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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
This is a brilliantly woven thriller about our willingness to give up our own privacy and the consequences of an increasingly open world. The characters are rich and the twists are unpredictable and build on the themes in a smart, interesting way.
As someone who is not overly invested in social media, the 2016 timeline felt a little far-fetched in how much the world cares about one so-called "influencer" and the mistake that leads to her inevitable "cancelling" (the book never uses that phrase) seemed pretty benign. However, the Truman Show-esque 2051 timeline felt wholly accurate and was brilliantly intertwined with the characters who we meet decades before.
The message here is dark, but ultimately hopeful and this page-turner is definitely worth your time!
As someone who is not overly invested in social media, the 2016 timeline felt a little far-fetched in how much the world cares about one so-called "influencer" and the mistake that leads to her inevitable "cancelling" (the book never uses that phrase) seemed pretty benign. However, the Truman Show-esque 2051 timeline felt wholly accurate and was brilliantly intertwined with the characters who we meet decades before.
The message here is dark, but ultimately hopeful and this page-turner is definitely worth your time!
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
trigger warning: su!c!d3.
black mirror-coded, me thinkz. thought-provoking. funny at times. beautiful storytelling.
black mirror-coded, me thinkz. thought-provoking. funny at times. beautiful storytelling.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a gripping exploration into the complexities of our online personas versus our real selves, a theme that's more relevant now than ever. This novel is a smart, thought-provoking dive into the future of social media, friendship, and the fine line between public and private life.
Angelo constructs a compelling narrative that alternates between past and future timelines, illustrating the long-term effects of our current digital obsessions. Her characters are a mix of ambition, vulnerability, and flawed humanity, making them both relatable and fascinating. Orla, Floss, and Marlow's intertwined stories reveal the dark underbelly of internet fame and the high cost it demands on personal relationships and self-identity.
What truly stands out in "Followers" is Angelo's speculative take on the future of social media. It's both imaginative and unsettlingly plausible, serving as a cautionary tale that resonates deeply in today's selfie-obsessed culture. The futuristic aspects are well-crafted, offering a mirror to our present-day actions and their potential to shape our future.
Angelo's writing is sharp and insightful, weaving societal critiques with personal dramas in a way that's both entertaining and enlightening. Her depiction of the contrast between online facades and real-life complexities is handled with finesse, making the reader question their own digital footprints and connections.
I'm giving "Followers" four stars because while the book offers an engaging and insightful reflection on digital culture, some parts felt a bit overdrawn, and the pacing occasionally lagged. However, the novel ultimately delivers a powerful message about the importance of genuine human connections in a world increasingly dominated by screens and superficial interactions.
Angelo constructs a compelling narrative that alternates between past and future timelines, illustrating the long-term effects of our current digital obsessions. Her characters are a mix of ambition, vulnerability, and flawed humanity, making them both relatable and fascinating. Orla, Floss, and Marlow's intertwined stories reveal the dark underbelly of internet fame and the high cost it demands on personal relationships and self-identity.
What truly stands out in "Followers" is Angelo's speculative take on the future of social media. It's both imaginative and unsettlingly plausible, serving as a cautionary tale that resonates deeply in today's selfie-obsessed culture. The futuristic aspects are well-crafted, offering a mirror to our present-day actions and their potential to shape our future.
Angelo's writing is sharp and insightful, weaving societal critiques with personal dramas in a way that's both entertaining and enlightening. Her depiction of the contrast between online facades and real-life complexities is handled with finesse, making the reader question their own digital footprints and connections.
I'm giving "Followers" four stars because while the book offers an engaging and insightful reflection on digital culture, some parts felt a bit overdrawn, and the pacing occasionally lagged. However, the novel ultimately delivers a powerful message about the importance of genuine human connections in a world increasingly dominated by screens and superficial interactions.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
A strong prediction about our not-too-distant future enthralled by reality TV and social media influencers. If this dystopia ever becomes reality, it will be a very dismal future. I have picked up on reality TV since the start of the pandemic, and I'm fascinated by the choices of everyday life people who prime their whole life to be in front of the camera for all to see. This book explores how two roommates from the mid-2010s diverge after trying to make it big in social media and the publishing world. It's extra mind boggling when one of the characters drags her daughter into being a reality TV show since she was born without giving her another choice. It makes me wonder about all the talk of how 10-20 years from now, children of social media influencers will tell their own story of growing up in front of the camera without their choice. They might resent their parents, or follow in their footsteps if that's all they know in life.
My ultimate takeaway is that this ended up being a lot more intriguing than I thought it would be, but didn't really start jibing for me until 2/3 through the book. The story was definitely not what I expected, and both the blurb and title kinda threw me for a loop. I was looking for quite a bit more depth to both Orla's/Floss's celebrity life (the day-to-day, the feelings that came along with it) and Marlow's celebrity life, again day-to-day. I think that, paired with all the interiority, would've painted a clearer picture of what was going on and gotten me more invested in the individual characters earlier on. That said, I get why things were glossed over (Flossed over? heh) for the sake of pacing.
I also ended up inhaling the last 2 hours (audiobook!) in one go. The climax of the long-teased 'spill' was fascinating and I could've read an entire book about that event.
I also ended up inhaling the last 2 hours (audiobook!) in one go. The climax of the long-teased 'spill' was fascinating and I could've read an entire book about that event.
"Followers" by Megan Angelo is a highly readable -- even fun -- take on the disintegration and (speculative) rebirth of internet fame.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This had me hooked right from the start! The synopsis sounded so interesting - a story with a dual timeline with a dystopian vibe - I just had to know what had happened.
I thought both timelines were really captivating. The present-ish day one follows Orla & Floss as they are determined to be famous. As they go from blogger & influencer to reality tv personalities, we get the dark side of their type of fame - what they have to do to get there & stay there, how fake & scripted everything is, and how fleeting everything is. Contrasting with that is Marlow’s timeline 35 years later. She lives in Constellation & is a government appointed celebrity. The internet as we know it no longer exists, and these celebrities are filmed almost every hour of the day, living their lives as juicy storylines & long running advertisements beamed out to their millions of followers.
I found the present day timeline to be really gripping as we go closer and closer to the event that changes everything. It’s dark and Orla & Floss are not likeable characters. I found the future timeline to be fascinating, to see a version of the future so similar but so different to our current day. This piece of speculative fiction was truly entertaining & thought provoking.
I thought both timelines were really captivating. The present-ish day one follows Orla & Floss as they are determined to be famous. As they go from blogger & influencer to reality tv personalities, we get the dark side of their type of fame - what they have to do to get there & stay there, how fake & scripted everything is, and how fleeting everything is. Contrasting with that is Marlow’s timeline 35 years later. She lives in Constellation & is a government appointed celebrity. The internet as we know it no longer exists, and these celebrities are filmed almost every hour of the day, living their lives as juicy storylines & long running advertisements beamed out to their millions of followers.
I found the present day timeline to be really gripping as we go closer and closer to the event that changes everything. It’s dark and Orla & Floss are not likeable characters. I found the future timeline to be fascinating, to see a version of the future so similar but so different to our current day. This piece of speculative fiction was truly entertaining & thought provoking.