Followers by Megan Angelo

Followers by Megan Angelo | Expected publication: January 14th 2020 by Graydon House|  384 Pages | Goodreads

✅ REVIEW

This story follows two friends, Floss and Orla, in two alternating timelines. The first timeline starts on 2015, in which Orla helps Floss become Instagram famous. The second timeline takes place 35 years later in an exclusive village where the residents are recorded and streamed for entertainment. Sort of a futuristic Truman show but with government involvement.

I was intrigued by the premise, the novel has elements of scifi and explores social media, privacy rights, connectivity, and female friendships. Although it started strong for me, it felt a bit long in some sections. Still, I liked it and think the story feels relevant and relatable to issues we face today.

Overall, I recommend it to readers of contemporary and speculative fiction.

ARC provided by Publisher via Netgalley

✅ PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION

“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.”

✅ BOOK SOURCE AND FORMAT

Arc, eBook