Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie Kingsley
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Funny young filmmaker has great lessons about social media.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Marcus wakes up one day to find that the short film he and some friends made has gotten serious attention online, and he gets obsessed with tracking all his social media numbers. The time they used to spend writing and filming is now spent on schemes to get more subscribers to their social media channels and churn out new content fast. Marcus thinks he'll make it big after he and his co-creator, Sierra, are asked on a top-rated talk show, but they almost ruin it all by bickering onstage. Now they have to join forces in time to save what they've already built together -- and maybe get to build more.
Is It Any Good?
Author Kevin Hart combines humor and well-written, relatable dialogue to share important messages about friendship, the hard work of being creative, and the complexity of social media and publicity. Marcus Makes It Big takes a common dream -- fast fame and easy money from a hit movie -- and goes behind the scenes to see the impact on the creators, their friends, and their families. The story is fairly predictable, but the road Hart takes to get to the final chapter is filled with great lessons about the way we treat friends and the importance of working hard on the things that are truly important.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Marcus and Sierra's creative partnership affects their friendship in Marcus Makes It Big. What do you do when you and a friend have different ideas about something you're doing together?
How do you react when a friend asks you to do something you don't want to do?
What are some of the good things about social media? What are some of the ways it can be difficult?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : David Cooper
- Genre : Friendship
- Topics : Arts , Friendship
- Character Strengths : Communication , Empathy , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Crown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : May 3, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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