SamTheBrave came to this year’s con with one mission: meeting Codemeister—because getting his idol’s attention could be the big break Sam needs.
ShadowWillow is already a successful streamer. But when her fans start shipping her with Code, Shadow concocts a plan to turn the rumors to her advantage.
The three teens’ paths collide when Lainey records one of Cody’s hateful rants on video. Because she’s determined to spill the truth to her brother’s fans—even if that means putting Sam and Shadow in the crosshairs.
Told through three relatable voices and arriving on the heels of the author’s widely praised debut novel, Kat and Meg Conquer the World, this sophomore novel is a nuanced and timely story about followers, fame, and fighting for what’s right. (Pub Date: Aug 20, 2019)
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
A nice book for those interested in Youtubers.
We have three stories surrounding gamers on Youtube who meet in a convention for their favorite game—something similar to Minecraft. Lainey is the sister of a famous Youtuber, Shadow wants to boost her viewers even if she has to be used or use others for that, and Sam is a shy teenager who's found out that streaming his games help him with his anxiety.
It was a funny period to read this book, something the publisher can't have imagined but Minecraft had become a niche game again after the big boom years ago. But during the last month or so, even Youtubers who had turned to a general public went back to playing it nonstop. Of course the new boom won't last, but isn't it great for a book that's basically about Minecraft players on Youtube? Had this been released months ago I'd be mentioning how gaming on Youtube is a dying community and all. And would have burned my tongue, obviously.
Uh... as you can see, I know something about Youtubers, haha. Guilty. That surely made this read interesting. I read another book about this some months ago, but it slowly became a guide of how to grow your channed and then how to behave in a relationship. Fan the Fame managed to keep real with the proposal, we have a good number of Youtubers and people who surround them—friends, fans—, as well as their world of conventions and content creation.
However, I didn't connect well with the characters. I think Shadow's and Sam's had even started well but ultimately Sam's was the only one I cared about. I like the discussion Shadow's position presents but I didn't feel entertained enough. Now Lainey's, who could be considered the main character, not only her story was bland but she's horrible. I kept frowning and feeling anxious because it kept getting worse. I didn't hate Lainey but it was impossible to really like her.
The side characters were nice, though. Still, I never really understood why they had to repeat all the time that Legs was sad, it was like his sadness was his description. I liked him as a character but I rolled my eyes for everytime Lainey saw him she was rather seeing his so-called sadness. Why was he sad? Wasn't he supposed to get treatment if this was depression? How did this serve the plot? It was like a whole plot that was aborted midway.
In sum, this entertained me more than other books on the theme have, but it had a good number of flaws that I couldn't ignore. Still, it was easy and interesting to read, I'll be following this author from now on.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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