Thanks to her mother's "Mommylicious" parenting blog,
fifteen-year-old Imogene has been viciously trying to escape
her resulting label as "Babylicious". She's tired of her
classmates teasing her, and random strangers knowing things
about her like when she got her first period. When one her
teachers assigns a blogging project, Imogene decides it's
time to take a stand once and for all. As the online battle
begins, Imogene will have to figure out how far she's
willing to go to get her mom to learn the meaning of
privacy.
Gwendolyn Heasley's DON'T CALL ME BABY is one of the most
original books I've read. The concept of this book is so
unique and nearly insanely plausible in modern technology
times. The overall plot is sweet and smooth and reads
exceptionally quickly. I especially love the blog posts from
the mom, Imogene, and her friend, fellow daughter of a
blogger, Sage, throughout the book. It supplements the story
excellently, and I won't deny wanting to rip my own hair out
after reading some of the mom's
bare-all-my-daughter's-secrets posts.
Though the concept is great, some of the execution doesn't
fully match up to it. Heasley does a super job at keeping
Imogene's voice fitting for a fifteen-year-old, but some of
the dialogue feels a little stiff and unnatural at times. I
love the character of Sage, who is wonderfully developed,
but I think that she might've been a good choice for the
main character. As much as I like Imogene, Sage seems to
have a little deeper emotional issues to overcome (not that
Imogene doesn't, just in a different way). Especially
towards the end, Imogene also tends to come across as a bit
preach-y in her preferences to stay unplugged with the
internet and technology. It's not that it doesn't fit her
character, it just comes off a little too strongly.
Overall, I didn't love DON'T CALL ME BABY, but I did really
enjoy reading it. Heasley has a strong and special authorial
voice, and I will most definitely be looking forward to more
of her work.
Perfect for fans of Jennifer E. Smith and Huntley
Fitzpatrick, Don't Call Me Baby is a sharply observed and
charming story about mothers and daughters, best friends and
first crushes, and our online selves and the truth you can
only see in real life.
All her life, Imogene has been known as the girl on that
blog.
Imogene's mother has been writing an incredibly
embarrassing, and incredibly popular, blog about her since
before she was born. The thing is, Imogene is fifteen now,
and her mother is still blogging about her. In gruesome
detail. When a mandatory school project compels Imogene to
start her own blog, Imogene is reluctant to expose even more
of her life online . . . until she realizes that the project
is the opportunity she's been waiting for to define herself
for the first time.
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