Review | People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

Emmy Jackson is mamabare, an “Instamum” with a million followers and a thriving brand. Her husband, Dan, is wary of how her fame affects their family. They have no idea that someone is watching Emmy very closely. Someone with a score to settle.

The very first piece of advice her agent gave her was that the whole thing should feel organic, as if she’d just fallen into it through sheer chance. I don’t think either of us knew quite how good at that Emmy would be.

People Like Her is a cynical, apprehensive look at influencers, social media, parenting, and fame. I found the behind-the-scenes take of a “momfluencer” entertaining! The hashtags, the sponsors, the search for content – the details are brilliant. Emmy is insufferable but she makes no apologies about how she strategises everything about her family for content and cash. Dan is not the annoying husband I thought he’d be, and he’s supportive of Emmy’s career when he’s not being sad about his unfinished second novel. I liked the sharp observation of how people tend to look down on influencers, and how Emmy strives to work hard to beat those expectations. The book points out the double standard that often accompanies women’s business and accomplishments compared to men who make it on their own.

I liked that Emmy and Dan’s relationship doesn’t have the typical fights and drama, but it’s mainly because they never sat down and have a proper chat. In general, there’s a lot of telling and not showing in this book. Emmy does a terrible thing to a friend and it’s glossed over. Something happens to one of their children and they just move on. Nobody has difficult conversations even when things get bad so I missed that connection between the characters. The monologues are helpful but they are not enough to show the full impact of the characters’ actions.

This book has two sides – the influencer life, and a tragedy involving the villain. Both storylines don’t mesh for me and they built up to an unbelievably contrived ending. What could have been an exploration of the dark side of fame gets muddled in the execution. But if you have a rosy view of influencers, this book will probably change your mind! Also, I don’t often direct readers to content warnings but this book deals with heavy themes particularly relating to parenting, so if this is triggering please proceed cautiously.

People Like Her is a thought-provoking thriller about the ups and downs of social media that will appeal to readers who love social media and those fascinated by the influencer industry.

CW: infant death, suicide, abortion, miscarriage, infertility, abduction

About the author: Ellery Lloyd

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson