I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the RETRO by Jarrod Shusterman & Sofía Lapuente Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Retro by Sofía Lapuente, Jarrod Shusterman Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on January 24, 2023
Genres: YA Contemporary Thriller
Pages: 400
Source: the publisher
Format: Hardcover
My Rating:
Goodreads
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/RETRO
What starts off as a lighthearted competition to live without modern technology for a year turns into a fight for survival in this unputdownable young adult thriller by New York Times bestselling author Jarrod Shusterman and debut author Sofía Lapuente.
It was never meant to happen this way.
Things were never supposed to get this out of hand.
After a cyberbullying incident at her school goes viral, Luna Iglesias finds herself at the heart of a brewing controversy. When the social media company Limbo—who are also implicated in the scandal—sweeps in with an offer that sounds like an opportunity to turn over a new leaf and receive a scholarship to the college of her dreams, she’s happy to jump on the new trend. It’s called the Retro Challenge, where contestants live without modern technology, wear vintage clothes, party as if the future weren’t already written, and fall in love as if they were living in a movie.
At first, the challenge is fun. But then things get dangerous. Kids start disappearing, including Luna’s friends. There are voices in the woods. Bloodred markings on the trees. And Luna increasingly begins to wonder if all these strange happenings are connected with the Retro Challenge.
Secrets. Lies. Betrayal. The weight of her family on her shoulders. There’s so much on the line for Luna, not to mention she’s falling in love with the last guy she expected. Unless she can figure out the truth behind who’s sabotaging the challenge, the next person to disappear may be Luna herself.
My Review
I’ve been following the authors on TikTok for awhile and was so excited to read this one. And I’m pleased to say it blew me away with how good it was! I loved the whole idea of going retro. I know so many students that probably couldn’t do it, I mean I probably couldn’t even do it myself these days!
But there was so much more to this story than just a bunch of teenagers giving up technology for a contest. It started with a horrible cyberbullying event and the results of that. Followed by different students finding new friends through the challenge as well as even learning more about the people around them. Not to mention how much was learned about the differences each person is going through and how it might make someone behave.
The old saying about walking a mile in someone’s shoes fits what happened throughout the story. Every time Luna would think she had a lead about the weird things going on, she ended up learning something about one of the people, whether it be a friend or a foe, and she learned to understand things might not be as great for them as they made their lives out to be. And I loved how fleshed out every single character really got to be in some way in the story. Even the bullies, even some of the side characters, and even one of the people in the end that we still think is a villain.
The book had a soundtrack, with the name of usually retro song as the chapter headings. I loved that! And I like the little “Pause” chapters interspersed throughout the story that were set with present day and gave hints about what might be coming at the end of this challenge. They were spaced perfectly that the story got to completely play out without feeling interrupted.
A great story from these two authors and I can’t wait to share it with my students!
About the Authors
Sofía Lapuente got her start in marketing for Google Spain, and then immigrated to the States. Since, she received a masters in fine arts at UCLA and has produced for Emmy nominated show Caso Cerrado (Telemundo) Sofi and her partner, Jarrod, both have co-author credits in the fourth installation of the bestselling Arc of a Scythe Trilogy GLEANINGS (2022) and are the authors of their upcoming novel RETRO (2023).
Jarrod Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of novel DRY (2018), which was one of the highest bid novels in Hollywood of 2018, selling it to Paramount Pictures, produced by Temple hill, which he’s adapting for the screen with co author Neal Shusterman. He is also the author of accoladed Simon & Schuster novel, ROXY (2021). Sofi and Jarrod are partners in every sense of the word, with love and multiculturalism as an ethos— living between Madrid, Spain and Los Angeles, California.
Find Sofía & Jarrod- https://linktr.ee/Sofiandjarrod
Giveaway
1 winner will receive a finished copy of RETRO, US Only.
Ends January 28th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule
Week One:
| 1/9/2023 | Kait Plus Books | Excerpt/IG Post |
| 1/9/2023 | YA Books Central | Excerpt/IG Post |
| 1/10/2023 | travelersguidetobooks | IG Review |
| 1/10/2023 | @more.books.yes.please | IG Review/TikTok Post |
| 1/11/2023 | Wanderingwitchreads | TikTok Review/IG Post |
| 1/11/2023 | onemused | IG Review |
| 1/12/2023 | amandainpa | Review/IG Post |
| 1/12/2023 | @readerofthewrittenword | IG Review |
| 1/13/2023 | Thindbooks Blog | Review/IG Post |
| 1/13/2023 | OneMoreExclamation | Review/IG Post |
Week Two:
| 1/16/2023 | pluvioreads | Review/IG Post |
| 1/16/2023 | @froggyreadteach | IG Review |
| 1/17/2023 | Fall Between the Pages | IG Review/TikTok Post |
| 1/17/2023 | A Blue Box Full of Books | IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
| 1/18/2023 | @amysbookshelf82 | IG Review |
| 1/18/2023 | Nerdophiles | Review |
| 1/19/2023 | Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers | Review/IG Post |
| 1/19/2023 | Book-Keeping | Review/IG Post |
| 1/20/2023 | Lisa Loves Literature | Review/IG Post |
| 1/20/2023 | Emmiepooh2 | IG Review/Facebook Post |
Week Three:
| 1/23/2023 | @drew_ambitious_reading | IG Review/TikTok Post |
| 1/23/2023 | popthebutterfly | Review/IG Post |
Author Tour
Monday, January 23 at 5:00pm CT **
Instagram Live with Anderson’s Bookshop (Naperville, IL)
Watch at @sofiandjarrod or @ab.teens
Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 7:00pm ET **
Books and Books (Coral Gables, FL)
In conversation with Kat Cho and Claribel A. Ortega
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 7:00pm PT *
Skylight Books (Los Angeles, CA)
In conversation with Neal Shusterman
Friday, January 27, 2023 at 6:00pm PT *
Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego, CA)
In conversation with Adalyn Grace and Gina Chen
Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 7:00pm PT *
Barnes & Noble (Irvine, CA)
In conversation with Neal Shusterman and Susan Lee
Saturday, February 11 at 5:00pm PT *
The Ripped Bodice (Culver City, CA)
In conversation with Nicola Yoon and David Yoon
Saturday, March 4, 2023 – Sunday, March 5, 2023 *
Tucson Festival of Books (Tucson, AZ)
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 6:00pm PT *
Barnes & Noble (Tucson, AZ)
In conversation with Kathleen Glasgow
Saturday, March 25, 2023 *
TeenBookCon (Houston, TX)
* In-person event
** Virtual event
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If I read this age group, I’m sure I would love it.
Yeah, not everyone reads YA! 🙂
This sounds good and intense. I don’t read many thrillers or YA, but a YA thriller could be a good mix for me.
It might be a fun read for you!
I totally love the cover for this! Fantastic review 🙂
Thanks! It was a good story too!