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A review by portybelle
Living My Best Life by Claire Frost
4.0
Living My Best Life is a very topical book for our social media obsessed world. Instagram is the focus of the story and it's a form of social media which I am totally rubbish at! I like looking at other people's photos and I can post a photo, but have to ask my daughters all the time for advice about stories and direct messages which they think is hilarious! I don't really try to make things look something other than they are, although I do admit to loving the filters!
Bell is very down after an unexpected breakup with boyfriend of ten years. Social media exacerbates her feelings as she sees all the photos of people and their perfect lives being #soblessed and #makingmemories - including her ex. She decides to delete all her social media accounts as they are just making her miserable.
On the other side of the scale we have Millie who is an Instagram influencer. Every one of her photos is carefully considered, filtered, photoshopped and hashtagged to death! But they don't really show the reality of her life where she has financial difficulties and issues with her little boy's father. She also feels pressure to get thousands of likes for all her photos in case the brands she promotes decide she's no longer influential enough.
Through both these ladies we see the positive and negative side of social media. In particular we see the effect which 'trolls' have on people even when their comments are way outnumbered by positives. The negative comments are what sticks in Millie's mind. A chance meeting between Bell and Millie shows they have more in common than you might think. A good friendship begins to develop and the two become a huge support to each other. As they begin to work together on a local community project, Bell begins to see the good that can come from social media too.
Living My Best Life is a fun and enjoyable read. It reflects the modern obsession with showing that you are living your best life, at least online. But is also shows that actually living your best life for real and being more honest online is ultimately more important. Friendship and community spirit comes through strongly in the book and there are a few fledgling romances blossoming as well. There were plenty moments which made me smile in this entertaining debut novel - a feel-good read.
Bell is very down after an unexpected breakup with boyfriend of ten years. Social media exacerbates her feelings as she sees all the photos of people and their perfect lives being #soblessed and #makingmemories - including her ex. She decides to delete all her social media accounts as they are just making her miserable.
On the other side of the scale we have Millie who is an Instagram influencer. Every one of her photos is carefully considered, filtered, photoshopped and hashtagged to death! But they don't really show the reality of her life where she has financial difficulties and issues with her little boy's father. She also feels pressure to get thousands of likes for all her photos in case the brands she promotes decide she's no longer influential enough.
Through both these ladies we see the positive and negative side of social media. In particular we see the effect which 'trolls' have on people even when their comments are way outnumbered by positives. The negative comments are what sticks in Millie's mind. A chance meeting between Bell and Millie shows they have more in common than you might think. A good friendship begins to develop and the two become a huge support to each other. As they begin to work together on a local community project, Bell begins to see the good that can come from social media too.
Living My Best Life is a fun and enjoyable read. It reflects the modern obsession with showing that you are living your best life, at least online. But is also shows that actually living your best life for real and being more honest online is ultimately more important. Friendship and community spirit comes through strongly in the book and there are a few fledgling romances blossoming as well. There were plenty moments which made me smile in this entertaining debut novel - a feel-good read.