTEIN TALE

A new way to tell teen stories, Bekka Black’s series is written in texts, emails and tweets

October 2012 – Bekka Black’s teen iMonsters series continues this Halloween season with a follow up to her multi-award-winning iDracula debut. With iFrankenstein, Black brings yet another classic story back to life using only the language teens speak today through cell phones texts, emails and social media posts.

The paranormal tale – written for the wired generation – follows Victor Frankenstein as he creates a chatbot to win a prestigious contest and admission to the high tech university of his choice. But his virtual clone begins to develop its own goals opposite those of Victor’s. As the monster’s power grows and its increasingly terrible deeds bleed over from the online world into the real one, the homeschooled computer nerd must stop his creation before his friends and humanity pay the ultimate price.

Blood Secrets author Jeannie Holmes calls iFrankstenstein “a modern masterpiece in this retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic.” Black developed the idea for writing cell phone novels as she watched teens texting instead of talking.

“I realized they spent more time reading than my generation—just screens instead of pages,” she said. “I wrote this series to bring books to teens who might not already be reading books, as well as to voracious readers. It was a fascinating experience to tell a story without using the traditional storytelling tools—description and dialogue.”

As a growing number of schools across the country are using e-readers in their classrooms, Black’s series is the perfect tech-friendly learning tool. CSI Librarian raves the book is “a good, fun, and quick read … can’t wait to see what classic Bekka Black will tackle next.”

iFrankenstein appeals to fans of Lauren Myracle’s TTYL, and of course follows in the footsteps of the first in Black’s iMonsters series. iDracula was nominated for the APPY Award for Best Ebook of the Year, won the YALSA award for Best Book App, was listed on the “Top 10 Best YA Horror” by Booklist, included in “Funny Paranormal Readers” with Kirkus, mentioned in Publisher’s Weekly’s “Today’s YA Scene,” and American Library Association’s “Top 10 for 2010.” The book was recommended by School Library Journal and Girl’s Life, and became a Junior Library Guild selection.

The accompanying iPhone app for iDracula was chosen as Best Halloween App by PC Magazine, among others, and made it to No. 1 in Apple’s App Store. Fans can expect the iFrankenstein app this December.

Black is the author of the award-winning Hannah Vogel mystery series. She writes for The Big Thriller and numerous other blogs, and has been featured in The New York Times for a column she wrote on how parenting can make you better at work. She lives in Hawaii with her husband and son.

Website: BekkaBlack.com

 

    @Bekka_Black      Bekka Black