The Book:
People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd, 2021
The Characters:
Emmy and her husband Dan
The Plot (from Goodreads):
To her adoring fans, Emmy Jackson, aka @the_mamabare, is the honest “Instamum” who always tells it like it is.
To her skeptical husband, a washed-up novelist who knows just how creative Emmy can be with the truth, she is a breadwinning powerhouse chillingly brilliant at monetizing the intimate details of their family life.
To one of Emmy’s dangerously obsessive followers, she’s the woman that has everything—but deserves none of it.
As Emmy’s marriage begins to crack under the strain of her growing success and her moral compass veers wildly off course, the more vulnerable she becomes to a very real danger circling ever closer to her family.
In this deeply addictive tale of psychological suspense, Ellery Lloyd raises important questions about technology, social media celebrity, and the way we live today. Probing the dark side of influencer culture and the perils of parenting online, People Like Her explores our desperate need to be seen and the lengths we’ll go to be liked by strangers. It asks what—and who—we sacrifice when make our private lives public, and ultimately lose control of who we let in…
The Twist:
The “obsessive follower” was the mother of one of Emmy’s fans, Grace. Grace had asked Emmy for advice on co-sleeping, and Emmy had told her it was perfectly safe. Grace’s daughter suffocated in the night when Grace’s hair got tangled around her throat. Grace later killed herself over the grief. The mother decided to take out her vendetta on Emmy by showing her what it feels like to lose a child.
She lures Emmy to her cabin by sending her own driver on the day Emmy is supposed to go to a digital detox retreat. No one notices that Emmy and her baby are missing for days. Dan and Emmy’s agent track Emmy down rather unrealistically and save both her and Bear.
The Ending:
Dan takes over the “Mamabare” brand as “Papabare”.
The Review:
Brb, deleting my Instagram…
…just kidding. But books like this definitely make me think twice about what kind of information I share!
I really enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. I read it in just over a day (most of it while waiting in line in my car for a covid test!). The writing grabbed my attention from the beginning, and I couldn’t put it down. I just happened to be reading it alongside Followers by Megan Angelo, which is a very different plot but also revolves around a social media star so I was able to draw interesting parallels.
I found the descriptions of Emmy’s life as a social media star to be incredibly interesting. Especially in the discrepancies between Emmy and Dan’s narration, where Dan basically points out all the lies Emmy tells her followers to remain relatable. Sure, we all tell white lies on social media (you can’t tell how messy my house is by looking at my account!), but Emmy takes it to the extreme. To her credit, though, she certainly is committed to building her brand and her business.
Add in the suspense of the obsessive follower, and I was hooked.
People Like Her will be available on January 12, 2021.
This was a Book of the Month pick last month. Haven’t checked out Book of the Month yet? Use my code for $10 off your first box. (I get a $10 credit too, but that means more reviews for me to share with you!)
So far, my Book of the Month purchase has been a great success–I’ve rated both People Like Her and The Girl in the Mirror five stars.
If you liked this, you might like:
- Follow Me by Kathleen Barber
- Followers by Megan Angelo
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