Reviews

Reader, this is not a near-future cautionary tale. It's today's reality, snippets of a society where support networks become increasingly intermeshed with social media. Family vloggers, 'kidfluencers', parents who are forever toeing the line between sharing and exploitation? It's real, it's here. And it's becoming hard to differentiate: Is this parent just blinded by clout, oblivious of the harm this might do their children? Or is it deliberate; do they see it as an acceptable payment for fame and monetary gain?

Delphine de Vigan gives us Mélanie, a social media superstar who shares her children's lives online. It's daily, it's always, it's everywhere. There is no privacy for her son and daughter, no free time, no toys that do not come with sponsorships and fake bright smiles for the algorithm. The daughter, Kimmy, shouts into the void: «No, I do not want to film today. No, I do not like this.»

When Kimmy is abducted, is Mélanie at fault? And if so, to what degree? Clara, a young police officer, might as well be from another planet, so alien is this social media world to her. Yet, when the lives of these two woman intertwine, it highlights that they are ultimately driven by the same childhood trauma: Never being enough, never truly belonging – looking for the same fulfillment in different ways.

«Kids Run The Show» is many things: an insightful reflection on the voyeuristic nature of social media, an exploration of its false sense of community, fueled by the immense emotional void of modern society… It's a captivating read – but it's not a thriller, nor a police procedural. Kimmy's disappearence is not the focus of the story, it just highlights her exploitation and her mother's deeply flawed emotional landscape.

And this is exactly where I see the novel's shortcomings: This kind of story needs strong, complex protagonists to make it more than a morality tale. But ultimately, their personal development falls short, reduced to a blueprint of what's wrong with social media; there is little resonance on a more personal level.

In the end, this was an interesting read for me, but one that did not fulfill its potential.

annegrmn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

miisjess's review

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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