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Everyone has heard of Dene Walker—her mother is a hugely successful social media influencer, and Dene’s entire life has played out on the small screen for hordes of crowds. So when Tully finds out that Dene is going to be attending her school, she’s overjoyed. And to her surprise, Dene actually notices her—they organise to spend time together after school, and Tully gets to visit Dene’s luxurious house and meet her cool mum. Dene’s reality seems so far away from Tully’s life, and she’s star-struck. 

The warning signs are already there—Tully is spending less and less time with her true best friend, Kira, because she’s always with Dene. And though it feels like Tully is getting to know the real Dene, she’s barely scratching the surface—her three dimensional life is just as curated as her social media presence. Over time, Tully puts her trust in Dene and opens up to her, while Dene continues to take photos of them which she never posts, and keep her own emotions hidden. 

As Tully realises the depths of her deception, she comes back to the one thing she’s sure is true—the thing that made her empathise with Dene in the first place. Dene’s sister passed away when she was younger, and Tully—whose mother is dying of cancer—felt like Dene was the only person who really understood. Tully refuses to open up to anyone and hides the truth of her mother’s cancer even from herself. Finally taking the step of talking to Kira about what she’s been going through is a definitive step towards healing, growth, and truth. 

This is a highly empathetic and authentic look at social media, friendships, and the importance of opening up to trusted friends and family. Dene is not vilified—Tully sees her empathetically as someone whose whole life is constructed, and is thankful that she had the practice opening up to her that helped her open up to Kira and face her feelings. A very timely and well-written book. 

social media, influencers, friendship, obsession, boundaries, honesty, priorities, cancer

1. Mentions of adults drinking alcohol. 2. Tully is obsessed with Dene and grows jealous over time. This is a side-effect of their friendship being based on deceit and Tully only knowing Dene’s persona. Once Tully recognises that their friendship is unequal, she realises that she had a true friend in Kira. “I held up Dene’s portrait and brought it close to my face. I leant in to kiss her, but my lips found her forehead instead. I couldn’t kiss her any other way. I liked Dene as my friend. That much I knew.” (chapter 9). Dene has a boyfriend (Cooper), who she says she has kissed (chapter 11). Cooper asks for Tully’s number (chapter 11).