Followers

An enthralling journey that’ll take you through the intricacies of friendship, loyalty, and the impact of social media. From the first page to the last, it captivates the reader with a plot that is as surprising as it is thought-provoking. The lives of all characters, both past and present, are masterfully weaves together, alongside some exquisite writing, vivid descriptions and great dialogue.Each event feels purposeful, propelling the story forward with momentum.And, from the ambitious Orla to the enigmatic Floss, each character is given the opportunity to shine, adding depth and dimension to the narrative.More than just a novel, the book is an experience. It will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps even question the role of social media in your own life.Highly recommend it!

Song/s the book brought to mind: Virtual Insanity by JamiroquaiFollowers is a debut novel by Megan Angelo and wow! It was really stunning and the perfect read for our current social climate plus the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently experiencing.I think the scariest thing about Followers is that it is so realistic, and completely something I could see happening in the real world. It is all about social media and privacy and it was very thought-provoking. I think it brings up some hard questions and definitely makes for a great discussion book. It was the very first pick for the BookClubbish #ReadWithBookClubbish book club and a great choice indeed.A lot of the characters verge on unlikable, but I really liked Marlow and Orla plus how they both changed throughout the novel. Followers is set in two time periods - 2015 and 2051, and both of them had me completely fascinated. I loved how Angelo tied the two together at the end, and I especially enjoyed all the mystery surrounding ‘The Spill' and what it was. It was shrouded in secrecy until almost the very end of the book and it really built up the suspense for me about what exactly the event was and why it had led to certain things in 2051.Followers is SO SMART, and I am incredibly impressed with this debut. Angelo's writing is bonkers and crazy good. There were plenty of characters but never so many that I was lost, and even a little jab at Trump. If you like books set in the future that are compelling and thought-provoking plus incredibly timely, then do yourself a favor and pick this up!

After watching The Social Dilemma, I have become especially interested in social media’s influence and where we as a society go from here. This book seemed right up my alley. While I found myself having to reread paragraphs to stay engaged, I did enjoy about the first 2/3 of the book. Then, it’s as if the author had 6 different arcs she promised to squeeze in, and it all became rather jumbled.Several parts of the story seemed far-fetched or not thoroughly researched. “The Spill” itself, once explained, was pretty over the top. The idea of a birth mother signing consent forms prior to delivering a baby and having that make it a done deal, is sickening and inaccurate. Some basic research could have prevented that situation from being so entirely unbelievable.Again, I really enjoyed the idea of looking ahead to see how technology and social media affects us. I just wish the author and her editors had been able to provide a more focused approach.

Really enjoyed this book! I felt like this could happen, the social media dystopia no one really wants…yet we’re basically paving the way. I read it I two days, it was hard to put down!

The story follows two timelines (2016 and 2051) and I was never bored in either. The characters are so interesting. No obvious saints or sinners, but lots of people with complex and realistic motives. Megan Angelo is a brilliant prose stylist and has written a book that is intelligent without taking itself too seriously. There is a strong Truman Show feel to parts of the book but Angelo raises new questions on that theme so it does not feel redundant for long. I took one star away because I thought the ending of the 2051 timeline was a little too far fetched, but endings are so tricky in speculative fiction; other readers will love what I disliked.I recommend this novel for anyone interested in how social media celebrities are created and sustained or anyone interested in how ambition plays out in young women whose greatest talent may be ambition.

My book club chose this one and I’m pleased that we did. It’s a different kind of near future dystopian story. It feels so possible, so feasible. It’s scary. It’s definitely thought provoking.

If any of you have seen Netflix's "Black Mirror" (and if you haven't you should), this book will seem like deja vu. Most of its themes have been explored brilliantly in that series, and in a more much succinct way than this book. A good editor could have sharpened it up considerably. So why did I give it what, for me, is a very high rating? First, I love "Black Mirror" and clones thereof; second, it kept me reading; and third (slight spoiler but you won't know what I mean until you get near the end of the book), I was horrified but still amused by the notion that the US may have the same President (or possibly his clone) in 2050.

I almost abandoned this book multiple times. Then I would get interested again and keep moving on. The first half of the story seemed disjointed and was difficult for me to follow. It was annoying. The second half was marginally better, but it still was annoying and confusing in parts. Maybe my problem with the story was because I am older than many readers (nearly 76) and I am pretty much not on social media except for an Instagram account that I mostly read but not post much. Otherwise I am not at all savvy about social media. But still, I think I understand how The Spill happened, and I did like how the author pulled the characters and the plot (such as it was) all together at the end. If there is a sequel I won't be picking it up. It just didn't really work well for me. You may feel differently.

One of my favourite books that I've read this year. What an interesting and unique world that the story is set in! I enjoyed the story from start to finish but I must say the ending was beautiful and my favourite part

Great read. Slow at first but stick to it. Starts to get very interesting and dramatic.

This novel gripped me from the first few lines. I enjoyed every single moment and wish I had more to read.Speculative and thoughtful with an original narrative.The characters were real, with depth and complexity.It felt like a meditation on humanity, and left me feeling hopeful.

I enjoyed this clever, hopefully not prescient novel. Hopefully because it's all to easy to imagine how dependence on social media could lead to the kind of society depicted here, where whole lives are built on their standing in social media and can be swiftly destroyed in the same way. Well, perhaps it really is like that already? The book follows two threads, one in the present time where Orla and Floss live in a social media whirl, where Floss is the media star and Orla is the friend who put her there. The other thread is set in a scary future where everyone is connected to a government run system and Marlow is a young woman who lives in an enclave of people who live their lives on camera to promote goods - a personality managing drug in Marlow's case.What I liked most about it was that the three women characters are so clearly and well drawn and the writing is really good.What I couldn't quite accept was the nature of 'the spill' which happened between the two parts of the story and gave rise to the dystopia in which Marlow lives. The spill isn't explained until near the last part of the novel so I won't go into detail but I'll just say, I don't think it could be done so thoroughly and completely. However, as the story is quite character driven this wasn't so important for me and the result is not a typical dystopian novel.I certainly recommend it.

I chose this for our book group at a time when Trump and Biden were competing for President. Then started reading it as events unfolded, Biden’s win in November and the protest at Capital Hill in January became the backdrop and made it all the more relevant. I liked the switch between current day and 2051 - only 35 years or more. It was slow to start but really got me in. Persevere! Great fodder for discussion in these tumultuous times.