Book Nerds Across America

Still Point is the third and final book in the Awaken trilogy.  It is about a futuristic society in which technology has taken over.  There is very little face to face interaction and just about everything is done through a computer.  The grass and trees are plastic, dating is done exclusively online, and everything you do is monitored.  Maddie and her friends, who are referred to as the Digital School Dropouts, have been fighting to unplug society and bring back face to face schools.

There is a new character introduced in this book, which definitely adds a twist to the story line.  Jax was intercepted by Justin and his team of dropouts when he was about to get arrested for fighting the digital system.  Since then, he has been helping the cause in a more behind the scenes fashion.  Maddie met him during an online museum tour when she was still in Digital School and decides to contact him to see if he will help their cause.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, but he becomes an integral part of the story.  He teaches Maddie that there is a Middle Ground (Hint Hint...that is the name of the second book in the series) and she doesn't have to be such an extremest.  We can use technology as a tool, but we don't need to rely on it for everything.

This series should be considered required reading for most of the younger population.  I'm just as guilty as the next person when it comes to constantly checking messages on my phone and tweeting friends hundreds of miles away while ignoring the people sitting in the same room with me.  This series not only brings to light an escalating problem in our society, but really encourages readers to evaluate their own behavior.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to limit the amount of time I spend online outside of work.  I really don't need to check my Facebook and Twitter accounts countless times a day.  Katie teaches us that we need to focus on the now and live in the moment or life will simply pass us by.

I would like to thank Katie and her publisher for providing an ARC of Still Point.  I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would highly recommend it to all of our followers who read YA.