3.5/5
This was an enjoyable read. As someone who is familiar with the social media platforms that were mentioned in the story (YouTube, Instagram, and Blogging) it was pretty easy to grasp the social lifestyle/situation that Claire and Poppy have going on. Claire was an interesting main character and her sister made them an interesting duo. They definitely complement each other and I loved seeing how much they love each other despite their contrasting personalities. I also thought the romance was pretty good, as the love interest acted as Claire's voice of reason throughout the story and vice versa. Although the story itself started off pretty slow, the drama does build up eventually, however, the conflicts that appear in the story, unfortunately, get resolved a bit too quickly, abrupt even. I kind of felt a bit unsatisfied with how they ended. Overall, this story gives a great insight into the struggles that social influencers face and a behind-the-scenes look of their lives, or rather what it would potentially look like. A pretty solid debut novel.

Thank you for letting me read this egalley.

First off I want to say how much this book blew my mind. I went in thinking this would be a fluffy story and man was I wrong. This book is so much more. There is drama, love, family, and an overarching idea that sometimes life may look bad from your point of view but others may see something else. Perspective. This book has it and it makes you sit up and listen.
Poppy and Claire are sister goals and I will forever root for them.
If you are in the mood to be moved and feel all while getting that warm feeling of love pick up this book.

Just For Clicks is about Claire, her whole life her mom has blogged about her and her twin Poppy. They also have a pretty popular youtube channel. She is basically famous, and really really tired of it. Claire is ready to be out of the social media world, she is tired of the world watching everything she is doing.

The cast of characters in the book is decent. Claire is as a convincing character, she makes questioning choices, but doesn’t every teen? I feel like the other characters gets second seats though. Poppy and their mother is just seen through Claire’s eyes, which is mostly negative throughout the book. I wish there were more moments of them as a family together, before Claire really started to dislike the media life. The only character that is seen in a positive light is of course the love interest, but that didn’t really surprise me. He was okay. Not bad though, totally okay.

The plot has a nice flow, the emails and texts we get in between chapters are a nice touch. The story was plotted out nicely, considering Claire’s future and figuring out what she wants and who she wants to be.
There was however one “big secret” in the story that… well.. annoyed the crap out of me. I’m not going to spoil, but it is a really overused plot device. I can kind of relate to this trope as well, IRL, and every time this shows up the reaction is always the same. And it really makes me roll my eyes. It works out, ish. That was my least favorite part of the book and the times before and after this part of the plot were my favorites. I really wish that this part of the story had not been there at all and that the author had found some other way to tell it.
Well. Well.

There were parts of the book that was really sweet and hilarious, the ending wrapped up nicely and I even teared up once. Wops. This was after being sooo annoyed after the plot I talked about above, haha.

Overall, a sweet (but a bit over the top) YA contemporary! It went by really quickly, so it was really something to read if you want to relax. 3 out of 5 stars, meaning: I liked it.

This book was so dang ADORABLE! I loved the characters and their bonds and how they all grew throughout the story. Claire was incredible and I love how she learned to stand up for herself and make a future that she wants. I loved Claire and Poppy's relationship, and their mother was the best (even if she didn't always seem like it). And then RAFAEL ALEJANDRO LUNA. He owns my heart and soul now. He and Claire are everything.

This book was really great in showing what it means to be family, how sometimes you just need to disconnect from the internet, and how your perfect soul mate is usually the best friend you can tell everything to without worrying about judgement <3

This was a fun, sweet read that tackled some tough issues and was surprisingly/happily clean for a YA romance. There was very minimal swearing and hardly any sexual references. Claire was a great main character, Rafael was a fun boyfriend archetype, and the plot had some nice twists and turns. Highly recommended to fans of contemporary YA!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This is a cute middle school/early high school read. It screams of a very popular mom vlogger whose twins now have their own vlog and brand though, so it felt cheap in a lot of ways. I think young girls will still enjoy it though. Thanks NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.

Claire and Poppy are internet famous but it all started with their mother’s Mommy Blog.

Before they were born, their mother had a popular blog online. It really took off after Claire and Poppy were born. Their mother started “twin Tuesdays” and wrote a lot about the girls online. Perfect strangers watched them grow up.

As they got older, they became famous in their own right. They got invited to fashion shows, they got their own vlog.
Poppy loves their influence, she plans to use their fame to make tons of money.

But Claire doesn’t enjoy it. At first she did it because of her mom and now it’s for Poppy too. But Claire hopes when she goes away to college in a year that everything will change. She wants a normal life.

But she hasn’t told Poppy or her mom.

I found this to be an interesting story. I do feel bad for kids that have no choice or say in being famous. I also appreciated the couple interesting twists thrown into the story.

I got to read an early ebook edition of this book through NetGalley. Thanks!

Super cute read! The characters were nuanced, I loved the family dynamics, and the love interest was adorable. Highly recommend!

the book is based on an interesting idea. Bloggers and vloggers are so influential because people are fascinated and interested in their lives or the lives they portray on screen. However, this book didn't really explore that and I think that was the main theme, not exploring things completely. The characters completely lacked any emotional depth. Everything was written with this kind of filter; people responding to secrets or lies or finding out about being adopted or kidnapping. There were so many issues that were raised and weren't dealt with. It would have been better for the characters to deal with less and then maybe explore them as people more or shape their reaction to them in a more rounded way.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of JUST FOR CLICKS by Kara McDowell in exchange for my honest review.***

3.5 STARS


Fraternal twin Claire is tired of being the subject of her mom’s blog and ready to give up the vlog she does with her sister Poppy. Saying no isn’t easy when your family is counting on the income. Poppy loves life as an influencer, while Claire would rather have an offline life. Secrets threaten the twins and the surprises are just beginning.

Everybody loves books about twins and what could be more timely than viral sensations in JUST FOR CLICKS. Kara McDowell’s writing and Claire’s complexity kept me reading from start to finish in one day. Although the twins were seventeen, I felt as though I was reading a story geared toward tweens of young teens from the writing to the plot to the characters. The story lacked edge and tension; I never worried the story would end on a down note.

JUST FOR CLICKS fizzled out at the end, leaving me feeling meh. I do think tweens and young teens will love the story, so I’m rounding up to four stars.

Fun coming of age story with romance and drama for the internet age (I think calling it the internet age makes me sound old, but whatever).

Well written and engrossing and timely. Recommended.

I like the main premise of this storyline, regarding online presence and insta-families. I'm not sure that the more "soap opera", dramatic storyline is necessary. I think the story might have been more powerful if Claire had been able to stand up for herself without it.
And I'm not sure that I do believe that Ashley truly loved her as Rafe kept telling her. This book brings up some really interesting themes, in regards to internet privacy. And it makes you wonder about Ashley, the twins' mom, and how much she really cares about their needs versus the demands of the pubc.
So I think this book had promise, but it ended up taking the easy way out by adding a dramatic plot to push the family to accept Claire's need for privacy, plus it brought Rafe and Claire together and then sent them to college at a local university.
And I think that last part is particularly sad... if Claire is looking for privacy and anonymity, she's not going to find it at a state university. She should be going away to college.

I love the cover.

I also love how the author created two sisters; one is not excited about the all the attention they get online and the other thrives on it. Their relationship coupled with their Mom’s involvement in the social media relevance and ‘clicks’ gave me ‘Momager’ feels. It was hilarious as it was a great read.

Perhaps the greatest thing about this book is that it speaks of the current times and the angst not only young but everyone experiences now with content we share online. We cannot escape the vlogs, blogs and lifestyle updates- constantly catching up with people’s lives.

It’s fast paced, touches on internet use and privacy and also has surprising twists and turns, just what you need to enjoy reading it!

I would like to send my regards to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for granting me an eARC to read.