This book has such great idea and writing although the plot is quite simple and predictable, it was a very quick read as I flew through it within a day, I would recommend it for a teen.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Thank you for providing a copy of this book for review however I was unable to open the file for this document unfortunately! Apologies.

A really fun read with an important message inside. I watch a lot of youtube myself but don't follow any of the youtube 'personalities', I am very aware of the power and influence they can have though.
This book comes from 2 different viewpoints; the very popular youtuber with millions of followers who is stretching the truth a little to keep up the 'perfect life' facade and then the girl who desperately wants to be like her and will go to any lengths to gain more followers.
I thought this book was very timely and will certainly make readers question what they see online.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This is book I din't know I needed. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the world of social media and forget what is real and actually in front of you. Charlotte Seager's writing style is exquisite she portrays 2 different women discovering their way through life while showing you how social media can take a toll on your life.

I cannot recommend this book enough and can't wait to see what Charlotte writes next

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for allowing me access to an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw this novel on Netgalley, I wasn’t sure if I was going to love it or loathe it. It sounded like the kind of book which contains a good message, and I knew it could have been brilliant, but I was a tiny bit worried that it might be one of those books where I can’t connect with the voice.

Luckily, I was once again wrong.

I really enjoyed how it switched between Lily, the YouTube star, and Melissa, a normal girl who is a huge fan of LilyLoves’ channel. It was interesting to get both sides of the same story and the book examines some interesting issues from both sides. There’s been quite a few BBC articles recently about the amount of stress YouTube couples are under to film videos, get sponsors, address fan comments and keep coming up with new ideas and creative projects to fuel their business. Most people start YouTube channels to express themselves in some way, and it’s usually a really amazing deal when those creators get thrust into the spotlight and seemingly have all their dreams made true. Obviously, it also creates quite a lasting impression on viewers too, who watch YouTube couples laughing together, having romantic candlelit meals every other night, going for cute walks and holidays to amazing, exotic places, and goofing around on delightful city breaks. It looks like most people imagine ‘making it’ looks like.

So it was refreshing to see things from Lily’s POV and see some of the stress she was under to maintain a relationship that isn’t as perfect in reality as it is on the screen. She has to juggle an awful lot, and is clearly close to having a nervous breakdown, but the book does a lot to highlight some of the reality behind the mysterious glamour of being a YouTube star. I found her a very easy character to connect with, especially as she seemed so sweet and kind even when things were going to hell in a hand basket around her.

I found it a lot harder to see things from Melissa’s perspective, if I’m being honest. Melissa sees Lily’s videos and wants to not only admire them, but imitate her whole life. She does a lot of manipulative and genuinely quite creepy and unacceptable things to gain attention and followers, and there were quite a few moments when I cringed and considered putting the book down because I was getting second-hand shame reading what she’d done. That being said, it’s also quite interesting how she felt the need to be seen on social media, and how obsessed she became with maintaining it. I felt sorry for her in moments, but I think if she existed in real life, she wouldn’t be someone I wanted to make friends with. There were parts of her character which just didn’t come off as genuine to me, which is funny considering what she gets up to throughout the book. A lot of her interactions with her parents seemed very blunt and out of the blue aggressive, and so very stereotypical teenager having an angsty phase. While I really liked what the book was trying to say, I couldn’t quite get on board with Melissa’s character.

Plot-wise, it was fairly entertaining. I flew through this book, reading a half each night and I struggled to put it down. When a dual perspective book gets it right, it works so well. Whenever Lily was having a bit of a filler chapter, something really big was going down with Melissa and visa-versa. Considering the plot was pretty good, but not entirely unpredictable, the double dose of characters packed a big punch.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with My [Secret] YouTtube Life. I even ended up having a huge discussion with my boyfriend about the issues raised in the book, which was quite cool. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is having issues with fear of missing out on social media, or who enjoys a good side helping of real life issues with their dramatic YA 😀 I’m giving it a 9/10 stars.

I'm a huge YouTube fan and spend more hours than I should watching vlogs etc. so a book based on YouTube and influencers is right up my street. This book did not disappoint and really gave an insight into the somewhat 'fake' life of social media.

YouTubers/Instagrammers hold such sway with young girls now with their seemingly perfect lives and happy Mills and Boon like relationships but do we ever get to see the real story - the people behind the carefully constructed facade? Melissa, one of the dual main protagonists in this story, is almost obsessed by her favourite YouTube star, Lily, and wants to have a life just like hers. The only way to do this however is to bend the truth a little and create a different persona , neglecting her real friends at the same time. Lily has problems of her own and her perfect little world is about to implode.

This salutary tale should be in every secondary school library to give young people a dose of reality. The short chapters with the two switching narratives keep you interested and show you the two sides of the coin, reality versus acting a part. Will reading this stop kids idolising glossy online stars? No of course not but for some of them it should at least help them stop and think and enjoy the videos for what they are in many cases, a carefully thought out production, not real life.

I would like to thank Macmillan Children’s Book and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘My Secret You Tube Life’ in exchange for my honest unbiased review..

It shows Lily (who is a massive You Tube star) who films, photographs,chats about every aspect of her life. There is not separate entity to her private life. Her entire life is on public display.
Then there is Melissa who is one of Lily’s followers and a massive fan. Who would love to have the life that Lily has/portrays on,I e. So much so she will go to extreme lengths to give herself the image that her life is on equal par to Lily- or as her blogs shows.

This book is about how life portrayed on social media may not be what life is in reality . It shows the danger of what using social media can have.
The book was an ok book, It was a book YA section which is good as under this story there is a lesson.

For anyone who has ever doubted the influence social media has on us/our mental health, this is a must-read. Told through alternating viewpoints, it forces us to take a moment to consider the extent to which we pander to an idealised notion of our lives and the need to affirm our sense of self through the responses of others.
Lily is a YouTube sensation. Initially a vlogger who gave make-up tutorials from her bedroom, she’s become a brand. Her life is dominated by the need to chronicle what she’s doing and to perpetuate the glossy lifestyle her fans seem to think is her reality. Yet Lily knows that isn’t the case, but how can she break out of the very thing that once brought her such relief?
Alongside Lily we have 16 year old Melissa. Determined to emulate the social media profiles of those she admires, Melissa gets caught up in a web of deceit that causes some pretty unpleasant reactions.
Inevitably the two lives collide, though not quite in the way I was expecting.
Fun to read, engaging characters and a timely wake-up call.
Thank you NetGalley.

This is a book I’m going to preorder multiple copies of for my mini library in school. It will hit the right chord with all the students that come to me looking for something good to read.
This book will be perfect for fans of 2018’s We Were Born for This, 2017’s Editing Emma and films like Harriet the Spy and Bandslam.
I did want more from the duel narratives; a sort of ‘ahhhhh’ moment like at the end of Love Actually that gave the characters more of a connection. However that’s a personal thing and the characters develop well without meeting.