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A review by constant2m
The Girl of All My Memes by C.S. Johnson
5.0
Imagine A Walk to Remember but with cyberbullying. And an entire family that lives out their faith. That is this book. And it's amazing.
Tommy and Kara have been competing academically since middle school. For Tommy, it's personal. He needs to be top of the class because his brother was and it's how he will get his parents to pay attention to him. But over time, they become friends. The problem though is that before they became friends, Tommy took an embarrassing picture of Kara. Instead of deleting it as she asked him to, he shared it with his best friend and they both began making up memes about it. These memes eventually go viral without Tommy's knowledge and Kara is hurt as a result.
While this is a very entertaining story, it also deals with so many real-world problems. The issue of cyberbullying is huge. And despite all the school assemblies, I think a lot of people have no idea what cyberbullying actually is or that they are complicit in it. Even though Tommy didn't post any of the memes, he contributed to the problem by making them in the first place. He also began making them before he was friends with Kara. If they were friends and she knew about the memes and they both thought the memes were funny, it might have been fine even if they did go viral at some point. But he was having fun at her expense and when they went public she was embarrassed and hurt. That is cyberbullying. Even if it's unintentional.
Another problem that the story addressed was the health of Kara's mom. The book doesn't shy away from mental illness or depression but faces them head-on. Kara talks openly about the struggles her mom has faced and the entire family has faced because of her mom. She shares about her own struggles with depression and how she feels when her mom can't remember things. And Tommy gets to see firsthand how the entire family cares for her needs, even making her french fries every day when that's the only food she will eat. Kara's mom's challenges become Kara's motivation to help others like her.
Finally, this is an incredible story of forgiveness. That was the part of the story that was hardest for me to believe. Most parents I know, even Christian parents, would refuse to forgive a person who hurt one of their children. This family offered Tommy hospitality, listened to his story, and then showed him compassion. It's a good reminder that our character shines through the hardest times. When the default response is to forgive, a strong character is demonstrated.
I recommend this to teens and young adults and adults and anyone who loves a good story. In addition to everything else I've mentioned, it's a story of resilience and a reminder that even at our lowest points in life, we're not finished yet.
I received a free copy of the audiobook from the author and reviewed it because I loved it. The narrator did an incredible job as well.
Tommy and Kara have been competing academically since middle school. For Tommy, it's personal. He needs to be top of the class because his brother was and it's how he will get his parents to pay attention to him. But over time, they become friends. The problem though is that before they became friends, Tommy took an embarrassing picture of Kara. Instead of deleting it as she asked him to, he shared it with his best friend and they both began making up memes about it. These memes eventually go viral without Tommy's knowledge and Kara is hurt as a result.
While this is a very entertaining story, it also deals with so many real-world problems. The issue of cyberbullying is huge. And despite all the school assemblies, I think a lot of people have no idea what cyberbullying actually is or that they are complicit in it. Even though Tommy didn't post any of the memes, he contributed to the problem by making them in the first place. He also began making them before he was friends with Kara. If they were friends and she knew about the memes and they both thought the memes were funny, it might have been fine even if they did go viral at some point. But he was having fun at her expense and when they went public she was embarrassed and hurt. That is cyberbullying. Even if it's unintentional.
Another problem that the story addressed was the health of Kara's mom. The book doesn't shy away from mental illness or depression but faces them head-on. Kara talks openly about the struggles her mom has faced and the entire family has faced because of her mom. She shares about her own struggles with depression and how she feels when her mom can't remember things. And Tommy gets to see firsthand how the entire family cares for her needs, even making her french fries every day when that's the only food she will eat. Kara's mom's challenges become Kara's motivation to help others like her.
Finally, this is an incredible story of forgiveness. That was the part of the story that was hardest for me to believe. Most parents I know, even Christian parents, would refuse to forgive a person who hurt one of their children. This family offered Tommy hospitality, listened to his story, and then showed him compassion. It's a good reminder that our character shines through the hardest times. When the default response is to forgive, a strong character is demonstrated.
I recommend this to teens and young adults and adults and anyone who loves a good story. In addition to everything else I've mentioned, it's a story of resilience and a reminder that even at our lowest points in life, we're not finished yet.
I received a free copy of the audiobook from the author and reviewed it because I loved it. The narrator did an incredible job as well.