LitPick Review
NERVE is the game that everyone's playing--the game of truth or dare without truth as a choice. Vee's friends think she isn't the type of person to do that kind of thing, and Vee herself questions her ability too. But when Vee takes a simple dare, she aces it and can't wait to do the next one. Not to mention, somehow NERVE knows what she wants, and all Vee needs to do to get everything she ever wanted is take the dares. Paired with Ian, Vee knows she must not lose NERVE. But what if the game has a dark side to it...and what if by the time Vee and Ian discover that dark side, it's already too late?
Opinion:
The concept of NERVE seemed very appealing to me, but I had many problems with its execution. First of all, the plot is very predictable and unevenly paced. We already know that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to NERVE, and Jeanne Ryan spends too much time hinting at it when we already know. As a result, there’s not much tension or suspense throughout the novel--except when it reaches its climax. I also didn’t enjoy the characters in the novel. Vee is an extremely weak heroine at times and Ian feels like he’s only there for the sake of having a romantic interest in the book. Both don’t undergo any character development throughout the book, which was my biggest disappointment. Lastly, the ending left too many questions unanswered. Jeanne Ryan’s debut had some good moments here and there, but this is not a book I would recommend to anyone.
