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Young Adult Fiction Self-esteem & Self-reliance

Suck It in and Smile

by (author) Laurence Beaudoin-Masse

translated by Shelley Tanaka

Publisher
Groundwood Books Ltd
Initial publish date
Oct 2022
Category
Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Eating Disorders & Body Image, Computers & Digital Media
Recommended Age
12 to 17
Recommended Grade
7 to 12
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781773068091
    Publish Date
    Oct 2022
    List Price
    $17.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781773068107
    Publish Date
    Oct 2022
    List Price
    $14.99

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Where to buy it

Description

A funny, touching look at the life of a social media influencer who starts to question the #goals life she has created for herself.

Every day, Ellie motivates her hundreds of thousands of followers to become the best versions of themselves by posting videos of exercise routines and high-protein breakfast recipes. Far from the shy teenager that she was, she is now in a very public relationship with singer Samuel Vanasse, and together they have become one of the most popular influencer couples in the country. She has succeeded. She shines.

And yet, Ellie worries that her life is not as flawless as she makes it seem on YouTube and Instagram. Between her obsession with the “ideal weight,” her growing attraction to another man, her family’s disdain for her career as a content creator and a collaboration with another influencer who Ellie can’t stand, a thought haunts her. What if, by trying to become everything she wanted to be, she’s lost herself along the way?

Suck It in and Smile is an intimate exploration of our obsession with appearances and the hypocrisies that appear when you must craft the perfect online life.

 

Key Text Features

chapters

vignettes

dialogue

About the authors

LAURENCE BEAUDOIN-MASSE has written two novels: Suck It In and Smile (originally published as Rentrer son ventre et sourire) and its sequel. She is a concept editor for Radio-Canada. Laurence would like to help girls who, like her, never feel like they measure up. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.

 

Laurence Beaudoin-Masse's profile page

SHELLEY TANAKA is an award-winning author, translator and editor. She has written more than twenty books for children and young adults, winning the Orbis Pictus Award, the Mr. Christie’s Book Award, the Science in Society Book Award and the Information Book Award, and she has twice been nominated for the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis. Other honors include Texas Blue Bonnet runner-up, School Library Journal Best Books, ALA Notables and IRA Young Adults’ Choice. Her translation of Michel Noel’s Good for Nothing won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and was on the IBBY Honor List (Commended). Shelley teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts, in the MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She lives in Kingston, Ontario.

 

Shelley Tanaka's profile page

Editorial Reviews

An addicting story.

Quebec Library Association

A timely story about the fictional life of a social media influencer.

Canadian Children's Book News

This unfiltered look at being a successful influencer strips away the glitz and glitter to show the emotional and physical tolls of fighting for demographics and followers. … A perfect crossover title. STARRED REVIEW

Booklist

Short chapters and compelling social dilemmas make the narrative compulsively readable … Through balancing Ellie’s humanity and flaws, this book provides a clarifying exposure of influencer culture that can help high schoolers and new adults better understand the pressures and lures of social media.

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database

In Suck It In and Smile, Beaudoin-Masse shows the ephemeral nature of online fame and the stresses associated with presenting and maintaining a persona that isn’t real. An amusing and heartfelt read, the novel will open the eyes of many and may help them accept who they really are.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

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