Synopsis:

A lightning fast and scorchingly observant novel of the moment, Version Zero is a thrilling, humorous adult debut from the brilliant mind of New York Times bestselling author David Yoon.

Reboot the present. Save the future.

Max, a data whiz at the Facebook-like social media company Wren, has gotten a firsthand glimpse of the dark side of big tech. When he starts asking questions about what his company is doing with the data they collect, he finds himself fired…and then blackballed across all of Silicon Valley.

With time on his hands and inside knowledge about the biggest tech companies, Max and his longtime friend—and sometime crush—Akiko, decide to get even by…essentially, rebooting the internet. After all, in order to fix things, sometimes you have to break them. But when Max and Akiko join forces with a reclusive tech baron, they learn that breaking things can have unintended—and disastrous—consequences. And those consequences will ripple across the world, effecting every level of society in ways no one could have imagined. 

I was thrilled to be a winner of an e-galley for David Yoon’s latest adult debut, Version Zero. I read his previous two young adult novels (Frankly in Love and Super Fake Love Song) and adored them, so I didn’t really care what Version Zero was about. However, I couldn’t help being drawn in by this timely Sci-Fi offering, intrigued by the premise but a little nervous about how close to reality it might venture.

“The internet is the world’s biggest men’s bathroom graffiti wall. A perfect and frictionless outlet for insanity.”

David Yoon, Version Zero

Version Zero has a somewhat slow build, but I was never bored. I was interested in the characters, what role they would play in the unfolding plot, and ultimately who would become the hero or the villain.

The plot is not so very far from how reality feels right now—our dependence on social media, our addiction to likes, our FOMO or fear of missing out. And if I hadn’t already deactivated my Facebook, this book might have pushed me past my hesitancy. But while it felt close to reality, there was still enough of the feeling of fantasy to keep it from being too real. If that makes sense… Plus, Yoon always infuses his novels with humor, which helps to make the stressful subjects more palatable.

HOWEVER, I can’t help but fantasize that somewhere out there there’s a group of underground savvy techs trying to take down the big tech companies—or at least make them better. Because while the products they promote aren’t necessarily bad, it’s the way they use our data that is.

“Everyone had infinite likes and gave and received them without a thought. Likes were a worthless form of currency.”

David Yoon, Version Zero