Author: Emily Benet
Publisher: Harper Impulse
Publication Date: August 2015
Genre: Women’s Fiction / Chick-Lit
Buy the Book: Amazon
Description: How to mess up your life in 140 characters…
Social media whizz kid, May Sparks has landed her dream job. Well, not quite, but the salary is great and all May has to do is handle the online profiles of C – list celebrities who have the tendency to say inappropriate things. Easy, right? #wrong
May’s clients include an ex big brother star (who she's definitely not going to sleep with #neversaynever), a disgraced TV presenter (who wants May to sort out his marriage as well as his Twitter account), and a woman who once flashed her boobs on X-factor. They're all relying on her to turn them into stars. But they're not going to make her job easy.
As May is sucked further and further into her job she begins to lose her grip on real life. Her friends don’t ‘like’ her Facebook posts anymore and even her gorgeous neighbor, who once seemed to be on the same wavelength, criticizes her career choice. Worse, May’s clients start getting trolled by an annoying tweep, who May happens to agree with.
Then May’s secret online identity is leaked, causing her to start trending on Twitter. It looks like the status update is over. Unless May can leave the superficial social media word behind and find her own voice again…
My Thoughts: In a world where so much of the thoughts and actions of the human race are driven by social media, this book could be a biography instead of a work of fiction. May Sparks is your typical social media aficionado. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram…she knows them all and uses them effectively to document her life, as most people who live in this digital society knows all too well. May accepts what she thinks is her dream job, managing the online profiles of celebrities who don’t play so nice online, without anyone finding out.
I honestly didn’t understand the need for secrecy as I have long known that celebrities hire PR people to manage their online accounts not because they can’t but because they don’t have time. Isn’t that what PR are paid to do? Apparently in May’s world, nobody can find out, so of course, the reader already figures everyone will eventually find out. May’s clients aren’t people of integrity in the first place so trying to present them in a positive light online is going to be downright impossible to me.
This book swings between just OK and a good read for me. I liked May and though I thought her job was interesting, I got frustrated quickly at how she allows people to walk all over her, her clients, her boss, her client’s managers, friends, the list goes on and on. What I found annoying is that they are paying May’s company to provide them with an online presence they can’t pull off themselves because they lack human skills like kindness, honesty, restraint and manners but yet they are demanding of May, calling her round the clock, treating her like she’s their personal servant or at their beck and call. Her boss is a sycophantic dweeb, more interested in May taking on yet another client instead of looking out for his employee and having her back. Her friends resent the amount of time May spends on her tablet and phone (HELLO, IT’S HER JOB!) and even go so far as snub her by excluding her from her friend’s housewarming party. Her roommate and neighbors criticize her for the work she does, that she lacks integrity or values, somehow. Her family doesn’t really know the full extent of May’s job, so aren’t critical or negative, but when things get rough for May, she finds it hard to talk to them about what’s really going on.
I started enjoying the story more when things began getting worse for May. I was interested at how things would turn out for her and the path she would choose. I didn’t really understand what the big deal was when her identity was leaked, why people were so upset. For the most part, I thought these people really needed to get over themselves and get a life.
My Final Verdict: The story started out as just OK but became a good read. I liked May and was pleased with how everything turned out. Readers who enjoy stories featuring strong protagonists throughout the entire story and not just in the last few chapters may find themselves frustrated with May. Readers who enjoy stories where the underdog comes out on top will be happy with May’s choices and will be rooting for her as she crosses the finish line.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of #PleaseRetweet from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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