genre: fiction
Natalie Heller Mills wasn't always an influencer. She was once just a person like you and me, going to college, trying to find her place. What made her notable, though, is that Natalie's kind of Christianity meant that finding her place meant a fervent desire for a "traditional" household with a man at the head and dozens of children and a woman with no desires of her own. The problem is that Natalie DOES have desires, even if she only ever keeps them in her head. And while the "outside" Natalie is striving toward being a perfect Tradwife, "inside" Natalie is a disaster of want and expectations. The internet is the perfect platform for a person like Natalie. Except, one day, she wakes up, and she is no longer in a world with the internet. She is, somehow, truly living on a homestead in the past, complete with a fireplace for an oven and no food except what they make or grow for themselves. How in the world could it have come to this?
This book is kind of a fever dream, I'm not gonna lie. Natalie is essentially the WORST. Little to no redeeming qualities in this lady. But also, I kinda get where she's coming from. And WOW do I get her road to being an influencer and what I enjoyed most about this book is its scathing look at the idea of Internet Influencer and its impact on our society and on the influencers themselves. Sometimes listening to this book was DEEPLY uncomfortable. Like watching a train wreck while sitting on the tracks. I had to actually even stop listening once to take a break. But I'm not sorry I powered through because even though the last 25% of this book is kind of insane, I was definitely intrigued, if not completely entertained. And you know why I can give this book four stars instead of saying "I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough?" Because I have read books about and watched the documentary about Ruby Franke. What Natalie chooses in this book has been chosen by actual real people and lives ARE destroyed.
content warning: it's crude with lots of swears and if you are a super traditional Christian, it's going to push uncomfortable buttons
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