[Review] How to Disappear - Sharon Huss Roat

Summary: Vicky Decker has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight. But when her only friend moves away, Vicky’s mother is desperate for Vicky to meet people, even if it means stepping in to help. To avoid that embarrassment, Vicky decides to invent a social life by Photoshopping herself into photos and posting them on Instagram under her screen name, Vicurious. As she adds herself to photos from all over the world, her online followers multiply, but the more followers she finds, the clearer it becomes that there are a lot of people out there who feel like she does—#alone and #ignored in real life. And when danger comes to one of her followers, Vicky must find the courage to stop living vicariously, come out from behind her screen, and show the world her true self. (Pub Date: Aug 15, 2017)


Review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. I also want to thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.

This year hasn't been so great for me when it comes to finding good books. I had no idea this would have been the one to give me some hope.

Vicky is feeling lonely since her only friend, the only one she ever needed, moved away and found a life of her own. Her social anxiety had never been a problem but now it becomes so apparent even her mother won't give her peace. That's when she creates Vicurious, another self who is able to go to places and do things Vicky could only dream with just a little photo editing skill and Instagram. Vicurious doesn't only change her life,but also that of more than a million of people who ends up following her account.

I'll be honest, I found it very cool how Vicurious was able to influence people, and that probably happens in social networks a lot. But I found that part of the story too... fantastic to really care. I couldn't really believe that could happen, thus I was rolling my eyes more than reading this.

Removing the fantastic, thought, we have this amazing story so verisimilar it hurt. I was never as awkward as Vicky but I know I've come close many times to doing the same things she ends up doing. Her every blooper was as funny as relatable. I would cheer for her at other times. And some I would just know what would happen because that was what would have happened to me.

Vicky's drama was real but the author knew how to dose, creating hilarious situations without losing sight on the seriousness of her predicament.

And Lipton! Oh my, what a cute boy! What a duo they made! I confess I wouldn't choose Lipton as my book boyfriend but only because I don't think he's my type. Because that's his only flaw in my opinion. He's just so lovely! I know most of the readers will fall head over heels at the first awkward moment. I'm not sure if I have mentioned but awkward moments are what made this book for me. I'll probably never forget Lipton's excuse to invite Vicky over. I literally laughed out loud at how wrong that sounded, and thus how cute Lipton was not aware of how that came out—read the book, and you'll know what scene this is.

This was a quick read, in spite of the book being a little on the long side. For you to have an idea, I'm about to start a read-a-thon, so I had to read it in two days and a half but I ended up reading in less than two. This is a really nice YA you'll end with a smile smile on your face as well as a lot of food for thought. If you're into cute couples in YA's, you'll like this.

A final note, I think this cover is a little too bland and serious for the plot, I would have gone with something more colorful. It took me a while to realize it's supposed to be an Instagram selfie.

Rating: 4 out of 5.