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Book Reviewed by: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 is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss—a striving, wannabe A-lister—who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss's methods are a little shady—and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can't be wrong.
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 to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on 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.
The book is speculative fiction at its best; it takes our current society, technology and political landscape and predicts one possible future based on a very plausible trajectory. Angelo's plot is fresh and entertaining from start to finish; it also feels quite relevant, exploring the risks associated with social media that many of us are just starting to comprehend...continued
Full Review
(548 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
In Megan Angelo's Followers, the protagonist uses Instagram, a photo and video social networking application, to elevate her roommate to the status of "influencer"—someone who has enough of an audience (aka "followers") that sponsors will pay them to mention their products or services. Instagram has two million advertisers, and with 90 percent of accounts following at least one business, influencing on the platform can be a lucrative profession.
Instagram started as the brainchild of Kevin Systrom (b. 1983), a Stanford University graduate who, in 2009, was working as a marketing associate for Nextstop, a travel recommendation startup (acquired by Facebook in 2010). He spent his hours after work and on weekends teaching himself ...
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