Meredith Lee is currently in a nasty fight with her former best friend, Aspen Palmer. Although the pair have been inseparable for the last seven or eight years, Aspen's social media star has been climbing meteorically, while Meredith has become a bit outdated. It wasn't always like this, as @MerryMeredith used to be a prominent beauty influencer and she was the one who reached out to quiet, oddly dressed Aspen at a party where she definitely didn't belong. Only - at that time - she was an aspiring singer named Ryleebelle and it was Meredith who took her under her wing, changed her name and persona, and showed her the social media ropes.
Then Aspen met her Prince Charming in Ben Palmer and started documenting her romance, wedding, and married life as @AllDayAspen and she blew up on TikTok. Now that she is a doting mom of Baby Sabine and young twins Noemie, a diabetic, and Elea, she has become a sought-after Momfluencer who shows her followers how to have a Pinterest-worthy home, cook the most fantastic meals, and have the perfect life. And to be honest, she's outgrown Meredith, who has tried to be successful with Single Momfluencing since the birth of her baby son, Luca, but she just can't get it together like Aspen.
At this point, Meredith has rage-blocked Aspen's number, but in a fit of desperation, she sneaks into her former friend's back yard while everyone is out to reminisce at the pool where she used to spend every summer day. Lo and behold, she spies Elea's iPad and boom, just like that, she can see the entire family's calendar. Meredith knows it's wrong, but she just can't help herself and she steals the iPad, just to do some Lite Stalking.
A little calendar spying soon turns into malicious appointment-rescheduling where Meredith just happens to be at the meet up instead of Aspen and, all of a sudden, she's got some new sponsorships and things are looking up. Sure, she feels guilty, but there's also more than a hefty dose of Schadenfreude happening as she watches Aspen start to melt down as Little Miss Insta-Perfect is missing her baby's vaccinations and meetings she set up months ago. Meanwhile, Aspen wonders what on Earth is happening here.
Calendars aren’t the only thing Meredith realizes she now has access to on the iPad. She can see it all - Aspen’s ideas for videos, videos in progress, and more. And then Meredith discovers Aspen's dirty little secret - her unedited videos! Her perfect morning routine is actually shot at 4pm and her annoyed kids are pretending to just wake up. Those beautiful meals? They taste absolutely terrible and her family hates her cooking. Even her picture perfect marriage isn't what it appears. If Aspen can fabricate the perfect life for her socials, Meredith can too, and once her followers catch up with Aspen's, maybe they can put this stupid fight behind them and go back to the way things were before. If only Aspen had let Meredith in on her secret the way Meredith did for Aspen all those years ago.
But then Meredith spontaneously leaves Luca off at her sister Claire's house for an important date and never returns, only sending a cryptic text about needing to get away and recharge. Would she leave her baby behind or did something sinister happen to her?
When the news breaks of Mer's disappearance, Aspen's assistant, Liv, who is also trying to be an influencer, pushes Aspen to do a video pleading for the safe return of her longtime best friend and it goes viral since their toxic spat was kept under wraps. However, enough people knew about it that the tide soon turns on Aspen, even as she's just trying to regain control of her life. As Aspen's secrets are peeled away, one by one, she'll be in for the fight of her life as nothing is as it seems and will never be the same again.
This is only the second book of Jesse Q. Sutanto's that I have read, but I am definitely a fan now. Her storytelling is perfection and her stories so layered and nuanced, that she is one of very few authors that actually manage to shock me these days. You Will Never Be Me is a thrilling delight that I read in two days flat. Do I read fast? Yes, but I started it on a Friday night and awoke on Saturday, only to get back into it while still lying in bed that morning. This story is perfect for today's social media-hungry landscape and it grips you, without letting go. Don't take a beach trip without packing this book! Naturally, highly, highly recommended.
