All her life, Imogene has been known as the girl on THAT blog.
Imogene's mother has been writing an incredibly embarrassing, and incredibly popular, blog about her since before she was born. Hundreds of thousands of perfect strangers knew when Imogene had her first period. Imogene's crush saw her "before and after" orthodontia photos. But Imogene is fifteen now, and her mother is still blogging about her, in gruesome detail, against her will.
When a mandatory school project compels Imogene to start her own blog, Imogene is reluctant to expose even more of her life online...until she realizes that the project is the opportunity she's been waiting for to tell the truth about her life under the virtual microscope and to define herself for the first time.
Don't Call Me Baby is a sharply observed and irrepressibly charming story about mothers and daughters, best friends and first crushes, and the surface-level identities we show the world online and the truth you can see only in real life.
Paperback, 304 pages
Expected publication:
April 22nd 2014
by Harper Teen
Terri's Thoughts:
I received this ARC from the publisher Harper Teen via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is April 22, 2014.
This story is definitely geared to the YA audience and would be fitting for readers the same age as Imogene (15) or slightly younger. As a reader who is no longer in this demographic I put myself in the shoes of my niece who is. Let me tell you I would have been mortified if my mom was blogging every detail of my life as Imogene's mother did.
The main gist of the story was the struggle of growing up, yearning for privacy and learning to communicate with those in your life. There was no good guy or bad guy in this story. It was about learning to understand others, really listening to them and finding a middle ground. At times Imogene seemed immature and her mother insensitive however both actions came from an honest place.
What I like most about the story was the underlying message throughout about unplugging and spending real face time with those in your life. In this day and age when everyone is glued to their computers, tablets and cell phones it is something that is lacking in many families and a really positive message to give, particularly with the age demographic that this story targets. While I site here blogging it is also a message that I have received loud and clear.
Overall an entertaining read with a positive message!
About the Author
Twitter: GwenHeasley
Thank you for your review. I saw this one and wasn't sure if I would like it or not but now I think I may give it a chance. :)
ReplyDeleteKristalyn @ The Sarcastic Palmtree