SO OVER SHARING, By Elissa Brent Weissman, Dial Books, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10-14)
Two middle-schoolers bond over their influencer moms and their very public lives in So Over Sharing, by Elissa Brent Weissman.
Quiet, introverted Hadley and rough-around-the-edges Willow have one big main thing in common: both their moms have gained a huge online following sharing every detail of their lives. Hadley’s mom — Phoebe of @PhoebeAndJay fame — loves to share all the terrible, down and dirty bits about raising kids while Willow’s mom Rosalind at the up-and-coming @MoonbeamsAndMarigold basks in the glow of motherhood.
If getting all her life’s moments (including an almost decade old viral potty training video) shared online isn’t enough, Hadley’s starting a new school in a new neighborhood and desperately trying to keep her mom’s identity a secret while Willow is struggling with a recent life-changing announcement from her mom who, it turns out, is not getting out of the influencer world anytime soon.
As the two girls build a friendship on a private Instagram page and share the pains of having a momfluencers, they come up against the same question — how long will they have to share their lives with everyone? —Synopsis provided by Dial Books
So Over Sharing gave me anxiety.
As a parent, it’s a good book to read. As a kid, it’s an equally good book to read.
It really makes you think.
The story unfolds from the alternating viewpoints of Hadley and Willow. Their lives seem to revolve around their mothers’ online following. Nothing ever happens without a phone or camera. Everything must be planned. Their lives are seemingly an open book.
Except they’re not.
Behind the scenes is stress and chaos. Everything must be done right. Sponsors must be highlighted. Instagram comes first. The pressure to be “good enough,” look the right way, not do anything embarrassing gets to be too much. And author Elissa Brent Weissman captures it all.
Weissman brings up so many good questions — Is it right to publicly share information about your kids without their permission? If you pay them, does that make it OK? Is it OK to stage things for content? When is it appropriate to share things? Do we spend too much time online? Is it OK to use social media to fit in?
So Over Sharing is a fast-moving look at the impact of social media on all of the family. Everyone who reads it will come away questioning their own use.
Copyright © 2025 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
