Author: P.D. Quaver
Unplugged is a young adult ebook about what would happen if teenagers had to live without their modern devices and social media. A group of teenagers are sent to partake in "The Natural Path" - a program that aims to help teens addicted to their the internet and their devices run by Dr. Zarkov. However the program turns out to be something more - a kidnapping! Trapped on a remote island without any way to contact their parents or the outside world, the group of teens have to learn to band together to first survive then defeat their kidnappers.
The book is recommend for teens 13 or older. There were a couple (hilarious) of illustrations in the book which usually places a book for a pre-teen or younger audience. Still, I think those in their teens might also enjoy this book for the story.
Instead of partaking in a program that is meant to help them, the teens find themselves part of a kidnapping. They are being held for ransom. However, none of the teens are going to just sit back and let Dr. Zarkov and his crew use them. It is hard for them at first to not be able to use technology but by coming together and building a friendship, they learn to survive and win.
The story has interesting characters each with their own personality who all have to learn to come together if they want to survive. The story not only deals with the issues of teens being on their modern devices too much but also touches on themes of friendship and family. The book does all of this while taking place in a thriller styled life-and-death situation plot. The plot adds a lot of interest and excitement to the story.
Each character has their own problem that they are dealing with which play a role into why they were sent to the island to begin with. By the end of the book, through all the challenges, each teen has grown a lot. Throughout the book you end up cheering for the teens not just to survive the island but to overcome their own problems so it is really nice to see the teens go through a lot of character growth.
Overall, the story was interesting and fast-paced enough once the kidnapping plot got going that I would recommend this book to young teens.
Rating: 5 out of 5
