Having not grown up with social media (and also convinced that influencers are a sham) this wasn't exactly the book for me. I appreciate it enough for what it was, especially the commentary on feminism, but overall, I wasn't in love.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Look by Zan Romanoff.

Lulu Shapiro is an online influencer with a lot of followers and who is desperately trying to play by the rules. But Lulu is hiding a big secret. And when that secret goes public, her seemingly perfect life gets completely scrambled.

DNF. I would say that I'm not the right audience for this, but I can't help but think that even if I were younger, this would still not be my cup of tea. I appreciated the approach to fluid sexual identity and healthy sexuality, and of course there is going to be youth angst that may seem shallow to us olds, but still. It was just too vapid and socially unaware. Because boo hoo, all these followers just found out a thing about me that pretty much everyone already knew. And boo hoo, I'm sad because my parents are simply rich, while all of my other friends are trust fund babies. Also, did I seem like I actually cared a bit too much about something just then, thus breaking the rules and now I might not have anymore fake friends? Boo. Hoo.

Nope, I can't.

This book started out a little slow but once I got into it I really loved it. This was a great queer, coming of age and finding your fierce feminist side story and I am here for it!

Zan Romanoff is one of my favorite writers working today (both in her nonfiction for magazines & websites, and in her YA fiction) and I think her voice is really unique and bold. I will say that comparisons here to Nina LaCour feel apt, as Look is the sort of quiet, roving, introspective novel we've come to expect from the former; But Romanoff puts her own spin on it, firmly entrenching her plot in very modern concerns about social media and the crafting of personas therein, along with Gen Z's relationship to feminist idealogies that have been firmly entrenched in the media and culture since their birth. I thought Look was very compelling on all the above, and I loved how the novel feels almost like two different stories at the half: We start with this lush, quiet, almost dreamlike story about a girl dealing with the aftermath of outing herself on social media, getting to a know a new girl, exploring the weird world of The Hotel, and coming to terms with changing relationships throughout her life. Then that bubble bursts and we go deeper into conversations about patrarchy, revenge porn, the power men exert over women's bodies, etc. It can feel a bit disorienting to read, but I think that's the point Romanoff wants to make. An overall interesting and heartfelt entry into the author's catalog.

A great young adult introduction to the ideas of feminism, questions about making yourself available for public consumption, and exploring LGBTQ identity with and without a good safety net. I do feel it wasn’t lacking character development, and felt heavy on lessons and a bit in your face but perhaps that’s the age group.

I liked this quite a bit.

Lulu is a high school student with a large following on a Snapchat-like app, where she posts beautiful pictures of her self and her beautiful life full of friends and parties. But what her followers don't know is that Lulu feels uncertain and unsure of most of the relationships in her life, despite crafting an enviable facade. When she meets the compelling Cass at a party and follows her to The Hotel, a building just as in-between and unfinished as Lulu feels, she begins to admit to herself what she wants and why her life feels off.

Lulu felt like a genuine teenager struggling with desire and sexuality and learning about consent and feminism. Even when she made choices I didn't like, I understood where she was coming from and empathized with her.