LitPick Review
Ash Tennant's life is going nowhere fast; after his dad departs for New York, Ash's abusive, druggie mother, Rhonda, hauls him off to Bristol, away from his friends, school, and grandmother. Soon after enrolling in his new school, Ash becomes the favorite target of Lee and Lucas Jessop, a dynamic duo of beatings and torment. But when Ash signs up for the Facebook-supported game "Avenger," a mysterious spirit dubbed "Big Brother" begins slaughtering his enemies, one by one.
Before long, Ash, alarmed at the growing body count, wants to sever ties with Big Brother. Big Brother, however, has other ideas.
Opinion:
To Morait's credit, Big Brother excels as entertainment; this novel's whirlwind pace borders on frantic, and its 167 pages all but burst with plot points. But, as a piece of literature, Big Brother falls flat. Though Ash's willingness to remain with Rhonda, despite her abusive ways, certainly merits our admiration, the total nonchalance with which he slaughters his enemies does not. Additionally, every time Ash appears to undergo some sort of character development, he immediately reverts back to his old, gore-crazed ways. Despite the book's enthralling, cutthroat pace, Big Brother's seriously spotty grammar definitely hindered the flow of my reading. Although Big Brother flaunts an ingenious ending plot twist, Morait tries to layer a second plot twist on top of that, propelling the whole ending into randomness and implausibility. Yet, in spite of all its faults, Big Brother evidences Morait's talent as a writer— with some intensive revision, Big Brother could wow readers with its brisk pacing and eerie plot.
