A YA novella exploring themes of identity, individuation, family and friendship through the lens of online influencer culture. Relatable characters, current issues and accessible language will attract both reluctant readers as well as those keen for shorter teen fiction.

Fifteen-year-old Becca questions the influencer life that supports her family when an unexpected friendship in an online writing community challenges her to step into the 'real' life she craves.

Becca has been online influencer since she helped make promotional baking videos for her mom’s patisserie as a toddler. Now at fifteen, cutting online comments remind Becca she is no longer the cute flour-covered kid her followers first subscribed to. Her business-driven manager fuels Becca’s self-doubt by pressuring her to rebrand to a health and weight-conscious influencer. Becca vents her frustration in her poetry journal, questioning if the online life is worth sacrificing real friendships.

A teacher encourages Becca to sign up to the online writing community Poet’s Portal and there she meets @notmylife, another poster feeling trapped by family expectations. Becca and @notmylife confide in each other without giving away their identities and Becca feels like she has finally met someone who really understands her. When the two win a writing contest with their verse story 'Your dream not mine,' they receive entry to a writing workshop.

Becca and @notmylife agree to meet in person before the workshop. But Becca’s manager has booked her for a TV show on the same day as the workshop. Becca is torn as her influencer work supports her whole family. Now, she has to decide between the online life that’s never been her dream and the real-world connection she so desperately craves.

With teens increasingly aspiring to become online influencers, Like, Comment, Subscribe? aims to show the less glamorous side of the influencing lifestyle, particularly when the decision to be thrust in front of the camera is not made by themselves.
Rhiza Shorts are teen novellas for reluctant readers.