I usually don't post spoilers on my reviews because, well, i hate spoilers. BUT OMG. DEATH BY POTTERY WHEEL? MOLLY THE MAULER? Just some of the gruesomely AWESOME THINGS you will find in #Murdertrending.

This is a fantastic murder mystery (heavy on the murder), set in the near future where anyone who has been sent to Alcatraz 2.0 is fair game to the serial killers there. They mete out justice in any way they see fit - all of them with strange and wonderful motifs. and of course, it's all captured on camera for the viewers of the Postman app to watch and rate!

It was so much fun to read this book. it's heavy on the snark -(which is always a good thing in my book), and while it's definitely full of horrific horrors and ghastly deeds -- you can't help but laugh your way through this book. it's one of the best books i've ever read. i hope that the ending means that there will be another.

In the near future, the DOJ has outsourced capital punishment to a private institution coined Alcatraz 2.0, where a team of executioners orchestrate elaborate deaths for the prisoners. Intriguing, right? But what if we added a social media live stream option, so that people from around the world can WATCH these convicted killers are executed? That is exactly the premise of #MurderTrending.
Despite some of the more gruesome moments, the tone remains humorous throughout. The intensifying pace is driven by the twists and turns of the story. It ha been a while since I read something that grabbed me this hard from the beginning and kept me racing through until the final sentence. Lovers of the Hunger Games will find it highly satisfying.

This book is a cross between Hunger Games and reality TV - so disturbing and clever. It's a bit violent in places, but the premise of the book requires it.

In this alternate future, convicted criminals are sent to an island called Alcatraz 2.0, which doubles as a reality show. Criminals face serial killers, who create elaborate killing scenes, which Americans can watch from an app on their smartphones. When Dee is unjustly convicted of killing her stepsister, she decides to fight for survival instead of just giving up. She wants to find the true killer of her stepsister and get justice for the right people. However, she must first stay alive on the island to get the proper information uncovered. Dee will use her experience from being kidnapped when she was young, by a deranged serial killer and his daughter, and the new friends she is creating on the island. Everything is recorded and everyone is a potential enemy. As things begin changing for the worse on the island, will Dee be able to survive and get justice?

Okay, let’s move past the highly unbelievable premise and the fact that this feels like a cathartic expression on Trump’s presidency. I was in a constant state of terror throughout this book. Death and horror were around every corner. This felt like the book form of Saw. I know that this will be popular with YA readers, because they are always asking me for scary horror books. This one will keep them coming back for more.

I was really excited to read this book. I've really enjoyed Gretchen McNeil's books, and this one sounded intriguing, I mean, a island holding the worst of the worst, where they are filmed, and killed in pretty gruesome ways, yeah, that's different and interesting! And I really enjoyed how it was executed!

The idea that someone innocent would be sent to this island, that's a bit scary! I mean, being in prison while innocent, that sounds horrible. But on this island, being recorded, with betting and and the world watching, yeah, even worse!

Dee was a really great character! Well, all of them were, with their quirks, given that they'd all landed on this island/show. Dee had a past with secrets, and wasn't going to take this standing down. Her tenacity and the social media of people talking about what was going on where some of my favourite parts of this book!

I really enjoyed that ending! It was tricky, and clever, using framing and focus like in filming to good uses and keep us readers guessing until the end! Plus, there were some pretty creative threats posed by the bad guys, and survival techniques!

This book was really awesome, and I can't wait to see how the next book is going to play out!

This book reminded me a lot of a Black Mirror episode! It was very interesting and brought up a lot questions on crime, murder, and morality.

Welcome to the near future where crime does pay, well it pays the betters, the ones betting on how long each criminal can stay alive on the new Alcatraz. See it has now become a App (The Postman) where citizens can watch the criminals get hunted down and killed by special serial killers for their crimes than, make comments like on twitter. But what happens when they send a bunch of teens to Alcatraz 2.0 that aren't ready to die?
This was a fun and exciting book. There was always plenty of action and suspense but the eclectic group of characters (including the group of serial killers) really pulled this book together. A futuristic breakfast club where death is the endgame not just detention. This will be a book that will be liked by many for its strong characters that cross all barriers as well as the social media aspect and that some parts of this book are just funny.



The review will go live on my blog on Aug 7th

I recently (last night) finished reading #MurderTrending. I got this book as an ebook ARC recently and was super interested to give it a go. I started reading this and I was interested pretty quickly. I stopped for the night about 50 pages in only because it was after one a.m.. The next day I picked right back up and finished within the next two days. It was a wild ride! If you liked the anime Dead Man Wonderland, this is definitely the book for you.

SPOILERS AHEAD**Since this was an ARC I will be limiting how many spoilers there are so you are able to fully enjoy this book when it comes out.

This book takes place mostly on Alcatraz but it's not the one we currently know. The world is a little different here. Alcatraz is a prison of sorts again, the justice system now sends convicted criminals (not all of them) to the island to be killed by a hired killer (someone hired by the Postman). The Postman is running the island and has his hired killers, kill certain inmates at certain times. However, the catch to all of this is, that this is all televised and put up online. Everyone watches these kills, they follow certain inmates and killers, and even subscribe to certain live feeds. Our main character Dee is convicted of killing her stepsister and sent to the island at the start of the book. On the island, the inmates are expected to work their assigned jobs, wear the clothes left for them by the Postman, and live in their home on the island until they are killed.

However, our main character Dee has a troubled past and she knows she did not kill her stepsister so she has to find a way to survive. To prove she is innocent. I will say that I truly enjoyed the overall story and idea. I loved the character that was given to Dee when she was put on the island and how each of the killers had such a unique personality. No one killer was the same and they all had an interesting story to them. However, I feel like the situation that took place at the end of the book put me off of the story a little. I do not want to give away what happened but I will say that I thought one thing and then the author changed this opinion twice. I love being surprised but this time it felt a little off. Additionally, the last line, I wanted to be more satisfying. However, overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved Dee, I loved her backstory and the characters surrounding her. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves an interesting thrill or likes Deadman Wonderland! This book comes out in August and I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this book!!!

It had the right amount of suspense and intrigue to keep me reading, I finished it in a day. One of the cooler things about it, is that the narration wasn't all knowing - there were things happening that we didn't know about, including things that the main character kept from the audience, which really upped the suspense factor.

Interspersed throughout the text was periodic social media posts that were supposedly made by people living in America who were watching the murders on TV and commenting on them live. I thought this was a really cool way to make it apparent how much of an impact they were having on society as a whole. (although the formatting of the texts was odd and difficult, I imagine this will be corrected in the printed text).

Overall this was an excellent book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in murder mysteries / suspense books.

This review will appear on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/ on July 11, 2018.

Dee Guerrera is innocent of killing her step-sister, but this doesn’t stop her from being convicted of first-degree murder and sent to the country’s top prison – Alcatraz 2.0.  However, Dee doesn't to spend the rest of her life trapped in a tiny cell. Instead, she becomes one of many stars of a sick reality TV show. Everyday she goes to work at an ice cream parlour on the island called “I Scream” and returns home to her house in the barracks.  But this isn’t an idyllic existence.  She—along with all the other convicted criminals—are always in danger. Because on Alcatraz 2.0, there are serial killers who hunt down the prisoners, and the killings are live-streamed for the millions of fans watching from the luxury of their homes.

I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting.  It is a fun, campy, thrilling read with lots of relevant references to pop culture.  However, there aren’t any pop culture references that would date the book. McNeil limits herself to mentions of things like Disney princesses, and classic movies like Rambo and Die Hard. It’s definitely a good idea to stick to the classics, because if you focus too much on a movie that’s a passing fad, the book will lose its relevance in a few years.

#Murdertrending reminds me a lot of The Hunger Games, but it’s a lot less emotionally taxing.  While I loved those books, they took themselves very seriously and Suzanne Collins was absolutely relentless in her attempts (successful attempts, I might add) to make me bawl my eyes out.  This is a much more “fun” approach to the reality-TV show where teenagers are hunted down and killed. There’s quite a bit of humour (a lot of it black, but not all of it), but the book isn’t without its intensity.  McNeil makes us care for characters before she does what she will to them.

Some of the complaints about this book are that it’s far-fetched.  A former reality star turned president is the cause of what society has turned into! How far-fetched! America would never elect a former reality TV—never mind.  All joking aside, the story isn’t too inconceivable, and it definitely holds a mirror up to what society is becoming, which adds a hint of unsettling-ness to an otherwise fun read.

As I just mentioned, the novel’s concept and many of the elements introduced throughout the story are a commentary on current society.  For example, there are a few times in the book where the readers are treated to the comment feeds of the viewers who are watching this reality TV show.  Viewers have become apathetic towards the pain of others.  These are “criminals” in Alcatraz 2.0, so they apparently deserve to be serial killed.  (Insert exaggerated eye roll here).  There’s a lot of #fakenews thrown around, conspiracy theorists who question everything, and this TV show has amassed an obsessed and decidedly-creepy fandom.  At one point the audience is fangirling over a character’s outfit when she’s fighting for her life.  McNeil is definitely making a statement here!

While the ridiculousness fit with the satire quite nicely, I did find that it got a little too far-fetched for me towards the end. The ways that the protagonist outsmarts the bad guys are very implausible. Very. I mean, maybe one or two villains can be stupid and gullible, but they all shouldn’t be.  These twists were still enjoyable, but I did groan a few times.

This satire is extended to the characterization of the protagonists of the novel.  Dee Guerrera meets several other prisoners her age when she’s first imprisoned on Alcatraz 2.0.  At first, they’re all two dimensional people – the jock, the cheerleader, the nerd.  But it’s quickly revealed that they’re voluntarily playing the role that they were assigned by the “Postman”, the producer of this widely-popular reality show.  I loved the characters and the directions that McNeil chose to go with them.  They’re quite diverse in every way, and I think that any teenager will have a hard time reading this book and not relating to at least one of these criminals.

All in all, I recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a fun summer read—so long as they aren’t afraid of a little (okay maybe a lot of) gore.

*3.5 stars
#MurderTrending had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. The idea of Alcatraz 2.0 itself is rather quite creepy. An island where convicted felons go to live before they die sounds innocent enough until you add in the fact that the island is like a giant reality TV show, everybody watches your every move, and there are a bunch of serial killers who, well, want to kill you. I really liked how texts/ comments from the live streams were included as well as profiles. They helped to give life to the story and made it seem like you were reading the comments in real life. The comments also added extra information to the story that would have been hard to include without it.

There are about 7 killers on the islands. All have their own trademark and their own following on the Postman app. I think my favorite killer would be Gucci Hangman. He constructs a “designer noose... expertly crafted to match her complexion and outfit and the latest trends from New York Fashion Week”. Yes, I shouldn’t like these characters, but there is a certain appreciation that I have for the elaborate setups and thought that goes into each killing.

The other characters were okay. They all had their own personalities, but the Postman gave them roles (shown through their clothing) which made them (purposely) have very cliché personalities. The characters, while an effort was made to make them distinct, really just blended together. I am able to remember parts of a person, but not everything. The only character, besides Dee that I really remember is Mara. She is just this super analytical person who was able to use screenshots from the app to figure out who each killer was off the island. That information really proves useful!

The backstory felt a bit flat, unbelievable, and too coincidental. That being said, I really enjoyed Dee’s story and how her past is told in snippets. It isn’t described as a flashback chapter, as it is typically shown, but through flashbacks from triggers on the island. Being revealed in the story helped to keep the momentum of the story going, as opposed to stopping, giving a flashback, and then continuing with the story.

The world building was decent. Not a lot needed to be done and explained as #MurderTrending was set in a near future world, with the only main difference being Alcatraz 2.0. However, some parts were weird. For example, what happened to the eighth amendment? That there are to be no cruel and unusual punishments? I mean, it might just be me, but making convicts be televised living their lives and being (often brutally) killed, is very unusual and cruel. A mention is made about this amendment and how a killing (a decapitation) would be violating the amendment. Maybe something was done about the amendment, perhaps the fact that it was government sanctioned made it okay, but it just wasn’t mentioned.
I also wish that there were more descriptions of the island. Snippets of information were given, but I was never able to form a complete image of what it looked like.

As much as I really wanted this book to be wonderfully original and unpredictable, it fell short. I had pretty much figured out who The Postman was early on and basically how the story would end. Some parts were really easy to see through which ruined the suspense for me. One element that really bothered me was that the “you saw us doing this, but what you didn’t see was this, and now look! you just fell into our trap” trick was used. I feel like it’s often like a cop-out. I’m pretty sure that I let out a sigh when the trick was “revealed.”

I also feel the need to mention that there is a lot of gore and a lot of strong language.

Overall, this book was fine. Going in, I knew that I would really like the story. I had higher hopes for the book, as it was very predictable which ruined the suspense. The characters partially blended together but that may be because The Postman pretty much made the people fit into a specific role. That being said, the story was interesting, and I couldn’t put it down. Even though I knew what was going to happen at points, I just needed to see how it was done. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, gory, suspense story!

Yeah, I finished it and I found it interesting, but I don't think it was particularly well-written or plotted. I do, however, believe that my students will read the hell out of this title! I am soooooo gonna purchase it and I feel certain it won't be on the shelf much.

Dee Guerrera wakes up in the middle of a nightmare. She's been sentenced to live out the remainder of her days (which won't be many) on Alcatraz 2.0, a modern reality app where convicted criminals are sent to be hunted by one of many authorized serial killer personalities. With a reality television star elected President of the United States and the Department of Justice sold to the highest bidder, convicted criminals have little hope of surviving until an appeal date. Initially Dee isn't hopeful, but as things seem to go her way, she aims to prove her innocence. On an island of serial killers hunting down convicted criminals, is there anyone Dee can trust or anyone who will believe her?

THOUGHTS: Teens hungry for fast-paced, serial killer fiction will rejoice with this YA title. #MurderTrending is an essential purchase where horror books are requested. Gruesome descriptions of death throughout the novel make this suitable for mature students.

With 'reality' television so prevalent in society, the premise of this book is dark and disturbing - and yet, if you squint hard enough, you could almost see this happening in the not too distant future.  Which is terrifying.

Knowing that the characters could be killed at any moment makes this read even more thrilling, and you may want to remain detached.  Which is a difficult thing to do, because some of these characters are so charming (Ethan).  The cast of executioners is especially entertaining in a twisted way, with each of them having their own style of dress and preferred killing techniques.  Reading the varying opinions of the show in streaming fan discussions presents different theories about what may actually be going on, and the odds of the criminals  staying alive at the end of some chapters is a nice touch.

I struggled a bit with Dee's sudden transformation from a wide-eyed newbie to a hardened badass, but it did offer some rewarding moments at certain points of the story.  

With gruesome scenes, gore, and some language, this isn't a book I'd recommend to the younger YA crowd, but for the older readers, this is a compelling, unique concept that offers several surprises.  

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

#MurderTrending is The Hunger Games for the Trump era.. Timely, fast-paced, and satisfyingly brutal. This will fly of the shelves of most YA collections.

I received an e-galley from the publisher via Netgalley. The views expressed in my review are my own.

#MurderTrending is absolutely full of potential. The concept is absolutely amazing. Everything just needs a bit of fine tuning. The logistics of Alcatraz 2.0 were a bit unbelievable for me and I think that brought down the rating of this book the most for me.

This book starts out right away full of action and it stays like that pretty much the whole book. Maybe a chapter here or there is a tad bit slow, but we needed some character development of course. Dee was a nice, strong character but her personality fell a bit flat for me. The rest of her friends in Alcatraz 2.0 all had plenty of potential but needed a bit more development as well. The different "painiacs" in the book were the most interesting to me and I wish we learned a bit more about them since they seemed to have the most unique and thought out stories out together and weren't used to their full potential in my opinion.

Other than that the story was still entertaining and action packed even if it was very predictable. I would potentially recommend this book to friends as a fun and quick read.

Fun, suspenseful read! Gretchen McNeil has a gift for blending humor with horror. This book kept me guessing, and was just creepy enough to give goosebumps but didn't give me nightmares. Perfect!

I feel like maybeeeee a 4.5, but I need to sit on it for a bit.

I honestly don't even know where to begin discussing this book. It's so intense and gruesome. I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. this morning finishing it because I could not bring myself to put it down! The entire synopsis of this book was extremely intriguing to me from the get go. Capital punishment lawfully being done by government hired assassins on Alcatraz 2.0 while citizens watch the murders take place on a mobile app so the government can profit off of it? Uhhhh.... Unfortunately doesn't sound too "far future" to me. I do love that ultimately this book shows the lack of depth we carry these days when it comes to entertainment and how we'll blindly follow just about anything.

ANYWAYS, on to my actual thoughts. The whole plot idea is amazing to me and I felt that was executed very well. My issues arise with the characters and pacing of the book. The main character really lacked ANY sort of development throughout the story. I would have liked to see Dee struggle a bit more to become the badass she is near the end. That kind of appeared out of no where IMO. The secondary characters I actually really liked and thought they developed nicely. They all attributed to the story in perfect ways and no one felt unnecessary. The pacing also threw me off. The last third I would say of the book felt super rushed and was WAYYYY too over dramatic for me. I actually chuckled at a couple scenes. If those were fixed this would EASILY be a five star read for me. I loved the entire premise of the book, there were just some spots where it fell flat.

I do have a couple things to add that are spoilers so uhh, don't click if you don't want to be spoiled?
[ Is is weird that I sort of wished, when Dee was fighting Molly the Mauler, that she brought up knowing who she really is. I thought that would have been so interesting and the live chat feed would have gone off, but it never came. I also felt like Dee and Gyles relationship was kind of strange. Maybe it's the lack of character development, but I couldn't get into it. It wasn't insta-love and yet I felt like it was rushed, especially near the end. Just me??

This. Book. Is. EVERYTHING! It was unlike anything I’d ever read before. Hilarious and super creepy! Quintessential Gretchen McNeil. A must read!

What a thoroughly gripping book. I had not read the synopsis so I wasn't sure what the story was about, but I could not stop reading it until it was finished. While it seemed like a vague mix of various movies, there were many twist and turns that kept me from wondering what would happen next. Alcatraz is always a good backdrop for a psychothriller. It's a little disturbing, however, having these teenagers facing imminent danger and fighting to the death in some many different ways. While it is fiction, it is a scary reflection of where society may be going in the future if we are not careful, especially with the variety of "reality" shows and "fake" news.