Projection, a science-fiction novel by Tabatha Shipley, has an interesting premise. What if, by embedded technology, you could project your thoughts on a screen? And what if that same technology glitched and you started showing private memories to the public?

This is the dilemma of sixteen-year-old Emma Johnson. An average girl in the near future whose largest problem is getting to History class on time finds herself in an embarrassing situation of displaying her memories, and sometimes her fantasies, in front of everyone. Before the glitch, Emma lives a normal life. She has best friends in Bella Norte and her sometimes-boyfriend Tyler. Another handsome classmate, Alex Slater, however has taken notice of her. He asks Emma out for coffee. Is it a date? Emma sure hopes so.

From there, the plot progresses into a series of mishaps I won’t explain here. Events turn serious rapidly. The malfunctioning chip under Emma’s skin is only the start of her experiences, and the story has another innovative idea concerning memories awaiting the reader later. No spoilers here.

Emma is a believable and likable person right from page one. She and Bella act and sound like teenage girls in the future. Pairing that with a great science-fiction idea set in an “average” family situation and you have an absorbing novel. While I enjoyed reading about Emma and her day-to-day struggles, the book took its time to get to the central idea. Personally, I wish the last quarter of the novel had lasted longer. I would’ve preferred a little less of Emma’s day-to-day travails and more of her adventure.

Ms. Shipley creates a near-future world that is both believable and fantastic. She sprinkles nice little details like paying for coffee with your mind or comparing two black and orange buildings as tigers through the novel. One idea that I thought was wonderful was how she uses projections to describe how others see Emma. The main character gets to see how others view her through their projections. Sometimes this doesn’t match how Emma sees herself. Very innovative!

This novel is a worthy addition to your library, and I believe a young adult reader would like it more than I did. If you like science fiction set in a world similar to the one we live in with a nice adventure near the end, you’ll want to pick up Projection.