“ The happier and brighter you act, the more special friends you’ll get- and the more special friends you get, the happier and brighter your life will be..No one loves you more than your followers” - Followers.
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. Oral 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. - Followers.
REVIEW: I have been waiting and waiting for this book to come out, and it is finally here! As an avid social media user, and technology consumer; I love reading stories about those topics especially when they are set in the future. This book does just that, and the implications of technology and social media seem so realistic and even plausible. In most cases, I could really see things going the way that they do in the book, and it makes you think of the question “when is enough, enough?” In addition, it makes you think of the way that both social media and technology have taken over our lives; I mean we even have SMART refrigerators now. Overall, I rated this book 4.5 stars because there is still I would love to know about in regards to Constellation and what happens before, during the event that changes everything (vague but trying to leave out spoilers). Mostly, I really wanted to read more about Constellation and the residents there.
The overall plot and writing in this book was fantastic! I can’t believe that this was a debut novel at all. I haven’t quite read a book like this exactly, but it does remind me of a couple other books and shows with similar topics, although the content is not the same. One show in particular that reminds me of this book is “Black Mirror”. However, this book dives in deeper into relationships, deceit, and the things someone will do for fame and recognition at the expense of actual human relationships and connections.
The characters in this book were fantastic. The main characters- Orla, Floss, and Marlow- are all so different than one another but bring a fantastic view on the narrative. They each have distinct voices and different personalities. I didn’t once get confused on whose perspective I was reading from. It also helps that this story is technically told from two different time periods. It starts with Orla in the year 2015, where social media and technology are more-or-less how they are today, and also follows Marlow in the year 2051 where social media has advanced to enormous proportions. The stories also come together towards the end as well, and lead to a good (thought-provoking) ending.
I would recommend this book! Especially if you are a fan of futuristic stories that involve technology and social media. It does also have a somewhat dystopian feel as well. I am looking forward to following this author and seeing what she writes next!
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. Oral 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. - Followers.
REVIEW: I have been waiting and waiting for this book to come out, and it is finally here! As an avid social media user, and technology consumer; I love reading stories about those topics especially when they are set in the future. This book does just that, and the implications of technology and social media seem so realistic and even plausible. In most cases, I could really see things going the way that they do in the book, and it makes you think of the question “when is enough, enough?” In addition, it makes you think of the way that both social media and technology have taken over our lives; I mean we even have SMART refrigerators now. Overall, I rated this book 4.5 stars because there is still I would love to know about in regards to Constellation and what happens before, during the event that changes everything (vague but trying to leave out spoilers). Mostly, I really wanted to read more about Constellation and the residents there.
The overall plot and writing in this book was fantastic! I can’t believe that this was a debut novel at all. I haven’t quite read a book like this exactly, but it does remind me of a couple other books and shows with similar topics, although the content is not the same. One show in particular that reminds me of this book is “Black Mirror”. However, this book dives in deeper into relationships, deceit, and the things someone will do for fame and recognition at the expense of actual human relationships and connections.
The characters in this book were fantastic. The main characters- Orla, Floss, and Marlow- are all so different than one another but bring a fantastic view on the narrative. They each have distinct voices and different personalities. I didn’t once get confused on whose perspective I was reading from. It also helps that this story is technically told from two different time periods. It starts with Orla in the year 2015, where social media and technology are more-or-less how they are today, and also follows Marlow in the year 2051 where social media has advanced to enormous proportions. The stories also come together towards the end as well, and lead to a good (thought-provoking) ending.
I would recommend this book! Especially if you are a fan of futuristic stories that involve technology and social media. It does also have a somewhat dystopian feel as well. I am looking forward to following this author and seeing what she writes next!