Like Comment Subscribe?

Like Comment Subscribe? by Author Kat Ost (Rhiza Edge) ISBN 978-1-76111-257-7  RRP $14.99 (PB) Middle Grade Fiction

Reviewed by Jude Mullen

Becca is a 15-year-old influencer with well over 1 000 000 followers. Her Aunt Jane, who is also her manager, is pushing Becca to pump up her account by doing collaborations. But Becca doesn’t want to pump up her account; she actually wants to close it down. What she really wants is to follow her passion for writing poetry, but how can she tell her Aunt Jane and her Mum the truth when they are so invested in her social media profile?

This middle grade fiction is one of the new Rhiza-Shorts which are novellas aimed specifically at teenage readers who are seeking something shorter in length, easy to read, with high-interest, relatable topics. Whilst the language and structure are simple and straightforward, and the word count is low (I was able to read the entire book in only a couple of hours) in no way does it feel condescending for teenage readers. In fact, quite the opposite . This story taps into themes of identity, friendship, and being seen and heard as your authentic self which are pertinent topics for this age group. It also incorporates social issues that affect teens in their daily lives, such as the pressure and impact of social media, as well as their relationships with their parents.

Not only will the content and storyline appeal to teens, but the format is also designed to hook even the most reluctant readers. The print is not dense, the chapters are short, and each chapter begins with a header updating Becca’s status about her posts, her all-important follower numbers, and her mood, which is a great way to catch readers’ attention and draw them into the chapter.

Like Comment Subscribe is likely to appeal more to teenage girls than to boys as the protagonist, Becca is a girl, and there are actually no male characters in the story at all. Rhiza markets this book as having a reading age of 10+ years with an ‘interest age’ of 13+ years. I see this story having a strong appeal for the target audience of those wanting something shorter to read and for reluctant readers. I commend Rhiza’s foresight in seeing and filling this gap in the market for interesting, engaging and relevant shorter stories for teens.