#ADGIFTED all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Anticipation by
Neil Taylor

Book Info
Genre: YA (12 to 18), AI thriller
Length: 304 pages
Published: August 2024
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204929214-anticipation
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anticipation-twisty-young-adult-thriller/dp/1915584507/

You are being played.


Your every move is being watched by businesses hoping to manipulate your behaviour. Every picture, every post, every like, every follow, every purchase, every search.


When 17-year-old Riya Sudame inherits her father’s secret AI algorithm, she and a handful of carefully selected Keyholders hold the power to predict people’s future using their online data. But with great power comes great responsibility, and they must safeguard it from falling into the wrong hands.


Enter Jim Booker, a powerful social media tycoon, who will stop at nothing to steal the technology for himself. Soon Riya faces a critical choice. Fighting ruthless tech giants seems like an impossible task—wouldn’t it be easier to relinquish her father’s creation in exchange for a normal teenage life?


But if she does, she will have to live with the knowledge that she is the reason that, like everyone, you are being played.


Neil Taylor marks his debut in this dark, twisty AI YA thriller.

About the Author
Neil Taylor is a software industry professional whose career has spanned Europe, Japan, and the USA. Now based in Durham, England, Neil works remotely for a leading cloud-based software and services company. With more than two decades of software experience, Neil possesses a deep understanding of how company motivations influence customers and users. Fascinated by the convergence of big data and behavioural science in the tech industry, Neil’s debut YA book, “Anticipation,” delves into the perilous implications of unchecked social media and AI development.

My Review When I read this blurb I knew immediately I HAD to read this. It taps into my own fears around technology and AI. We start with a traumatic event, and it’s full pelt into the story, it grabbed me from the first page and did not let up at all.  I loved the pace, the description, the character development, plot everything if I’m honest. The mystery, the intrigue, it kept me glued. Life or death and technology manipulation it’s not far fetched it’s already here! We already have behavioural insight teams.

I can see this as a movie or series, it would translate exceptionally well. Having teens in this makes it feel very relatable for the younger adult, but wasn’t off putting for me as an older reader, unlike some do. Never did I feel ages came into it. Moral dilemmas abound and social media solutions, what would you do? Make sure the influencers helped expose it?