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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Maybe finishing this book in the midst of the current world events wasn't the best idea...
I liked it. Took a while to get into, but liked.
I liked it. Took a while to get into, but liked.
Wow!! This book dazzled me. Completely absorbing world building and addictive story, doling out just enough back story and mystery each chapter to keep you turning the pages. I could not stop reading this and thought it was just such a thoughtful meditation on social media's effects on society, what some people will do for fame, and the difference between sharing ourselves online and connecting with others.
Recommended for fans of Mike Chen, Black Mirror, or anyone interested in asking tough questions about privacy in the age of social media.
Things I really liked:
- the alternating timelines, present vs future. I recommend reading the description of the book before diving in though, because you are dropped into the middle of these womens' lives and it zooms off from there
- the character development -- realistic and puts the characters through the ringer. No easy way out, so they have to go through.
- the world building -- detailed, thoughtful, creative, but not exhaustive so it allows you to fill in some of the blanks
- it reminded me of a Black Mirror episode in the best way possible
- while this is a book about technology and how it shapes our lives, it's equally a story of friendship and family and the choices we make to get what we want. I appreciated the balancing of the two. It reminded me of Mike Chen's sci fi, which never allows the sci fi to overtake the emotional heart of the story and vice versa.
- even though I called three of the "reveals", it didn't matter since they were almost beside the point by the time they come to fruition. I cared so much about the characters and had no idea where they were going to take the story that I was invested way beyond the plotting elements.
Two nitpicky items:
- without getting into spoiler territory, there's a scientific detail you learn about halfway through that kickstarts the big life-changing event ("the Spill") that these characters go through that just doesnt make any sense. I need to do some googling to figure out just how implausible it is, but the rest of the technological disaster is realistic and carried out in a believable manner so perhaps just a dose of suspension of disbelief will be enough for most readers
- it was a tad long. the last 40% could have been a third shorter and just as effective.
I've seen several disparaging reviews on Goodreads using the pejorative description "women's fiction" to describe this fantastic speculative novel. Without getting too ranty about why we have to stop using the term "Women's fiction" to describe books (why does a book about women instantly get labeled as "womens' fiction"? Why is "women's fiction" inherently lesser than other fiction? Why isn't all fiction considered 'women's fiction' when more women buy and read books than men do? UGGGGGG), this is a speculative story starring three female protagonists. The issues they deal with are fame, doing whatever it takes to succeed, friendship, motherhood, mental health, family lies and secrets, technological disasters, social media, privacy......... are any of those issues specific ONLY to women? No. And if this book were starring three men or written by a man it would not have the label "men's fiction" thrust upon it. The pink cover doesn't do this book any favors, though imo, it's incredibly fitting once you've read the whole thing, and reminds me of a couple episodes of Black Mirror ("Nosedive" and "San Junipero") which were not called "Women's television". The storytelling is reminiscent of Mike Chen or Blake Crouch, male sci fi authors who tell compelling speculative stories with deeply emotional cores, yet those are not labeled as "women's fiction" even though the core of several of their stories are ROMANCE and LOVE and father's relationships with their DAUGHTERS.
This book kept me up late reading but also kept me up late thinking about sharing online, how much privacy I'm willing to give up in what circumstances, and how our country as a whole deals with a society-changing catastrophe that results in the deaths of millions of people. (While there is no virus in the story, there is a pandemic of a more sinister nature, and the parallels that can be drawn between the fictional disaster and our current public health crisis might be a bit too real for some people to read at the moment.)
Recommended for fans of Mike Chen, Black Mirror, or anyone interested in asking tough questions about privacy in the age of social media.
Things I really liked:
- the alternating timelines, present vs future. I recommend reading the description of the book before diving in though, because you are dropped into the middle of these womens' lives and it zooms off from there
- the character development -- realistic and puts the characters through the ringer. No easy way out, so they have to go through.
- the world building -- detailed, thoughtful, creative, but not exhaustive so it allows you to fill in some of the blanks
- it reminded me of a Black Mirror episode in the best way possible
- while this is a book about technology and how it shapes our lives, it's equally a story of friendship and family and the choices we make to get what we want. I appreciated the balancing of the two. It reminded me of Mike Chen's sci fi, which never allows the sci fi to overtake the emotional heart of the story and vice versa.
- even though I called three of the "reveals", it didn't matter since they were almost beside the point by the time they come to fruition. I cared so much about the characters and had no idea where they were going to take the story that I was invested way beyond the plotting elements.
Two nitpicky items:
- without getting into spoiler territory, there's a scientific detail you learn about halfway through that kickstarts the big life-changing event ("the Spill") that these characters go through that just doesnt make any sense. I need to do some googling to figure out just how implausible it is, but the rest of the technological disaster is realistic and carried out in a believable manner so perhaps just a dose of suspension of disbelief will be enough for most readers
- it was a tad long. the last 40% could have been a third shorter and just as effective.
I've seen several disparaging reviews on Goodreads using the pejorative description "women's fiction" to describe this fantastic speculative novel. Without getting too ranty about why we have to stop using the term "Women's fiction" to describe books (why does a book about women instantly get labeled as "womens' fiction"? Why is "women's fiction" inherently lesser than other fiction? Why isn't all fiction considered 'women's fiction' when more women buy and read books than men do? UGGGGGG), this is a speculative story starring three female protagonists. The issues they deal with are fame, doing whatever it takes to succeed, friendship, motherhood, mental health, family lies and secrets, technological disasters, social media, privacy......... are any of those issues specific ONLY to women? No. And if this book were starring three men or written by a man it would not have the label "men's fiction" thrust upon it. The pink cover doesn't do this book any favors, though imo, it's incredibly fitting once you've read the whole thing, and reminds me of a couple episodes of Black Mirror ("Nosedive" and "San Junipero") which were not called "Women's television". The storytelling is reminiscent of Mike Chen or Blake Crouch, male sci fi authors who tell compelling speculative stories with deeply emotional cores, yet those are not labeled as "women's fiction" even though the core of several of their stories are ROMANCE and LOVE and father's relationships with their DAUGHTERS.
This book kept me up late reading but also kept me up late thinking about sharing online, how much privacy I'm willing to give up in what circumstances, and how our country as a whole deals with a society-changing catastrophe that results in the deaths of millions of people. (While there is no virus in the story, there is a pandemic of a more sinister nature, and the parallels that can be drawn between the fictional disaster and our current public health crisis might be a bit too real for some people to read at the moment.)
4+. i was into this! super original. switches between 2015 and 2051, and angelo was good at leaving each chapter with a little cliffhanger so you wanted to return to it (a peril when you're trying to get to bed!). floss and orla are terrrrrriiiiibbbblllleeee but in a way i understand (sadly?). the premise is almost too hard to succinctly type, but let's say there's a cataclysmic event that splits the world into a before and after, and while the book is about that, it's also not reliant on it. aka, it's not all world building and then a plot just magically poofs out--there's a lot going on even without the "event," some good character studies i'd be interested in regardless. i wanted a little more in some places--the book is called followers but we actually don't learn too much about what being a follower means (in the marlow context, specifically...i get that the followers moniker can apply to O+F)...the ending was a little rushed, pacing wise, although i didn't mind it as much as others. definitely pictured a jake paul/machine gun kelly type for aston, and audrina patridge for floss.
Spoiler
maybe i was alone in this but i also thought the spill was going to be a supernatural/alien event? not a hack...i wish she'd delved more into who did the hack, what the motives were...it didn't make a lot of sense for being this big central event. like wouldn't a war have started? it was also unclear how the fog was related/unrelated?
Fun and immediately addicting story, but how many more “social media is bad” futuristic/ dystopian books will we have to endure? Though some parts seemed (unfortunately) very realistic, I still very much enjoyed reading it! 3.5/5
A fellow Lehigh Valley fan
Wow! This book truly resonates with where we are at in 2020 - shutdown, crazy president, the perils of social media. This book is so timely and I really recommend it for those who have been feeling the craziness of the time we are in. Megan - from someone who lives down the street from St. Isidores, and who’s partner is finishing up grad school at Lehigh, thank you for this book. I felt the places and people so deeply.
Wow! This book truly resonates with where we are at in 2020 - shutdown, crazy president, the perils of social media. This book is so timely and I really recommend it for those who have been feeling the craziness of the time we are in. Megan - from someone who lives down the street from St. Isidores, and who’s partner is finishing up grad school at Lehigh, thank you for this book. I felt the places and people so deeply.
Richard Pryor once joked “y’all see that movie ‘Logan’s Run’? It’s a movie about the future. Ain’t no [Black people] in it! White folks ain’t planning for us to be here!”
End review.
End review.
Earlier this week, my debit card was hacked, and I lost $435 to Facebook. It's taking some time, but I believe I will get my money back. Meanwhile I read Followers.
At first, I felt far too old to appreciate this well-written novel, but I became more engaged in the characters. The novel alternates between 2016 and 2051. We understand 2016 well, and the ending chapter about 2016-2017 made me shiver. The chapters set in 2051 show USA in a way that most likely exists already.
I love post-apocalyptic novels, but I cannot read them lately. This novel is more palatable than most. That is not an insult at all. It's a good read.
At first, I felt far too old to appreciate this well-written novel, but I became more engaged in the characters. The novel alternates between 2016 and 2051. We understand 2016 well, and the ending chapter about 2016-2017 made me shiver. The chapters set in 2051 show USA in a way that most likely exists already.
I love post-apocalyptic novels, but I cannot read them lately. This novel is more palatable than most. That is not an insult at all. It's a good read.
I DNFed this book after trying to read it several times. The characters are all extremely unlikable and the back and forth plot between the future and the past can get muddied and confusing. I've never had to force my way through a book like this before, and after a point it became too much of a chore to keep focused on so I did not finish it. This was not the book for me, and I wish the author the best in the future.
This book had a lot of hype, "best of" lists, etc., but I found it an unpleasant slog to get through. Reading it made me feel like a Martian who just doesn't "get it." It was loaded with time jumps that built suspense leading to not much. I don't know what else to say. At best, meh.