After growing up with her life being chronicled and monetized by her entrepreneurial step-mother, Anuri escapes as a young adult but vows to fight the cycle of abuse and save her younger sister from a similar fate. 50,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

After growing up with her life being chronicled and monetized by her entrepreneurial step-mother, Anuri escapes as a young adult but vows to fight the cycle of abuse and save her younger sister from a similar fate. - (Baker & Taylor)

Her life. Her rules. Finally.

Anuri Chinasa has had enough. And really, who can blame her? She was the unwilling star of her stepmother’s social media empire before “momfluencers” were even a thing. For years, Ophelia documented every birthday, every skinned knee, every milestone and meltdown for millions of strangers to fawn over and pick apart.

Now, at twenty-five, Anuri is desperate to put her way-too-public past behind her and start living on her own terms. But it’s not going so great. She can barely walk down the street without someone recognizing her, and the fraught relationship with her father has fallen apart. Then there’s her PhD application (still unfinished) and her drinking problem (still going strong). When every detail of her childhood was so intensely scrutinized, how can she tell what she really wants?

Still, Ophelia is never far away and has made it clear she won’t go down without a fight. With Noelle, Anuri’s five-year-old half sister now being forced down the same path, Anuri discovers she has a new mission in life…

To take back control of the family narrative.

Through biting wit and heartfelt introspection, this darkly humorous story dives deep into the deceptive allure of a picture-perfect existence, the overexposure of children in social media and the excitement of self-discovery.
- (Harlequin)

Booklist Reviews

Millions of people around the world knew A??r? before she knew herself, thanks to stepmother Ophelia's popular lifestyle blog. Now in her mid-twenties, A??r? has struggled with her identity and self-worth, and she sees the pattern of exploitation starting to repeat with her half-sister, Noelle. Disappointed that their father, Nkem, seems to allow Ophelia to do whatever she chooses, A??r? files a lawsuit demanding the removal of her image from Ophelia's web site—a major request since Ophelia built her personal brand around being the perfectly polished, white stepmother of a sweet, compliant Black stepdaughter. Alongside her chosen family—best friends Simi and Loki, her therapist, Ammah, and her attorney, Gloria—A??r? endeavors to rebuild her life on her own terms, seizing the control that she never had. Nwabineli (Someday, Maybe, 2022) explores the long-range effects of social-media overexposure through A??r?'s journey of self-discovery and healing. This timely, gripping novel establishes Nwabineli as a writer with the emotional insight to tackle heavy topics in a skilled and thoughtful manner and will provoke lively discussions for book clubs. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.