LOVE GOES VIRAL, by Alexander Berman, Camille Stochitch, Estelle Laure, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Jan. 6, 2026, Hardcover, $19.99 (young adult)
An aspiring pop star crafts a fake relationship to rehab her image in Love Goes Viral, by Alexander Berman, Camille Stochitch and Estelle Laure.
Love Thompson went viral. Now she has it all—fifty million followers, brand deals, a Hollywood address, and the fast track to the music career she’s always dreamed of—until…she doesn’t.
After Love takes the blame for her influencer boyfriend’s mistake, the fallout goes more viral than the video that rocketed her to fame. By the next morning, she’s already lost sponsorships, ten million followers, and her debut single. Love needs to rehab her image, and that means dating someone a little more homegrown.
Enter Austin Grey. Austin is about as homegrown as it gets. His only followers are the regulars at his family’s struggling diner that he’s doing his best to save. But everything changes when he gets a DM from a star he never expected to cross paths with again.
When Love walks back into Austin’s life, she thinks this is a purely online scheme with an expiration date. But as genuine feelings start to develop that keep them coming back to each other again and again, will either of them be willing to take a chance on something real? —Synopsis provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Love Goes Viral is a somewhat predictable fake-dating YA novel that’s as much a story about the dangers of being online as it is a romance.
The story follows Love, a girl who dreams of making it big in music but ends up making it big on social media. And honestly, the person she becomes and then has to rehab from being is pretty awful. She spends her life attached to her phone, worrying about getting the perfect shot and not living.
Austin is the complete opposite, and he is the perfect reset for Love. Except Love has an ulterior motive, and she’s still obsessed with holding onto the life she thinks she wants.
Love is not likeable, but she does have redeeming qualities. That’s what makes Love Goes Viral readable.
Love Goes Viral is also relatable. Teens, especially those who are heavily into social media, will see some of themselves in the quest to record everything and get the best shot. It’s this relatability that makes the book worth recommending. It’s a fast read that should appeal to fans of contemporary YA.
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