I loved the idea of this one, but the execution just never grabbed me the way I wanted to. I'm someone who has an interest in vlogger/influencer families and so the summary of Hate Follow just made me want to read it ASAP! I will say Quinn-Kong has a solid writing style, breezy and commercial and this is a good debut. I just never connected to the characters and their problems the way I should've; they felt a bit one-dimensional.

I loved and hated this. this is such an important conversation about kids and digital privacy. I feel for Mia so much. But I also understand Whitney’s need to feel financially secure.
I really wish Mia would have seen the lawsuit through. I know that isn’t the point of the book and the ending is a happily ever after where we all learned our lesson and everything is okay again.

Whitney Golden has a...well, a golden life. A handsome boyfriend, beautiful children, a lovely home and all the clothes and beauty products one could want. She's an influencer, more specifically a mominfluencer, with over a million followers who follow her life as a widowed mother of four.

But it's all going to come crumbling down. Mia, Whitney's teenage daughter is tired of her mother's career. She doesn't want to be seen in photos, mentioned in her blog, or really, just anything to do with Whitney's brand. And she wants the same for her siblings AND her deceased father.

Whitney does not agree with Mia, so Mia takes her mother to court. What happens is more than a mother-daughter fight, its about privacy, child privacy, and how the world REALLY sees those who put everything out there.
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If you scroll back far enough, you'll see one of my reviews for a mominfluencer book. It was written by a fairly popular blogger who had an enviable life, with her husband and 5 children. I hated it. I found it vapid and pointless. Hate Follow by Erin Quinn-Kong has taken that and turned it into a story about the real issues of child privacy. It's an excellent look at what is given up when someone chooses to put everything online.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I flew through Hate Follow in a couple of sittings; it poses a question that I think is so interesting: what are the rights of the children who are featured in their influencer parents’ content? As a lawyer by background, I was interested in the legal components, but I’m even more interested in the ethical dilemma. For me, this book’s biggest strength was that I truly felt empathy for all of the characters. Of course I felt for Mia; imagine being fifteen (no thank you!) and having your life being broadcast to your mother’s one million followers? But I was surprised by how much I felt for Whitney, also. She had very real, human, and understandable reasons for her career choices. I’m Whitney’s age, but I don’t have children and I’m not an influencer; nevertheless, I felt myself empathizing with her struggle to determine what was right for her and her family.

I am one of those people who are patiently waiting for the wave of lawsuits against "mom-fluencers" who share photos of their children without their consent in sponsored posts, so this was a fun read. It's also a quick read, one that would be an appropriate choice for teens and parents to read together. I was intrigued the entire time I read this one and flew through it. Plus, if you live in Austin, there are a lot of fun local shout-outs that will make you smile. I can't wait to see what Erin Quinn-Kong writes about next!

This book was a fast and easy read! I’ve been seeing tons of influencer centric books these days, but the mother/daughter angle was unique with Hate Follow. Definitely made me grateful my parents had normal jobs. I think this will be a great read for mom’s with teenage daughters!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC copy!

I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of The Hate Follow—and I was not disappointed! The premise about a social media influencer whose teenage daughter refuses to be part of her brand and sues her is wholly original.

Erin Quinn-Kong’s creativity and writing style give rise to an engaging story full of relatable characters. On one side is Whitney, the widow with four children who became an influencer to support her young family. Then there’s Mia, her teenage daughter who is no longer comfortable being a part of her mom’s online presence. The dynamic of these two characters pulls the reader in and doesn’t let go until the end. Between that and the heartbreaking backstory, I was engaged from the first page until the last.

The Hate Follow is a relevant and timely commentary on what it means to raise children in the social media age and where we draw the line when it comes to our children’s privacy. This is a stellar debut from an author I will definitely be following.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow  for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Hate Follow, Erin Quinn-Kong delivers a sharp, engaging critique of influencer culture through the tumultuous relationship between Whitney Golden, a prominent social media personality, and her teenage daughter, Mia. Whitney’s life seems perfect: she boasts a large following, luxurious lifestyle, and an image of domestic bliss. However, the façade crumbles when Mia, feeling exploited and invaded by her mother’s constant online presence, demands that her family, including their late father, be removed from Whitney’s social media platforms. When Whitney refuses, Mia sues her mother, setting off a dramatic legal and media storm that threatens to dismantle everything Whitney has built.

The novel's strength lies in its exploration of the ethical complexities of social media and parental rights. Quinn-Kong adeptly portrays the clash between Whitney’s desire for public validation and Mia’s plea for privacy, making for a compelling narrative that examines the consequences of living a life broadcasted to millions. The story is told from both Whitney and Mia’s perspectives, allowing readers to understand the motivations and struggles of each character. This dual viewpoint enriches the narrative, offering a nuanced discussion of modern parenting and digital ethics.

While the premise is intriguing and the characters are well-drawn, some readers may find the pacing uneven, with subplots occasionally detracting from the central conflict. Despite this, Hate Follow is a thought-provoking read that raises important questions about the impact of social media on family dynamics and personal privacy. It’s a solid debut that will resonate with anyone interested in the intersection of technology and personal relationships.

This was one of the most fun books I've read lately.

The question of social media and children has always been an interesting one, and I think this book actually tackles it well. I actually agree with the daughter here, and I've never been more glad to grow up in years without social media for my parents to have posted me all over. I thought this book was well written and I could not believe it was a debut. I look forward to reading more from Erin in the coming years.

I personlly think this would be a perfect choice for book clubs, and I'm going to recommend my book club reads this. I think it's such a hot topic that I would love to have this be a heavy discussion novel. I'd be surprised if this didn't make a best sellers list, or a Book Club suscription box for the month of it's release.

What a debut for this author! The plot line of it is so relevant in the social media age, and I’m actually surprised we haven’t seen it happen in real life.

The book follows the perspectives of Whitney and Mia, a mother/daughter duo. Whitney is a social media influencer who shares her everyday life of herself and her children. Mia is her oldest and realizing just how much her mother is sharing about her and her siblings online. Guess what? She doesn’t like it.

I really enjoyed reading this book and could honestly relate to both of their sides in it.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

The story itself feels unique and compelling. Overall though I really struggled with the pacing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest option.

Publication date -October 8th 4.5 stars rounded up.

If you belong to a book club, be sure to get this book for discussion. This is a powerful look into internet privacy, influencers, and the first generation of kids to have their whole lives spread out on the 'net for strangers to follow...whether the kids want it out there or not.

Although sometimes clumsily written with secondary and tertiary storylines that aren't always necessary, it is worth the read.

This story tells us about one family ( a widowed mother, twins, a teenager, and a boy who never knew his father) who is in the social media spotlight. The mom is an influencer who lays it all out there for the world to see, even pictures of her dead husband in his coffin. The mom makes a great living off of her posts etc. But this also tells the story of her teenage daughter, who has had enough of her privacy being invaded. And the daughter takes some drastic steps to get her mother to stop.

I have to say that at first, I was against what the daughter was trying to do; after all, the mom was trying her best to keep her family afloat. I'm from that nasty generation who sometimes still feels that children should be seen and not heard!

This is definitely one book that will be discussed...a lot.


*ARC was supplied by the publisher William Morrow Paperbacks, the author, and NetGalley.

interesting premise, with a lot of side plots that could be taken as ways to flesh out the characters and add depth but felt a bit unnecessary to get to the finale of the main arc. still worth reading i think since the premise of a kid possibly setting a legal precedent for internet privacy from their own influencer parent is intriguing enough, plus a quick read.

many thanks to william morrow and netgalley for the advance reader copy.

I was fascinated by the idea of this and loved how it played out. Many awful choices made and some characters that you just can’t to shake, Hate Follow evoked so many strong emotions.

I obsessed with stories that focus in on the lives of the children of influencers, and Hate Follow by Erin Quinn-Kong might be one of the best I've read so far. The story follows the story of Whitney, lifestyle and mommy influencer making her living and supporting her family as a single mom posting about her family online, and her oldest daughter, Mia, who decides to refuse to participate in her mom's influencer life. This book had everything, and I really enjoyed exploring the mother-daughter dynamics at play, as well as the biggest questions about the role of social media in society.

Hate Follow tells the story of picture-perfect momfluencer Whitney Golden and her teenage daughter Mia who is rejecting the idea of being posted on her mother's accounts. They experience a major fallout after Mia learns just how much of their whole family's lives are posted including the picture of a younger her crying at her father's open casket funeral. She decides to sue her mother regarding her privacy and her siblings privacy. It discusses the ethics of children and social media and opens up the beginning of a conversation that is very much needed in our modern society.
I was hoping for more from this book. These ethical questions are very nuanced and I would have loved to see them more in depth, while I am pleased that the pair were able to reconcile there was a lot of build up to a trial that never happened. Even with Whitney's change of heart at the end I still did not see her truly believe that what she was doing with the blog was harmful to the children, she never really apologized for the pictures of her other children bathing or potty training. We see that she has deleted her photos & her blog but there was a whole plot thread early on the book that involved hiring someone to scrub the casket photos from the internet, so did she do that for all her photos of the children? Also her new job would be working with influencers, is she planning to do any advocacy work or is she just going to allow others to exploit their children?
This ending did feel as though it was the only possible outcome as we reached the midway point of the book and the trial was not anywhere close to happening. Both Whitney and Mia had very repetitive monologues that did offer any real new insights into their characters and they both did many unrealistic or absurd things. Mia getting someone possibly kicked off the newspaper and an acceptance revoked for a Tiktok she posted? Whitney yelling at other influencers in the crowd after getting an award?
Unfortunately this book was not for me. I had originally been very excited for it based on the premise and zoomed it up my TBR.

In Hate Follow, an influencer’s teenage daughter sues her for invasion of privacy and requests that her mom stop sharing photos of her and her siblings online. While this book was entertaining, I think the character development and writing could have gone deeper.

If you’re interested in plots about influencers and ethics, you’ll likely enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

While the plot was a bit predictable, and I didn't actually like the influencer, a widowed mom, it was a good read. Her oldest daughter Mia starts to object to being "used" in the content, etc. It all spirals out of control, but it's interesting on both sides of the issue.
The story is OK and easy but it's getting boring and predictable around 60% through.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was told by both Whitney and Mia, so you got a better look at both of their sides. Whitney at first was so focused on being perfect on social media, and brand deals, it didn’t seem genuine. But when you pulled back a few layers, and found out Whitney’s upbringing, you can understand her need and want for a better life. Mia I understood from a perspective of private moments being posted, but I wished the mother and daughter duo communicated a lot better with each other. There were also comments on a public forum either bashing Whitney or praising her.

Where I struggled with this one is I had a different expectation of where the story was going. At times the characters were not likable and logical at all which kind of annoyed me. Personally, I don’t like when characters don’t listen to each other or try to understand where the other is coming from. And Whitney and Mia both did this to each other throughout. This would book be great for book clubs, because I feel like the social commentary would be a great discussion.

Mom influencer Whitney Golden seems to have it all–until her teenage daughter Mia sues her for invasion of privacy. What started as a family spat turns into a media frenzy and an historic case about child privacy and modern parenting. This was a true page-turner and offered a fascinating and nuanced look at so many relevant and timely issues. I really appreciated that mom Whitney wasn't a pure villain (as we can often paint influencers to be) and appreciated the realistic-seeming awakening she experienced throughout the book. I'll be recommending this one to everyone I know!