Amelia and Adam Dory are twins and sophomores at Standord
University. The two of them plus their friend T.J created
Doreye, a brilliant new company that has Silicon Valley
buzzing. The problems start when the three disagree about
the future of Doreye. Adam wants to be successful. He wants
the world to take notice of him. Amelia wants the app she
designed to be free for all. For her Doreye was always about
creating new code that will re-define the limits of
technology. T.J. is a trust fund baby who is out to make a
success of himself without the help of his family's money.
As their goals come into direct conflict, the future of
Doreye looks a little shaky, and Adam and Amelia's
relationship becomes more strained than ever. Throw in a
mysterious older woman who seems to be equally interested in
Adam and Doreye, a budding romance between Amelia and T.J,
and a powerful behind-the-scenes player who wants control of
Doreye and what you have is a multi-million dollar mystery
that questions everyone's motives as they look for success
in the hard world of Silicon Valley.
THE NEXT BIG THING by Sadie Hayes is the second book in the
Start Up series. A large part of enjoying a story is
identifying with a character so I can root for them, feel
the ups-and-downs alongside them, and share that moment
where their world is irrevocably changed for them. This is
an empathetic connection because it's a shared emotion
between me and the character rather than a sympathetic
connection in which I understand the struggle but don't feel
the same visceral emotion. Characters don't have to be
inherently good for me to enjoy their story. In fact, some
of my favorite stories are about characters who start off on
the shady side of bad. What is important to me is that I
make the deeper empathetic connection that pulls me into a
story and a character's struggle. I didn't connect with any
of the characters in THE NEXT BIG THING. It was a struggle
for me to finish this novel because I became easily
frustrated with Adam's sulking, Amelia's neediness, and
T.J.'s manipulations and the thing is, these characters do
change and become more than the people they started as. I
just couldn't invest myself in them early enough to enjoy
the story.
I do want to say that author Sadie Hayes is a good writer.
Her prose is clean and sharp. She creates vivid settings,
and when computer and business jargon is used, it is always
easily grasped. I like how she includes texts and instant
messaging as part of the dialog in the story because both
have become a large part in how people communicate in
today's
world and to see that reflected realistically in a story is
fantastic.
THE NEXT BIG THING wasn't the right book for me, because I
didn't connect with the main characters, but that's not to
say you won't. There is a lot to recommend about author
Sadie Hayes's writing. If you're interested in the world of
corporate espionage and love a college-aged cast of
brilliant characters, the Start-Up series could be
perfect
for you. If you find yourself easily frustrated by "kids who
need to get their priorities straight", I'd definitely skip
this one.
The Next Big Thing is the second page-turning installment in
Sadie Hayes' Start-Up series, following twin college
students Amelia and Adam as they attempt to make it in the
competitive world of Silicon Valley.
Amelia and Adam’s new company, Doreye, may have won over
Silicon Valley, but the trouble is far from over. After
facing down skepticism, a meddler from their past and a
saboteur who makes their app malfunction right when it
matters most, drama suddenly seems to be brewing within the
ranks. While Adam has money signs in his eyes and enough
charm to win over the investors, Amelia decides she wants to
give away their app for free, leading to discord and a
separation of responsibilities—and power.
As if that weren’t hard enough on their relationship, Adam
and Amelia are both keeping secrets from each other, the
kinds of secrets that could change everything if revealed.
As they grow farther apart, others grow closer together.
Patty finds a new boyfriend—and a fascinating new job—to
distract her from Chad; Adam becomes involved with an older
woman who seems to be as interested in Doreye as he is; and
TJ starts to notice that Amelia is more than just a computer
nerd with the tensions running high, Adam makes a decision
that topples Amelia’s carefully constructed life and sets
off a chain of events that could threaten the future of
Doreye. Can Amelia find a way to save their company before
it’s too late?
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