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snowreo's review against another edition
3.0
I requested this ARC on Netgalley after finding the description really interesting. The premise of influencer culture in a contemporary novel as well as how that fits into the mystery/thriller genre ws extremely promising t0 me.
The book follows the disappearance of 13-year-old Chloe Cates, a child internet star carefully groomed into her status by her controlling mother Jennifer. In an effort to bring back her perfect life she worked so hard to cultivate for herself and her daughter, she takes to social media for help bringing her home. After a country-wide buzz ensues, investigative detective Emilina enlists her services. However, Emilina is much more intertwined in the case and the Cates family than she initially realized, and it'll take everything she's got to be objective and find Chloe before it's too late.
In general I liked the book. That is to say, there was nothing in particular that made it unreadable. I did enjoy that the characters were unlikeable because I found that it fell in line with the whole idea of internet personas or on-camera personalities and how cutthroat the industry is. However, that's the only specific thing that I can say that I liked. Unfortunately, there were things that fell flat for me. I didn't like how long it took for me to actually care about the story and for the action to pick up. I almost DNFed it but seeing all the 5 star ratings convinced me to keep going. I didn't enjoy how many side plots and the number of characters being introduced at once because it was a lot to keep up with. There was also a lot of pacing issues for me, where it never felt consistent and was either too fast or too slow.
That being said, if you like stories about the perils of social media or stories with a complex web of events and interpersonal connections, this could be for you.
The book follows the disappearance of 13-year-old Chloe Cates, a child internet star carefully groomed into her status by her controlling mother Jennifer. In an effort to bring back her perfect life she worked so hard to cultivate for herself and her daughter, she takes to social media for help bringing her home. After a country-wide buzz ensues, investigative detective Emilina enlists her services. However, Emilina is much more intertwined in the case and the Cates family than she initially realized, and it'll take everything she's got to be objective and find Chloe before it's too late.
In general I liked the book. That is to say, there was nothing in particular that made it unreadable. I did enjoy that the characters were unlikeable because I found that it fell in line with the whole idea of internet personas or on-camera personalities and how cutthroat the industry is. However, that's the only specific thing that I can say that I liked. Unfortunately, there were things that fell flat for me. I didn't like how long it took for me to actually care about the story and for the action to pick up. I almost DNFed it but seeing all the 5 star ratings convinced me to keep going. I didn't enjoy how many side plots and the number of characters being introduced at once because it was a lot to keep up with. There was also a lot of pacing issues for me, where it never felt consistent and was either too fast or too slow.
That being said, if you like stories about the perils of social media or stories with a complex web of events and interpersonal connections, this could be for you.
charliemaryann's review against another edition
2.0
Genre: Adult Thriller, murder mystery
Themes: missing girl, murder, lies
★★
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy of ‘Chloe Cates Is Missing’.
We are following three voices throughout this book - Jennifer (the fame hungry, child exploiting blog mum), Jackson (the seemingly better parent), and Emilina (the girl boss detective with past ties to Jennifer). as we unravel the mysterious disappearance of a teen social media star.
Despite my low rating, I didn’t hate this book by any means, I just merely know that I will forget about it because it wasn’t anything new or spectacular. The writing style just wasn’t for me, it lacked the engaging and descriptive style that I adore in my thrillers. It very much feels like reading a fanfic about Danielle Cohn going missing. On the subject of Danielle Cohn, Jennifer felt very inspired by Jen (Danielle’s mother) with a switched narrative, instead of exploring her daughter provocatively, fictional Jennifer exploits her daughter in a more “age appropriate” way. More on Jennifer later.
Despite the writing lacking substance, I found myself intrigued with the mystery and wanting to know what happened to Chloe and so I encouraged myself to read on. This story tries to have shocking twists and turns that just weren’t shocking. I saw them coming from a mile away. I believe this book should still be read for insight into the reality of the behind the scenes of social media. Social is media dominates our society, some may say that we are addicted to it and reliant on it for validation and many other things. Social media plays a powerful role in this story and is at the forefront of the mystery. Usually, I do love the use of social media in my thrillers (Podcasts etc) but this one just didn’t give me the same feeling as those other books. I think it’s really important to see the reality of these influencers, especially family vloggers and bloggers who (and this is up to the individuals interpretation) are exploiting their children for swag, status, clout, fame etc. This book paints rather a different narrative to what social media influencers want us to believe.
I absolutely hated Jennifer. Everything she does is calculated down to every little detail for social media. She is a pathological liar and exploited her children for fame and money. My heart broke for Abby and JJ for the childhood that they never had, for the isolation from society Abby had to endure to win her mothers “love.” These may be fictional characters, but somewhere real people exist who are like Jennifer and Chloe.
In conclusion, I encourage anyone who comes across this review to give this a chance. The conversations within these pages are worth pondering over.
Themes: missing girl, murder, lies
★★
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy of ‘Chloe Cates Is Missing’.
We are following three voices throughout this book - Jennifer (the fame hungry, child exploiting blog mum), Jackson (the seemingly better parent), and Emilina (the girl boss detective with past ties to Jennifer). as we unravel the mysterious disappearance of a teen social media star.
Despite my low rating, I didn’t hate this book by any means, I just merely know that I will forget about it because it wasn’t anything new or spectacular. The writing style just wasn’t for me, it lacked the engaging and descriptive style that I adore in my thrillers. It very much feels like reading a fanfic about Danielle Cohn going missing. On the subject of Danielle Cohn, Jennifer felt very inspired by Jen (Danielle’s mother) with a switched narrative, instead of exploring her daughter provocatively, fictional Jennifer exploits her daughter in a more “age appropriate” way. More on Jennifer later.
Despite the writing lacking substance, I found myself intrigued with the mystery and wanting to know what happened to Chloe and so I encouraged myself to read on. This story tries to have shocking twists and turns that just weren’t shocking. I saw them coming from a mile away. I believe this book should still be read for insight into the reality of the behind the scenes of social media. Social is media dominates our society, some may say that we are addicted to it and reliant on it for validation and many other things. Social media plays a powerful role in this story and is at the forefront of the mystery. Usually, I do love the use of social media in my thrillers (Podcasts etc) but this one just didn’t give me the same feeling as those other books. I think it’s really important to see the reality of these influencers, especially family vloggers and bloggers who (and this is up to the individuals interpretation) are exploiting their children for swag, status, clout, fame etc. This book paints rather a different narrative to what social media influencers want us to believe.
I absolutely hated Jennifer. Everything she does is calculated down to every little detail for social media. She is a pathological liar and exploited her children for fame and money. My heart broke for Abby and JJ for the childhood that they never had, for the isolation from society Abby had to endure to win her mothers “love.” These may be fictional characters, but somewhere real people exist who are like Jennifer and Chloe.
In conclusion, I encourage anyone who comes across this review to give this a chance. The conversations within these pages are worth pondering over.
jackolidus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The characters, especially the tween girl, are not believable. I occasionally found it hard to follow whose perspective we were following because most of them were written in the exact same voice. Except for the girl, she was busy talking about jeggings and calling her mom a momster. The slang was just a bit dated :/
The twists had so much buildup and when they were finally revealed I was disappointed.I feel like the motive for the murder at the end was not developed enough. Sure, she killed the girl, but why? Because they had one argument? I also didn’t think the motive for Jen’s murder had enough context. Like sure she got bullied twice on screen but I was bullied in high school and I was also homeschooled and I never came anywhere close to murder.
Every character was lying the entire time, which was an interesting move. It took the unreliable narrator thing to a new level. Not only was everyone lying, but it seemed like they didn’t even know what the truth was themselves. The story sucked me in though!
The twists had so much buildup and when they were finally revealed I was disappointed.
Every character was lying the entire time, which was an interesting move. It took the unreliable narrator thing to a new level. Not only was everyone lying, but it seemed like they didn’t even know what the truth was themselves.
toriestories06's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookish_withsky's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book that had me hating certain characters and not really liking any of them, but in a good way. Basically, you’re not really following any heros here. The writing style almost felt like I was reading a confessional scene in a reality show (not sure if that’s just me though) which I felt really suited the story itself. The characters make very questionable decisions but they fall in line with who the characters are. It’s a pretty solid story that I think a lot of people will enjoy, though it can be a bit predictable. The journey there was just a fun, hot mess.
teresaalice's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay, but the “crazed mother” trope is getting a little old.
crin_d1nk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I binged this in a very short period of time. This book started off running and I could not stop listening. It kept me on my toes throughout the story and I wasn't sure how it would end. The ending was satisfying although sad and forboding.
alybre13's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 rounded up to 5. Fits into my favorite category of book that I like to call "compulsively readable". One of those books you can't put down, and keeps you flipping pages.