#famous

#famous – Jilly Gagnon – Katherine Tegen Books – Published 14 February 2017

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Synopsis

In this modern-day love story, Girl likes Boy, Girl takes photo of Boy and posts it online, Boy becomes accidentally insta-famous. And what starts out as an innocent joke spirals into a whirlwind adventure that could change both their lives—and their hearts—forever. But are fame and love worth the price?

Told in alternating points of view, #famous captures the out-of-control thrill ride of falling for someone in front of everyone.

My thoughts

#famous #awesome #funnybookyoumustread #touchingaddictive #ICouldWriteThisWholeReviewInHashtags

I anticipated that #famous would be a fun book, I just never expected that I would enjoy it as much as I did. For some reason I thought this book might be a little cliché or done before, maybe a teen-y kind of book with two dimensional characters. And what I got instead was complete awesomeness. #famous is funny, clever, and simply downright addictive. I devoured this book. It was so very easy to read and I didn’t want to put it down.

Rachel has had a crush on Kyle forever. When she takes a covert picture of him working at Burger Barn and posts it on a photo sharing website, she only expects her best friend to see it. It’s not like she has many followers. But the photo suddenly explodes on the website, making Kyle into an overnight sensation and thrusting Rachel into the limelight with him – but for all the wrong reasons. As Kyle and Rachel deal with the fallout of the picture including TV talk show appearances, they may have a chance of becoming friends, even through all the crazy.


The awesomeness of this book lies not only in brilliant writing but also the characters. Rachel and Kyle are vibrant characters. Kyle: lacrosse player, cruising along, not sure what to do with his life going forward, happy, positive, trying to live up to his brother, and talks: like this. Rachel might not be Kyle’s polar opposite but she would definitely not call high school cool. She is one of the ‘weirdos’ and she has had a crush on Kyle for ages. He may or may not know she exists. She and her best friend Mo are aspiring playwrights. Rachel enjoys who she is – sure, she’s never going to be part of the popular crowd – but she has accepted her quirks. That is until things get nasty online. Who wouldn’t question their looks, weight, style, and personality with some of the things people post about her. And so, while Kyle rides a wave of popularity glory, Rachel takes a serious hit to her self-esteem. I thought that particular part of the book was handled well and was very believable.

The alternating chapters are used to upmost effect in #famous, cutting off from one perspective right at key moments and then doubling back from the other’s perspective to see the lead in and then the big reveal. It adds drama and keeps the reader clinging to the pages to find out what happens next. Very clever.

I highly recommend #famous. It combines a little bit of an online relationship, a bit of ‘unique girl falls for the popular guy’, a dash of high school tv reality show, friendship, family, high school drama, and a sweet romance. It’s funny, loveable, and easy to enjoy.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Young adult fiction.

Genre: Contemporary.

Themes: Social media, photo sharing, TV shows, high school, talk shows, online relationships, cyber bullying, family, romance, friendship, popularity.

Reading age guide: Ages 13 and up.

Advisory: Vaguely implied sexual references.

Published: 14 February 2017 by Katherine Tegen Books

Format: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook. 384 pages.

ISBN: 9780062430038

Find it on Goodreads