Kara McDowell

"Twin sisters Claire and Poppy are accidental social media stars thanks to Mom going viral when they were babies. But what happens when, as teens, they're expected to contribute by building their own brand?"--

Just for Clicks

Sahi K

More of a 3.5 star read.

I saw this book many times while browsing but it really wasn’t much on my radar to read until I saw a couple of trusted bloggers promoting it on social media. And it definitely didn’t disappoint. It started off really well but then took some interesting and not very pleasing turns, so I kind of have mixed feelings about the book overall.

Claire is a very realistic teenage protagonist. Her whole life has been about the blog and YouTube and she feels tired of living her life in the public eye. Being a teenager is difficult for anyone, so I could totally empathize with her wanting something different for her future and something even as simple as a friendship that has nothing to do with her online persona. She is also kind of a web design genius and I really loved reading about a STEM heroine. She is witty and hilarious and I loved her silly puns. But she is also scared of strangers and that added an extra dimension to the reality of fame. 

The story faltered a bit when it came to the remaining characters. Claire’s twin Poppy, with whom she shares her vlog with felt slightly caricaturish. She is quite enamored with the fame and loves her million subscribers and free clothes and is most excited with the opportunity of a reality show. Their mother Ashley has had her blog since before the twins were born and her life revolves around her brand. She schedules every hour of their life, turns even their supposedly private celebrations into publicity shoots and doesn’t believe in talking about things that make her uncomfortable. Both of them never let Claire ever express her opinion and always impose their decisions on her. Maybe this is how Claire views them and I would have felt differently about them if they had their own POVs, but I just didn’t like both of them for most part of the book. Rafael was the sweet, new boy in town who befriends Claire without knowing that she is internet famous and I absolutely adored their friendship development. It was so beautifully done, but just when I thought I was getting more swoon worthy moments, Claire kept telling unnecessary lies which led to misunderstandings and their budding romance lost the magic for me.

The writing was very nicely done and I finished this pretty quickly in a single sitting. All chapters are peppered with texts or emails or forum posts in between which made for fun reading. I also thought the author did a good job of giving us the positives vs negatives of fame and popularity and how the persona that social media influencers show us is not the true reality of their life. I think this can be a good read for teenagers who follow such influencers and blindly idolize them. However, I did have some problems in parts too, the biggest being Rafael’s reason for not having a phone. I liked that he was one person who was kind of a technophobe and could happily be without a phone, but saying that it was because he was used to living in a village in India where there was no cell reception felt very poorly researched. Even remote villages like my own native place have reception and even internet these days and dismissing Indian villages as so primitive without technology was done in bad taste. Also, the execution of the plot in the second half of the book went a little downhill. The mystery of Ashley’s past, how Claire decides to deal with it and all the revelations and resolutions towards the end felt rushed, poorly thought out and very out of character for all of them.

Overall, this was a fascinating read with an insightful look into the private lives of social influencers and I think it’ll be quite enjoyable to younger readers. I think it’s a great debut attempt which could have done with better execution.

Jelke Lenaerts

I RECEIVED A GALLEY OF THIS THROUGH NETGALLEY
TW: aniexty and PTSD

I really enjoyed my time reading this. I had a hard time putting this down because it went to places I wasn't expected and I was just curious about everything. So yeah, I was kind of addicted to this while reading it. However, after putting the book down I wouldn't think about that much. I also had a few problems with this book. We were made to believe that these twins are super famous and they can't go anywhere without everyone knowing them but the numbers given in this book just didn't match that. They were offered a reality show right after they hit a milion subscribers. Compared to the other lifestyle and beauty YouTubers that is a relative small channel and no way would they get a reality show. It just didn't make sense to me. I also wasn't a big fan of the main character towards the ending. She became very annoying and I just wanted to scream at her.

Megan Leprich

Thank you so much to Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my review. 

I actually really really liked this book which actually surprised me. This isn’t my typical genre of book and I haven’t read a book like this since I was a teenager. I think since I have followed a couple of youtubers since they started is one main reason I liked this book so much. I loved the authors writing style and I loved the character of Claire. 

Claire and her twin sister Poppy are YouTube stars that have been on the internet since their mom’s blog from before they were born. Their YouTube channel is focused on fashion, makeup, and tutorials and brands that want to sponsor them. While Poppy loves it and is constantly trying to make the channel better, Claire is tired of her every move being on the internet and is ready to call it quits which would mean disappointing her mom and her sister. Claire has never felt like she’s truly a part of the family and when she finds her mom’s old journals buried in a closet she finally realizes why. All Claire wants to do is go to college, continue her computer coding, and get to know the new guy in school better. She must make a big decision about whether she should continue to do what is expected of her or if she should start living her own life the way she wants to. 

When I first read the synopsis for this book I didn’t think I would really enjoy it. This is a book I would have loved as a teenager and honestly thought I might be too old to read it. But then I started reading it and really enjoyed it. I’m so glad I found this author and hope to read more by her!

Epsita

This book surprised me. I enjoyed it more than I thought it would. The twists were interesting and the pros and cons of social media were good. It’s a good lighthearted read.

Jessica 

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  As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via Edelweiss by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.
 

Review also found here at Booked J. 

When I first requested Just for Clicks, I knew I would enjoy it. I just didn't know how much I would. I have to say, firstly, that I am really impressed with all the contemporaries that I've read so far in 2019. We're less than a month of our way through the new year and already, every single YA contemporary that I've read has been good and quite distinct in their own ways. Just for Clicks is no different and it's a blast.

I'll admit that I struggled, initially, with what I wanted to rate the book as. I bounced around from 3 to 3.5, to 4, and found I'd wanted to rate it somewhere around 4.5-5 by the time I processed it all. I really enjoyed the way that this novel made me feel--all warm and fuzzy and not unlike a release by Sarah Dessen, Susane Colasanti or Jenny Han. It's the type of contemporary novel that you finish quickly because it's impossible to not devour it. 

There's this fondness that comes with Just for Clicks because you genuinely care about the characters in it. I didn't dislike anyone, aside from the foes that Claire and Poppy have met along the way. I liked that this showed more than just the perks of being famous online (the girls are both Youtubers who have a substantial following and have, quite literally, grown up in the eyes of a specific audience online) and really zeroed in on how stressful it could become for someone so young. 

What I loved most about Just for Clicks was the relationship at the center of the book: the two sisters. I liked that no matter their differences, and no matter the big twist (I am not spoiling you guys!) that threatens to come between them, they remain sisters for life. I thought that the way McDowell portrayed these two was beautiful and honest. 

Further, I like the care that she took in tackling heavier topics such as the weirdly invasive fans of the two teenagers; the overly pushy mother who is very much so a Kris Jenner like figure (only a bit more sympathetic) who has secrets of her own, and the way an attempt to kidnap the girls changed them at a young age and shaped them into who they are now. 

Going into Just for Clicks I expected something lighter and less heartfelt than the book was in the end, and I've never been more thrilled. I came into Just for Clicks thinking that it would be another L.A. Candy or Girl Online, but it ended up being something else entirely. 

I can't really compare it to anything other than the way that Krista and Becca Ritchie approach certain topics in their Addicted, Calloway Sisters and Like Us series. It's the type of story that seems overly fluffy upon reading the synopsis, but has a lot of soul to it. It was just fun and I cannot recommend it enough.

Just for Clicks

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