Member Reviews
A fascinating take on the impact of family blogging on children as they grow up and how it can follow them through life. I'm against these family social media accounts for the exact reasons we see in the book and I think the way the subject is treated comes across as very realistic and raw, and very believable.
The relationships in this book had to be my favourite part. The friendship of the trio specifically and how much they love and care for each other shows how much friends can mean to each other, how much a strong friendship can help you and how it can become a second family. It's such a beautiful and tender love that I really enjoyed reading about. I also loved the budding romance we got a peek at and found it brought a lightness and hope to the book.
This was a slow read for me but not in a bad way whatsoever. I really enjoyed every page, every twist or development in the story and every moment with the characters, even the dark ones.
Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli is a stunning story of our times. Anuri's stepmother used Anuri throughout her childhood for online fame, a "mumfluencer". However, now 25, Anuri wants to live her life her way and break free from the facade created of her
A stunning portrayal of a life lived on social media and the truth behind the lens, told with an intimate understanding of human nature and soceity deceived by a perception put before them. A fantastic read
Thank you to Netgalley, Oneworld Publications | Magpie Books and Onyi Nwabineli for this wonderful ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
i really liked Onyi Nwabineli's debut so i was really excited to read this...but compared to her previous novel this one is just messy. clumsy on a sentence level, and not particularly convincing in terms of characterisation.
A great book highlighting important themes. Onyi Nwabineli has done it again and written another great book that everyone needs to read!!
Growing up with a stepmother who has a huge following and continuously posts carefully crafted updates for maximum impact, 25 year old Anuri has paid a high price for the dubious pleasure and intense pressure of living in a goldfish bowl.
However screwed up she herself is by Ophelia's social media obsession though, Anuri has been disinclined to deal with the issue head on despite her resentment. That is, until she sees that history is likely to repeat itself with her younger sister, which finally spurs her into taking action...
This darkly humorous novel focuses on the cost - on so many levels - of the global preoccupation with, and utter narcissism of, our social media addiction. However unreal virtual life may be, its consequences are very real indeed.
This book was an interesting read overall, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. It could have been so much better, with a little less drama and a bit more nuance. Nevertheless, it is entertaining, and it does also have something quite important to say.
I really enjoyed Onyi's first book and was excited to dive into this one. Unfortunately it just didn't hit for me.
There was a lot going on: multiple characters POVs, timelines present and past, characters with questionable depth and a protagonist who was also largely her own antagonist.
I do admire that Onyi strived to tackle a difficult topic and one that's largely very much a grey area. I would have loved to have seen this book tidied up a bit more, with the characters chopped down a bit, more strong POVs from Anuri, Ophelia and Nkem at a regular cadence & a bit more of a grounded approach to Anuri's decisions.
Not a bad book, I just don't think it was for me this time.
A book that is so relevant for the times we live live well written with dark humour a feast of interesting characters will keep you interest. Enjoyed it