Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Reading Time
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Highly Recommended
      • CBCA Short Listed
      • Early Childhood Books
      • Younger Readers
      • Intermediate Readers
      • Older Readers
      • ANZAC books
      • Great Read Alouds
      • Information Books
      • LGBTQIA+
      • Picture Books
      • Professional Development
    • Interviews
    • Suggestions
    • News
    • Meet The Review Team
    • Contact Us
    Reading Time
    You are at:Home»Reviews»Older Readers»Hacked

    Hacked

    0
    By Admin on June 22, 2015 Older Readers

    Tracy Alexander,  Hacked. Scholastic,  1 April 2015. 288pp. $16.99 (pbk)  ISBN 978 176015 2895

    Hacked

     

    Hacked is a really griping and topical novel, one in which you become really involved with the main character, Dan. He’s an exceptionally gifted boy, who is misdiagnosed as ADHD and put on medication for some years. His grandmother, however, sums it up by saying there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s simply too clever for his own good. Dan is obsessed with computers and is a real ‘cyber-geek’. He finds hacking really easy and starts by adding some online credit to his girlfriend’s mobile phone. Things develop from there – develop and start to unravel – when he strikes up an online relationship with someone called Angel. Who is Angel? Dan doesn’t know (and neither do we) and there is a salutary lesson here for anyone making ‘friends’ with an unknown person on the internet.

    Things go really wrong for Dan when he is challenged as to whether or not he could hack into a military site. When he does, a drone goes missing. Is it really his fault? And if so, how can he stop the progress of this potentially deadly weapon? Once the US government becomes involved, Dan is finally well out of his depth as is his family. Dan learns about such things as extradition orders. Just because he’s extremely bright, doesn’t mean Dan is worldly-wise and his naivety about the consequences of certain on-line actions is partly what gets him into such trouble. He certainly didn’t mean to become a cyber-terrorist, but that is a position that is difficult to defend in law.

    Dan is rather isolated, and his parents, although quite loving, do not really know what he is doing. They don’t understand the depth of his involvement in all things ‘cyber’ and are utterly shocked when forced to confront this. Their support for Dan through his legal ordeal is, however, absolute. The characters are all convincing and Dan’s little sister is a delightful and quirky commentator on the action. The questioning Dan endures is terrifying, with suitably intimidating interrogators. The questioners find it impossible to believe that for Dan, the challenge was an intellectual one, to see if he could rise to the cyber task Angel set him and that for him the enjoyment could come from doing something just because he could.

    The book is a first-person narrative which allows us to become directly involved in Dan’s emotional rollercoaster. The way he feels he is losing control of his life – as indeed he is, is moving. The book is full of suspense. There are times when one, as a reader and therefore an implied onlooker, feel like calling out to him ‘don’t do it!’ It can only end badly.’ The book is fast paced and utterly convincing.

    As is appropriate for a book on technology, this is also available as an ebook.

    reviewed by Margot Hillel

    • Read what reviewer Pam Harvey said about Hacked
    Computer Hacking Cyber terrorism Deceit Digital Technology family isolation Mystery Sci-Fi Suspense Technology

    Related Posts

    The Bravest Word

    The Ghost Locket

    The Ghost Locket

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • Themes
    • Curriculum
    Action adventure Airplanes Alphabet Anxiety autism Bullying CBCA Awards Coming of age Dystopian emotions family fantasy friendship grief Historical humour magic Mystery Post apocalyptic Readers Cup reluctant readers school Sci-Fi series of books siblings Sport Starting school Teacher Notes
    ANZAC Australian animals Australian history Biography Culture & Diversity Disabilities First Nations Geography health Humanities mental health Poetry Reconciliation resilience Science STEM Stolen Generation sustainability Wordless books



    Recent Comments
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Emily Flint on Walk of the Whales
    Recent Posts
    • The Bravest Word
    • The Ghost Locket
    • The Ghost Locket
    • Enough Love?
    • Wonderful Shoes
    Recent Comments
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Emily Flint on Walk of the Whales
    © Copyright 2021 The Children’s Book Council of Australia - All rights reserved

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Posting....