What do you think?
Rate this book
Like Me
A propulsive psychological thriller that follows an aspiring model down a social media-fuelled rabbit hole of obsession, narcissism and self-destruction.
For nineteen-year-old Mickey, Instagram offers a tantalizing portal into the world she wishes she inhabited. Though beautiful, cunning and privileged, Mickey finds herself with a stalled modelling career, an escalating drinking problem, few friends and next to nothing in the bank. To numb her growing despair, she spends her days frantically refreshing her Instagram feed, obsessively tracking the movements of Insta-famous model Gemma Anton.
Gemma is a perfected version of Mickey, living a seemingly perfect life: a skyrocketing career, a famous photographer boyfriend and adoring followers--the life Mickey wants more than anything for herself. She studies every detail Gemma offers through the window of her phone, trying to absorb, learn, mimic, become the object of her growing fascination.
Then, a chance encounter thrusts Mickey into a world of opportunity, and she is met with surprising, and immediate, success. But as her online persona begins to take over her life, Mickey finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from the facade of Instagram.
Engrossing, sharp and astute, Like Me is a shimmering portrait of infatuation, disconnection and identity in the digital age--and a dazzling introduction to a brilliant new voice in contemporary literature.
For nineteen-year-old Mickey, Instagram offers a tantalizing portal into the world she wishes she inhabited. Though beautiful, cunning and privileged, Mickey finds herself with a stalled modelling career, an escalating drinking problem, few friends and next to nothing in the bank. To numb her growing despair, she spends her days frantically refreshing her Instagram feed, obsessively tracking the movements of Insta-famous model Gemma Anton.
Gemma is a perfected version of Mickey, living a seemingly perfect life: a skyrocketing career, a famous photographer boyfriend and adoring followers--the life Mickey wants more than anything for herself. She studies every detail Gemma offers through the window of her phone, trying to absorb, learn, mimic, become the object of her growing fascination.
Then, a chance encounter thrusts Mickey into a world of opportunity, and she is met with surprising, and immediate, success. But as her online persona begins to take over her life, Mickey finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from the facade of Instagram.
Engrossing, sharp and astute, Like Me is a shimmering portrait of infatuation, disconnection and identity in the digital age--and a dazzling introduction to a brilliant new voice in contemporary literature.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2022
1957 people are currently reading
8825 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 510 reviews
January 3, 2022
Okay so I don’t usually leave reviews but I feel like I have to talk about this book. A common criticism I have seen on these reviews are that there are plot holes and that the book has a “fake woke” narrative. I feel like they are missing that that is the whole point of the narrative. The story is told through Mickey’s perspective who is creating a performance to her fans and is just as confused about the events in the book as the reader. Mickey is a delusional girl with a mound of privilege yet she claims to be woke by reiterating phrases that have been stated countless times. She mentions herself that she is just saying what she knows people want to hear. Furthermore, in order for every question to be answered, Phelan would have to completely retract the character building that she had created thus far by making Mickey a self aware and mentally stable character. I think that this is why the book was so well written. It is essentially a character study despite the heavy plot. Therefore, if you were only looking at the plot of the novel you may feel the story was unfulfilling. In turn if you analyze Mickey as a character and how the events in the novel effect her, you are left satisfied with the ending. I would criticize that although this book is relatively short, it definitely could have been a bit shorter since there is definitely some irrelevant pieces of the novel.
March 7, 2022
This was a quick and disappointing read. I was so excited to pick this up however, I found myself bored and disappointed. The premise had so much potential. I found the characters annoying and didn’t connect with the story. I wanted to love this so bad 😭
Mickey is a 19 year old aspiring model lost in the world of social media, primarily Instagram. After she hits rock bottom, she descends even deeper down the rabbit hole and becomes obsessed with insta-model Gemma Anton. Gemma has a strong media following, super famous boyfriend, and a booming career. She is everything that Mickey aspires to be and has the life she’s always dreamed of. Mickey pretty much stalks Gemma’s social media soaking in every last post.
When she magically spots Gemma out at a club one evening, the interaction yields a surprising outcome. Mickey is thrown into Gemma’s world but as her social media persona consumes her she finds it impossible to separate the Insta-world from reality.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Mickey is a 19 year old aspiring model lost in the world of social media, primarily Instagram. After she hits rock bottom, she descends even deeper down the rabbit hole and becomes obsessed with insta-model Gemma Anton. Gemma has a strong media following, super famous boyfriend, and a booming career. She is everything that Mickey aspires to be and has the life she’s always dreamed of. Mickey pretty much stalks Gemma’s social media soaking in every last post.
When she magically spots Gemma out at a club one evening, the interaction yields a surprising outcome. Mickey is thrown into Gemma’s world but as her social media persona consumes her she finds it impossible to separate the Insta-world from reality.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
March 10, 2022
thank you netgalley, lake union publishing, and hayley phelan for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! this was definitely a page-turner and shocked me with it’s honesty towards social media and the modeling industry. i’ve seen a lot of negative reviews for this one, but i really enjoyed it, and found it to be surprisingly relevant in today’s world.
mickey, our narrator, is an aspiring model in new york city. she’s been obsessed with another model on social media, gemma anton, and tries to be more like her in order to gain more likes and follows. mickey and gemma look similar, so she focuses on her because she’s a lot like her, but more popular.
i liked that mickey was an unreliable narrator throughout and that the ending doesn’t tell you what really happened. i have a few guesses, but i really don’t know the truth about the novel and what was going on, but i think that makes it more interesting. i enjoyed the epilogue and how mickey found more happiness after she starts focusing less on social media.
my main complaint with this book is i feel like some parts could have been cut out of shortened because they were a bit unnecessary. however, it was well written, and addresses many issues facing the world today with the rise of social media.
mickey, our narrator, is an aspiring model in new york city. she’s been obsessed with another model on social media, gemma anton, and tries to be more like her in order to gain more likes and follows. mickey and gemma look similar, so she focuses on her because she’s a lot like her, but more popular.
i liked that mickey was an unreliable narrator throughout and that the ending doesn’t tell you what really happened. i have a few guesses, but i really don’t know the truth about the novel and what was going on, but i think that makes it more interesting. i enjoyed the epilogue and how mickey found more happiness after she starts focusing less on social media.
my main complaint with this book is i feel like some parts could have been cut out of shortened because they were a bit unnecessary. however, it was well written, and addresses many issues facing the world today with the rise of social media.
February 7, 2022
A manic fever dream you won't be able to get enough of...
It's... difficult to explain but this captures so many things perfectly.
The blurry sense of detachment as you scroll through endless feeds.
The desensitization and lack of perspective that builds over time when entertainment, ads, "aspirational" posts, and horrific current events are stacked one on top of another in endless loops.
The monetization of over-sharing, and the destructive downward spiral that this particular character gets swept up in.
All of it is just- chefs kiss perfection.
The lead character has a dark, sardonic sense of humor, clearly has obsessive tendencies, gets by with liquid- and sometimes chemical - assistance, is hung up on the pursuit of validation from strangers...the list goes on.
But you don't hate her. What she lacks in perspective, priorities, and everything in between- she more than makes up for in humor, sarcasm, and an absolutely insane amount of persistence to realize her goals. When things take an increasingly dark turn and no one seems to notice the disappearance of the object of her affection- the pull of the story just grips you even tighter. This was an unexpectedly creative psychological thriller that I couldn't put down.
You won't be able to either.
P.S. I hate the T-word so I'm not going to use it. Suffice to say that if reading about substance abuse, sexual assault, or mental health struggles makes you feel feelings that you can't even- then don't even.
It's... difficult to explain but this captures so many things perfectly.
The blurry sense of detachment as you scroll through endless feeds.
The desensitization and lack of perspective that builds over time when entertainment, ads, "aspirational" posts, and horrific current events are stacked one on top of another in endless loops.
The monetization of over-sharing, and the destructive downward spiral that this particular character gets swept up in.
All of it is just- chefs kiss perfection.
The lead character has a dark, sardonic sense of humor, clearly has obsessive tendencies, gets by with liquid- and sometimes chemical - assistance, is hung up on the pursuit of validation from strangers...the list goes on.
But you don't hate her. What she lacks in perspective, priorities, and everything in between- she more than makes up for in humor, sarcasm, and an absolutely insane amount of persistence to realize her goals. When things take an increasingly dark turn and no one seems to notice the disappearance of the object of her affection- the pull of the story just grips you even tighter. This was an unexpectedly creative psychological thriller that I couldn't put down.
You won't be able to either.
P.S. I hate the T-word so I'm not going to use it. Suffice to say that if reading about substance abuse, sexual assault, or mental health struggles makes you feel feelings that you can't even- then don't even.
May 1, 2024
2.5⭐️
i think the author had just read american psycho
i think the author had just read american psycho
March 12, 2022
Like Me is a darkly observant read with, honestly, a hugely unlikeable main character at the heart of it. There's a point in it that is hard to grasp at times - it is a deeply disturbing narrative for sure, I would hesitate to call it a psychological thriller though, I think that description raises certain expectations from readers that this story won't fulfill.
It is a realistic and sad look at the social media age - the desperate chase for Instagram likes and validation from strangers, the world of influencers is hit with a sharp and unrelenting spotlight.
Our main character Mickey would do anything, often does, in order to capture that elusive fame and fortune, to follow in the footsteps of her "heroine" who she stalks online and in life with obsessive and ever more desperate intent.
Her chance to do so leads her down a twisted and painful path towards destruction.
Like Me is a novel of one girl and her descent from reality. It is a story of skewed body image and self worth, of pressure to perform and be the thing that people are drawn to. It is massively sad and to my mind brilliantly done.
Won't be for everyone. A marmite book I think but one that should probably be widely read.
It is a realistic and sad look at the social media age - the desperate chase for Instagram likes and validation from strangers, the world of influencers is hit with a sharp and unrelenting spotlight.
Our main character Mickey would do anything, often does, in order to capture that elusive fame and fortune, to follow in the footsteps of her "heroine" who she stalks online and in life with obsessive and ever more desperate intent.
Her chance to do so leads her down a twisted and painful path towards destruction.
Like Me is a novel of one girl and her descent from reality. It is a story of skewed body image and self worth, of pressure to perform and be the thing that people are drawn to. It is massively sad and to my mind brilliantly done.
Won't be for everyone. A marmite book I think but one that should probably be widely read.
September 28, 2021
A compelling premise that crumbled into tepid twitter not-so-hot takes, mostly weak cultural/ political commentary, and bland characters. No doubt, the book is gripping, but it doesn't take those extra few steps to be nuttier or more radical, which I think would have lifted it out of mediocrity. I really wish Phelan had fictionalized the absurdity and brutality of influencer culture in more exaggerated, fantastical and uncanny ways. Also, the ideas in Like Me have been explored to death in various think pieces and movies/ tv shows, so, unfortunately, this book just felt a little derivative. I think Phelan has potential, though, and I'm interested to see what she writes next.
cw: eating disorders, domestic abuse, sexual assault
cw: eating disorders, domestic abuse, sexual assault
April 3, 2022
This was one of the worst books I have ever read . It was all over the place , hard to follow and boring. Chapters were hours long which made it harder to follow. The story had no depth and I have no idea how to explain what I read . Don’t waste your time .
March 18, 2022
Relevant, Compelling, but doesn't quite hit the mark...
There's an attempt at irony in this book that might be lost on some people. Either way this was a wild ride. Trigger warnings are needed for the dark parts of the book with addiction and sexual abuse. I don't usually like unreliable narrators especially ones that are obviously narcissistic, but Mickey makes you want her to win in a small way (or at least get some help). Something about this book could have been an eye opener, but it didn't quite hit the mark. This could have resonated with so many woman. It was incredibly pessimistic but it still made me think. How many times have I scrolled through Instagram looking at pictures of people I envy because it seems like they have the perfect life? We really don't know what it's truly like on the other side of the screen. All I know is that this story feels scary because of how close it is to reality.
There's an attempt at irony in this book that might be lost on some people. Either way this was a wild ride. Trigger warnings are needed for the dark parts of the book with addiction and sexual abuse. I don't usually like unreliable narrators especially ones that are obviously narcissistic, but Mickey makes you want her to win in a small way (or at least get some help). Something about this book could have been an eye opener, but it didn't quite hit the mark. This could have resonated with so many woman. It was incredibly pessimistic but it still made me think. How many times have I scrolled through Instagram looking at pictures of people I envy because it seems like they have the perfect life? We really don't know what it's truly like on the other side of the screen. All I know is that this story feels scary because of how close it is to reality.
March 9, 2022
I adored this book and even more, adored it because it was a debut, yet had so much wisdom and authority. Phelan takes us down a rabbit hole of social media addiction and in the process conjures up current cultural touchstones like Britney Spears, COVID, and how an obsession with social media can skew one's very reality. The book reminded me of the work of Patricia Highsmith, if that darkly brilliant mind were alive in 2022. It also recalled, in its observation of a mind disassembling into madness, of Roman Polanki's early horror movie, REVULSION. Phelan is a writer to watch. This was a book of our times, for our times, and one damn fine read.
January 8, 2022
so is gemma real???? Finished this being so confused.
July 7, 2022
*contains spoilers*
I think this person is an engaging and ocassionally insightful writer but the book had serious plausibility problems. We are presented with the story of a famous model, who is portrayed as the face of the current zeitgeist (think Kate Moss, Agyness Dean, Cara Delevigne), who then goes missing. We are asked to believe that no one on the internet cares, no one tries to find her, and she is immediately forgotten. This stretches plausibility to the point where it snaps.
We are then asked to beleive that the narrator discovers that she made this famous model up entirely. Then it transpires that she didn't. The first thing I would do if I thought I had had a psychotic break and invented someone, would be: Google them. I would Google this famous model: was she real, was she not? I would do this immediately, it would be the first thing I did. This is true of just about anyone living in this era - me, you, my father who still uses a first generation iphone and talks about "interrogating" the internet. Here, we are asked to belive that doing this simple action does not once occur to our heroine, a Gen Z "influencer" who is the hardcore internet addict to end all hardcore internet addicts.
The effect of these fatal plausibility issues is a bit like trying to watch a film and being distracted because the boom pole is wobbling around in the corner of the shot. It found it hard to keep being engaged by the book following the introduction of this metaphorical boom pole. It made me think about a person named Hayley, who lived in Los Angeles, thinking up a story. It made me think: why did an editor not catch this? It made me think: why did one of her early readers not say anything?
This is not what I wanted to be thinking: I wanted to be thinking about Mickey and Gemma and the world of the book.
At first, I loved how gripping the book was. I related to and relished the secret embarassments of the narrator. I was - therefore - disappointed that the book took such a dive into unbelievability, after this promising start.
I think this person is an engaging and ocassionally insightful writer but the book had serious plausibility problems. We are presented with the story of a famous model, who is portrayed as the face of the current zeitgeist (think Kate Moss, Agyness Dean, Cara Delevigne), who then goes missing. We are asked to believe that no one on the internet cares, no one tries to find her, and she is immediately forgotten. This stretches plausibility to the point where it snaps.
We are then asked to beleive that the narrator discovers that she made this famous model up entirely. Then it transpires that she didn't. The first thing I would do if I thought I had had a psychotic break and invented someone, would be: Google them. I would Google this famous model: was she real, was she not? I would do this immediately, it would be the first thing I did. This is true of just about anyone living in this era - me, you, my father who still uses a first generation iphone and talks about "interrogating" the internet. Here, we are asked to belive that doing this simple action does not once occur to our heroine, a Gen Z "influencer" who is the hardcore internet addict to end all hardcore internet addicts.
The effect of these fatal plausibility issues is a bit like trying to watch a film and being distracted because the boom pole is wobbling around in the corner of the shot. It found it hard to keep being engaged by the book following the introduction of this metaphorical boom pole. It made me think about a person named Hayley, who lived in Los Angeles, thinking up a story. It made me think: why did an editor not catch this? It made me think: why did one of her early readers not say anything?
This is not what I wanted to be thinking: I wanted to be thinking about Mickey and Gemma and the world of the book.
At first, I loved how gripping the book was. I related to and relished the secret embarassments of the narrator. I was - therefore - disappointed that the book took such a dive into unbelievability, after this promising start.
March 16, 2023
A book that takes a solid premise and fully sinks it to depths I wasn’t expecting in the slightest.
Since fame means having a bunch of people love you without ever knowing you, being known is therefore antithetical to it. You are only adored where you are absent, in a permanent form of dissociation, like what I used to do at casting calls—becoming a body only, becoming a shell.
Suffice to say, Like Me deserves a like, comment, engagement, repost, or follow - whatever form of internet currency you'd prefer.
Mickey Jones (a name as fake and curated as she is) is a 19 year old up-and-coming model. Or, in theory she is. In reality, she's already jaded, feeling modeling opportunities slip by her into a sea of identical blonde waifs skipping meals and filtering away flaws. She half-asses her auditions in the day while obsessively checking Instagram, then drinks and snorts herself into oblivion at night.
Her primary Instagram obsession is Gemma, a model who seems like she has everything Mickey doesn't - money to spare, billboards, internet clout, a famous photographer boyfriend; and she's liked. People either want to be her or want to fuck her. They send her free swag. They elevate her posts to the top of the algorithm. They photograph her looking effortlessly gorgeous and charming.
And that's the kind of life Mickey would give anything for.
I was thinking of Gemma looking at me. I was thinking of her reading the message I had sent. When she made the connection, if she made the connection, I would look like a stalker. I would look malicious. I didn’t know which was worse: Gemma thinking ill of me, or Gemma not noticing me at all.
On the surface Like Me could be a shallow send up of social media obsession. Thankfully, it manages to dig a little deeper, delving into identity, reality, and connection. There are really fascinating questions around being perceived vs being seen. When the line gets blurry between who we are and who we pretend to be, how do we reconcile our sense of self? How do we maintain individuality when it seems like everything around us is curated and refined?
I had imagined that my actions, so easily faked, would not impact who I was; yet added together, it turned out those actions amounted to my life.
It's a really successful execution of an unlikeable protagonist. Mickey seems shallow and desperate because she is - but that doesn't negate her crushing insecurity and tenuous sense of self. She's a victim of the industry that's eating her alive, while at the same time, it's her own violent desperation and poor decision-making that drives her. She's not a 'good person' by any usual set of standards, but a complicated person, who I simultaneously wanted to hug and bitch slap.
There's a whole subplot about a big news story brewing in Brazil. But the way it was integrated into the main plot didn't do it for me. It was in the background, but still present enough that we had to keep acknowledging it. I guess I don't understand its place in the story.
I clicked on Instagram, in search of soothing metrics, red bubbles, numbers that kept going up, the indisputable reassurance that I was who I thought I was. Or, if not that exactly, that I was at least someone. Someone who was Liked.
Like Me is a perfectly likeable read, combining complex characters with strong thematic backbones. You could do a hell of a lot worse for an impulsive Kindle click.
Since fame means having a bunch of people love you without ever knowing you, being known is therefore antithetical to it. You are only adored where you are absent, in a permanent form of dissociation, like what I used to do at casting calls—becoming a body only, becoming a shell.
Suffice to say, Like Me deserves a like, comment, engagement, repost, or follow - whatever form of internet currency you'd prefer.
Mickey Jones (a name as fake and curated as she is) is a 19 year old up-and-coming model. Or, in theory she is. In reality, she's already jaded, feeling modeling opportunities slip by her into a sea of identical blonde waifs skipping meals and filtering away flaws. She half-asses her auditions in the day while obsessively checking Instagram, then drinks and snorts herself into oblivion at night.
Her primary Instagram obsession is Gemma, a model who seems like she has everything Mickey doesn't - money to spare, billboards, internet clout, a famous photographer boyfriend; and she's liked. People either want to be her or want to fuck her. They send her free swag. They elevate her posts to the top of the algorithm. They photograph her looking effortlessly gorgeous and charming.
And that's the kind of life Mickey would give anything for.
I was thinking of Gemma looking at me. I was thinking of her reading the message I had sent. When she made the connection, if she made the connection, I would look like a stalker. I would look malicious. I didn’t know which was worse: Gemma thinking ill of me, or Gemma not noticing me at all.
On the surface Like Me could be a shallow send up of social media obsession. Thankfully, it manages to dig a little deeper, delving into identity, reality, and connection. There are really fascinating questions around being perceived vs being seen. When the line gets blurry between who we are and who we pretend to be, how do we reconcile our sense of self? How do we maintain individuality when it seems like everything around us is curated and refined?
I had imagined that my actions, so easily faked, would not impact who I was; yet added together, it turned out those actions amounted to my life.
It's a really successful execution of an unlikeable protagonist. Mickey seems shallow and desperate because she is - but that doesn't negate her crushing insecurity and tenuous sense of self. She's a victim of the industry that's eating her alive, while at the same time, it's her own violent desperation and poor decision-making that drives her. She's not a 'good person' by any usual set of standards, but a complicated person, who I simultaneously wanted to hug and bitch slap.
There's a whole subplot about a big news story brewing in Brazil. But the way it was integrated into the main plot didn't do it for me. It was in the background, but still present enough that we had to keep acknowledging it. I guess I don't understand its place in the story.
I clicked on Instagram, in search of soothing metrics, red bubbles, numbers that kept going up, the indisputable reassurance that I was who I thought I was. Or, if not that exactly, that I was at least someone. Someone who was Liked.
Like Me is a perfectly likeable read, combining complex characters with strong thematic backbones. You could do a hell of a lot worse for an impulsive Kindle click.
February 8, 2022
I decided to read this book after watching one of uncarley's videos... and I have mixed feelings.
The story revolves around Michaela Heffernan (or "Mickey Jones" as she calls herself professionally) who is a 19 year old aspiring model in the middle of NYC. She is obsessed.... obsessed..... with another model on her instagram timeline, Gemma Anton.
She spends hours scrolling through Gemma's page, watching her videos obsessively, zooming in on her pictures and noticing even the tiniest details... so much so that she's able to recall even the captions she uses for her posts. It's deeply unsettling and Mickey is not a character that, at any point, you find yourself rooting for. On the author's part, I think that was on purpose. We're always reminded by Mickey about how skinny, how pretty (she is/aspires to be) and most of all, how privileged she is... both because of her wealthy upbringing and her skin colour.
All of this, I'm sure, was to drive home the point that she's an unlikable narrator, but for me personally... it made me deeply uncomfortable. I did not enjoy reading about how she thought that "Gemma's white blond eyebrows" made her look "Nordic, pure and childlike". Bleh.
Her main obsession with Gemma is because of how similar they look... she thinks "oh this girl is like me". She thinks that if everything had worked out for her, she would be just like Gemma - rich, famous and verified on Instagram.
And she eventually gets it - she gets to have a taste of what virality is in the age of social media - but the more success she gets in real life, the more she feels disconnected from everything she knows... to a point where she's unable to separate her "real life from her reel life"... or so to speak. We're left wondering who really is Gemma and if Mickey is even a reliable narrator at all.
I felt like there were a couple plotholes... or maybe it wasn't explained right (or maybe I wasn't smart enough to catch on) but I think I still have so many questions... ahhhhhhh. Maybe that's the point of the book lol but I'm new to this genre so it gives me a headache thinking about all this.
I loved the critique on white womanhood and it's fragility throughout the book. The only thing that put me off were some of the main themes of the book that could potentially be quite triggering... so if you're thinking about reading the book, be aware of that.
Overall, I think I quite liked the book even if I found a lot of it shallow (which again, was maybe the point). It's definitely a book that was written, keeping recent events surrounding social media culture in mind... like mental illness, beauty standards, cultural appropriation, and of course my favourite... white women being racist and having a full on meltdown when they realise they're being filmed on Instagram live... fun stuff like that :)
major TW: disordered eating, drugs, body image, sexual assault, animal death
The story revolves around Michaela Heffernan (or "Mickey Jones" as she calls herself professionally) who is a 19 year old aspiring model in the middle of NYC. She is obsessed.... obsessed..... with another model on her instagram timeline, Gemma Anton.
She spends hours scrolling through Gemma's page, watching her videos obsessively, zooming in on her pictures and noticing even the tiniest details... so much so that she's able to recall even the captions she uses for her posts. It's deeply unsettling and Mickey is not a character that, at any point, you find yourself rooting for. On the author's part, I think that was on purpose. We're always reminded by Mickey about how skinny, how pretty (she is/aspires to be) and most of all, how privileged she is... both because of her wealthy upbringing and her skin colour.
All of this, I'm sure, was to drive home the point that she's an unlikable narrator, but for me personally... it made me deeply uncomfortable. I did not enjoy reading about how she thought that "Gemma's white blond eyebrows" made her look "Nordic, pure and childlike". Bleh.
Her main obsession with Gemma is because of how similar they look... she thinks "oh this girl is like me". She thinks that if everything had worked out for her, she would be just like Gemma - rich, famous and verified on Instagram.
And she eventually gets it - she gets to have a taste of what virality is in the age of social media - but the more success she gets in real life, the more she feels disconnected from everything she knows... to a point where she's unable to separate her "real life from her reel life"... or so to speak. We're left wondering who really is Gemma and if Mickey is even a reliable narrator at all.
I felt like there were a couple plotholes... or maybe it wasn't explained right (or maybe I wasn't smart enough to catch on) but I think I still have so many questions... ahhhhhhh. Maybe that's the point of the book lol but I'm new to this genre so it gives me a headache thinking about all this.
I loved the critique on white womanhood and it's fragility throughout the book. The only thing that put me off were some of the main themes of the book that could potentially be quite triggering... so if you're thinking about reading the book, be aware of that.
Overall, I think I quite liked the book even if I found a lot of it shallow (which again, was maybe the point). It's definitely a book that was written, keeping recent events surrounding social media culture in mind... like mental illness, beauty standards, cultural appropriation, and of course my favourite... white women being racist and having a full on meltdown when they realise they're being filmed on Instagram live... fun stuff like that :)
major TW: disordered eating, drugs, body image, sexual assault, animal death
March 26, 2022
I can’t really decide if I liked this book or not. It held my interest but I mostly just felt sorry for Mickey. Mickey is a young aspiring model living in New York who becomes obsessed with another model and will do pretty much anything to get famous. There were a couple surprises throughout the book and some darkly humorous parts, but even when all was said and done, I felt a little sad for Mickey and pretty much all of the other characters in the book. It’s a gritty look at what girls will do to get noticed and it’s well written, if the subject matter is interesting to you.
October 8, 2021
4.5
Definitely a new favourite, but there are also some things that could be improved or expanded on.
Definitely a new favourite, but there are also some things that could be improved or expanded on.
November 29, 2021
Dark, haunting, nuanced and savage. Like Me is about much more than the Instagram age - highly recommended for those who enjoy psychological thrillers.
July 17, 2022
Not for me, found it quite boring unfortunately
February 10, 2022
A fever dream into the world of social media obsession. Really made me think about how much content I mindlessly consume. I’ve seen some criticism about how “all over the place” this book is and how it has shallow takes on complex social issues but I thought that was the point. Mickey wrote it and that’s exactly how she experiences her world - I liked how strong her character voice was.
February 11, 2022
this has been my favorite book this year. I highly recommend if you like a mystery
February 7, 2022
1.5. Something about this book just didn’t sit right with me. I struggled with the rating. Either a 1.5 or 2, but after sitting back a few minutes after reading, I just wish I never picked this book up. I don’t like giving harsh reviews, but after reading this book I’m still at a loss for what the point was. There were was a lot of mental health, rape, sexual abuse, and racism in it. It was played out so casually and disrespectfully. It also didn’t help that the main character, Mickey, infuriated me. It was a debut book, so I wanted to give it a shot, and hope the ending was going to turn this around, but unfortunately it did not.
April 20, 2022
Terrible. A whole lot of nothing in this book.
April 21, 2022
My bff sent me a photo of a handwritten letter I had sent her shortly after we had graduated from college and the first line said "I got your page last night". I had to take a moment to realize that this was pre-cell phone days and I had a pager during those baby tech days. These days we have computers in our pockets that we can't seem to live without (guilty), the grip of social media and the urge to perform and influence and compare. And so here we meet Mickey. A 19 year old, fresh faced model whose father is incarcerated, mother is delusional and all she wants to do is be Gemma - an Instagram famous model with similar features. She's OBSESSED. Mickey is young, impressionable, addicted to cocaine and cares more about being a brand rather than a human.
Within the first few pages I thought for sure I was going to DNF this one. FFS, Mickey is SO annoying. It's really hard to find some empathy for her. The situations she gets in. The casualty in how she deals with sex and drugs. And omg, if I had to hear Gemma's name one more time.... *pulls hair*. But then something just clicked and I couldn't look away.
I can't tell if this is supposed to be a bit of a satirical look at the influence of social media and the banes of the modeling industry. Or if it really was on-the-nose for the dark side. The way she takes advantage but then is also taken advantage of... and all in the name of the likes and infamy of Instagram. But just as easy as social media gives... how easily it will also strip you of your humanity. At the end, I gave my forehead a thinking massage trying to decide if this was brilliant or a "wtf did you just do to me" kind of read. Yes, there are plot holes. Yes, I'm still a bit befuddled by the happenings and that ending that leaves you curious. Yes, it can seem like Phelan takes an almost too relaxed look at the two polarized sides of today's version of popularity and drive. However, I think for the sake of Mickey's experience and how unfortunate it is that this shit happens in this day and age... well, this is a thinker for sure.
I think this will be a love it or hate it kind of read, but either way it will certainly sit with you.
Within the first few pages I thought for sure I was going to DNF this one. FFS, Mickey is SO annoying. It's really hard to find some empathy for her. The situations she gets in. The casualty in how she deals with sex and drugs. And omg, if I had to hear Gemma's name one more time.... *pulls hair*. But then something just clicked and I couldn't look away.
I can't tell if this is supposed to be a bit of a satirical look at the influence of social media and the banes of the modeling industry. Or if it really was on-the-nose for the dark side. The way she takes advantage but then is also taken advantage of... and all in the name of the likes and infamy of Instagram. But just as easy as social media gives... how easily it will also strip you of your humanity. At the end, I gave my forehead a thinking massage trying to decide if this was brilliant or a "wtf did you just do to me" kind of read. Yes, there are plot holes. Yes, I'm still a bit befuddled by the happenings and that ending that leaves you curious. Yes, it can seem like Phelan takes an almost too relaxed look at the two polarized sides of today's version of popularity and drive. However, I think for the sake of Mickey's experience and how unfortunate it is that this shit happens in this day and age... well, this is a thinker for sure.
I think this will be a love it or hate it kind of read, but either way it will certainly sit with you.
December 15, 2022
If, like me, you love unreliable narrators, characters who are set to self-destruct, disturbing situations, gratuitous violence and an underlying feeling of dread and discomfort then you will probably enjoy this book.
There is no way to sugar coat this book though, so if you are of a sensitive nature it might be one to avoid as it contains rape, sexual abuse, substance abuse and mental health issues.
Mickey Jones is our unreliable narrator. A 19 year old wannabe model and influencer who spends her time drinking herself to oblivion and sleeping with different men in order to get into bars and clubs. She is OBSESSED with Gemma Anton – the most influential and successful model on Instagram. Mickey spends every waking moment scrolling through Gemma’s page, memorising her clothes, her expressions, her content and is determined to meet her idol and emulate her fame.
When a chance encounter with Gemma and her famous photographer boyfriend gives Mickey the opportunity to get a taste of fame she jumps at the chance and that is when everything takes a rather bitter and uncomfortable turn.
I’m not going to say too much, but this really does look at the toxic side of social media. Watching the public breakdown/meltdown of “influencers” and showing that reality is often very different to what they are portraying through their posts and uploaded photos.
Often uncomfortable and disturbing Like Me looks at how far someone will go to get public affirmation and adoration.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
There is no way to sugar coat this book though, so if you are of a sensitive nature it might be one to avoid as it contains rape, sexual abuse, substance abuse and mental health issues.
Mickey Jones is our unreliable narrator. A 19 year old wannabe model and influencer who spends her time drinking herself to oblivion and sleeping with different men in order to get into bars and clubs. She is OBSESSED with Gemma Anton – the most influential and successful model on Instagram. Mickey spends every waking moment scrolling through Gemma’s page, memorising her clothes, her expressions, her content and is determined to meet her idol and emulate her fame.
When a chance encounter with Gemma and her famous photographer boyfriend gives Mickey the opportunity to get a taste of fame she jumps at the chance and that is when everything takes a rather bitter and uncomfortable turn.
I’m not going to say too much, but this really does look at the toxic side of social media. Watching the public breakdown/meltdown of “influencers” and showing that reality is often very different to what they are portraying through their posts and uploaded photos.
Often uncomfortable and disturbing Like Me looks at how far someone will go to get public affirmation and adoration.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 11, 2022
I should have known I wasn't going to like this the second I realized there are only 2 chapters in the entire book! I'm sad because the premise is so good, but the execution didn't do it for me - I was bored, seemingly just sitting around waiting for things to happen, and when they did, I was underwhelmed.
July 26, 2022
At first I really enjoyed this book, however, as I was reading further on it started to get really boring. It felt to me like each chapter was a filler chapter, containing of pointless thoughts and no real substance. Would not even recommend it to my worst enemy. 🌟🌟
February 22, 2024
This book is crazyyyyyy! Huge bunny vibes, but I liked it a lot more than that book. Also, love social media as a plot line, shows the true horrors of it.
February 25, 2022
I picked this up as my February Prime Read - I mean, who doesn’t love a good psychological thriller? The premise sounded interesting, even though I don’t read a lot of New Adult fiction.
Here’s the blurb: Mickey Jones (her professional name) came close to fame as a model, but didn’t quite make it. At 19, she’s broke, has a serious drinking and drug problem, and has no idea how to break out of the hole she’s in. She knows if she could be like Gemma Anton, an influencer/model with the perfect life who happens to resemble Mickey, then she’d be discovered. So when Mickey’s not agonizing over her own lack of followers and likes on Instagram, she stalks Gemma’s profile, obsessing over every detail of the girl’s life. When she unexpectedly runs into Gemma at a club, her obsession turns to full blown delusion that they’re friends.
A chance encounter leads to a photo shoot with Gemma’s boyfriend and suddenly Mickey has everything she’s ever wanted - money, over 100,000 followers, and more likes than she ever imagined. But fame is an illusion and Mickey is ill-equipped to handle it when the lines between her social persona and her real life blur.
For me, a psychological thriller is made or broken by an unreliable narrator. It’s easy enough to write an unreliable narrator, much harder to surprise the audience when the truth comes out. Mickey is delusional - the story rests on it. Unfortunately, it’s obvious from the start. I’m not even talking about her drinking, drug use, or the ways she gets dinner. That’s all too common. Nor am I talking about how she bases her self-worth on how many likes and followers she has - that’s also all too common. I mean that reading between the lines, it’s obvious she’s not all there mentally. Granted, it gets worse as the novel wears on, but from the get go, her unreliability/delusion was laid on too heavy handedly. So, when something in her reality turns out not to be true, I wasn’t remotely surprised.
The story held together pretty well until about the half-way point, then it fell apart. I actually found myself rolling my eyes several times, primarily over the use of the Brazilian flu in lieu of COVID. It was pointless. However, there was one line that almost made me stop reading. In a scene where she’s talking to her mom and she wonders why her mom stayed with her dad (who was arrested for engineering a ponzi scheme), her mother says she’s not qualified for a job. Mickey sympathizes since her mom’s generation was raised to rely on a man to provide for them. I’m sorry, what? I’d like to point out that this book takes place in 2019, not 1979, and I was flabbergasted by the conceit of that statement. Apparently I’ve lived my entire life wrong - I should have been looking for a sugar daddy instead of getting degrees and working! Maybe, as a Gen Xer, I’m just in the wrong age cohort to appreciate this thought process (and this book).
Lastly, then I’ll stop hammering on this novel, Mickey could have been redeemed with a decent character arc but alas, that was missing. While there was mild improvement, she ended the book by her mom managing her brand and living off her identity - not much different than how she started but without the drugs and alcohol.
If I’d read this book thirty years ago I might have had better things to say about it. But we’re thirty years too late for that.
I rated this novel 1.5 stars.
If you have a different opinion of this book, I’d love to hear it and chat because I’m aware that reviews are all over the chart. Honestly, I think it’s going to come down to age and life experience.
Here’s the blurb: Mickey Jones (her professional name) came close to fame as a model, but didn’t quite make it. At 19, she’s broke, has a serious drinking and drug problem, and has no idea how to break out of the hole she’s in. She knows if she could be like Gemma Anton, an influencer/model with the perfect life who happens to resemble Mickey, then she’d be discovered. So when Mickey’s not agonizing over her own lack of followers and likes on Instagram, she stalks Gemma’s profile, obsessing over every detail of the girl’s life. When she unexpectedly runs into Gemma at a club, her obsession turns to full blown delusion that they’re friends.
A chance encounter leads to a photo shoot with Gemma’s boyfriend and suddenly Mickey has everything she’s ever wanted - money, over 100,000 followers, and more likes than she ever imagined. But fame is an illusion and Mickey is ill-equipped to handle it when the lines between her social persona and her real life blur.
For me, a psychological thriller is made or broken by an unreliable narrator. It’s easy enough to write an unreliable narrator, much harder to surprise the audience when the truth comes out. Mickey is delusional - the story rests on it. Unfortunately, it’s obvious from the start. I’m not even talking about her drinking, drug use, or the ways she gets dinner. That’s all too common. Nor am I talking about how she bases her self-worth on how many likes and followers she has - that’s also all too common. I mean that reading between the lines, it’s obvious she’s not all there mentally. Granted, it gets worse as the novel wears on, but from the get go, her unreliability/delusion was laid on too heavy handedly. So, when something in her reality turns out not to be true, I wasn’t remotely surprised.
The story held together pretty well until about the half-way point, then it fell apart. I actually found myself rolling my eyes several times, primarily over the use of the Brazilian flu in lieu of COVID. It was pointless. However, there was one line that almost made me stop reading. In a scene where she’s talking to her mom and she wonders why her mom stayed with her dad (who was arrested for engineering a ponzi scheme), her mother says she’s not qualified for a job. Mickey sympathizes since her mom’s generation was raised to rely on a man to provide for them. I’m sorry, what? I’d like to point out that this book takes place in 2019, not 1979, and I was flabbergasted by the conceit of that statement. Apparently I’ve lived my entire life wrong - I should have been looking for a sugar daddy instead of getting degrees and working! Maybe, as a Gen Xer, I’m just in the wrong age cohort to appreciate this thought process (and this book).
Lastly, then I’ll stop hammering on this novel, Mickey could have been redeemed with a decent character arc but alas, that was missing. While there was mild improvement, she ended the book by her mom managing her brand and living off her identity - not much different than how she started but without the drugs and alcohol.
If I’d read this book thirty years ago I might have had better things to say about it. But we’re thirty years too late for that.
I rated this novel 1.5 stars.
If you have a different opinion of this book, I’d love to hear it and chat because I’m aware that reviews are all over the chart. Honestly, I think it’s going to come down to age and life experience.
July 20, 2022
i have no idea how to rate this. i dont know if i enjoyed reading it enough to rate it five stars but anything less feels like a disservice. there are certainly parts i had to speed over (make sure to look up trigger warnings) but oh my god am i going to think about this forever. there are some choices in here that i dont think were necessary but im still not sure how i want to factor that into the rating.
i do recommend going into this knowing no more than the blurb, just let it take you for a ride. but of course if you dont mind spoilers, i do think that what happens is less important than HOW is happens (a switchblade sisters philosophy.)
of course the depictions of mental illness in this book make for a fascinating story but are not reflections of human beings in reality.
I hope more people pick up this book!
i do recommend going into this knowing no more than the blurb, just let it take you for a ride. but of course if you dont mind spoilers, i do think that what happens is less important than HOW is happens (a switchblade sisters philosophy.)
of course the depictions of mental illness in this book make for a fascinating story but are not reflections of human beings in reality.
I hope more people pick up this book!
February 26, 2022
Nunca un libro me incomodó tanto.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 510 reviews