Reviews

Like Me by Hayley Phelan

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thank you netgalley, lake union publishing, and hayley phelan for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! this was definitely a page-turner and shocked me with it’s honesty towards social media and the modeling industry. i’ve seen a lot of negative reviews for this one, but i really enjoyed it, and found it to be surprisingly relevant in today’s world.

mickey, our narrator, is an aspiring model in new york city. she’s been obsessed with another model on social media, gemma anton, and tries to be more like her in order to gain more likes and follows. mickey and gemma look similar, so she focuses on her because she’s a lot like her, but more popular.

i liked that mickey was an unreliable narrator throughout and that the ending doesn’t tell you what really happened. i have a few guesses, but i really don’t know the truth about the novel and what was going on, but i think that makes it more interesting. i enjoyed the epilogue and how mickey found more happiness after she starts focusing less on social media.

my main complaint with this book is i feel like some parts could have been cut out of shortened because they were a bit unnecessary. however, it was well written, and addresses many issues facing the world today with the rise of social media.

lrosenberg32's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

emma_scully's review against another edition

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4.0

A fever dream into the world of social media obsession. Really made me think about how much content I mindlessly consume. I’ve seen some criticism about how “all over the place” this book is and how it has shallow takes on complex social issues but I thought that was the point. Mickey wrote it and that’s exactly how she experiences her world - I liked how strong her character voice was.

gracekeltner's review

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4.0

Unhinged and problematic and really good. But apparently this is being marketed as a thriller and people are disappointed by the book after reading it. While there is lots of ominous tension and stress in like every scene, don’t go into it expecting a suspense novel. It’s a really good unhinged womens lit book.

Update from August 2023: this gives the vibes of The Idol if it slayed

minna1999's review against another edition

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3.0

Love the writing! I’d never saw anyone else capture dissociation so well. The “twist” was kinda obvious, but maybe that’s because it’s become a common trope in psychological thrillers only recently.

baconsaur's review

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3.0

Uncomfortable

This was a really uncomfortable read. I wanted to quit several times but needed to get to the end, so I can’t rate it too low. I get what the author was trying to do and say, but it felt very surface and the protagonist was so flat it was hard to feel sympathy. Which maybe was the point? The structure frustrated me with the lack of chapters (though the end explains it) but I feel it could’ve been better.