Book Review: Scammer by Caroline Calloway

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I ghostwrite memoirs for a living, which means I read other people’s memoirs the way a line cook eats at other people’s restaurants: professionally nosy, incapable of switching it off. So believe me when I tell you that Scammer by Caroline Calloway — self-published, typo-flecked, chaotic on purpose — felt more alive than most of the buttoned-up, traditionally published memoirs I’d read in the years before it.

If you were on the internet in 2019, you already know some version of the Caroline Calloway story: the Instagram fame, the discourse, the whole saga. I’m not here to relitigate any of it. I’m here because in February 2024 I finally read the book at the center of the noise, in a single day, and I have thoughts.

What I Loved About Scammer by Caroline Calloway

This book bleeds and kicks and screams. It’s messy in a way publishing committees usually sand off, and then, just when you’ve settled in for chaos, a sentence of genuine poetry sneaks up and gets you. There’s real genius in here. I went in a skeptic and came out a fan.

As someone who builds memoirs for clients, what impressed me most is the voice. You cannot fake a voice like this. You can’t hire it out, and you certainly can’t focus-group it. Whatever else the internet wants to say about Calloway, the woman can write, and this book is more proof than her critics will be comfortable with.

What I Didn’t Love About Scammer

The production. There are typos and errors throughout, and the layout makes choices I still don’t understand (why is there an extra space between every paragraph?). I self-publish my own books, so this isn’t snobbery about the route — self-publishing isn’t the problem, skipping the editor is. The homemade feel undercuts what the book is reaching for, and it’s what kept this at four stars instead of five. Hire the proofreader. The prose deserved it.

Final Thoughts on Scammer

One of the most memorable memoirs I’ve read in years, flaws included. Maybe flaws especially. If you like your memoirs polished to a museum shine, start with Educated and work your way toward the chaos. If you want to see what voice looks like with the safety off, read this.

My final score: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do I recommend this book? 👍 Yes — if you can read past the typos for the voice. I could.

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