Look

By: Zan Romanoff

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

"[For] readers of Nina LaCour.... Sharply incisive [and] deeply romantic." (Booklist)

"Part coming-of-age story, part slow-burn romance, part feminist-manifesto." (SLJ)

"[One of] the LGBTQ books that will change the literary landscape." (O Magazine)
 

What Lulu Shapiro's 5,000 Flash followers don't know:
•  The video of her with another girl was never supposed to go public.
•  Owen definitely wasn't supposed to break up with her because of it.
•  Behind the online persona Lulu painstakingly curates, her life feels like a terrible, uncertain mess.

Then Lulu meets Cass. Cass isn't interested in looking at Lulu's life, only in living in it for real. And The Hotel - a gorgeous space with an intriguing, Old Hollywood history - seems like the perfect hideaway for their deepening romance. But just because Lulu has stepped out of the spotlight doesn't mean it'll stop following her every move.

Look is about what you present vs. who you really are, about real and manufactured intimacy and the blurring of that line. It's a deceptively glamorous, utterly compelling, beautifully crafted, queer coming-of-age novel about falling in love and taking ownership of your own self - your whole self - in the age of social media.

"Romantic and deeply resonant...Everything I hoped for and more." (Robyn Schneider, author of The Beginning of Everything)

"Witty, sensual, well-observed." (Francesca Lia Block, author of Weetzie Bat)

"I loved this book." (Mary H. K. Choi, author of Emergency Contact)

"A beautifully rendered...feminist coming-of-age story." (Jessica Morgan of Go Fug Yourself)

"Gorgeous." (Robin Benway, author of Far From the Tree)

"A complex, empathic examination of identity." (Amy Spalding, author of The Summer of Jordi Perez)

"A beautiful, intimate novel. I loved it so much." (Maurene Goo, author of The Way You Make Me Feel)

"Immediate...Deft...Astute...Compelling...Gripping and credible." (BCCB)

"[Zan Romanoff] is one of the best YA writers working today." (Brandy Colbert, author of Little & Lion)

©2020 Zan Romanoff (P)2020 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Witty, sensual, well-observed. Look glows like a secret, abandoned hotel lit only by cell phones on an L.A. night.” (Francesca Lia Block, award-winning author of Weetzie Bat)

"Gorgeous. A sprawling look at Los Angeles, love, and the ways a girl can be torn down and, more importantly, put herself back together, one image at a time." (Robin Benway, National Book Award-winning author of Far From the Tree)

"A beautifully rendered, nearly tactile sliver of Los Angeles, ostensibly about social media but really a feminist coming-of-age story. It’s really stuck with me." (Jessica Morgan of Go Fug Yourself)

Social Media Drama

This book was startling in its raw beauty, exposure of the heart and mind of young adults navigating self awareness, friendships, sexuality and life in a time of power for social media. The author pulled back the curtain of patriarchal entitlement through the personal discovery of the characters evolving understanding of its impact on their own lives. How they have played into it and being used by it. A wonderful book, week written and performed.

Unexpected

When I got this book I wasn’t expecting anything other than a cute love story.. I wasn’t expecting the thoughts and ideas behind it. This book really made me think! Really enjoyable and thought provoking!

Amazingly written

Look was an unexpected blessing. It gave me a lot to think about and I loved every minute of it. Beautiful.

Trials and tribulations of the selfie generation

This is the story of the self obsessed prodigy of the Los Angeles rich and famous. It is also the stroy of the impact of social media on the behaviour of young people and the influence of status and privilege and power. It also explores sexuality and the "male gaze". It is an interesting book for anyone who is interested in what is important to the selfie generation and would be a good "coming of age" story for a young person to read to put into context the power and potential pitfalls of social media.