4.5 stars
This book is so memorable, from the very start I was hooked by the story of life after "The Spill" in year 2051 where Marlow is living in Constellation as part of a live, watchable living experience. Her whole life is televised as she recommends products and goes through intensely orchestrated life changes as her followers look on and weigh in on her journey. The story also goes back and forth between the perspective of Orla and Floss - women living in 2015 amid the beginning of influencers and the idea of posting all that goes on in one's daily life. Over time the stories connect with Marlow becoming tired of her life being watched and controlled as she finds out a long buried secret which leads her to consider escaping life in Constellation.
I found the parallels to society and social media incredibly fascinating, timely and a bit scary. So many of the things that happen in this book are very real possibilities that have me questioning how we so eagerly share details of our lives with so many online. I savored the writing of Megan Angelo, I had not expected to devour this book as I did but it was so much more than a simple story about the perils of social media. The characters were emotionally-charged and I felt as if they leapt off the page, the pitfalls of being in the public eye seemed highly relatable and make me grateful that I am not in their shoes. This is a thought-provoking story which will change the way that you see social media sites and what we all share with others.
This book is so memorable, from the very start I was hooked by the story of life after "The Spill" in year 2051 where Marlow is living in Constellation as part of a live, watchable living experience. Her whole life is televised as she recommends products and goes through intensely orchestrated life changes as her followers look on and weigh in on her journey. The story also goes back and forth between the perspective of Orla and Floss - women living in 2015 amid the beginning of influencers and the idea of posting all that goes on in one's daily life. Over time the stories connect with Marlow becoming tired of her life being watched and controlled as she finds out a long buried secret which leads her to consider escaping life in Constellation.
I found the parallels to society and social media incredibly fascinating, timely and a bit scary. So many of the things that happen in this book are very real possibilities that have me questioning how we so eagerly share details of our lives with so many online. I savored the writing of Megan Angelo, I had not expected to devour this book as I did but it was so much more than a simple story about the perils of social media. The characters were emotionally-charged and I felt as if they leapt off the page, the pitfalls of being in the public eye seemed highly relatable and make me grateful that I am not in their shoes. This is a thought-provoking story which will change the way that you see social media sites and what we all share with others.