Hate follow A novel

In her debut novel, Quinn-Kong depicts the complicated relationship between a mommy influencer and her teenage daughter, who wants nothing to do with her mom's content anymore. Whitney Golden has built a brand as a widowed mother of four, allowing her to support her family in a lifestyle nothing like the one she grew up with. However, 15-year-old Mia has tired of having her privacy invaded and her entire family's life posted online. She sues her mother, shattering their relationship and leading to questions about children's privacy and influencer culture. Whitney must decide what's more important: her followers or her daughter. Quinn-Kong's novel explores the controversial topic of family influencers with great care and nuance. Switching between Whitney's and Mia's perspectives, readers see the inner workings of family influencers and what motivates them and also glimpse the damage done to their children through documenting their entire lives. With the increased visibility of and outrage against family influencers today, Quinn-Kong's novel feels both necessary and timely.

DEBUT Whitney is a social media "momfluencer" raising four children on her own after the death of her husband several years ago. Her happy family and shiny new home look idyllic to her one million followers, but behind the camera, Whitney's family is in disarray. Teenage Mia is tired of being in her mother's spotlight and envies her best friend's close-knit family. When Mia discovers that her mother has posted pictures of her dad's funeral on the internet, and her mother's pictures of her younger sisters in the bath are hung up around school, she decides to get her privacy back from Whitney's audience by hiring an attorney. The family's story is told through Whitney's and Mia's perspectives, interspersed with message board posts from HateFollow.com. Readers are encouraged to sympathize with both perspectives, but Whitney is myopic and unlikable for most of the novel, and her alcohol addiction is left unresolved. Quinn-Kong's storytelling in engaging, though those expecting a legal drama will be disappointed that the lawsuit stays in the background for most of the book. VERDICT Readers who enjoy mother-daughter relationships, family drama, and Insta-culture will find an interesting perspective on the repercussions of social media on the children of influencers.--Cate Triola