An engaging cautionary tale about social media’s toxic inventions.
This debut novella offers a scathing indictment of those who take the fantasies of social media too seriously.
At the center of this prescient tale of deadly catfishing is Angela Fox, a sexy, blond bombshell and social media influencer who has millions of followers. There’s only one problem: Angela isn’t real. She was created by Sebastian Shafer in a desperate attempt to land a sales job at an exclusive car dealership. Using a plastic surgeon’s “after” picture of his wife, fading actor Liz Shafer, Sebastian sets up a Myface profile for Angela. Angela’s popularity soars when she’s chosen “Hottest Myface User of the Month.” Then an angry Liz hijacks Angela’s profile, changing the password and locking out Sebastian. One of Angela’s ardent followers is Norman Jarrett, a has-been child actor who livestreams his life 24/7 in a vain attempt to remain relevant. Liz as Angela decides to use Norman to eliminate obstacles in her life, starting with killing Amir Siddig, the director of a play that’s meant to be her comeback vehicle. The obvious suspect is Amir’s innocent wife, Jada, who can’t mount a sufficient defense. Sebastian still wants to cash in on Angela’s fame, so Liz aims Norman at him. But a pair of detectives wants to interview Angela, so it may be time for her to die as well. Bravo to Landt for casting blame on those living vicariously through social media celebrities and the nefarious people taking advantage of followers seeking to escape their humdrum lives. Still, it’s naïve to believe that safeguards on social media sites would prevent an Angela from existing. The author preaches a smart sermon of caution in this novella. But while Landt has a worthwhile message, he lacks sympathetic characters. The closest to likable is Max, the perjuring, closeted gay videographer who captures Norman’s life for the masses. The rest seem more than content to swim in the social media cesspool. The author seems to be imploring the audience to do better than these players and to step back into reality occasionally. This engrossing book may manage to get readers to ignore Facebook and Twitter—at least for a time.
An engaging cautionary tale about social media’s toxic inventions.Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73529-810-8
Page Count: 121
Publisher: Ripland Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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