February 1, 2025
McLemore, an award-winning YA author (Flawless Girls; Self-Made Boys), pens a stellar adult debut. May Iverson has been a social media influencer since her five children were babies; they all grew up on camera. Her dysfunctional family lives a life of extreme wealth and privilege, but that doesn't seem to be enough for May. Her children are of mixed race and have decidedly mixed feelings about having grown up in the public eye. All are now adults, the youngest has disappeared, and May has remarried. Told through various points of view, including those of the family members and their followers, the novel opens with May's husband found dead and a fire raging through her enormous house. McLemore writes a gimlet-eyed take on social media's infiltration of society, with a murder mystery as the novel's fulcrum. Everyone is a suspect, everyone has a theory, and May's life will never be the same. VERDICT A compelling read, rather like watching a train wreck. Recommend to fans of the Kardashians and novels like Kevin Wilson's The Family Fang.--Stacy Alesi
Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2025
When a social media influencer's husband is murdered, the prime suspects are her five famous daughters. May Iverson made a name for herself as Mother May I, creating a social media empire built on relatable tips and her signature closing line, "You're already a good mom." But what really endeared her to viewers was her family--five daughters whose every moment she captured on camera. Each child was named after their birth month--January, March, April, June, and July--and each of them played a role in their aspirational family. Now that they're grown, however, it's clear that perhaps not all of them actually wanted to be on camera. While June and July followed in May's footsteps to become influencers, January and April are much more private, and March has disappeared entirely. When their stepfather, August, dies, and May's mansion is the target of an unsuccessful arson attempt, it looks like someone tried to cover up his murder--but who? May's children are the prime suspects, and it turns out everyone who's been watching them since birth has an opinion. In their adult debut, McLemore unravels the mystery through multiple points of view--the sisters, May, and even a Greek chorus of Mother May I viewers, introduced as "we the followers of Mother May I"--like a cross betweenThe Virgin Suicides andKeeping Up With the Kardashians. McLemore uncovers the dangerous facade of social media, highlighting how often the children of influencers are mistreated as their parents chase fame. The murder itself, however, doesn't feel high-stakes enough, possibly because August's character isn't given enough time on the page. As a result, the mystery sometimes feels tedious instead of thrilling, and the ideas McLemore explores, like class, race (the girls' father is Mexican), and the hazards of social media are more exciting than solving the puzzle of who killed August. A fascinating premise with a mystery that never feels truly engaging.
COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
March 1, 2025
McLemore departs from their YA novels of magical realism in their adult contemporary debut. May Iverson's children have been influencers since childhood. May's channel, Mother May I, thrived on its audience of young mothers struggling to understand their own worth, while May paraded her children in front of the camera. She even used her own name to disguise her husband's last name of Iniesta, masking the girls' Mexican heritage. Now the Iverson sisters are adults confronting their own identities. When May's second husband dies, all the Iverson women are suspects: neurotic April, bold twins June and July, and quiet theater kid January. There's also March, the youngest, who has been gone for years. June and July are in the spotlight as they're still powerful influencers, but anyone could be the killer. There is no clear protagonist, but McLemore uses a clever, collective point of view: various social audiences narrate a significant part of the book. Each Iverson gets a chance to speak as well, providing a view of this complex story from all angles.
COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.