By Emily Sherwell
Just Watch Me is a blend of satirical comedy and deeply introspective revelations on grief, told through the eyes of an, at-first, extremely unlikeable main character. The basic plot revolves around Dell, a deferred university student who is struggling to make ends meet in the wake of losing her primary job, forcing her to become reliant on her very small side gig as a horticulturist. In the search for stable employment, she stumbles down a rabbit hole of social media streaming, where the more outrageous and daring she is, the more viewers (and cash) she obtains. This is where the downward spiral begins, all in the noble quest of funding her comatose sibling’s hospital treatment for another week… or so she claims. We start to question what her real intentions are. The driving question throughout the entire novel: what exactly is the truth?
My first impression of Dell was that she was irredeemable and obnoxious, to the point where I almost gave up on the book immediately. Luckily, I persevered, as we eventually understand why she is the way that she is. In the same way you can’t look away from a car crash, or why you watch all seventeen parts of an overly dramatic TikTok storytime, you simply cannot tear your eyes away from this book. Dell is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, lying to both the reader and herself. Despite this, it’s impossible to not find yourself rooting for her along the way, hoping to find some shades of colour among her morally grey demeanour.
The premise itself, while intriguing, isn’t enough of an attention grabber, particularly in a world so saturated with satirical critiques of parasocial interactions and social media. What does make this a compelling read is the way the author blends humour with themes of grief, loneliness, and the vices we hold onto in our darkest times. Dell’s coping mechanism for loneliness is transferred from her plants onto her viewers, though still her grief is so deeply rooted that she at times feels like an actual plant seed has become lodged in her brain.
Just Watch Me is a novel about the crazy lengths we will go to when faced with grief, the dangers of escapism, and the rise of parasocialism when faced with loneliness. I found this to be a well-written novel, cleverly blending well-written prose and evocative imagery with moments that are funny enough to make you blow air out of your nose.
