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Heartstream
I just wanted to see you. Before the end. A taut psychological thriller about obsession, fame and betrayal, for fans of Black Mirror . Cat is in love. Always the sensible one, she can’t believe that she’s actually dating, not to mention dating a star. But the fandom can’t know. They would eat her alive. And first at the buffet would definitely be her best friend, Evie. Amy uses Heartstream, a social media app that allows others to feel your emotions. She broadcasted every moment of her mother’s degenerative illness, and her grief following her death. It’s the realest, rawest reality TV imaginable. But on the day of Amy’s mother’s funeral, Amy finds a strange woman in her kitchen. She’s rigged herself and the house with explosives – and she’s been waiting to talk to Amy for a long time. Who is she? A crazed fan? What does she want? Amy and Cat are about to discover how far true obsession can go.
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2019
About the author
Tom Pollock
15 books274 followersTom is a long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy, and has failed spectacularly to grow out of his obsession with things that don’t, in the strictest sense of the word, exist. He studied Philosophy and Economics at Edinburgh University. He now lives and works in London helping to build very big ships. The City’s Son is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 242 reviews
November 1, 2019
"Friends don't kill friends.' I say. 'Oh honey,' she says. 'Of course they do.'
Wow! I honestly am blown away. I didn't expect this level of thriller-ness when I picked this up, but I absolutely LOVED IT!
The description makes it seem like a kind of sci-fi futuristic novel. We have two POVs, Cat and Amy.
Amy is a Heartstreamer - she is able to post her feelings online via patches on her head that allow others to feel her emotions. Such an interesting concept - with the internet as it is now, people share so much online, so it's really believable that a piece of tech like this could become available in the near future. Amy uses Heartstream to share her struggles, particularly her mother's battle with cancer, and death (not a spoiler, this happens almost immediately.) After her mother's funeral Amy arrives home to discover a stranger in her house, a bomb vest attached to their chest - they have wanted to meet Amy for a long time. But what do they want? And who are they?
The second POV is Cat's. She is part of a fandom for a band called The Everlasting. They all ship two of the band members - Ryan and Nick, and they are OBSESSED. Seriously these girls were terrifying - I know fandom's can be pretty hardcore, but this was next level. Cat's best friend Evie is one of the worst. She is a powerhouse in the fandom - everyone knows her, she has every form of social media known to humankind, and if you piss her off you will be hacked, and wish you'd never been born. Their lives are 'Rick4eva' (Ryan and Nick). What Cat hasn't told her best friend, and probably never will - is that she is secretly dating Ryan. The lead singer. If the fandom found out they would be out for blood. (Imagine - every girlfriend Justin Bieber has ever had, the amount of abuse they recieved from fans.)
So how do these two characters link? How are they connected? Well, I am not going to tell you, because you NEED to read this book. Just know that I was absolutely SHOOK when all the revelations came out, and there is twist after twist and twist. Honestly, I can't view fandom's in the same light, and this was some seriously DARK parts of human nature.
I was truly gripped. Don't miss out on this one guys, honestly it is so worth it!
**********************************************
Well my nerves are shot to all hell, but damn this was GOOD!!!
December 6, 2022
"People could hurt each other without being monsters. And they could love each other without being saints."
What black mirror nightmare was that??
This is my second Tom Pollock novel. And by now I'm convinced that he's either genius or wicked. Or both. They're not exactly mutually exclusive. Tom is a great storyteller with a distinctive sense for suspense. He knows how to construct a thrilling and breathtaking plot. He doesn't give away too much, but if you read closely you might see where the book is headed.
So what is the book about? It is told from two POVs, Cat's and Amy's. While Cat is secretly dating the super famous lead singer of a legendary boy band, Amy finds herself at the centre of the attention. Heartstream is a social network that gives you a new perspective into a strangers life. When activated, the stream broadcasts your emotions. Followers will experience the same joys, suffer the same pain. It's Amy's way of coping with her mother's disease and eventual death. After the funeral, a stranger turns up in Amy's house. The unknown woman has rigged the house with explosives. Amy cannot escape without blowing up herself and her home. And while Amy tries to find out what it is the stranger wants from her, Cat discovers what it means when everything you hold dearly is turned against you. When rumours about her relationship start to spread, the fandom will do anything to prove she is a liar and a cheat. And somehow, Amy and Cat are connected. But you will have to read this book yourself to find that out.
As I said, it's a pretty intense novel. And frightening too, considering the lengths mere strangers will go to make their voices heard. The rigged house scenario aside, this is a highly realistic and scary outlook on the future of internet culture. Scratch that, it also an exact depiction of character assassination and pack mentality today. When the internet turns on you, there is no escape.
I would be interested in what female readers will think of this book. There is a very (very) detailed description of a mother giving birth, and further scenes that are a little more explicit - no actual sex scenes but still kinda NSFW. Considering we have a male author writing from the POV of two young adult women, I'd love to hear if he does them justice. I feel like this is an important conversation we need to have. Men have written female perspectives for centuries, some with more sensitivity than others. This often went hand in hand with fetishisation, marginalisation, etc., which does not only apply to white people writing POCs, or straight people writing queer characters. All I can say is that he treated Cat and Amy with respect and managed to write two complex female characters. And I hope other readers will share that feeling.
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What black mirror nightmare was that??
This is my second Tom Pollock novel. And by now I'm convinced that he's either genius or wicked. Or both. They're not exactly mutually exclusive. Tom is a great storyteller with a distinctive sense for suspense. He knows how to construct a thrilling and breathtaking plot. He doesn't give away too much, but if you read closely you might see where the book is headed.
So what is the book about? It is told from two POVs, Cat's and Amy's. While Cat is secretly dating the super famous lead singer of a legendary boy band, Amy finds herself at the centre of the attention. Heartstream is a social network that gives you a new perspective into a strangers life. When activated, the stream broadcasts your emotions. Followers will experience the same joys, suffer the same pain. It's Amy's way of coping with her mother's disease and eventual death. After the funeral, a stranger turns up in Amy's house. The unknown woman has rigged the house with explosives. Amy cannot escape without blowing up herself and her home. And while Amy tries to find out what it is the stranger wants from her, Cat discovers what it means when everything you hold dearly is turned against you. When rumours about her relationship start to spread, the fandom will do anything to prove she is a liar and a cheat. And somehow, Amy and Cat are connected. But you will have to read this book yourself to find that out.
As I said, it's a pretty intense novel. And frightening too, considering the lengths mere strangers will go to make their voices heard. The rigged house scenario aside, this is a highly realistic and scary outlook on the future of internet culture. Scratch that, it also an exact depiction of character assassination and pack mentality today. When the internet turns on you, there is no escape.
I would be interested in what female readers will think of this book. There is a very (very) detailed description of a mother giving birth, and further scenes that are a little more explicit - no actual sex scenes but still kinda NSFW. Considering we have a male author writing from the POV of two young adult women, I'd love to hear if he does them justice. I feel like this is an important conversation we need to have. Men have written female perspectives for centuries, some with more sensitivity than others. This often went hand in hand with fetishisation, marginalisation, etc., which does not only apply to white people writing POCs, or straight people writing queer characters. All I can say is that he treated Cat and Amy with respect and managed to write two complex female characters. And I hope other readers will share that feeling.
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September 1, 2021
Me gustó y me encantaron los giros de la trama. En un momento realmente dije “nada de esto tiene sentido” pero bOOM el autor cayó a revelar todos los secretos como tres páginas después y me estalló la cabeza dándome cuenta de que la verdad había estado justo frente a mí todo ese tiempo.
Tengo que admitir que el final me dejó con sentimientos encontrados, pero después de todo es un libro que creo que está pensado especialmente para desestabilizar al lector y hacerle cuestionar cada uno de sus sentimientos y pensamientos, por lo que lo único que puedo decir es que fue logradísimo.
Tengo que admitir que el final me dejó con sentimientos encontrados, pero después de todo es un libro que creo que está pensado especialmente para desestabilizar al lector y hacerle cuestionar cada uno de sus sentimientos y pensamientos, por lo que lo único que puedo decir es que fue logradísimo.
July 12, 2019
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
On the day of her mother’s funeral, Amy is broadcasting her emotions via pads attached to her head. She promised she wouldn’t use the ‘Heartstring’ app but the lure of her social media followers was too much. After upsetting her family she travels home alone in a taxi. Upon entering her house she discovers a woman in her kitchen wearing a bomb vest and she wants to talk.
Teenager Cat is in love with Rick from the most famous band on the planet. They have their own fandom which is made up of mainly young girls who are fanatical about the group. The pair can’t tell anyone that they are dating but Cat’s best friend Evie is the biggest fan of the group and also a computer whizz. With footage emerging of Rick falling and a female voice yelling in the background, how long before Evie works out that that voice belongs to Cat?
Heartstream is a YA book set in the near distant future which focuses on peoples obsessions, especially via social media. Heartstring is an online app which allows users to wear pads on their head so that they can let people feel their emotions and comment on what they are feeling. Amy had millions of fans, some more fanatical than others. The app is like a drug to her and she gets her kicks from knowing how many people are enjoying her emotional feed.
Cat is a young girl who made the mistake of falling in love with someone famous. If the groupies/fans find out that Rick has a girlfriend she will be toast. This group has real fanatics who will go to any extremes to keep the illusion of Rick and his bandmate Nick as gods that can do no wrong. Cat’s life is in danger if her identity is ever revealed.
Polly is the woman wearing the bomb vest in Amy’s house, she has also wired the whole house too. She has been watching and waiting for this moment for a long time and now she needs Amy to listen to her. She also needs to find something that Amy’s mum may have hidden before she died.
The book is told from dual POV and alternative chapters from both Amy and Cat. At first, I was sucked into Amy’s story as you could feel how scared she was with some mad woman in her house planning on blowing herself and Amy up. Cat’s story didn’t really have me feeling anything at the beginning. She was just a young girl in love with a celebrity. However, as her story progressed I realised what it must be like for the partners of celebrities who have crazy over the top fans. I’m sure I will never understand someone who is willing to maim or hurt someone just for being with their idol.
Tom Pollock has one hell of an imagination. As the book began I had worked out that Amy and Cat must have some connection, otherwise this was going to be a book focusing on two different plots. I couldn’t work out how their stories could be interwoven and was flabbergasted when the plot revealed itself. If like me you will not expect it and it will take the book in a whole different direction.
This is one amazing book that had me hooked from the beginning. Both Amy and Cat were likeable characters dealing with their own issues in life and the choices that they made that ended up with them up being in the situation they are now in. This is definitely a must-read book for 2019.
On the day of her mother’s funeral, Amy is broadcasting her emotions via pads attached to her head. She promised she wouldn’t use the ‘Heartstring’ app but the lure of her social media followers was too much. After upsetting her family she travels home alone in a taxi. Upon entering her house she discovers a woman in her kitchen wearing a bomb vest and she wants to talk.
Teenager Cat is in love with Rick from the most famous band on the planet. They have their own fandom which is made up of mainly young girls who are fanatical about the group. The pair can’t tell anyone that they are dating but Cat’s best friend Evie is the biggest fan of the group and also a computer whizz. With footage emerging of Rick falling and a female voice yelling in the background, how long before Evie works out that that voice belongs to Cat?
Heartstream is a YA book set in the near distant future which focuses on peoples obsessions, especially via social media. Heartstring is an online app which allows users to wear pads on their head so that they can let people feel their emotions and comment on what they are feeling. Amy had millions of fans, some more fanatical than others. The app is like a drug to her and she gets her kicks from knowing how many people are enjoying her emotional feed.
Cat is a young girl who made the mistake of falling in love with someone famous. If the groupies/fans find out that Rick has a girlfriend she will be toast. This group has real fanatics who will go to any extremes to keep the illusion of Rick and his bandmate Nick as gods that can do no wrong. Cat’s life is in danger if her identity is ever revealed.
Polly is the woman wearing the bomb vest in Amy’s house, she has also wired the whole house too. She has been watching and waiting for this moment for a long time and now she needs Amy to listen to her. She also needs to find something that Amy’s mum may have hidden before she died.
The book is told from dual POV and alternative chapters from both Amy and Cat. At first, I was sucked into Amy’s story as you could feel how scared she was with some mad woman in her house planning on blowing herself and Amy up. Cat’s story didn’t really have me feeling anything at the beginning. She was just a young girl in love with a celebrity. However, as her story progressed I realised what it must be like for the partners of celebrities who have crazy over the top fans. I’m sure I will never understand someone who is willing to maim or hurt someone just for being with their idol.
Tom Pollock has one hell of an imagination. As the book began I had worked out that Amy and Cat must have some connection, otherwise this was going to be a book focusing on two different plots. I couldn’t work out how their stories could be interwoven and was flabbergasted when the plot revealed itself. If like me you will not expect it and it will take the book in a whole different direction.
This is one amazing book that had me hooked from the beginning. Both Amy and Cat were likeable characters dealing with their own issues in life and the choices that they made that ended up with them up being in the situation they are now in. This is definitely a must-read book for 2019.
May 28, 2021
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Actual Rating: 3.75 Stars
Heartstream is not that known of a book. One of my friends picked it on a whim, loved it and gave it 5 stars and I wanted to know what he was so excited about. I found a copy in the hospital’s bookshop during my first on call and I bought it because I was so stressed and wanted something to distract me. As you can guess, I only read a couple of pages and couldn’t focus. I brought it back home, and it stayed on my shelf for slightly more than a year before I decided to read it this month.
I think Heartstream is one of those books that has a very good synopsis and if you wanna know what the book is about I recommend reading it. In short, in a futuristic world, there is an app called Heartstream which makes people share their emotions with other people using the app, the users have patches on their heads that makes it possible. The story follows Cat who along with her friend Evie, are obsessed with a boys band. On the other side we have Amy, who uses the app and goes back home to find a girl with an explosive vest waiting for her!
It is a YA book and I think it is a very important one for this age category because it discusses many important subjects with a focus on social media, cult culture and obsessions! It is a mixture of genres because it is mainly a thriller (Amy’s part) with contemporary (Cat’s story) and Sci-fi (Because of the app). The writing is easy and very gripping, I read the whole book in 2 days. The author tries to end the chapters with cliffhangers so you always want to read the next chapter which is smart!
The characters are very well written and I think they were teenagers for a good reason although there was a wide spectrum of ages -a very smart choice- for different characters which makes it suitable for older readers too. As expected the characters arcs do come together and it was initially hard for me to guess how, but once a small piece of data came into me, I could put one and one together and analyze what happened and I was very close to guessing everything.
The pacing is fast, there is always something happening and the thriller parts make feel that way. I think there were some tropes used that I saw in YA stories before but as a whole, I don’t recall reading similar books so it is still a refreshing and important book in my opinion.
There were a few things I think could have been made better for instance, the world building is interesting but it leaves place for many questions, why do people stream and how was the world changed by this, what do people think about Heartstream because I can see it as something controversal had it been real! The ending is kind of open and I felt it can surely use an epilogue, just a few pages to wrap things up but it didn’t have that and it felt kind of abrupt. Like the author did not what to do and just decided to stop there!
Summary: I enjoyed Heartstream as it was a wild ride from start to finish. I enjoyed the writing and the characters and I think it has a very important message on the dark side of the internet and social media! I just wanted more from the world-building and the ending. Overall, I still enjoyed it and I would recommend it for fans of Black Mirror which it is marketed as!
“It’s the phone, not the eyes, that’s the window to the soul these days.”
Actual Rating: 3.75 Stars
Heartstream is not that known of a book. One of my friends picked it on a whim, loved it and gave it 5 stars and I wanted to know what he was so excited about. I found a copy in the hospital’s bookshop during my first on call and I bought it because I was so stressed and wanted something to distract me. As you can guess, I only read a couple of pages and couldn’t focus. I brought it back home, and it stayed on my shelf for slightly more than a year before I decided to read it this month.
I think Heartstream is one of those books that has a very good synopsis and if you wanna know what the book is about I recommend reading it. In short, in a futuristic world, there is an app called Heartstream which makes people share their emotions with other people using the app, the users have patches on their heads that makes it possible. The story follows Cat who along with her friend Evie, are obsessed with a boys band. On the other side we have Amy, who uses the app and goes back home to find a girl with an explosive vest waiting for her!
It is a YA book and I think it is a very important one for this age category because it discusses many important subjects with a focus on social media, cult culture and obsessions! It is a mixture of genres because it is mainly a thriller (Amy’s part) with contemporary (Cat’s story) and Sci-fi (Because of the app). The writing is easy and very gripping, I read the whole book in 2 days. The author tries to end the chapters with cliffhangers so you always want to read the next chapter which is smart!
The characters are very well written and I think they were teenagers for a good reason although there was a wide spectrum of ages -a very smart choice- for different characters which makes it suitable for older readers too. As expected the characters arcs do come together and it was initially hard for me to guess how, but once a small piece of data came into me, I could put one and one together and analyze what happened and I was very close to guessing everything.
The pacing is fast, there is always something happening and the thriller parts make feel that way. I think there were some tropes used that I saw in YA stories before but as a whole, I don’t recall reading similar books so it is still a refreshing and important book in my opinion.
There were a few things I think could have been made better for instance, the world building is interesting but it leaves place for many questions, why do people stream and how was the world changed by this, what do people think about Heartstream because I can see it as something controversal had it been real! The ending is kind of open and I felt it can surely use an epilogue, just a few pages to wrap things up but it didn’t have that and it felt kind of abrupt. Like the author did not what to do and just decided to stop there!
“People could hurt each other without being monsters. And they could love each other without being saints.”
Summary: I enjoyed Heartstream as it was a wild ride from start to finish. I enjoyed the writing and the characters and I think it has a very important message on the dark side of the internet and social media! I just wanted more from the world-building and the ending. Overall, I still enjoyed it and I would recommend it for fans of Black Mirror which it is marketed as!
Read
October 7, 2019Review to come, but in the meantime...
This author definitely writes fast-paced, engaging stories, and this had elements of Black Mirror and comments on our addiction to technology, but beneath that it was built on a foundation of fandom, the good, the bad, and the very very ugly.
It was easy to forget this was written by a male author at times, what with the descriptions that accompanied womanly things, and the plethora of female characters were all really well-formed and dynamic. I really hope he brings out more YA, because he's on a serious roll!
This author definitely writes fast-paced, engaging stories, and this had elements of Black Mirror and comments on our addiction to technology, but beneath that it was built on a foundation of fandom, the good, the bad, and the very very ugly.
It was easy to forget this was written by a male author at times, what with the descriptions that accompanied womanly things, and the plethora of female characters were all really well-formed and dynamic. I really hope he brings out more YA, because he's on a serious roll!
June 9, 2020
"He could never bear to disappoint, so he betrayed instead. Of course he became a politician."
wow!! what a book!!
thank you to whoever recommended this to me, i really enjoyed it! Heartstream was intricate, fastpaced, fascinating and has plot twists by the bucket. it was split between two different stories and perspectives, and i loved both characters, for all their issues. i wanted to cry when our characters faced undeserved hardships, and i did have to stop reading the book at one stage because of the hate and anger overwhelming me at how cruel, judgy and vicious people can be. people are horrible, even more so when they're online, where they can hide behind their screens. it's terrifying and horrific, and this book was an accurate example of the monstrous behaviour of some people, people who judge before knowing the full story, or any of the story at all.
Heartstream was like a book version of Black Mirror (amazing show btw), showing the hideous things people will do when they have access to power and technology.
i loved it!
wow!! what a book!!
thank you to whoever recommended this to me, i really enjoyed it! Heartstream was intricate, fastpaced, fascinating and has plot twists by the bucket. it was split between two different stories and perspectives, and i loved both characters, for all their issues. i wanted to cry when our characters faced undeserved hardships, and i did have to stop reading the book at one stage because of the hate and anger overwhelming me at how cruel, judgy and vicious people can be. people are horrible, even more so when they're online, where they can hide behind their screens. it's terrifying and horrific, and this book was an accurate example of the monstrous behaviour of some people, people who judge before knowing the full story, or any of the story at all.
Heartstream was like a book version of Black Mirror (amazing show btw), showing the hideous things people will do when they have access to power and technology.
i loved it!
September 13, 2019
...
Wow.
...
This is for all of the Black Mirror fans out there.
Wow.
...
This is for all of the Black Mirror fans out there.
January 23, 2020
I am so confused. This book was a lot. It is written like a bad fanfiction, but in the best way possible. Over-dramatic, addictive and full of forced plot twists. I did have fun reading it, but especially the last 100 pages just were too much. Also, there was so much wasted potential with Heartstream as an app. The execution of the idea just wasn't the best.
September 7, 2020
Ik begon echt megalyrisch over dit boek. Een superspannende situatie, en een mooi voorbeeld van een toekomst waar sociale media een beetje uit de hand zijn gelopen. Twee verschillende, boeiende verhaallijnen waarvan ik heel benieuwd was hoe ze bij elkaar zouden komen en die me erg in hun greep hielden. So far so good, stevende af op 5*
Maar toen kwamen de verhaallijnen bij elkaar en werd het me iets te vergezocht. Dat deed voor mij wel echt afbreuk aan het geheel. Ook het einde vond ik niet helemaal wat ik ervan verwacht had. Ik had het óf heftiger, of nog iets langer uitgewerkt voor wat hierna komt verwacht.
Dit brengt mijn rating dus terug naar 4*. Niet naar 3, want daarvoor was het begin te sterk en te boeiend. Ik bedoel, ik heb uren slaap opgeofferd om verder te lezen in dit boek, en dat overkomt me maar een keer of 3 per jaar. Dat zegt veel met de hoeveelheid boeken die ik lees ;)
Het is eigenlijk meer een 4,5*, maar vanwege hoe ik de afwikkeling vond rond ik hem niet af naar boven. Maar nog steeds een goed boek, dus!
Maar toen kwamen de verhaallijnen bij elkaar en werd het me iets te vergezocht. Dat deed voor mij wel echt afbreuk aan het geheel. Ook het einde vond ik niet helemaal wat ik ervan verwacht had. Ik had het óf heftiger, of nog iets langer uitgewerkt voor wat hierna komt verwacht.
Dit brengt mijn rating dus terug naar 4*. Niet naar 3, want daarvoor was het begin te sterk en te boeiend. Ik bedoel, ik heb uren slaap opgeofferd om verder te lezen in dit boek, en dat overkomt me maar een keer of 3 per jaar. Dat zegt veel met de hoeveelheid boeken die ik lees ;)
Het is eigenlijk meer een 4,5*, maar vanwege hoe ik de afwikkeling vond rond ik hem niet af naar boven. Maar nog steeds een goed boek, dus!
July 13, 2019
Much like Tom Pollock's previous novel White Rabbit, Red Wolf (recently re-named to This Book Is A Lie), Heartstream is a book designed to confuse you, deliberately, with unreliable narrators and a twisty plot. I really loved White Rabbit, Red Wolf for this reason and Heartstream does this pretty well also, but something was definitely missing for me.
Heartstream is told via a dual narrative and opens with Amy, a girl who spends a lot of time streaming her life for her viewers on Heartstream, an online platform much like Youtube which shares live feeds broadcast via transmitters attached to the scalp to share via the broadcasters own visuals. Anyway, she's currently streaming her own mothers funeral as it is happening. But that's not the most bizarre, and frankly worrying, part of the opening chapter because as Amy arrives home to organise the wake she discovers a crazed fan in her kitchen; with a 6 piece bomb attached to her person. So that's the first narrative you'll watch unfold.
Meanwhile Cat, another Heartstream user, is chatting to her best friend about their fanpage for Ryan, a famous musician they both really like. Actually Cat really REALLY likes him, because she's hooking up with him without her friend knowing - which explains how she's getting all the gossip to share for their page. Cat's story becomes convoluted by a pregnancy and a host of tragic events.
What I really liked about Heartsream was that the technology actually makes a lot of sense and seemed a pretty realistic view on what the future might very well look like. I also liked how casually Pollock portrayed it, as though it's perfectly normal for everyone, not just teenagers, to genuinely live inside a permanent broadcast; surely this is freakishly confronting for most, if not all, readers.
I also enjoyed the way the story was written and the dual narrative works well; Pollock has a really distinctive narrative voice which definitely felt similar to his previous work. I ordinarily wouldn't like to be able to identify an authors own voice across multiple books because it makes it difficult to distinguish between multiple sets of characters, but the dry sarcasm and clever retorts really worked here.
I didn't like so much that both Cat and Amy were difficult to tell apart during their narratives though; they had very similar tones and personalities which meant if I didn't check the chapter headings to identify the character I would easily get lost in the narrative. Perhaps this was the point, to further confuse us, but it didn't really work for me. Equally I didn't feel particularly invested in either of their stories and I can only attribute this to that fact and perhaps also because the overall plot wasn't as compelling as I expected. The plot is quite dry and reads much like a complex soap opera rather than the tense psychological thriller I was expecting.
I do think that Pollock is a really creative author with a thoughtful approach to very complex, multi-faceted stories with deliberate red herrings; this can't be easy to do, surely requires a great deal of planning and careful construction, but to do this well is really quite impressive so this definitely warrants a mention.
Perhaps my high expectations were my downfall with this novel, but it just lacked the balance and unexpected twists that his previous work delivered in spades.
ARC provided free from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review.
Heartstream is told via a dual narrative and opens with Amy, a girl who spends a lot of time streaming her life for her viewers on Heartstream, an online platform much like Youtube which shares live feeds broadcast via transmitters attached to the scalp to share via the broadcasters own visuals. Anyway, she's currently streaming her own mothers funeral as it is happening. But that's not the most bizarre, and frankly worrying, part of the opening chapter because as Amy arrives home to organise the wake she discovers a crazed fan in her kitchen; with a 6 piece bomb attached to her person. So that's the first narrative you'll watch unfold.
Meanwhile Cat, another Heartstream user, is chatting to her best friend about their fanpage for Ryan, a famous musician they both really like. Actually Cat really REALLY likes him, because she's hooking up with him without her friend knowing - which explains how she's getting all the gossip to share for their page. Cat's story becomes convoluted by a pregnancy and a host of tragic events.
What I really liked about Heartsream was that the technology actually makes a lot of sense and seemed a pretty realistic view on what the future might very well look like. I also liked how casually Pollock portrayed it, as though it's perfectly normal for everyone, not just teenagers, to genuinely live inside a permanent broadcast; surely this is freakishly confronting for most, if not all, readers.
I also enjoyed the way the story was written and the dual narrative works well; Pollock has a really distinctive narrative voice which definitely felt similar to his previous work. I ordinarily wouldn't like to be able to identify an authors own voice across multiple books because it makes it difficult to distinguish between multiple sets of characters, but the dry sarcasm and clever retorts really worked here.
I didn't like so much that both Cat and Amy were difficult to tell apart during their narratives though; they had very similar tones and personalities which meant if I didn't check the chapter headings to identify the character I would easily get lost in the narrative. Perhaps this was the point, to further confuse us, but it didn't really work for me. Equally I didn't feel particularly invested in either of their stories and I can only attribute this to that fact and perhaps also because the overall plot wasn't as compelling as I expected. The plot is quite dry and reads much like a complex soap opera rather than the tense psychological thriller I was expecting.
I do think that Pollock is a really creative author with a thoughtful approach to very complex, multi-faceted stories with deliberate red herrings; this can't be easy to do, surely requires a great deal of planning and careful construction, but to do this well is really quite impressive so this definitely warrants a mention.
Perhaps my high expectations were my downfall with this novel, but it just lacked the balance and unexpected twists that his previous work delivered in spades.
ARC provided free from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review.
February 27, 2024
The author mentions in his acknowledgements at the end ‘this was a weird one’ and I have to agree 🤯
April 18, 2021
Tohle mě překvapilo na tolika různých úrovních! Škoda, že nebyly tak propracované charaktery postav, jinak by to bylo na plné hodnocení. Takhle 4/5*, ale velké, VELKÉ doporučení :)
July 14, 2019
3.75
I wasn't sure about this when i first started reading it, and was close to DNFing it at around 50 pages, but I decided to carry on and give it a chance, and i'm glad i did!
I read the majority of the book in one evening and it was so weird and thrilling and so many twists
I wasn't sure about this when i first started reading it, and was close to DNFing it at around 50 pages, but I decided to carry on and give it a chance, and i'm glad i did!
I read the majority of the book in one evening and it was so weird and thrilling and so many twists
May 19, 2020
This is an interesting and quite gripping story although I’m not sure I liked the ending. Teenager Amy has spent the last few months experiencing the slow death of her mother, but through it all she’s shared her experiences with followers of a new app that allows them to feel what she is feeling. On the day of her mother’s funeral things don’t go according to plan and she finds a stranger in her home claiming she just wants to talk, but the stranger, a fan of Amy’s, has a bomb strapped to her chest and isn’t about to leave without getting what she came for.
This intense thriller begins with Amy but then alternates every chapter between Amy’s story and that of another character called Cat, with both tales being told in the first person perspective. The two stories aren’t connected at first but both of them are interesting in their own ways. Any’s story is the one I found myself more drawn to, wondering what would happen and how obsessive a fan could get was what really made me interested in this tale. Cat’s story is a completely different one, it has nothing to do with the app called Heartstream, and instead focuses on the obsessiveness of fans of a boyband.
The story isn’t difficult to get into, but having things switch between the two alternating tales, just as one chapter following one character starts to get very interesting, made this less thrilling and exciting as the book is probably intended to be. Amy’s story felt griping at first, and I wanted to focus more on her character but switching to the fame obsessed (and seemingly random) tale of Cat and her friend Evie felt quite annoying, I would have preferred more focus on one tale and then a switch to the other rather than the constant switching which meant I never really got into either of the stories too much until well over half way through the book. What also made this harder to get into is the fact that both Cat and Amy sound the same when narrating, it feels like the same girl in both stories which wasn’t helpful when I had put the book down for a while as I had forgotten whose story I was reading and it wasn’t obvious from the way they spoke but instead from what was happening in the plot.
There are three parts to the book and towards the end of the second part the two different stories finally relate to each other and from this point on I was truly hooked. I will say that Cat’s story did start to grow on me after the half way point, but it took too long to really get into this book and it’s a shame it took this long as the intensity grows and it really becomes exciting to read! The book has some uses of the f swear word and there are some references to and an actual scene of a sexual nature (I’m not sure how to describe it) which to me felt unnecessary and to be honest it felt quite crude, and even though this isn’t throughout the plot, it was enough to make me feel that anyone sensitive might want a warning before reading this.
I wish I could say I loved the ending of the story but I didn’t. It was such a good build up though, the story was gripping, and exciting and it was all building up to the ending where you have a ‘will it/won’t it happen’ moment in the final scene. The last chapter of the story has a lovely ending but I was expecting either anothe chapter or an epilogue to see what had actually happened rather than just leaving it on a cliff hanger moment, but instead, like in ‘White Rabbit, Red Wolf’ the author leaves the question of what happens next to the reader, and to be honest I felt cheated out of what could have been a really good ending.
It’s such a shame as I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It was exciting and very good when it got going and the excitement and tension builds up to something brilliant. There are revelations about the characters that make for a really good story, but not knowing what really happens at the end, whether something gets resolved one way or another, made this book just feel so disappointing, and coupled with the difficulty I had in getting into this book at the start, I am not sure whether everyone will enjoy this. It’s still a good read and great for a quick and intense thriller experience, but it’s not what I expected.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
This intense thriller begins with Amy but then alternates every chapter between Amy’s story and that of another character called Cat, with both tales being told in the first person perspective. The two stories aren’t connected at first but both of them are interesting in their own ways. Any’s story is the one I found myself more drawn to, wondering what would happen and how obsessive a fan could get was what really made me interested in this tale. Cat’s story is a completely different one, it has nothing to do with the app called Heartstream, and instead focuses on the obsessiveness of fans of a boyband.
The story isn’t difficult to get into, but having things switch between the two alternating tales, just as one chapter following one character starts to get very interesting, made this less thrilling and exciting as the book is probably intended to be. Amy’s story felt griping at first, and I wanted to focus more on her character but switching to the fame obsessed (and seemingly random) tale of Cat and her friend Evie felt quite annoying, I would have preferred more focus on one tale and then a switch to the other rather than the constant switching which meant I never really got into either of the stories too much until well over half way through the book. What also made this harder to get into is the fact that both Cat and Amy sound the same when narrating, it feels like the same girl in both stories which wasn’t helpful when I had put the book down for a while as I had forgotten whose story I was reading and it wasn’t obvious from the way they spoke but instead from what was happening in the plot.
There are three parts to the book and towards the end of the second part the two different stories finally relate to each other and from this point on I was truly hooked. I will say that Cat’s story did start to grow on me after the half way point, but it took too long to really get into this book and it’s a shame it took this long as the intensity grows and it really becomes exciting to read! The book has some uses of the f swear word and there are some references to and an actual scene of a sexual nature (I’m not sure how to describe it) which to me felt unnecessary and to be honest it felt quite crude, and even though this isn’t throughout the plot, it was enough to make me feel that anyone sensitive might want a warning before reading this.
I wish I could say I loved the ending of the story but I didn’t. It was such a good build up though, the story was gripping, and exciting and it was all building up to the ending where you have a ‘will it/won’t it happen’ moment in the final scene. The last chapter of the story has a lovely ending but I was expecting either anothe chapter or an epilogue to see what had actually happened rather than just leaving it on a cliff hanger moment, but instead, like in ‘White Rabbit, Red Wolf’ the author leaves the question of what happens next to the reader, and to be honest I felt cheated out of what could have been a really good ending.
It’s such a shame as I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It was exciting and very good when it got going and the excitement and tension builds up to something brilliant. There are revelations about the characters that make for a really good story, but not knowing what really happens at the end, whether something gets resolved one way or another, made this book just feel so disappointing, and coupled with the difficulty I had in getting into this book at the start, I am not sure whether everyone will enjoy this. It’s still a good read and great for a quick and intense thriller experience, but it’s not what I expected.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
August 16, 2019
I'm hyperventilating, hyperventilating, hyperv..
Oh sweet Lord, this is insane .. what an amazing ride ! what a perfect book!
I'm hooked
I won't be able to sleep thinking for hours about this one.. it's that good!
Oh sweet Lord, this is insane .. what an amazing ride ! what a perfect book!
I'm hooked
I won't be able to sleep thinking for hours about this one.. it's that good!
August 27, 2019
❤️HEARTSTREAM❤️
.
A few words to sum up Heartstream: Deeply unsettling and highly addictive!
.
*Mild spoilers ahead*
.
Heartstream: the app that lets others follow your feelings, feel what you feel as you feel it. Your deepest, most private feelings on offer for your followers.
.
Heartstream is told by two separate, and seemingly unrelated, characters. Amy is a teenage heartstreamer who has just lost her mother to cancer. Cat is a teenage girl who is obsessed with an imaginary relationship between two bandmates while carrying out a secret relationship with a rockstar. For most of this book I couldn’t figure out the connection between the two, but when it came out I was shook!
.
The characters were so well-written, the relationships developed and the plot kept me guessing from beginning to end.
.
Heartstream isn’t that far away from our current status. We are a society of over-sharers so really giving the world the access to your emotions, letting them feel what you feel? Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat... It’s really not far outside the realm of our reality today.
.
Heartstream also touched on the issue of online bullying and was a timely reminder that you are never truly anonymous. So if you can be anything, be kind.
.
I absolutely LOVED this book. The cover was made for me (all the red ❤️😍) and I highly recommend you hit up your bookstore because this one will tick all of the boxes for your next great read!
.
Thanks to WALKER for sending me this copy!
.
.
A few words to sum up Heartstream: Deeply unsettling and highly addictive!
.
*Mild spoilers ahead*
.
Heartstream: the app that lets others follow your feelings, feel what you feel as you feel it. Your deepest, most private feelings on offer for your followers.
.
Heartstream is told by two separate, and seemingly unrelated, characters. Amy is a teenage heartstreamer who has just lost her mother to cancer. Cat is a teenage girl who is obsessed with an imaginary relationship between two bandmates while carrying out a secret relationship with a rockstar. For most of this book I couldn’t figure out the connection between the two, but when it came out I was shook!
.
The characters were so well-written, the relationships developed and the plot kept me guessing from beginning to end.
.
Heartstream isn’t that far away from our current status. We are a society of over-sharers so really giving the world the access to your emotions, letting them feel what you feel? Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat... It’s really not far outside the realm of our reality today.
.
Heartstream also touched on the issue of online bullying and was a timely reminder that you are never truly anonymous. So if you can be anything, be kind.
.
I absolutely LOVED this book. The cover was made for me (all the red ❤️😍) and I highly recommend you hit up your bookstore because this one will tick all of the boxes for your next great read!
.
Thanks to WALKER for sending me this copy!
.
August 3, 2021
⚠️TW⚠️:
•Teen pregnancy (subplot)
•Birth
•Death
•Grief
•Funeral
•Bullying
•Cyber bullying (subplot)
•Discussion of self-harm
•Phishing
•Hacking into social media/email
•Trolling
•Blackmail
•A description of an explicit photo
•Suicide ideation
•Child abduction
•Bomb threat
•Captivity
•Captivity in a mental hospital
Age Rating: 13+
This book is definitely...ummm. At first it just screams WATTPAD and FANFICTION, but like if a 11yr old wrote it (no hate to 11yrs old girls, I’m just generalizing, I’m sure a lot of you have great writing)
I didn’t like about two thirds of this book, mainly because the book itself sounded childish and full of teenage drama instead of actual suspense.
I liked the idea but there were a lot weird details that didn’t fit the story, I felt like some parts were rushed and the author was just writing the first thing that came into his mind. On another hand I must say that I did like the ending, there were multiple plot twists and I didn’t see some of them coming, and even if I did see them coming they somehow found a way to impress me, So yeah the ending was the one that saved this book from having 1.5⭐️.
Overall I want to say that this book had a lot of potential and the author wasted it, I loved the idea of having an app that showed your emotions, I mean there were so many ways to exploit that idea but the author just decided that it was more interesting to write a book full of clichés and a pregnancy trope. This book is the perfect definition of:
great idea, bad execution.
My other thoughts: “Amy is about to discover how far true obsession can go” This book is a heightened version of what happens daily on social media, it shows you how obsessed people are with something that they will do anything ANYTHING not to lose it, it’s truly horrible to read this book knowing that similar things happen to a lot of people, the human being is selfish, cruel and this book is just another way to prove it.
Quote I Iiked: “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟; 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫"
•Teen pregnancy (subplot)
•Birth
•Death
•Grief
•Funeral
•Bullying
•Cyber bullying (subplot)
•Discussion of self-harm
•Phishing
•Hacking into social media/email
•Trolling
•Blackmail
•A description of an explicit photo
•Suicide ideation
•Child abduction
•Bomb threat
•Captivity
•Captivity in a mental hospital
Age Rating: 13+
This book is definitely...ummm. At first it just screams WATTPAD and FANFICTION, but like if a 11yr old wrote it (no hate to 11yrs old girls, I’m just generalizing, I’m sure a lot of you have great writing)
I didn’t like about two thirds of this book, mainly because the book itself sounded childish and full of teenage drama instead of actual suspense.
I liked the idea but there were a lot weird details that didn’t fit the story, I felt like some parts were rushed and the author was just writing the first thing that came into his mind. On another hand I must say that I did like the ending, there were multiple plot twists and I didn’t see some of them coming, and even if I did see them coming they somehow found a way to impress me, So yeah the ending was the one that saved this book from having 1.5⭐️.
Overall I want to say that this book had a lot of potential and the author wasted it, I loved the idea of having an app that showed your emotions, I mean there were so many ways to exploit that idea but the author just decided that it was more interesting to write a book full of clichés and a pregnancy trope. This book is the perfect definition of:
great idea, bad execution.
My other thoughts: “Amy is about to discover how far true obsession can go” This book is a heightened version of what happens daily on social media, it shows you how obsessed people are with something that they will do anything ANYTHING not to lose it, it’s truly horrible to read this book knowing that similar things happen to a lot of people, the human being is selfish, cruel and this book is just another way to prove it.
Quote I Iiked: “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟; 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫"
July 11, 2019
I wouldn't call this a psychological thriller, but it's definitely raw, heartbreaking and full of surprises with scenes that you wouldn't expect to happen.
I decided to do a different review, taking my reading review to the very beginning of the first few pages, as the beginning unsettled me in that big way that grabbed my full attention.
The story starts with Amy Becker's mothers funeral. The most saddest thing is that Amy didn't shed a tear at her own mothers funeral. I expected her to feel something, and it annoyed me that all Amy cared about during her mother's funeral is looking up Heartstream icon on her mobile phone.
Right from the early pages it seemed to me that something wasn't quite right with Amy Becker.
I always know that when a character gets under my skin they instantly become my favourite, and Amy Becker was certainly a character, that was my favourite, after all she was the main character. Amy Becker I will never forget.
I have just got to recommend Heartstream. I would like to thank Walker books so much for sending Heartstream to read and review.
I decided to do a different review, taking my reading review to the very beginning of the first few pages, as the beginning unsettled me in that big way that grabbed my full attention.
The story starts with Amy Becker's mothers funeral. The most saddest thing is that Amy didn't shed a tear at her own mothers funeral. I expected her to feel something, and it annoyed me that all Amy cared about during her mother's funeral is looking up Heartstream icon on her mobile phone.
Right from the early pages it seemed to me that something wasn't quite right with Amy Becker.
I always know that when a character gets under my skin they instantly become my favourite, and Amy Becker was certainly a character, that was my favourite, after all she was the main character. Amy Becker I will never forget.
I have just got to recommend Heartstream. I would like to thank Walker books so much for sending Heartstream to read and review.
March 20, 2019
After loving 'White Rabbit, Red Wolf' I was thrilled to get hold of this early proof copy of 'Heartstream'. Definitely a novel that will appeal to fans of 'Black Mirror', the most powerful aspect of its story being its depiction of the obsessive, invasive and often abusive culture that's sprung up around social media, internet celebrity and shipping fandom. The linking theme in both Amy and Cat's narratives is that people are now emotionally feeding on those who they follow online and consequently can resort to some truly horrifying actions in the interest of connecting to/controlling the lives of virtual strangers. The actual plot of the novel got rather far-fetched for me and I did prefer the chilling ambiguity of White Rabbit's ending. However, the emotional authenticity of 'Heartstream' is what kept me hooked, especially its portrayal of cyber-bullying and the way that online groupthink can lead to whole communities of people turning into self-righteous stalkers and lynch mobs.
April 11, 2020
I loved the way that this book was written however at first it did confuse me as we went straight from Amy to Cat and I didnt know why or who she was obviously at the end it all made sense but at the time it seemed like two totally different storylines happening at the same time? While i did like the ending that Amy stood by Cat i would have liked to have found out more! Did they tell everyone about Rick? And Ben? Were they ever punished for their actions? Did Cat and Amy have a proper relationship? How did Amy's "father" react when he found out evie wasnt even her mother? Especially when he found out the way she got Amy! The ending unfortunately left me with so many questions that I couldn't give this book more than 3 stars! I'd love a follow up though I'd read it for sure
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2019
IT DID NOT JUST END LIKE THAT DAFUQ??????
February 19, 2021
Wow, men really are trash.
May 2, 2019
i initially requested for this arc because the premise intrigued me (more on that later), but after seeing one of my favourite authors talk about it, i was even more pumped to get started on it. and trust me, it definitely did not disappoint.
heartstream is a psychological thriller centered around social media, fame and the obsessive, toxic culture that fandoms are infamously known for. the fandom culture in this book is grossly exaggerated, though — and this is what scared me the most — not to the point where it is beyond belief. as far-fetched as some of the scenarios might seem (hundreds of fans turning up at a private funeral, hacking into personal accounts of fans who are against the fandom’s main ship, etc) deep down, a part of me recognizes the plausibility of those events unfolding in the future.
this story is told by 2 protagonists — cat, who’s secretly dating a member of a famous boy band, and amy, who’s a top streamer on this futuristic app called heartstream that allows streamers to share their feelings and emotions with others — in alternating chapters, which ngl, i’m not a huge fan of. but if there’s one thing you need to know about this book, it’s that it is imperative that you read it the way it’s intended to be read, alternating between cat’s and amy’s chapters. there was a point in the book where i skipped cat’s chapters to read amy’s because i couldn’t bear the suspense, but thank goodness i gave up when i did in time to experience that wtf moment where i started piecing two and two together and finally got to make sense of what’s been happening the whole time.
all in all, this was a gripping, suspenseful, unputdownable read. the realistic portrayal of fandom culture, herd mentality and the gray area of personal boundaries on the internet gave me literal chills. definitely pick this book up if you’re a fan of black mirror or just psychological thrillers & futuristic sci-fi in general.
special thanks to pansing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
heartstream is a psychological thriller centered around social media, fame and the obsessive, toxic culture that fandoms are infamously known for. the fandom culture in this book is grossly exaggerated, though — and this is what scared me the most — not to the point where it is beyond belief. as far-fetched as some of the scenarios might seem (hundreds of fans turning up at a private funeral, hacking into personal accounts of fans who are against the fandom’s main ship, etc) deep down, a part of me recognizes the plausibility of those events unfolding in the future.
this story is told by 2 protagonists — cat, who’s secretly dating a member of a famous boy band, and amy, who’s a top streamer on this futuristic app called heartstream that allows streamers to share their feelings and emotions with others — in alternating chapters, which ngl, i’m not a huge fan of. but if there’s one thing you need to know about this book, it’s that it is imperative that you read it the way it’s intended to be read, alternating between cat’s and amy’s chapters. there was a point in the book where i skipped cat’s chapters to read amy’s because i couldn’t bear the suspense, but thank goodness i gave up when i did in time to experience that wtf moment where i started piecing two and two together and finally got to make sense of what’s been happening the whole time.
all in all, this was a gripping, suspenseful, unputdownable read. the realistic portrayal of fandom culture, herd mentality and the gray area of personal boundaries on the internet gave me literal chills. definitely pick this book up if you’re a fan of black mirror or just psychological thrillers & futuristic sci-fi in general.
special thanks to pansing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
July 12, 2019
3.5 stars
August 6, 2019
Didn't disappoint, kept me wondering what was the truth and why (though my main theory was right, there were things I was like "woah!").
April 28, 2020
Binge read this in one sitting 😍
November 12, 2020
Dit is het eerste boek dat ik van deze auteur lees. Ik vond het verhaal heel goed, het las lekker vlot weg en sommige dingen had ik echt niet verwacht. Dit is zeker een boek dat mij bij zal blijven.
November 15, 2019
More like 3.5 stars
November 3, 2020
I think this sums up how i felt through the whole novel :
Displaying 1 - 30 of 242 reviews