Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Libro.fm and Graydon House for review copies of Followers by Megan Angelo.

I found the premise of this book really interesting, and the author didn’t disappoint. She delivered an intriguing tale split between two time periods (pre and post ‘internet spill’ — 2015 and 2051), following the lives of two girls on a quest for fame and success. In the post-spill America, no one wants to share anything online anymore, so a whole community has been set up to live-stream the lives of government-appointed celebrities, including product placements and brand ‘endorsements’.

It is a book about technology and how it shapes society but it’s also equally about relationships, family, and the choices we make to get where we want to go. There were certainly aspects of each character that I identified with, and it’s a topical book that I would definitely recommend.

I enjoyed the audiobook narration by Jayme Mattler, which you can grab on Libro.fm here, or click the button below to get a physical copy of the book.

Synopsis:

An electrifying story of two ambitious friends, the dark choices they make and the profound moment that changes the meaning of privacy forever.

Orla Cadden dreams of literary success, but she’s stuck writing about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Orla has no idea how to change her life until her new roommate, Floss―a striving, wannabe A-lister―comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they so desperately crave. But it's only when Orla and Floss abandon all pretense of ethics that social media responds with the most terrifying feedback of all: overwhelming success.

Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity―twelve million loyal followers―Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything, even horrible things, to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.

Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.