Thank you to the publisher for an eARC of the book to read and give my honest review.

Themes/Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Social Media Influencer, Social Media Toxicity, Racism, Family Dynamics, Oldest Child


This was in premise a cute YA book about being a social media influencer, but in reality, it was a book about a teenager feeling like they have to support their family due to complex family dynamics such as a parent being unable to work due to an injury. So it wasn't really a light and fluffy read- it was pretty deep and had themes that were complex.

Our FMC is a micro-fashion influencer that thrifts her clothes and hopes to make it big enough to support her family that is going through financial struggles. Her best friend, Steven, has divorced parents and it's a weird dynamic because he caught his dad cheating on social media. So her best friend has complex feelings about social media, and she is chasing that high of getting likes.

I enjoyed the story and how the author worked through the FMCs complex family dynamics. The little situationship that occurred was cute, and I am glad that it ended well. I am also glad that her other friendship with the influencer ended well. I would have loved to see her be more truthful about her life on social media instead of trying to fit into the mold but let's be honest, most of us have done that before.

Overall, good YA read, and would be interested in reading another book by this author.

Charlotte Goh has been sneaking behind her parents back to become a Asian-American fashion influencer in the hopes of helping her family financially. After going viral when she stands up for a well-known influencer, she gains traction in the online world. But will she let her new-found fame take control of her life?

This was an average story for me. I wasn't too intrigued by the characters or story for the first half, but I did end up enjoying it during the last little bit. I wasn't the biggest fan of Charlotte, and felt that she was so self-centered. I thought she cared more about her social media then anything around her and didn't seem to be learning any lessons surrounding it for the majority of the story. My favourite character in the book was Steven even when he was being completely unsupportive of Charlotte and her goals - but I still liked him better then the other guy Charlotte was seeing. It also bugged me when the book was confused on Charlotte's age. One chapter would say she was seventeen, but others said she was sixteen, so clearly some editing was missed.

Overall, it was okay, but nothing special for me.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for this eARC. This was a cute book, but admittedly it wasn't for me. I would rate it 3 stars out of 5

This story showcases the reality of becoming an influencer - amid the glitz and glamour, there are times where you would feel like everyone hates you. And in Charlotte’s case, her dreams of being an influencer also surrounds topics of having some cultural differences (she is Korean-American) and her role in the family. I’m glad that Charlotte figured out what she wanted and what truly mattered at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book. I struggle to engage with influencer plot lines, it's not always for me. This was a fun teen summer book though!

Bad Influence is a book that emphasizes the chaotic mess teenage life can be at times. With quick mood swings and big emotions, all while trying to figure out who you really are were included within the story. I felt it gave an honest look at what teens go through and what they’re exposed to and it kept me engaged to read on.

This was a quick and easy read that I had an overall good time with. Was it a life-changing read or one what I'll even remember in the future? Probably not, but it did the job of entertaining me in the moment and is one I'd generally recommend if you're looking for a mindless escape for a few hours.

I liked how the book explored some of the dark side of social media and influencers and how easy it can be to get swept up into all of the instant gratification and how no one really knows what's going on behind everyone's heavily curated feeds. The book also features a glimpse into Korean-American culture and family relationships. By the end of it, I really felt for Charlotte and how much pressure she was putting on herself to take care of her family.

There was also a cute friends to lovers relationship in this, and can I just say how sweet Steven was with JoJo?

This is a book I would recommend for the targeted audience. I really like the perk into an influencer life and I think since so many students are interested in that part as pop culture this would appeal to their interest. For me personally, the book dragged on a little bit, but I understand. I am not the targeted audience even though I do enjoy YA often. This would be a fun easy summer read to engage a young person in..

In this sharply written, emotionally resonant YA contemporary, Bad Influence dives into the high-gloss, high-stakes world of social media influencers - only to peel back the filters and reveal the real costs of internet fame.

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Goh is walking a tightrope. At home, she’s a dutiful daughter trying to support her Korean American family through financial hardship. Online, she’s a rising fashion influencer in the NYC scene, carefully curating a persona meant to attract attention, sponsorships, and hopefully, a way out. But when a racist incident at an influencer event goes viral, Charlotte is catapulted into a spotlight she wasn’t fully prepared for - complete with glamorous new friends, celebrity attention, and all the brand perks she’s ever dreamed of.

The novel doesn’t flinch away from the pressures Charlotte faces - both as a teen of colour in predominantly white spaces and as someone trying to juggle visibility, identity, and integrity. Her relationship with her best friend Steven grounds the story beautifully, offering an emotional anchor as Charlotte’s online life begins to take over. Their slow-burn chemistry, layered with old loyalties and new tensions, adds a warm, romantic thread that contrasts with the more brittle reality of influencer life.

What’s most compelling here is the way the story navigates that contradiction at the heart of internet culture: everyone knows it’s toxic, performative, and stressful - but many still chase it, whether out of desperation, ambition, or both. Charlotte’s motivations are never shallow, even as she makes questionable choices. The author deftly balances empathy and critique, making this a smart, nuanced exploration of how social media fame affects mental health, friendships, and family ties.

For readers who enjoy romcoms with depth, social commentary with heart, and characters who make mistakes but keep learning, this is a standout. It’s also a timely look at the pressures young women - especially young women of colour - face in a world that rewards exposure but punishes vulnerability.

If you liked this book, try:
📖 Frankly in Love by David Yoon – for another thoughtful, funny take on navigating identity, love, and family expectations.
📺 The Bold Type – for its fashion-forward NYC setting, close female friendships, and behind-the-scenes look at working in the spotlight.

Bad Influence by Claire Ahn is a really fun take on being a teen influencer while not actually wanting to be, but doing it out of necessity and secretly.

I really enjoyed this novel. While YA isn’t my favorite age range to dive into, this one wasn’t too bad. It was relatable in many ways and lots of kids around her age and slightly older will get something from this story.

I loved the perspective of this young girl trying to reference a period of pop culture that she had completely wrong. It really embodied her age range and not caring or truly understanding the things that came before her. In addition to that, her being the oldest child of immigrants added such a deep impact to the story due to the level of responsibility that was put onto her.

Between her focusing on making money by secretly being an influencer and trying to maintain her regular life, there was a lot for her to deal with. She couldn’t be just a regular kid and live her life as others around her, due to her familial duties.

I also really enjoyed the Korean culture and language built into the story. The fact that her parents or at least one, is living in a country completely foreign to them and having to adjust to that new lifestyle. It’s extremely difficult and just trying to survive.

Finally, the touch on racism hit hard. Thanks for putting this in the forefront of the story and allowing it to be acknowledged for what it is. It’s something so prevalent in this country and people still act like it doesn’t exist. Craziness. Call that crap out! Thank you Claire!


If you love a good coming of age, teen, child of immigrants, Korean, Asian in America, racism, influencer type story, then this is definitely for you! It is great for readers 13 or 14 and up. Highly recommend checking it out.

*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Bad Influence from Claire Ahn via NetGalley

Charlotte is probably the girl that some of us envied in our younger years - someone who was dedicated to their social life and doing something with it. At least for a while before the popularity and the influence almost swallowed her whole. I found that Charlotte was a little bit flat for a character, or perhaps it was just the way she spoke/presented herself. I did, however, appreciate the themes of social media awareness, the social hierarchy of teens and racism still prevalent and in the presence of teens and the younger children. I think these messages would be worth discussing if teachers would like to use this title as a class read.

This is a YA book following Charlotte Goh, a young woman interested in becoming an influencer. The book follows her as she tries to balance her responsibilities as a sister and daughter in her Korean family, caring for her young sister and worrying about her parent's responsibilities (her dad not working, money and their relationship), her close friendship with longtime friend Steven and new friendships with other influencers. I understand what the author was trying to do in this book, but unfortunately it missed the mark. The main character is unlikeable with an annoying tone and the interactions are disconnected. While I think this book highlights some of the worst things about our culture of influencers (disconnection, distraction, bad feelings), it did so in a way that did not feel authentic to me. Overall, I suffered through this book and would not recommend it to young adults in my life.

While I mainly read Adult fiction I do tend to read a fair amount of YA. I think that YA is kind of a spectrum, and I think this book is on the younger end of YA books. The characters are very much young teens. I felt like at times it felt a little Gossip Girl-esque in a way that I didn't understand. While I know that all teens are different, these teens just didn't feel that real to me. I also didn't fully understand how Charlotte was able to be so sneaky about her influencing for so long. All in all, it was an enjoyable and quick read that touched on some important themes. Thank you NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for this ARC!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Claire Ahn and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte is busy juggling two different personas: the respectful Korean daughter, and the hustling NYC fashion influencer. Her best friend Steven laughs at her ambition, but she secretly hopes that her posts will help financially support her family who is struggling. Everything changes when she posts about a racist experience she had at an influencer event, Charlotte soon goes viral and earns the fame she’s been craving. As much as she doesn’t want her newfound popularity to change her, she can’t help but be enticed by the exciting perks: hip new friends, the attention of a Hollywood hottie and tons of companies dying to sponsor her. Soon though she learns she has to sacrifice more than she thought she would. Will Charlotte lose the things that are important to her?

A great YA read about learning about the things that are the most important in your life and learning to learn what you are willing to give up.

Charlotte is the perfect daughter; she steps up to the plate and helps with her younger sister, gets good grades, and respects her parents. So when Charlotte becomes a secret influencer on Instagram, she starts becoming a person unknown to her family and her best friend, Steven. Charlotte starts lying, sneaking out, and her grades start to slip. Can she keep up this new persona without losing everything she has? This is a good coming-of-age YA for the time, but I don't know if this book will be read for years to come. The best part of this story is the difficulties she and Steven face with their evolving friendship. The title of the book is what drew me in! I also enjoyed learning more about Charlotte's asian heritage

I loved Claire Ahn’s debut novel I Guess I Live Here Now.
And her newest title was just as amazing.
A quick read that kept me glued to the pages.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a quick read, and all the expected elements of a YA rom-com book. Agree with some of the other comments that this would probably be more believable if the characters were college students instead of high school students. (Especially with the main character being an Asian American girl in a house of stereotypical Asian parents - there is no way she could’ve gotten away with randomly going out to dinners and parties without getting interrogated the second she got home.).

I appreciated the main character being Asian American, and could relate to a lot of the things mentioned about family expectations, doing well in school, and even the dynamics of keeping a happy front for strangers while there was a lot of trouble brewing at home. An enjoyable read, but not necessarily a book I’d add to my home library/read again.

2.75 ⭐️

Bad Influence was a quick read, and I felt pretty meh about it. There was good and bad throughout the book.

I really liked the peek into the influencer life and how much money sponsored posts can make. I also thought the effects of social media and all its negative comments on mental health was super realistic. The racism was unfortunately super relevant. And the look into more traditional Korean families and customs was great and I learned a lot. For instance, I had no idea that it was customary to give your parents your first paycheck as a way to say thank you.

What I didn’t like was basically any of the characters, with the exception of 3.5 year old ball of sunshine Jojo. Charlotte was pretty insufferable and self-centered, even though she tried to make herself seem like she was all about helping her family. Steven was the most unsupportive best friend I could imagine, Audrey acted holier-than-thou, and Alan was kind of a jerk pretending to be a nice guy. Don’t even get me started on Charlotte’s mom, who absolutely sucked.

I definitely think this book would have hit harder if it was about 20-somethings instead of 16 year olds. I understand the not-so-subtle warnings for teenagers on social media that was rolled up in the themes of the book, but I just think 16 is too young to be the focus. Their ages made every action and emotion feel extra immature. And I say this as someone who generally loves YA books and shows even though I’m in my mid-30s, because the teen angst is usually so good. This one just wasn’t quite right.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Viking Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a good read. Charlotte had to balance being a respectful daughter and pursuing her aspirations as a fashion influencer. The story does have a great message about popularity, values and social media. I would recommend the book to my friends.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I had a hard time with this book. Im sad because it did sound great too. I just couldn't get into it like I wanted to. Growing up when social media was still a new thing and see how it has progressed into the present day I thought that I may connect with it more. Unfortunately this just may have not been the book for me.