Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Sort of | Just for Clicks

Just for Clicks by Kara Dowell

Release date: February 19th, 2019
Publisher: Amberjack

Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 352

Source: Received from NetGalley

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Twin sisters Claire & Poppy are accidental social media stars thanks to Mom going viral when they were babies. Now, as teens, they're expected to contribute by building their own brand. Attending a NY fashion week and receiving fan mail is a blast. Fending off internet trolls and would-be kidnappers? Not so much. Poppy embraces it. Claire hates it. Will anybody accept her as "just Claire"? And what should Claire do about Mom's old journals? The handwritten entries definitely don't sound like Mom's perfect blog persona. Worse, one of them divulges a secret that leaves Claire wondering what else in her life might be nothing but a sham . . .

Review

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Long story short, this novel is about an internet-famous teenager who despises the fact that she's famous. Her name is Claire and she wishes for nothing but to become a normal girl with a normal life away from photo shoots and endless rows of internet trolls. Her family is sort of like the next Kardashians, yet she doesn't want to be a part in any of it.

I had low expectations about this novel at first because I ALWAYS have low expectations for contemporary novels. I'm not sure why. I just think, that there's no way anyone can turn a teenage drama into a novel worthy of a 5-star review. I was right about that, actually...but I can also say that this novel also has its fair share of unpredictable feats that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Pros:

• YAY FOR SLOW-BURN ROMANCE! I love it when the MC and his/her love interest don't eat each other's face right after the minute they lay eyes on each other. And this novel has that! I had to read until almost at the end of the book before they actually do anything. But, their conversations and interactions all the way from the second they met made up for it. Their love for each other started off from friends and that was the best part. If you hate insta-love as much as I do, then this book is right up your alley.

• The story delivers such a meaningful message in this era of technology. Nowadays, people tend to look down on their screens when they're having a conversation rather than at the person they're talking to. It's depressing. You might lose moments of intimacy and heartfelt conversations just because you're not living in the moment. This book delivers the message that we all should stop being caught up in our Instagram-perfect life and start being aware of what the real world offers and appreciate it instead.

• RAFAEL DESERVES ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD. He was the main guy in this story and did I tell you he was cute? He was also very sweet and funny. He didn't have a phone and even when he did, he got a flipping flip-phone! I just found it funny because Claire lived her entire life in front of her phone and her love interest lived his without having one.

• I felt like I was living an internet celeb's life. Contrary to popular belief, internet influencers'  and celebrity's life isn't always full of glamorous endorsements, relaxing spa, and fun road trips. They have their countless waves of internet trolls, hate comments and e-mails, not to mention the constant pressure of having to look good on camera 24/7. It's eye-opening to see how it is behind the filtered Instagram photos. It made me realize they're humans, and while they might have it better than most of us, they still have their fair share of problems, too.

• SO MANY PLOT TWISTS. I couldn't count just how many times this book caught me by surprise. I love getting surprises, whether they're pleasant or unpleasant. This book had both and I love how the twists weren't cheesy or forced. I wasn't thinking too much while reading this book, maybe it explains why I couldn't predict what was going to happen. But if you like analyzing things and connecting the dots while reading, the twists might be predictable in some way.

Cons:

• Claire was annoying sometimes. I get it, she felt like a misfit, she was the awkward girl in her family. But the fact she lied whenever she was cornered, even when telling the truth was the most logical thing to do at the moment, irked me too much. Like, she lied about having a boyfriend when she clearly didn't and she was confused when Rafael didn't want to kiss her??? Excuse me, Rafael was just acting like a gentleman in that situation, y'know.

• The twin sister relationship felt too one-dimensional. Hey, I don't have a twin, but I DO have a sister. I just felt like Claire and Poppy's relationship didn't even resemble that of siblings. They were just so detached from each other. Only towards the end did we see any sort of sister dynamics between them.

• People act like bitches towards Claire, even her family. This is SO annoying. Nobody ever listened to what Claire said. Nobody thought her opinions mattered. Even when she was clearly uncomfortable about something, her mom and Poppy pushed her to do it. I felt bad for the girl, honestly. The only decent person in this whole book is Rafael, I swear.

It was such a pleasing and hilarious journey full of drama. But I'm glad I finished it. It felt satisfying reading a teenage novel expecting you'd read a happy ending, and in the end, you know you'd get it. Because that's what YA Contemporary Romance novels are for, right? I'm giving this book 4 stars because it fulfills that duty (and because of RAFAEL).

Our rating: ★ ★ ★ ★