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I remember how I once thought of Worthy as a magnifying glass, lighting the student body on fire. And I am right in the middle of the blaze, with no hope of escape.

High school student Linden Wilson exists in between, she's not popular, but she's not nonexistent, either. When a new app called Worthy, which is just for her high school, shows up, Linden is initially not interested. But the more she sees of the app - which offers a photo of a couple in the school, and asks users to vote on whether the girl is worthy of the guy - she falls into the crowd, voting along with everyone else. But then she's on Worthy, with her brand-new boyfriend, rising baseball star Alex Rivera, and her already shaky self-confidence begins to diminish.

Books about apps and social media are, unsurprisingly, becoming more and more common in new YA contemporary. Worthy is one of those books that catch your attention mostly because it's so relevant to today: people searching for outside validation via the web.

Our MC and narrator, Linden, is relatable, but a bit bland. I guess what I'm trying to say is that she's so normal. She's average in looks, in popularity, in grades, and so on. But I also found her a character that I could relate to, mostly because she's usually comfortable in being slightly invisible - like her acknowledgement of her multiple social media accounts, in which she usually just sees what everyone else is up to without posting much of anything herself - and because she's a reader who dreams of being a writer, but is a little uneasy of showing anyone her work. I guess she feels like me. (I guess this makes me a little bland, but whatever.)

But Linden is also dynamic, because the Linden from the beginning of the book feels different from the Linden at the end. At the beginning she's a little low in self-esteem, unwilling to stand out in a crowd, like her best friend Nikki. She takes a chance in becoming the new, somewhat reluctant, publicity chair for the upcoming junior/senior prom committee, which makes more people take notice of her. And then there's Alex, who she finds attractive, and when their new relationship is put under the microscope she fears seeing what people really think about her. By the end, I felt that she had grown up a little bit, grown into herself, which I really liked.

Her supporting cast, in comparison, didn't really feel very multifaceted. Her best friend, Nikki, is confident in everything she does, which is something that Linden is jealous of. Nikki is also a curvier girl who undergoes her own issues with how she sees herself. Linden's love interest, Alex, is a nice enough guy, but he's not really a focal point of the story.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a romance despite the fact that Linden's relationship with Alex is important in the synopsis. Like I mentioned, Alex is just the beginning of a character. He's a good guy, a good older brother, and decent at sports, but other than that the reader doesn't learn much about him. And while his new relationship with Linden is in the spotlight, the story isn't really about him. The relationship between Linden and Alex isn't memorable.

What is memorable, though, is the message the book brings to the masses. In the book, an app brings ruin to girls' self-esteem, relationships, and more. There were two parts to the message, the first being the complete void that the internet can be. Too much social media isn't good for anyone, yet it draws people into its grasp, including those who initially have no intention of taking part.

I close out of the Hornet and click over to Worthy. It's become a habit. Not necessarily a good one.

Worthy, in particular, attacks the way that people look towards outside validation for who they are. What everyone thinks of them becomes the most important thing. How many likes they garner, how many comments they earn, lends these girls to feeling whether or not they're enough.

The other half of the message focuses a little more demurely on the fact that the only people tested are the girls. Are they worthy of the guys they are dating? No matter the outcome, the girls feel belittled and bullied, though some less than others. (view spoiler)[Especially Taylor, who initially complained about being a victim of online bullying, but quickly took part in it when it was Raylene's turn. (hide spoiler)]

"Girls are trained for this kind of scrutiny from the time we are little. People tell us if we're pretty... or thin... or smart."
"And they tell us if we're not any of those things," I say, because I've already read some of the comments under Raylene and Ross's picture.

A short book with a positive message about accepting yourself, Worthy is not to be overlooked. It's a fantastic addition to YA, especially for the younger teens that are still learning what it means to accept yourself and others for who and what they are.