[Sunday Street Team] Internet Famous by Danika Stone

15:40 Cilla 2 Comments

Internet Famous is a lovely contemporary that shows, for better or for worse, how real online relationships and interactions are. It captures the capacity of the internet for introducing you to wonderful people you wouldn't otherwise know and for providing space to pursue the things you love. On the other hand, it shows how vulnerable it can make you. I enjoyed that and the individual characters, but the romance was a little too much for me.

High school senior, Madi Nakamura, is internet famous for her pop-culture blog. She has fans who are invested in her work, and friends to whom she feels she can turn to. In 'real' life, she shoulders the bulk of the caring for her sister, Sarah, when her mother decides to take a work opportunity overseas. I really loved the portrayal of the family dynamic, particularly as Sarah is on the autism spectrum. Her parents are not sympathetic characters; her mother made a selfish decision and her father is unhelpful most of the time. Although I disliked how they let Madi be the one responsible for most of her little sister's emotional needs, I felt like I understood what might have led up to the situation they're in.

I could relate to the way Madi turned to her online friends after a stressful day at home. The narrative includes of her tumblr posts, phone and online messages to her friends, and even Snapschat-like pictures, which makes it feel even more realistic. Madi's corner of the internet is a safe space for her and for her followers, and I enjoyed watching what happened when some of those friendships she's made online moved into a physical context. At the same time, her encounters with cyberbullying had real life consequences, and I found myself genuinely frustrated and scared for her at times.

The love interest, Laurent, is an adorable character. He's sweet, open about his emotions, and at times unashamedly nerdy. I tend to be skeptical as soon as the love interest's attractiveness is described in excruciating details (and at times it did feel excruciating). Yet, it worked as a commentary on judging a book by its cover. I think there will be many readers who will enjoy the rom-com moments between him and Madi, but it was too cheesy for me.

All in all, Internet Famous shows that the beautiful parts of the internet are real, but so are the dark sides. The best part? It manages to do that without being preachy.