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laweirdgurl's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A solid YA read with a social media twist!
It did kind of bother me that no one recognized Becca as the girl Kat was catfishing as when was apprently a super famous youtuber esp since the book mentions that people have been making video essays wondering what happened to her... it might have been a unique conflict to have some YouTube sleuth get involved in some way.
That being said I was actually less interested in Kat's catfishing shenanigans than I was with her unique family situation. I actually felt kind of let down by the ending and I wished we'd gotten more time with the mom since I found her to be really interesting!
I was also pleasantly surprised that there was a f/f romance! Elena and Kat were super cute!
I saw some people being shocked that Kat and Elena didn't get together in the end but I thought that it was a refreshing and realistic consequence for Kat to face
It did kind of bother me that no one recognized Becca as the girl Kat was catfishing as when was apprently a super famous youtuber esp since the book mentions that people have been making video essays wondering what happened to her... it might have been a unique conflict to have some YouTube sleuth get involved in some way.
That being said I was actually less interested in Kat's catfishing shenanigans than I was with her unique family situation. I actually felt kind of let down by the ending and I wished we'd gotten more time with the mom since I found her to be really interesting!
I was also pleasantly surprised that there was a f/f romance! Elena and Kat were super cute!
damusicalpoet's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hk_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
zeusygoosey's review
4.0
A refreshing take on messing up and having consequences. Not everything turns out like in the movies.
bookishsavv's review
1.0
SO, i have a lot to say about this book... I know this is YA and I guess maybe im not the intended audience but either way, let's get into it.
We start off learning about Kat Sanchez, she is a liar. She has this weird family dynamic where she lies to everyone she knows saying that she lives with her parents and has this great loving family, when in reality she lives with her grandparents. I can understand the family trauma and the way that would be upsetting, especially in this situation with how it all played out, but it was just made out to be so much of a bigger deal than it should have been. Tons of kids live with their extended family and not their parents and I think the way this book handles it, could make kids insecure about their families or upset if they have similar stories.
After that, we meet all of Kat's friends, she has this fun friend group where they all love photography, its basically the entire plot of the book. Kat has a friend named Hari, who she regularly hooks up with and they almost have sex, which honestly shocked me because the reading level and the book in general seems to be directed towards a much younger audience than I originally expected and I'm not sure that topic is appropriate. Kat also works at an animal shelter, where she has a college-aged friend named Becca. Becca is gorgeous and everything that Kat wants to be. She takes pictures of Becca for her portfolio regularly and after one shitty night she decides to take Becca's photos and make a fake instagram of her under the name Max.
Through Max's account, Kat meets Elena, who is everything Kat wants in a girl. We also find out Kat is Bi which is actually the only reason this book gets a star. I think its important for young teens to read about LGBTQ+ characters and their coming out stories and I think this book did a good job with that, but that is about the only good thing this book does. Max's instagram is taking off and doing a lot better than Kat's account, Elena messages Max and asks who her photographer is, which is how Kat is introduced to Elena. Max and Elena have conversations on the phone and chat all day, that is until Kat meets Elena in person to take pictures of her, Max disappears. For some odd reason, Elena doesn't realize at all how this may be weird. She never questions it whatsoever, the nativity is just unreal and not realistic in my opinion. This book released in 2022, there is truly no reasonable excuse to get catfished with how technology has progressed, it just isn't believable at all.
Of course Becca finds out about Kat using her pictures, the friendship blows up in her face and Kat just ignores it. She tells her friends, they convince her to tell Elena, Elena hates Kat. Kat's family drama blows up and then basically nothing happens. Her family doesn't really get much better, she has a conversation with her dad and becomes closer with her brother, but no progress with her mom who is the main problem and antagonist. She hangs out with her friends and there's this one really weird short sentence basically where she meets some girl and says hi to her and thats it?? Literally it was so useless. She tries to remedy her relationship with Elena by this big grand gesture, just for her to be rejected. Idk, this was a waste of my time. Just don't read it.
We start off learning about Kat Sanchez, she is a liar. She has this weird family dynamic where she lies to everyone she knows saying that she lives with her parents and has this great loving family, when in reality she lives with her grandparents. I can understand the family trauma and the way that would be upsetting, especially in this situation with how it all played out, but it was just made out to be so much of a bigger deal than it should have been. Tons of kids live with their extended family and not their parents and I think the way this book handles it, could make kids insecure about their families or upset if they have similar stories.
After that, we meet all of Kat's friends, she has this fun friend group where they all love photography, its basically the entire plot of the book. Kat has a friend named Hari, who she regularly hooks up with and they almost have sex, which honestly shocked me because the reading level and the book in general seems to be directed towards a much younger audience than I originally expected and I'm not sure that topic is appropriate. Kat also works at an animal shelter, where she has a college-aged friend named Becca. Becca is gorgeous and everything that Kat wants to be. She takes pictures of Becca for her portfolio regularly and after one shitty night she decides to take Becca's photos and make a fake instagram of her under the name Max.
Through Max's account, Kat meets Elena, who is everything Kat wants in a girl. We also find out Kat is Bi which is actually the only reason this book gets a star. I think its important for young teens to read about LGBTQ+ characters and their coming out stories and I think this book did a good job with that, but that is about the only good thing this book does. Max's instagram is taking off and doing a lot better than Kat's account, Elena messages Max and asks who her photographer is, which is how Kat is introduced to Elena. Max and Elena have conversations on the phone and chat all day, that is until Kat meets Elena in person to take pictures of her, Max disappears. For some odd reason, Elena doesn't realize at all how this may be weird. She never questions it whatsoever, the nativity is just unreal and not realistic in my opinion. This book released in 2022, there is truly no reasonable excuse to get catfished with how technology has progressed, it just isn't believable at all.
Of course Becca finds out about Kat using her pictures, the friendship blows up in her face and Kat just ignores it. She tells her friends, they convince her to tell Elena, Elena hates Kat. Kat's family drama blows up and then basically nothing happens. Her family doesn't really get much better, she has a conversation with her dad and becomes closer with her brother, but no progress with her mom who is the main problem and antagonist. She hangs out with her friends and there's this one really weird short sentence basically where she meets some girl and says hi to her and thats it?? Literally it was so useless. She tries to remedy her relationship with Elena by this big grand gesture, just for her to be rejected. Idk, this was a waste of my time. Just don't read it.
kimiloughlin's review
4.0
Maldonado really brings her loveably wonderful main characters to life. The main character, Kat, has plenty of familial baggage, interests, and crushes and struggles through some bad decisions to come out a better human being. I love the body positivity, bisexual rep, and the examination of relationships with social media.
madkat320's review
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0