Before I delve into talking about this book, I want to highlight the fact that this is my first ever ARC review, so please bear with.
Synopsis:
Two sisters share the surprising highs and cringe-worthy lows of social media fame, when their most private thoughts become incredibly public in this fresh and funny debut novel.
Sisters Cassie and Sid Sunday have not done a bang-up job of keeping in touch. In their defense, it hasn’t been easy: life veered in sharply different directions for the once-close sisters. Today, beautiful and big-hearted Sid lives an expat’s life of leisure in far-off Singapore, while harried, iPhone-clutching Cassie can’t seem to make it work as a wife and a mom to twin toddlers in Manhattan.
It doesn’t help that Sid spurns all social media while Cassie is addicted to Facebook. So when Sid issues a challenge to reconnect the old-fashioned way—through real, handwritten letters—Cassie figures, why not?
The experiment exceeds both of their expectations, and the letters become a kind of mutual confessional that have real and soul-satisfying effects. And they just might have the power to help Cassie save her marriage, and give Sid the strength to get her life back on track.
But first, one of Cassie’s infamous lapses in judgment comes back to bite her, and all of the letters wind up the one place you’d never, ever want to see them: the Internet.
My thoughts:
In the passion of getting my hands on a book that my friends would otherwise take at least two months after publication to get their hands on, I finished this book in three days flat. Of course, throwing in a lot of things in the fray: my internet presence, the sudden rise of a friend’s popularity (coincidence?), my writing, as well as my life.
Keep Me Posted isn’t just about internet scandals and how they can disrupt personal relationships (I’ll refrain from saying “ruin”, since it’s proved that you can indeed live with the consequences. Although that depends on the extent to which the scandal has blown). It’s also about learning to look at life in a way that is beneficial to us. It’s about moving on from living in the past, and embracing the present. It’s about admitting stupid mistakes and coming clean.
To me, personally, Cassie’s constant worries about being a failure of a mother felt pretty legit issues. Sometimes I feel like when I become a mother I will most likely try to raise my kids the same way she was; unlimited exposure to TV, takeouts and store-bought food, and hope that they turned out okay. All the while knowing at the back of my head that this couldn’t possibly be a healthy lifestyle.
The bond that Cassie and Sid share is something I wish I had. Despite their living almost half the world away from each other, they have this frankness about their lives, although Cassie did keep certain things in even in the letters.
The first-person narrative gave the story a personal feel. I could completely empathize with the day-to-day irritations Cass had to live through, and while it made certain parts boring, it sounded like it was me. The half-hearted offer of back massage and the guilty relief afterwards. Perhaps I wouldn’t have felt so bad when Leo stopped talking to her (and for good reason. She should’ve had more sense). At some points I felt that a more in-depth look into Leo, Quinn and Joey’s lives would’ve made them more important parts of the story. But, the closer we get to something, the tougher seeing it from all angles becomes.
A roller coaster ride of a read. Enjoyable, and I would say, mildly unputdownable. it had me itching to write letters and reconnect with people I felt I’d lost connection with. I ended up writing a huge email to my best friend.
Rating:
Disclaimer: I received this book free of cost from the publisher through the NetGalley review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Yarnful of Stories 
Lovely review, Anan! It is crisp and clear. The book in itself sounds nice, so I may give it a try.
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Do. It was a fun read, made even funnier by Cassie’s narration. Of course there were feelsy parts too, but you get the idea 😉
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