Version Zero is a well-written story that hits on a lot of today's social media woes. It drug a little for me in the middle, but the ending had me on the edge of my seat. I think all young readers should read this book and consider their own usage of social media so we don't require a Pilot and Max situation in real life. ( )

A brilliant read. David Yoon is a wonderful writer and this made me laugh and raise my eyebrows in agreement in equal measure. ( )

This book makes me want to quit the internet. I can picture this as a movie too. Crazy to think that what happened in this book,even though its fiction, could potentially happen. It’s a reflection of how crazy the internet has gotten and how people hide behind the proverbial walls, spouting off whatever they want and are driven by the amount of likes they receive or don’t receive. Scary…. ( )

This is such a great book, with a unique take on what role technology plays into our society. Was not expecting the twist at the end, which made it all the better of a read. ( )

Yoon, David. Version Zero. Putnam, 2021.
David Yoon is a graphic designer who has worked in the tech industry. In Version Zero, he uses that experience to inform a tech thriller that suggests we ought to question our whole relationship with Internet technology, especially social media whose covert business is collecting data about its users. His protagonist, Max, works for Wren, a huge social media company whose profits all stem from the data they collect from unwitting users. When he suggests to his bosses that they should be more open about their data collection, Max is fired almost immediately and blackballed by the whole industry. He and a few disaffected pals, one of whom is a former social media genius entrepreneur, decide to “fix the Internet” by outing the corporate practices and hacking into their data collection infrastructure. All the characters have complicated personal and social agendas that give the story complexity, as relationships and personalities need as much repair as the technology. I wish that the villains were as interesting as our group of tech saboteurs, but Version Zero makes a good case against the surveillance society. It is much the same case that Cory Doctorow has been making for years. 4 stars. ( )