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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
medium-paced
I liked the book; with the different timelines it was fun that I preferred Orla's at first and then was more interested in Marlow's story. Interesting about fame/influencing and how that all works
Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. This book made me extraordinarily anxious, in the best way, such that although I wanted sleep I wasn't going to get any unless I finished this book at midnight instead. I love a book that swaps narrators and time periods, and the author did an amazing job of doling out details in each section that kept me guessing, confirmed my suspicions, and gave me new suspicions to worry about. Especially reading on a Kindle, it was so easy to be like, hey, this chapter's only nine minutes long, I can read this... oh, hey, the next chapter's only ten minutes long, I could do just one more... straight through until the end.
The story itself is so creepily possible, especially with the main characters being just about my age both actually (in the present-ish time period) and relatively (in the future time period) and thus everything seeming very relevant to me personally. I spent the first half of this year tapering off my social media usage, but was considering going back to it because pandemic and lack of communication with loved ones, but, you know, I could also just never pick up my phone again, that would be pretty okay actually, I'll talk to humans again someday.
Oh, and weirdest trigger warning I'll ever give, but it certainly gave me some feels I didn't want to feel -- at the very very end you will find that this book posits (without actually saying it explicitly) that a certain someone or at least a very very similar someone is still president in 2051 and I just... can't.
The story itself is so creepily possible, especially with the main characters being just about my age both actually (in the present-ish time period) and relatively (in the future time period) and thus everything seeming very relevant to me personally. I spent the first half of this year tapering off my social media usage, but was considering going back to it because pandemic and lack of communication with loved ones, but, you know, I could also just never pick up my phone again, that would be pretty okay actually, I'll talk to humans again someday.
Oh, and weirdest trigger warning I'll ever give, but it certainly gave me some feels I didn't want to feel -- at the very very end you will find that this book posits (without actually saying it explicitly) that a certain someone or at least a very very similar someone is still president in 2051 and I just... can't.
Dark, unnerving, and like other reviewers have said most of all, timely.
What started out as a very interesting story showcasing the control and impact that social media and our internet world has on our lives and privacy crashed and burned about two thirds in. The story just went on and on as if the author didn't know where to take it or how to end it, so it sadly never ended and I had to read it.
Orla, Floss and Marlow navigate fame, celebrity and love, more than thirty years apart from each other.
In the late twentyteens Orla, a blogger at a Buzzfeed like website, hitches her star to Floss, an up and coming influencer. Together they ride the dizzying heights of American stardom, unaware of the imminent disaster called the Spill.
In the early twentyfifties, Marlow is a cast member on a sort of Truman Show, her life broadcast to the world 23/7. An imminent birth 'storyline' cooked up by the network sends her running in pursuit of the real life that's been hidden from her.
It's happened a couple of times this year that I've read 'adult' and 'children's' versions of almost the same idea. It happens often in publishing, of course, giving rise to the mini trends we see two or three times a year. As I was reading Followers, it reminded me of [bc:Heartstream|43151477|Heartstream|Tom Pollock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548917778l/43151477._SY75_.jpg|66937948]. Anyone who's read that book won't be surprised by the twist here.
Followers is very much its own book, though. Although I'm not always a fan of split time line stories, it worked really well here; we were able to see the effects of the Spill and the Fog long before we saw the actual events, and I realised very late in the story that there was a whole extra layer to the Spill that I hadn't noticed before. The Truman Show seemed almost laughable when it came out, but it's so plausible nowadays, just a step on from where we are anyway, and Megan does a fantastic job writing it.
This is a great read, and I loved the not really epilogue at the end. I'll be watching out for more from Megan.
In the late twentyteens Orla, a blogger at a Buzzfeed like website, hitches her star to Floss, an up and coming influencer. Together they ride the dizzying heights of American stardom, unaware of the imminent disaster called the Spill.
In the early twentyfifties, Marlow is a cast member on a sort of Truman Show, her life broadcast to the world 23/7. An imminent birth 'storyline' cooked up by the network sends her running in pursuit of the real life that's been hidden from her.
It's happened a couple of times this year that I've read 'adult' and 'children's' versions of almost the same idea. It happens often in publishing, of course, giving rise to the mini trends we see two or three times a year. As I was reading Followers, it reminded me of [bc:Heartstream|43151477|Heartstream|Tom Pollock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548917778l/43151477._SY75_.jpg|66937948]. Anyone who's read that book won't be surprised by the twist here.
Followers is very much its own book, though. Although I'm not always a fan of split time line stories, it worked really well here; we were able to see the effects of the Spill and the Fog long before we saw the actual events, and I realised very late in the story that there was a whole extra layer to the Spill that I hadn't noticed before. The Truman Show seemed almost laughable when it came out, but it's so plausible nowadays, just a step on from where we are anyway, and Megan does a fantastic job writing it.
This is a great read, and I loved the not really epilogue at the end. I'll be watching out for more from Megan.
Well-executed, timely story will all kinds of things I don't want to think about and lots of things I do. It was a little creepy reading it on a phone; I wish I'd held this one in print, especially when humanity's addiction to phones and followers goes really, really awry. Worth a read if you have your doubts about social media/the lack of privacy on the internet and/or you love an escape-from-what's-expected story.
Surprisingly moving ending from a book that appears to be about social media and appearances. It follows two storylines: one in 2016 about two girls trying to be famous in NYC, and one following a woman in 2051 whose life is filmed 23/7, cell phones have been replaced by devices that link text messages and Google searches directly into your mind, and where the government controls the internet. The two worlds are so different and it was very disconcerting drawing parallels between the disaster that connects them called The Spill and our own disaster pandemic that the world is going through now.
Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
3.5/5 stars rounded up.
Whew boy. I was waiting for my interest in Followers to catch and the story to pick up, and once it did, I was in for a wild, non-stop ride.
Scott Westerfeld's Uglies meets Black Mirror in this intense novel centered around how much we let social media impact our lives and what we're willing to do to obtain (and maintain) influence. Followers alternates narration between Orla, a 28 year old woman during 2015 who is struggling to write the book she's been meaning to finish since she was a little girl and, along with her roommate Floss, comes up with a scheme to launch them both into notoriety, and Marlow, a 35 year old woman in 2051 whose life is constantly streamed by millions of followers and is on a hunt to solve the mystery of her own backstory. With one woman living in a time where people are still risking it all to become famous, and one living in an era where to escape fame is to risk it all, Followers combines a twisted plot and too-real observations about the current world we're living in that is honestly alarming because you can easily see it becoming a reality. Marlow and Orla have to work on a new normal on their own separate journeys, with Floss struggling to "be relatable!!" in both timelines.
For the first 35% or so, Followers dragged for me. It was slow-paced, wordy, and I wasn't sure that it would end up being for me. Funnily enough, the book starts to pick up when the characters' lives start to unravel, launching some of them into the fame they so crave.While it still isn't a favorite, the premise is so interesting and sociologically complex that I finished in a day once I actually sat down with the intent to see this book through til the end. Megan Angelo manages to embed some of the security risks people joke about in a way that is unavoidable and horrifying with a nonchalant voice that makes it all the more chilling. Anyone who watches Black Mirror and is haunted by the storylines for days after knows what I'm talking about. Followers is definitely an interesting, worthwhile read that forces us to reconsider our priorities and what we're willing to sacrifice for influence.
3.5/5 stars rounded up.
Whew boy. I was waiting for my interest in Followers to catch and the story to pick up, and once it did, I was in for a wild, non-stop ride.
Scott Westerfeld's Uglies meets Black Mirror in this intense novel centered around how much we let social media impact our lives and what we're willing to do to obtain (and maintain) influence. Followers alternates narration between Orla, a 28 year old woman during 2015 who is struggling to write the book she's been meaning to finish since she was a little girl and, along with her roommate Floss, comes up with a scheme to launch them both into notoriety, and Marlow, a 35 year old woman in 2051 whose life is constantly streamed by millions of followers and is on a hunt to solve the mystery of her own backstory. With one woman living in a time where people are still risking it all to become famous, and one living in an era where to escape fame is to risk it all, Followers combines a twisted plot and too-real observations about the current world we're living in that is honestly alarming because you can easily see it becoming a reality. Marlow and Orla have to work on a new normal on their own separate journeys, with Floss struggling to "be relatable!!" in both timelines.
For the first 35% or so, Followers dragged for me. It was slow-paced, wordy, and I wasn't sure that it would end up being for me. Funnily enough, the book starts to pick up when the characters' lives start to unravel, launching some of them into the fame they so crave.While it still isn't a favorite, the premise is so interesting and sociologically complex that I finished in a day once I actually sat down with the intent to see this book through til the end. Megan Angelo manages to embed some of the security risks people joke about in a way that is unavoidable and horrifying with a nonchalant voice that makes it all the more chilling. Anyone who watches Black Mirror and is haunted by the storylines for days after knows what I'm talking about. Followers is definitely an interesting, worthwhile read that forces us to reconsider our priorities and what we're willing to sacrifice for influence.
Followers addresses the risks of sharing your life online. When personal information is leaked to the public, the world as we know it changes drastically. This was a scary look at the possibility of the future that I don’t think I’d want to live in! People in the present and in the future try to balance their lives with the benefit of sharing their lives with an audience. The public scrutiny and judgement effects people in both of the timelines. The three main characters, Floss, Orla, and Marlow, all have their issues but are ultimately strong female characters worth rooting for. At first, there is no indication that their stories are connected, but when the connection is revealed, it certainly adds to the story. If you worry about what you share online, this is definitely a book worth reading. It may just scare you into keeping some things to yourself.
