Review: Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online by Fortesa Latifi

Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online

by Fortesa Latifi

Release Date: April 7, 2026

2026 Gallery Books

Ebook ARC; 288 Pages

ISBN: 978-1668080504

ASIN: B0FCG5TL3B

Audiobook: B0FP5VD7J1

Genre: Non-Fiction / Social Media / Parenting

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Journalist Fortesa Latifi dives into the lives of children whose parents mine their everyday activities for monetizable content, exposing issues like privacy violations, financial abuse, and the absence of child labor protections. Through expert interviews with psychologists, labor scientists, and even former child influencers and family vloggers, she uncovers the pressures, trauma, and consequences for children thrust into the spotlight.

This timely and eye-opening book doesn’t just reveal the harm of toxic social media it also provides a roadmap to better regulating influencer families, safeguarding children, and questioning the role of audiences in perpetuating these cycles of exploitation.

 

My Thoughts

Like, Follow, Subscribe focuses on mom vloggers who become full-time social media influencers exposing the lives of their families for monetizable content.  Meant to be an exploration of the issues surrounding these influencers including things like privacy violations, financial abuse, trauma, pressure, family, abuse, neglect, etc..., the author attempts to dive into the popularity of these sites to explain why this is this case.  While I don't think this was quite successful as I don't feel like the author went deep enough, there were still some things that make you think and question and wonder about why these sites are so popular.

 

This book is about how these moms film and monetise their content, but in reality, a lot of it is built on lies.  It is also about the immense amount of money they make which seems to justify the reasoning behind why they do it in the first place.  I did enjoy the way the author discussed the evolution of blogging to the way families are portrayed today on TikTok and Youtube as I remember some of the early blogs from when I started blogging myself.  However, I was never a follower of the mom blogs, I just remember some of the advertisements for workshops in Toronto in the early days about them and how you could start your own blog and make money.  I also liked how the author shared a number of different types of vlogs, from the more exploitative ones to the ones who don't share any information about their kids online at all.

 

While I didn't mind the writing style of this book, I did feel it was very shallow, like she was afraid to offend any of the mom vloggers she interviewed.  And anytime she got personal in her book, especially with regards to her daughter, she was very hesitant as if she was afraid to give her full opinion about how she felt so a lot of it felt wishy washy. Either go personal or stay objective. Straddling the line isn't good writing. For example, the chapter with regards to legislation the author spent a great deal of time examining the laws passed by several states, but relied on other people to give their opinion with how effective it would be, and those people who gave their opinion were not even law experts. Why not actually interview kids who tried to sue their parents, tried to stop their parents, or got the law involved? There was little of this in the book to take the book to a deeper level.  However, the author did talk to Kevin Franke to get his views on what happened. WTF? And there wasn't anyone else she could have spoken to? 

 

To be fair, I think I was looking for more from this book.  I was looking for a more researched book rather than something that was more about other people's research and other people's conclusions.  And I know I may get some flack for this, but the author actually got on my nerves some of the time, whining about how difficult it is to be a mom.  Yes, I get it, but she has a part-time nanny, for crying out loud.  And a full support system. I would have loved a part-time nanny.  And this is the part that kept me away from all of the mom blogs over the years, the falseness of it all.  I just wish these mom vloggers would admit to what they do behind the scenes in order to make their videos.   

 

Verdict

Like, Follow, Subscribe is one of those books where the content definitely needs to be discussed and more conversations need to be had with regards to child exploitation.  The issue is complex and there are many factors involved with regards to this issue.  How do we ensure children are kept safe from parents who wish to exploit their children for money especially when the working conditions are in their own homes? How do we ensure kids are safe from online predators? How do we put a system in place to monitor abuse? I would have liked more research into the responsibility of tech companies into this issue as I do feel they play a role in this issue, something the author dismisses. This book was definitely thought-provoking, but while it highlighted a lot of issues, it definitely didn't go deep enough into them nor was there enough research done in the right areas. If you are looking for a lighter read on this topic, this book may be for you, but if you are looking for a deeper explanation I would recommend research articles, not this book. 

 

Review: The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

The Escape Game 

by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss

Release Date: April 7, 2026

2026 G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Ebook ARC; 416 Pages

ISBN: 978-8217006120

ASIN: B0FCSQHF88

Audiobook: B0FD4BNMQX

Genre: Fiction / YA / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Six months ago, season four of The Escape Game ended in horror when contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered on set.

Now season five is underway, and new contestants are ready to put their skills to the test solving the show's trickiest escape rooms. There's Adi, the cryptographer; Carter, the math whiz; Beck, the wannabe game master, and . . . Sierra Angelos, the girl who got away with her sister’s murder. Or so everyone believes.

But Sierra’s not just here to win. She’s here for justice.

When the contestants begin uncovering clues that hint at the identity of Alicia’s true killer, it becomes clear that the stakes aren’t high in this competition, they’re deadly. If these teens want to win—and survive—the game, they must solve the biggest mystery of who killed Alicia Angelos?

 

My Thoughts

The Escape Game was actually a lot of fun to read and I enjoyed the twists and turns quite a bit even if some of them were on the predictable side.  I liked the competition format of the story and I definitely enjoyed the escape rooms and how they were solved as that is something that I really enjoy.  I mean, puzzles are my thing.  While the character development was mostly one-dimensional, I still had a good time with the plot and enjoyed the overall story.

 

The plot mainly followed four contestants, Sierra, Adi, Carter, and Beck, who were one of five teams competing for the cash prize on the show.  All of them were there for very different reasons, but I enjoyed seeing them come together and become friends as the story progressed, as they learned to trust each other and rely on their strength and weaknesses to see them through difficulties.  While I did think the character development was the weakest part of the book, it didn't really affect the overall story as I still felt empathy for each of the characters for very different reasons and wanted them to succeed.  I also felt like each of them had a very distinct voice, a distinct personality, and the author used that to good effect.   

 

I thought the plot moved along rather quickly with a lot of twists and turns; even if a lot of the twists were fairly predictable, it didn't take away from the fun of the story or from reading about it because I enjoyed the dialogue and banter between the characters as things were happening.  Some of these characters did have some serious trauma going on with them and I would have liked to have seen a bit more exploration with regards to that as I thought it was fairly shallow and not explored at all within the context of the story.  However, I will acknowledge that the contestants didn't really know each other at first, so it would be difficult to unload stuff onto people you barely know so as the story progressed I did see a bit more exploration into some of the themes, but only at surface level.  I did figure out one of the twists at the end; I also thought the characters' comments about what was going at the end were hilarious. I liked that aspect as I liked the exploration of incredulity when you learn the lengths to which someone will go to for something so silly. If that sounds obscure, well, I can't give away the ending, now can I?

 

Verdict 

The Escape Game was pure fun and it was exactly what I needed at this time as I am reading some hard-hitting non-fiction books.  I enjoyed the plot, loved the escape rooms, thought the characters were endearing if one-dimensional, and was happy to see that one line at the end of the book that says this book is not the end.   

 

Review: The Girl Uptairs by Jessica R. Patch

The Girl Upstairs

by Jessica R. Patch

Release Date: April 28, 2026

2026 Love Inspired Trade

Ebook ARC; 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-1335001368

ASIN: B0F54BB4P3

Audiobook: B0FR66LZRV

Genre: Fiction / Suspense

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Gwen McDaniel’s life is broken. But she knows the perfect place to fix it. Cold Harbor, Maine, an idyllic small town with views of Acadia National Park, is where she used to vacation with her parents as a child. 

Except from the moment they arrive, Gwen sees and hears things, and it’s more than just the drafts and shadows that are part of any old house. Steven downplays her fears, warning her not to fixate on problems as she has in the past. But Gwen spent years as a homicide detective, and her instincts don’t lie. Something happened here. Proof comes when she rips up the attic’s carpet to discover a chilling message carved into the wood underneath.

As Gwen delves into the history of the house and the Cold Harbor community, she begins to piece the fragments together. And gradually, a terrifying picture A missing girl. A house of horrors. And a dark, decades-old nightmare that is more haunting than Gwen ever imagined…

 

Verdict

The Girl Upstairs was a half-decent take on the unreliable narrator thriller that seems to be quite popular lately. But while it was interesting, if you read enough of these you can figure out the twists and turns quite easily. One of the twists was so obvious, but it got dragged on for quite a while and I did get distracted by wondering when it would finally be revealed and how.  

 

Gwen is the main character of the story and most of the story is told through her eyes.  I wasn't a big fan of Gwen in the beginning of the book.  I don't typically mind unreliable/unlikeable narrators, but I did find it very difficult to root for her as she was quite self-centered and whiny, and as a result, I found it quite difficult to connect with her character.  The amount of times she mentioned she was a detective whenever anyone questioned what she was doing was annoying, as if that would answer why she was asking questions or being difficult.  I get that things were suspicious, but the author relied on telling rather than letting the reader figure things out as they went through the story. I would have liked the secondary characters to have more development as well as certain actions from Steven didn't seem to fit and seemed to be used to only further the story.  

 

The plot moved along rather quickly and I didn't mind the writing style although I could have done with a little less tell me how to think versus let me figure it out on my own.  There were a lot of twists and turns, but I'll be honest, there was very little that surprised me in this book, especially the Tara situation. Sorry, that was just kind of creepy, to be honest.  I did like the creepiness of the house and the things that were found, and there were moments when I was second-guessing my guesses, but as soon as something happened, it would give all the secrets away.  I wish I wasn't so cryptic, but I don't want to give away any secrets if you haven't read the book.  I also wasn't a fan of the way grief was portrayed in this book as it seemed like it was something that could be compared to someone else's grief and there was one sentence that kind of stunned me.  Sorry, comparison of grief is never a good thing and it turned me right off, especially when you perceive yours as being worse than someone else's.  I do think the exploration of this theme as well as how miscarriage is portrayed in this book would make for some interesting book club discussions though.  

 

Verdict

The Girl Upstairs is a fairly predictable thriller, but it does have some darker themes to it as well such as child abuse, miscarriage, trauma, and infertility. I don't think it dealt with the theme of grief in a very beneficial way, but it does make for a very good discussion tool.  I am also not a fan of the trope when nobody believes the main character because they have had mental issues in the past or are grieving; personally, I think this trope is weak and is very overused, something that does appear in this book quite a bit.  However, the book was moody and overall, I did enjoy it as it was a fast read and the writing style did keep me engaged, but there was nothing that was surprising and I thought the twists and turns were easy to figure out.