Review Bombing Backlash: VP JD Vance Receives 1-Star Reviews as Viral Cat Book Outpaces His 'Flopping' Memoir

JD Vance's latest memoir was supposed to be a reflection on faith, identity and public life. Instead, much of the online conversation has centred on a children's book about inclusion, launched by a progressive activist, 'Petty Besties'.

As Vice President Vance's 'Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith' arrived in bookstores this week, a parallel campaign by content creator and activist Amanda McGonigle rapidly gained traction online. Her picture book, 'There's Always Room,' became the focus of a viral social media push that openly framed itself as political trolling.

A Children's Book Becomes An Unexpected Rival

McGonigle, founder of the online community CatsOnACouch, announced the release of 'There's Always Room' on the same day as Vance's memoir.

'We wrote a children's book about inclusion and community to compete with the launch of JD Vance's new book,' she told followers. 'Because we're petty.'

The campaign quickly spread across Instagram and other platforms, where supporters were encouraged to share the title and help generate more discussion around the children's book than around Vance's memoir and even the Second Lady, Usha Vance's, reading hour.

The story itself is deliberately simple. Set around a magical sofa that expands to welcome every new arrival, 'There's Always Room' promotes themes of belonging, inclusion and community.

According to promotional material, portions of the proceeds will be distributed among mutual aid organisations and groups supporting LGBTQ+ communities and others opposing policies associated with the current administration.

McGonigle, who has raised more than $200,000 (£151,350) for mutual aid initiatives in Minnesota and other communities affected by ICE, has built a sizeable audience through activism and commentary. Supporters embraced the launch with enthusiasm.

One commenter wrote: 'I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS! As a children's book author, as a petty human, I'm ordering copies from Ingram for my Little Free Library.'

Another added, 'I bought 5 copies. 1 for me and 4 for friends with littles who will appreciate this.'

Library professionals also appeared to take notice. One self-described children's librarian said the title would be added to their acquisition list.

According to McGonigle, sales were approaching 2,000 copies by Thursday.

Vance's Memoir Faces Mounting Criticism

Meanwhile, 'Communion' was already encountering significant headwinds before the competing book campaign gained momentum.

The memoir traces Vance's journey from evangelical Christianity to atheism and ultimately to Catholicism, following the path he has publicly discussed since his 2019 conversion. The book was published on 16 June by HarperCollins and has been widely viewed as one of the most important personal projects of his political career.

Yet reviews have been sharply divided.

Barton Swaim, writing in The Wall Street Journal, criticised what he described as inconsistencies and 'egregious sloppiness' in the book's arguments, questioning Vance's treatment of economic issues and political evolution.

Meanwhile, writer Ginny Hogan delivered an especially scathing assessment in 'The Cut,' mocking passages about Vance's wife, Usha, and arguing that the memoir often appeared more concerned with image management than personal reflection. Those criticisms quickly circulated across social media and review platforms.

The book also attracted attention months before publication because its cover featured a Methodist church despite chronicling Vance's conversion to Catholicism. The discrepancy prompted widespread discussion online and became an early source of ridicule for critics.

Review Bombing And Online Resistance

The backlash intensified as negative ratings accumulated on Goodreads and Amazon.

Among the comments circulating online was one user who claimed to have successfully posted a one-star review on Amazon Canada after finding reviews restricted elsewhere.

'There's now nine reviews, including mine, on Amazon Canada,' the commenter wrote. 'They're all one star.'

Rather than debating Vance's arguments about religion and public life, critics increasingly rallied around a completely different book.

For a book launch carefully designed to showcase JD Vance's spiritual journey, that is an outcome few would have predicted.