Chan Shealy's got most things going right in her life—straight A's, a shot at the regional majorette championships in baton twirling, and the best best friend a girl could wish for. But after the football quarterback spreads a vicious lie about her, and the whole school decides she's too trashy for words, Chan begins to wonder if the only place she'll find love is online.

This is a very realistic book about online predators, but it is also about much more. I haven't really read much about a teen dealing with an STD, and I think that its really important to talk about, because no matter how gross or uncomfortable, it is REAL LIFE. Sometimes things in fiction can make something in real life easier to deal with and hopefully that will make someone less ashamed of themselves, and realize that even though a mistake, it can happen, and you can still live your life.
That said, the main character was sympathetic in some ways. She did in a sense have it all, but she also had a broken heart, an STD, and attracts the wrong sort of attention online, so really, she didn't. I didn't connect with her personally the best, but I still was invested in what happened to her, and I saw the bad things coming and didn't want it to.
This book does relationships really well. I love the realistic, but strong connection she has with her sister. She's dramatic, bratty at times, but underneath vulnerable and young. I love it when Chan's protective instincts kicks in, and the soft moments where she lets her in her bed after a nightmare, and other ways she looks out for her. I also love her bff Devin, it makes me long for a friend like that. As a mom, I can totally see her side of the story, but remembering childhood, I can also see how stifling that could be. I think the perfect balance was met with her father though. It is hard how she used to be ashamed of his size, but now she's seeing past that to the great man and dad that he is. I loved the moments with them together.
The plot was fast moving and kept me interested, especially after the first few chapters of set up. I liked Vaught's writing style and want to read more of her stuff.

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Chan has PIRs (parental Internet rules) when it comes to being on the computer and the Internet at home. The key rules are:

1. Never put any identifying information on the Internet without parental approval.
2. No public profiles.
3. Everything that is done on the computer gets supervised or reviewed.

Chan is about to break every one of these rules in the next few weeks.

After a horrible breakup at school the previous spring with the school quarterback, Chan avoids dating and boys. But she wants to find the perfect companion somehow. And the best and safest way, Chan decides, is to find one on the Internet. But this goes against all three of the cardinal rules.

So with begrudging help from her best friend, Devin, the two girls set up a secret Blahfest profile. The two also add streaming video of the two twirling batons in Chan's room. Before they know it, Chan has a message on her profile. It's from Knighthawk859. The two start secret harmless chat sessions that go long into the night. Knighthawk (aka Paul) tells Chan how to download a screen saver that will also help purge and hide any talks and keystrokes. Paul seems perfect and can even recite Emily Dickinson back to Chan. (Chan adores Emily's poetry.)

Chan's schoolwork starts to suffer, and she's getting less and less sleep. It doesn't help that her 8-year-old sister, Lauren, wakes up with nightmares each night and comes into Chan's room for comfort. With lack of sleep, and bruises from Lauren's restless sleeping, all Chan can concentrate on is her next chat session with Paul. The only bright spot outside of the chatting is her twirling. With Paul's assistance (financial and educational), Chan has gotten onto a training routine and her twirling has never been better.

But soon, the chatting turns darker. And when Chan encounters a similar screen saver on the family's computer downstairs, she starts to panic that her younger sister has gotten in above her head as well. Can Chan come clean with her secret boyfriend to save her sister, or will everything come crashing down because of her?

EXPOSED is one of those books that are ideal to be shared between parents and their teenagers. It explores the hazards of seemingly harmless chatting on the Internet. It shares how anyone determined enough can piece the puzzle pieces together with relatively limited information. Chan's PIRs may seem silly to the average teenager, but in reality, and in light of today's identity thefts and predators, they may even be too simple. ( )

Not a bad book at all. I'd add it to my middle school collection, but at times the ABC After School Special teaching me a good lesson about the dangers of the Internet-ness got on my nerves. ( )

A teenage girl gets involved with a guy online so she can have a "safe" relationship only to discover this new relationship might be more than she bargained for. I really loved the last 30 pages of this book, but thought the rest was just so-so. I wanted to care more for waht was going to happen to Chan, but I just couldn't sympathize with her very much. The book is an interesting look into what can happen online with strangers. ( )