I Lost My Mobile at the Mall

Gr 7—10—When Elly Pickering loses her handbag (and more importantly, her mobile phone) while out shopping, she immediately decides her life is over. It's the third phone she's lost, and her parents aren't going to shell out for a fourth, "what with the Global Financial Crisis and everything." Thus begin a series of technology-related mishaps for the Australian teen. Her best friend's boyfriend posts embarrassing pictures of her on a social networking site, she discovers possible evidence that her boyfriend is unfaithful, etc., which culminate in a complete separation from all forms of electronic communication. The effects of technology on our lives and relationships is a worthy topic and one with great potential for humor, but the characters are too superficial and the message too heavy-handed to be entertaining.—Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO