April 15, 2021 | No Comments
The Bright Side of Going Dark
by Kelly Harms
Date Published: May 12, 2020
Published By: Lake Union Publishing
Page Count: 341
Publisher’s Description:
From the bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler comes a fresh, funny, and thoughtful story about going off the grid in order to truly live.
As one of the most popular influencers on social media, Mia Bell has lived her life online for years. With her celebrity dog and gorgeous fiancé, she is planning the ultimate virtual wedding—expensive, elaborate, and entirely paid for by sponsors. But off-camera, her world is far from picture perfect. After being jilted by her fiancé and faking her nuptials to please her sponsors, Mia finally has had enough. She heaves her phone off a cliff, ready to live—and maybe find love—offline for a change.
Mia’s sudden absence doesn’t go unnoticed, especially by techie loner Paige Miller, who hacks Mia’s account and begins impersonating the internet celebrity. Paige has her reasons. Her half sister, Jessica, idolizes Mia and desperately needs something to believe in. If taking over Mia’s online persona is Paige’s only means of connecting to her sister, so be it.
Creating a like-worthy life is more fun than Paige expected. But when she grows too bold and is caught in the act, a fiasco ensues that could forever change Mia, Paige, and the people who love them. Because somewhere amid the chaos is an invaluable lesson—one that only real life can teach.
My Star Rating:
My Review:
The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book had a little bit of everything. Sisters, slightly strained mother-daughter relationships, life inside and outside social media, mental illness, even the tiniest hint of romance. And then there was Mike.
For any of you who are dog people, and I mean really dog people; the kind that feel their dogs are members of your family, like additional children… for those of you, this book is probably and more than likely going to bring some tears.
What I liked about this book was that it was funny and quirky and realistic, mostly. The characters were all relatable in some way, though they all had their own distinctive personalities.
What was maybe a little off was how Paige was a little socially odd, but somehow was able to post on Mia’s social account in a way that caught no notice by anyone that it was by a different person. The pictures I can see, but not the captions. That felt a little too contrived, though a very minor piece of the story overall.
The book was very realistic in the way it portrays how addicted people are to their phones. We use them for everything! How do we break away for any amount of time to somehow form real, deep, and meaningful relationships with anyone?
I also loved Mia’s response to Tucker when he comes to talk to her toward the end of the book. No spoilers, but her response to him was epic. Girl power! Fist bump. 👊
Great for a not too deep, mostly lighthearted read that isn’t just a fluff piece. I enjoyed this book all the way through.