Followers by Megan Angelo

Jan 08, 2020 Chaima ✨ شيماء marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2020-releases, fiction, priority-new-releases, sci-fi, adult

What I should be doing: homework

What I wish I was doing: reading a book

What I am doing: scrolling through goodreads to find more books to read

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Oct 07, 2019 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it it was amazing

”Sensational, futuristic, smart, entertaining, twisty, mind-bending and surprising ARC reading!” I’m about to slap myself because I waited at least three month to start this book and I let it drown at the bottom part of my growing NetGalley pile. I think one day, they will send me glasses for my red rimmed eyes instead of future releasing yummy books all set to be devoured with two bites!

So welcome to the social media madness. Everybody’s lives depend on the likes and visual encouraging comments ”Sensational, futuristic, smart, entertaining, twisty, mind-bending and surprising ARC reading!” I’m about to slap myself because I waited at least three month to start this book and I let it drown at the bottom part of my growing NetGalley pile. I think one day, they will send me glasses for my red rimmed eyes instead of future releasing yummy books all set to be devoured with two bites!

So welcome to the social media madness. Everybody’s lives depend on the likes and visual encouraging comments they take and raising number of their followers. Yes, just an ordinary day of our lives!

The story is moving back and forth between 2015 and 2055. Future parts are more disturbing because the most elite celebrities living in Constellation (not in the space, this is the name of secluded California town.)

We’re introduced with Marlow, feeding herself with her sponsor’s branded drug made her look like all her emotions have been taken out from her heart and forced her act like Stepford wife meets over exaggerated botox application victim. She is followed by cameras. Her every move and every inch of her body fat are criticized by her followers. She is not happy with her marriage and now her husband pushes her to have a baby for the celebration of pretentious, fake marriage.

And when we go back to 2015, we’re introduced with Orla (author has interesting name choices) who is ambitious dreamer, pushing herself hard to write her first novel but stuck with her daytime blogging job at Lady-ish website. Her roommate Floss who has no proper ability or any gift of talent to keep her place at the race, wants her help to become celebrity! (Don’t stop reading. This is not KARDASHIANS’ BIOGRAPHY!) And Orla starts her Instagram campaign as: “Sooo What Does the World’s Most Expensive Brow Gel Actually Do? One Instagram It Girl Finds Out!” (Please resume reading. It’s not Kylie or Kendall Jenner biography!)

So she boosts her likes and followers and their paths cross, force them work together for aspiring and inspirational social media management.

So those three women’s connected with each other and the story gets too many surprising twists starting with the unbelievable success of Floss who has TV show with Orla. And as soon as Orla finds out her longtime high school crush/obsession (she’s social media stalker of the guy for years) Danny leaves his wife and appears in front of their apartment.

And in the meantime (40 years later actually) Marlow starts to dig out more about her identity and begin searching who is her real father.

The characters are vivid, lovely, sarcastic, moving and hilarious. Marlow’s not on drugs version is more animated, wild ( Remember the part she attacked the girl’s face like a real blood sucker!) lost woman who needed to learn about her true self and her expectations from life.

So after surprising twists and revelations later, three women meet at Atlantis (Once upon a time this place was Boardwalk Empire! I can hear Temptations’ ‘Under The Boardwalk’ on my mind) And ending is another epic moment of this book!

As a summary: When Tarryn Fisher promotes a book on the social media, you shouldn’t have any doubts, you just dive in without thinking a second! We have a brilliant new author in the literary town! Congrats! Applause! I already opened the Champagne bottle for celebration!

So my 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for the originality, sarcasm, political, social criticism and intelligent creativity.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for sending me this incredible debut novel’s ARC COPY in exchange my honest review! ...more

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Oct 25, 2019 Felicia rated it it was amazing

From the first chapter, this book had me straightjacketed. It snatched me up and held me rapt until the last word.

It's just, ugh, there is no word. Oh wait, I got it...

IT'S ELECTRIFYING!
*using bad Danny Zuko/John Travolta impression* *slinks away in shame*

Megan Angelo's writing is top notch.

She has flawlessly woven a complex, multilayered and intelligent tale of the current state of social media and the dramatic effects it has on society some thirty years in the future.

Angelo offers up a ...more

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Nov 22, 2019 Paige rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Followers is a timely debut novel about the power of social media, the internet, and technology. It demonstrates the effect it has on our relationships and the damage that can be caused because of its influence. Have our friendships and family dynamics changed because of the prominence of social media? How has the internet changed us? What is the purpose of social media, and who is accountable for what is promoted on our pages/feeds: society or individuals? In Followers, a dystopian atmosphere ...more

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Aug 11, 2019 Nenia ⚡ Aspiring Evil Overlord ⚡ Campbell rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, chick-lit, help-help-i-m-being-repressed, les-arcs-de-triomphes

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

I have other ARCs that I should have been reading before this one (deadlines, yo), but after reading a few pages of this book to "sample," I ended up not being able to put it down. I picked up FOLLOWERS because it sounded a little like Dave Eggers' THE CIRCLE, only without the terrible sex scenes and unrealistic protagonist that made THE CIRCLE seem like a social media version of RED SPARROW (i.e. exploitative and bad).

FOLLOWERS is coming ...more

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Oct 21, 2019 Dennis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-publisher, sci-fi, 2019-read, 2020-pub, dystopian, contemporary, coverporn

If you told me that Followers would be the debut novel of Megan Angelo, I would've told you that you were lying. I actually had to double check Ms. Angelo's Goodreads profile because I actually didn't believe it for a second. Followers showcases the dark reality of society's addiction to technology, instant gratification through social media, and the world of the celebrity. As it alternates between 2015-16 and 2051, it shows the vast differences between society's role in the aforementioned ...more

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Nov 04, 2019 Blair rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-release, first-novels, near-future-soft-sf, read-on-kindle, edelweiss

(3.5) The very definition of an addictive read. 'I'll just read a bit of this and see what it's like...' 'I'll just read maybe 30 more pages...' and before I knew it, I was setting aside a whole Sunday night to power through the second half.

In 2051, we follow Marlow, one of the inhabitants of Constellation, an entirely artificial town where everyone is a reality show star; their lives are streamed to the world 24/7. Marlow has grown up in Constellation and is the face of an emotion-suppressing (3.5) The very definition of an addictive read. 'I'll just read a bit of this and see what it's like...' 'I'll just read maybe 30 more pages...' and before I knew it, I was setting aside a whole Sunday night to power through the second half.

In 2051, we follow Marlow, one of the inhabitants of Constellation, an entirely artificial town where everyone is a reality show star; their lives are streamed to the world 24/7. Marlow has grown up in Constellation and is the face of an emotion-suppressing medication but now, at 35, she's starting to doubt her place in this fishbowl world. The alternating chapters set in 2015 seem, at first, to be unconnected. In New York City, Orla, who writes for a BuzzFeed/Jezebel-style website but dreams of being an author, meets fame-hungry Floss. The two become roommates and make a deal: Orla will use her online platform to help Floss become a star, and Floss will share the spoils of fame (and, Orla hopes, get her a literary agent). The plan works rather too well – when Floss lands her own show, Orla becomes a minor celebrity too.

In this story's reality, a disastrous event in 2016 – 'the Spill' – brought down both the internet and the USA's power grid. Life gradually went back to something approximating normal; Marlow's Truman Show-esque existence is the most dystopian thing in the novel. It's a smart way to engineer a near-future setting, and surprisingly believable too: a huge data spill is a pretty plausible type of cataclysm, and I liked the fact that a couple of generations later, people have already forgotten why being careless with their data was such a bad thing in the first place.

Followers doesn't just feature reality shows, it mirrors their appeal. It's soapy, fast-moving, and almost every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. It's easy to miss that you're slowly becoming emotionally invested in the characters, until the very end, when the narrative suddenly grabs hold of you. And then it becomes clear what it's all really been about: family and fulfilment and ambition and disappointment. Like the best trashy TV, it tells a bigger story.

It's been a while since I finished a book with tears streaming down my face, but the last chapter of Followers did that to me. Up until the ending I had some reservations – it's too long, the subplot about Honey could've been cut, some scenes and sequences are confusing – but the way things were wrapped up, particularly for Marlow, raised my opinion of the whole book. You might not expect it from the high-concept premise and candy-coloured cover, but this book has the most beautiful (and surprising) ending.

I received an advance review copy of Followers from the publisher through NetGalley.

TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Lindsay - Traveling Sister rated it really liked it

3.5 stars.

Timely. Thought-provoking. Relevant.

How many social media accounts do you have? How many online sites do you trust? How much of your personal information is online waiting to fall into the wrong hands? Scary questions, right? This book will make you rethink your online presence told through a fictional story of two friends who find themselves at the height of online stardom.

This was one big step outside my comfort zone. I don’t usually read books set in future times, but this one ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Carol (Bookaria) rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2019, fiction

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 ...more

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Nov 10, 2019 Alessandra Torre added it

I'm so torn over this book. I really really loved it. Then I got to the end, and my love faded to a muted simmer. I still love it, but I feel like this story deserved a stronger ending.

It's set in a really cool future world where there has been a digital crisis and everything is kind of turned upside down in terms of technology and privacy. The book jumps between present and future, and it's a bit of a mystery (which I love!) in figuring out how the two worlds interact.

I'd definitely recommend ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Norma * Traveling Sister and proud Grandma!!! rated it really liked it

Shelves: traveling-sister-reads, review-requests

Absorbing, futuristic, & relevant!

FOLLOWERS by MEGAN ANGELO is a fabulous, timely, smart, and electrifying tale that was quite the entertaining and captivating read. Once I started reading it I was absolutely hooked and so intrigued in the futuristic aspect of this storyline and the dystopian atmosphere that I was flipping those pages as fast as I possibly could.

MEGAN ANGELO delivers an original, intelligent, creative, intense, and well-written read here that is told in two timelines and Absorbing, futuristic, & relevant!

FOLLOWERS by MEGAN ANGELO is a fabulous, timely, smart, and electrifying tale that was quite the entertaining and captivating read. Once I started reading it I was absolutely hooked and so intrigued in the futuristic aspect of this storyline and the dystopian atmosphere that I was flipping those pages as fast as I possibly could.

MEGAN ANGELO delivers an original, intelligent, creative, intense, and well-written read here that is told in two timelines and alternating perspectives between our main characters, Orla and Marlow. Orla is the present timeline and Marlow’s is in the future. I would say that I was equally drawn to both timelines/perspectives.

I thought that the author did a fabulous job with creating a futuristic world that was so easy to visualize that was both so fascinating and horrifying to read. The story did lose a little bit of steam for me and I was getting a little impatient for the story to move forward near the end but all in all it was quite the entertaining and immersive read for me.

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Beautiful, effective, eye-catching, intriguing, and a fitting representation to storyline.
Title: Clever, suspenseful, intriguing and a fabulous representation to storyline. I love the title of this book. So good!
Writing/Prose: Well-written, compelling, smart, and readable.
Plot: Clever, intriguing, fresh, intense, timely, thought-provoking, relevant, suspenseful, steadily-paced, absorbing, enjoyable and entertaining.
Ending: The ending was satisfying although some of the revelations were easy to predict because of some foreshadowing and the subtle clues interspersed throughout. It was also easy to see where the story was headed with the plot shift but I found that it was an extremely satisfying tactic though.
Overall: 4.5 Stars! It was such an intensely irresistible, enjoyable, and entertaining book to read that reminded me so much of The Jetsons. Just because I always thought that show was ahead of its time, well I think this book absolutely nails it here with how relevant and timely this story was. The concepts that were presented in this book is scary stuff that’s for sure! Read this book!!

This was a Traveling Sister read with Brenda and Lindsay. Thank you so much to Harlequin for sending us physical review copies! Also, thank you so much to HarperCollins Canada for sending me a finished copy of this book so I could partake in the Bookstagram Takeover on Instagram on Saturday, January 18th…..coincidentally my granddaughter’s first birthday! ...more

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Sep 07, 2019 switterbug (Betsey) rated it it was amazing

Fans of Black Mirror, or at least those attentive to the techno-sociological implications of the near future, will thoroughly enjoy this well-paced tale of social media obsession and reality showboating. Dual timelines—2015 and 2051—tell the story of the defining event called the Spill and its aftermath, which divided the two eras. Clues are prudently dropped as the story unfurls on both sides of the Spill—the crisis that dramatically separate and connect both timelines. The harrowing part? I ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Suzanne thebookblondie rated it really liked it

Followers by Megan Angelo (#5 in 2020)

Thank you to Graydon House for my gifted copy of this newbie as well as the secondary one I used for a giveaway!

Orla lands herself a random roommate named Florence to fill the other room in her New York City apartment. As complete opposites, Orla seeks to become a famous writer and Florence, or Floss, desperately wants to become a family celebrity by any means necessary. When their paths finally cross as more than just roommates, the duo makes a plan to Followers by Megan Angelo (#5 in 2020)

Thank you to Graydon House for my gifted copy of this newbie as well as the secondary one I used for a giveaway!

Orla lands herself a random roommate named Florence to fill the other room in her New York City apartment. As complete opposites, Orla seeks to become a famous writer and Florence, or Floss, desperately wants to become a family celebrity by any means necessary. When their paths finally cross as more than just roommates, the duo makes a plan to become famous. Followers charts the girls' progress on their way toward fame through the mistakes they make, the dark choices they make, and the way they relinquish the concept of privacy for the fame they so desperately want.

Followers takes place between two different time periods: the "present," 2015, and the future, 2051. The story is also told from two points of view: Orla and Marlow. Orla, as we already know is Floss's friend in the year 2015. Orla's personal qualities are familiar-- ambitious, creative, and intelligent. Orla and her roommate, Floss, make questionable choices to catapult Floss toward the fame she is so desperate to attain. In the midst of Orla's journalistic approach to helping Floss achieve fame, Orla somehow also winds up in the reality TV spotlight, a place she never dreamed she'd be. I felt like I understood Orla's feelings as she was caught between the excitement of fame and a simultaneous hatred for the person she had become. As tensions rise and as drama ensues, Orla realizes that the path she chose might not be the one that would have made her happy.

Marlow, on the other hand, is a character from 2051. She lives in a celebrity-centered town in California where her every move is watched and criticized by her followers who watch her on live broadcasting every day. Marlow's claim to fame is a reality-style stream where her followers focus on her everyday life and criticize her appearance, actions, and words. Her network is sponsored by a pharmaceutical company who controls her emotions through the use of their drugs. While readers are learning about Orla and her "fame project," Marlow, in the future, is trying to detach herself from the famous life she's known and seeks to delve deeply into who she truly is.

I picked up on an incredibly sarcastic and humorous tone amidst the drama of the story; I love a good mixture of comedy and drama. The unnamed president described in Followers is... oddly familiar... and the topics of pharmaceuticals, security, privacy, and immigration are all addressed in various ways. I love any opportunity for an author to make comments on society, especially when those comments connect to controversial topics... and ESPECIALLY when the literary technique takes on a satirical tone.

BRAVO to Megan Angelo for questioning our vices, for evaluating our questionable choices, for criticizing our current societal values, and for focusing the motivation behind our goals. 4.5 stars! ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

4.5/5

Man this one was addictive, I usually only think of that word to describe a book when I talking about a thriller, and while this definitely had some mystery and intrigue it was not a thriller. Either way, this one sucked me right in and had me captivated for sure!

There are two timelines here, 2015 and 2051 and I was equally drawn to both, though if I was pushed I was maybe slightly more invested in the future chapters. It was enough of a time jump to feel futuristic but it wasn’t so far ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Brooke — brooklynnnnereads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

This was an INTENSE read which was made even more intense by the fact that although it was futuristic, everything that was occurring in the future seemed realistic and plausible.

Without a word of a lie, this novel is enough to make you want to delete all of your social media and get rid of all of the technology that you so heavily rely on. With that being said, will I delete or get rid of any of mine? No, I will not. Again, this makes the message of this novel that much scarier.

This novel is ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 Talon rated it it was ok

Now that I have had a day to think about this one, I have decided that I did not love Followers nor did I hate it. In fact-- I really loved the premise of the story itself. It's what encouraged me to read the book in the first place (as well as the cover). When it was all said and done, I felt like what I had read was two episodes of Black Mirror crammed into one book. The mediocre ones.

Followers was lengthy and wordy. There. I said it. It was. I think the words in this one took over and at some ...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Kelly (UnshelvedEdition) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020-releases

Welcome to the future of technology, and yes it is just as twisted and damaging as we were warned it would be. A world where everyone is a follower for the right price

This book sunk its claws into me and took me on a ride. The story is a generational study swapping between 2015 and 2051 showing the way technology, our minds and society has changed. It was inventive and unique and honestly felt like the direction our world could be heading

Megan Angelo’s writing is absolutely insane and I am going ...more

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Jul 30, 2019 Jennifer rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-ebooks, coyer-winter-challenge-2020

2.5/ 5 stars

Tarryn Fisher raved about this book, which was enough for me to want to read it.

I really liked the idea of this book. But I struggled with the actual story.

I'm not sure what genre to put this book in. It is a futuristic world. However I really don't think that I would classify this as science fiction. There is some romance. But it's not the main focus of the book.

There are two timelines in Followers. In one timeline it is New York in 2015/16 and the book follows Orla (28, 3rd person ...more

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Jan 07, 2020 The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, adult-fiction, kindle, 2020-releases, netgalley

Full Review on The Candid Cover

Followers by Megan Angelo is a sci-fi book that will give the reader pause. The concept is shocking and addresses many issues in today’s society. It also contains characters that are spellbinding and interesting, yet all have something to hide. It really questions the way we live our lives attached to our online personas.

The story is set in alternating timelines and is told in multiple perspectives. Followers takes a look at our world today and then imagines how ...more

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Sep 19, 2019 Joyce rated it really liked it

Shelves: new-adult, fiction, post_apocalyptic, netgalley, sci-fi

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not sure where to start with this one. I liked this book very much although it did throw some hurdles my way. I initially passed this book over twice when requesting titles from NetGalley. The cover art didn't entice me; after just one glance, I had already decided that the book was women's literature -- not my favorite. The cover's saving grace, and what drew me in, was the Austin Powers - I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not sure where to start with this one. I liked this book very much although it did throw some hurdles my way. I initially passed this book over twice when requesting titles from NetGalley. The cover art didn't entice me; after just one glance, I had already decided that the book was women's literature -- not my favorite. The cover's saving grace, and what drew me in, was the Austin Powers - fembot flair I felt pulsing from it. Once I waded through the pink and purple and read the description, I knew that I had to read this book. Much to my surprise, it was an okay balance of women's literature meets science fiction (light).

There were moments where I felt I had to "chew" through certain passages. Some sections were very verbose, consistent with classic chick-lit. As I became rooted in the story, it was very easy to get over the random bits of wordiness. The details served to build a rich environment and didn't slow down the storyline. The book hosts a group of well-developed characters that you love and love to hate - not mutually exclusive. We encounter three very different women (Orla, Floss, and Marlow) who struggle very publicly with some intensely intimate issues during a technological catastrophe/breakdown/takeover. Orla and Marlow act as narrators for the story, each retelling their experiences set in drastically different times. Incidentally, Ms. Angelo does a great job at separating and defining each timeline; happily, there were no continuity mishaps.

We are first set in a near-ish future where something cataclysmic, called the Spill, has happened; we learn soon enough that the government now controls the internet, and paper is a relic of the past. Biological links to the internet exist for all, and a select few have their lives globally broadcast for the pleasure of others. It's certainly not difficult to imagine this bit of fantasy as reality. Although the details on the full impact and happenings of the Spill aren't revealed to us until midway through the book, we can see its impact from page 1. Once she's settled us with this quick peek into a bleak future; Angelo then drops us back into the present and allows us to view how this future stage innocently unfolds. The warnings throughout this book on the pseudo-evils of social media and the overall vice of oversharing, in general, are loud and clear.

We listen to Orla’s words and follow as she and Floss on their hungry climb to fame. We lend witness all their faulty, sometimes dangerous, decisions; both women sported visceral flaws that reaffirmed their authenticity – no airbrushing here. I found myself flipping between sympathy, annoyance, and plain dislike with both characters based on their decisions, or lack thereof. They smoothly swap the mantles of victim, villain, and "heroine,” dependent on their current desires. The second narrator, Marlow, touched me in a much different way. Unlike Orla and Floss, Marlow is born into fame and never has a choice. She is forced to live out her life in a fishbowl with no autonomy. I truly grew attached to her and was rooting for her the entire time. That moment when she decides to take charge and enact change in her life was awesome and frightening. Once free, I was extremely proud that she was able to overcome all the "horrors" of the real world to get her questions answered. Or, at least, I imagine that she gets all her questions answered. Sadly, this isn’t resolved by the end of the book.

Orla and Floss undergo many trials and transformations throughout the story; however, they end up in the same pigeonholes at the end. Two halves of a persona; Orla is still Floss's “content,” and Floss is still an empty shell. I'm not sure either woman has grown at all. I expected Orla to grow a backbone and to force the hard conversations that needed to happen to occur, or for Floss to realize that the fame she desired was worthless and her undoing. Sadly, neither happened and Marlow, the only one who made a change, doesn’t get the final word. This lackluster ending and unappealing cover are what led me to give this book a 4. I recommend this book to fans of women's literature and new adult fiction. Although there are many science fiction elements to the story, the peripherals may not make it engaging to exclusive sci-fi fans. ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Laura In Literary Land rated it really liked it

Followers takes place in two time periods: 2015/16 and 2051. The book follows three women and their relationships with internet/social media fame. In 2015, Orla is writing for a celebrity gossip blog but longs to publish a novel and her roommate, Floss (I know, I know -- these names!) is in desperate pursuit of notoriety. Orla and Floss team up to try and further each other and in the process, stumble into social media stardom. Thirty-six years in the future (2051), Marlow lives in ...more

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Oct 10, 2019 Carlene Inspired rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi-and-or-paranormal, netgalley, ng-2019-challenge, ng-group-challenge-2019, reviewed-books, thriller-mystery, adult, psychological, arc

Find this review and others at Carlene Inspired or visit me on IG for star rating and quick reviews at @CarleneInspired.

Orla Cadden wants to be a writer, but not just the gossip column writer she is today, she wants to be known in the literary world. A publishing deal seems impossible until her wanna-be famous roommate shares a plan that could catapult them both into success. Floss is willing to throw ethics out the window for her A-List dreams and Orla finds herself along for the ride, her Find this review and others at Carlene Inspired or visit me on IG for star rating and quick reviews at @CarleneInspired.

Orla Cadden wants to be a writer, but not just the gossip column writer she is today, she wants to be known in the literary world. A publishing deal seems impossible until her wanna-be famous roommate shares a plan that could catapult them both into success. Floss is willing to throw ethics out the window for her A-List dreams and Orla finds herself along for the ride, her social media smarts catapulting them both into stardom. The fame, though, is not what it seems and Orla soon discovers the dark side to popularity.
Several years in the future the world has changed after a devestating event called The Spill. Young Marlow is an internet sensation, selected by the government to live in a California village where the cameras are always following you. With twelve-million followers and the perfect life, Marlow should be satisfied, but long buried secrets make her question the on screen persona hand-picked and spoon fed to her. Marlow has never lived outside the private village, but in her desperate hunt for answers she flees security for the unknown.
Orla, Floss, and Marlow once lived for followers, but while popularity is a powerful drug, there is a dangerous side to obsession.

"It's not good to be a followers."

Followers is one of those books that stays with you, because it is almost too believable. The settings are places we know and the future state of America feels like something that could easily occur. It's a profound story that's layered and complex, with just a hint of science fiction to take this story into the scary future Megan Angelo created. Main narrators, Orla and Marlow, are complicated women, each feels held captive by their own lives, but their thoughts are colorful and intelligent. They envision something different for themselves and as the book progresses we see just how far each is willing to go to change their lives. Megan Angelo takes the role of social media influencer and fame to the next level with this twisted, realistic tale that I could not put down.

"She had grown up seeing paper as synonymous with secrets."

Culturally significant, Followers is a read that I truly think everyone needs to read. We are so attached to our phones, to the ease of access to information, and to the celebrities that give us regular glimpses into their lives. We know what will get the most likes, we can name the latest famous baby, but do we even know our own best friend's birthday without the help of social media? It is a poignant reminder of just how much the world has changed, and in such a short period of time, since the creation of the Internet, computers, and cell phones. The Spill, a significant incident in this book, was not quite what I expected it to be, but as a reader I could easily take the events and imagine something quite similar and significant happening today. I loved the brain fog that regular phone and computer users experienced in their later lives, their forgetful nature something that made me think quite a bit about how much I rely on searching the web for answers. The ending, though quite simple, was a nice wrap up for such a fast paced, suspenseful read.

"There were so many ways what happened next might not have happened."

Followers by Megan Angelo is already in the running for one of my favorite 2020 releases. Megan Angelo showcases her incredible writing talent in this well-plotted novel that held my attention from start to finish. Followers, the word itself used in several clever ways throughout the novel, is a story that has left a lasting impact on me, ironically since I did indeed read it on a tablet.

ARC provided. ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Jenna Bookish rated it really liked it

My thanks to Graydon House and NetGalley for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 here.

I was super skeptical going into this book; I sincerely dislike art that never seems to have any thing more substantive to say than "social media bad," and the blurb was giving off some of those vibes. However,Followersproved to be a seriously addictive read, and while My thanks to Graydon House and NetGalley for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 here.

I was super skeptical going into this book; I sincerely dislike art that never seems to have any thing more substantive to say than "social media bad," and the blurb was giving off some of those vibes. However, Followers proved to be a seriously addictive read, and while social media plays a huge role in the plot, at its heart the novel is about how relationships can be poisoned by a thirst for money and power.

The story revolves around dual timelines: in 2015, Floss and Orla are attempting to manipulate Orla's connections to artificially lift up Floss as an "influencer." The dynamic between these two characters was probably the most interesting part of the book for me; Floss is self-absorbed and vapid and Orla pretends to be above it all, but the two have an uncomfortable friendship forged by mutual necessity.

35 years later, the book follows Marlow, who lives in a town under constant surveillance, (almost) every moment of her life live streamed to her obsessed followers, à la The Truman Show. Marlow lives in relative wealth and comfort, but her life is controlled to a horrifying degree by corporate sponsorships. She is told when and who to marry, what to eat and wear, and even if/when she will have a baby. She is kept from bristling under the excessive control by means of medication. This part of the plot is a bit over the top and difficult to swallow, but I'm not in this for the realism, I'm in it for the fun thought experiment. Marlow has grown up under these circumstances, and while I don't entirely buy into the way the novel justified how we got to this point, I do buy into Marlow's behavior as a character who has never known anything else.

Both timelines of the novel are eventually tied together in a relatively satisfying way, but I do think things went downhill from there, as the ending of the novel was its main weakness for me. I'd like to keep the review spoiler-free, so I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that the interactions between the major characters which happen late in the book didn't ring true for me.

This is Megan Angelo's debut novel, but per her bio on GoodReads, she has previously written for The New York Times and Glamour. Followers was well paced and full of interesting character dynamics; this was definitely solid for a debut novel, and I'll be interested to see what she writes next.

You can read all of my reviews on my blog, Jenna Bookish!
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Dec 25, 2019 The Nerd Daily rated it it was amazing

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Rosie Smith

Marlow and her family, mum Floss and dad Aston, have been hand-picked from the American population to live in the luxurious, perfect city of Constellation with its fabricated, beautiful sunsets, zero crime rate, and non-existent money worries. There’s just one catch though… They are live-streamed 24 hours a day, Big Brother-style for the rest of the world to watch. With lives controlled by the omnipresent ‘Network’, Marlow’s family Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Rosie Smith

Marlow and her family, mum Floss and dad Aston, have been hand-picked from the American population to live in the luxurious, perfect city of Constellation with its fabricated, beautiful sunsets, zero crime rate, and non-existent money worries. There’s just one catch though… They are live-streamed 24 hours a day, Big Brother-style for the rest of the world to watch. With lives controlled by the omnipresent ‘Network’, Marlow’s family have no say on the direction of their lives, the ‘storyline’ is dictated by the rises and falls in their ‘followers’, the comments and the whims of the audience.

When cracks begin to show in Marlow’s perfect life, she longs to break free of the safe city limits of Constellation and in doing so, uncovers a past full of secrets, lies, and of course, the infamous ‘Spill’ which took place before Marlow’s birth. Pre-Spill life on planet earth was one filled with screens, followers, Insta-stars, Snapchat heroes and TikTok celebs. But little did everyone know that a major event was coming. A catastrophic act of cyberterrorism that will shatter the timeline of planet earth into two, before the Spill and after the Spill. The Spill would reveal everyone’s deep, dark secrets, breaking the internet and leading to a future of totalitarian surveillance, monitoring and fear.

Tired of acting as a pawn in the governments plans, Marlow plans to leave the world of camera’s, rules and control to embark on her own path. Ditching her device, Marlow runs but finds that hiding is the difficult part, will she escape the bots, fans and her chequered past and find out the truth about everything?

Angelo cleverly weaves together two seeming unrelated timelines which meet one another in the thrilling conclusion of this contemporary, sci-fi masterpiece giving readers the ‘everything coming together’ moment leading to a satisfying, emotional conclusion. One timeline takes place in 2016, while the other shows us the futuristic world of Marlow in 2051, laying out a believable and terrifying pathway showing how our current obsession with social media, sharing, and celebrities may continue to grow and evolve over time leading to a dark and damming end. Angelo invites us to question many contemporary issues around social media, privacy, and fame as well as forcing the us to take a good hard look at our own internet usage, friendships, careers, values and choices.

Followers examines, through the complex, witty, and interesting characters, the theme of friendships and good versus bad. Often as the reader you will find yourself thinking about the ways the characters interact and trying to decide who was right and who was wrong in each situation. Good versus bad. Was wannabe celebrity Floss using aspiring writer Orla as a platform for her fame? Or was it Orla who took advantage, using Floss’ celebrity status to kick-start her career? On a wider scale, was the government evil for taking away the liberty and privacy of the population or where they just keeping everyone safe in this scary post-apocalyptic world? But Angelo shows that life is not as simple as that, it isn’t black and white and we can only make the best decisions we can at the time and learn from our pasts. Is anyone really good or bad? Or are we just a series of decisions and circumstances?

In the 2051 section of the book, Marlow is forced by the network to take a drug named Hysteryl, which will help her to control her emotions, creating a more likeable character who doesn’t rock the boat and lose followers. Unfortunately this leads to Marlow being unable to feel anything. This opens a commentary on the knotty current debate in the world of mental health of overmedication. Was Marlow actually sick or was it that her completely normal feelings of frustration and anxiety were pathologised and the Network just wanted more control? Although medication for mental health disorders is nothing short of a miracle for all the lives it saves and changes, is it a one size fits all situation and should we want to eradicate all semblance of feelings? Followers offers an interesting take on this and invites us to question our own experiences, views, and knowledge about what we put into our bodies.

Despite the heavy themes found within Followers, Angelo writes with sensitivity and humour as well as relatable characters and dilemmas, particularly for the young female reader just starting out life as an adult and finding it more than a little daunting. The writing is so creative and seamless, I actually had a hard time believing that Followers is Megan Angelo’s debut novel! It feels like she has been storytelling for years. This is one of those novels that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, hooking you like a reality TV show, cleverly commenting on the addictive nature of reality TV and social media.

Comparable to the Netflix hit show Black Mirror, Followers has some seriously dark vibes mixed in with its glossy, bubblegum appearance. If you read Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies trilogy as a teenager and like me, loved it, you will adore Followers as an adult. Followers tackles many similar themes as Uglies around body image, surveillance/monitoring, and fame but in a more ‘grown-up’ way due to the older age of the characters and the unique challenges that stage of life brings.

Thought provoking, challenging, emotional, and funny, Angelo has written a spectacular debut novel you will not be able to put down. Make sure you set aside some time as you will want to read this in one go. ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Chandra Claypool (wherethereadergrows) rated it liked it

Shelves: arc

Hasn't it already started? Where the internet famous are the royalty of the people these days? Followers takes it to a new level where the not so distant future actually places people (the elite) right into their own stardom. But, as always, what you see isn't always reality. There certainly are positives and negatives on each side. Seemingly, every one still just wants what they can't have. The grass is always greener on the other side, but it's still grown from shit.

I'm very impressed with ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Cindy Burnett rated it it was amazing

Followers by Megan Angelo is a thought-provoking, sometimes scathing, look at today's society, specifically the use of social media and smart phones and the complete loss of privacy that results. Alternating between 2016 and 2051, Angelo tracks her three main characters as they navigate a world dominated by the worst effects of social media. The book is a complete page turner, and I found myself paying closer attention to my social media and cell phone usage as well as contemplating and admiring ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Kathryn Speckels (Metaphors and Miscellanea) rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

Actual rating 4.5/5, rounded down because I had some issues with the way the ending wrapped things up--detailed later in this review!

A curious blend ofincisive perception, dark humor, and horrifying prediction,Followersis a worthy addition to the rapidly expanding canon ofBlack Mirror-esque dystopian fiction, shining a critical lens on our fascination (obsession?) withtechnology, social media, and how far we will go to get what we think we deserve.

“I’ve done the actual math. There are eight

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Jan 06, 2020 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: january-2020

Thank you to Graydon House Books and Netgalley for a copy of Followers by Megan Angelo for an honest review.

Followers is told in two timelines, 2015 New York and 2051 Constellation, California.

In 2015, we follow Orla, an aspiring writer who is writing for a blog called Lady-ish. She follows the lives of minor celebrities and writes articles about what is in their favourite salad order. Orla’s roommate Floss wants to be famous but has no talent. So Floss and Orla conspire to build some buzz and ...more

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Dec 19, 2019 Sydney rated it really liked it

Shelves: free-arcs-or-giveaways

I really really loved this book! There are dual storylines that take place 35 years apart and I was captivated by both! The premise of Followers was intriguing and it really makes the reader reflect on privacy and social media in today’s society. There were some parts/subplots that I probably would’ve taken out in order to better continue the intensity, but I really liked the characters so it didn’t even matter because I enjoyed their stories/thoughts! The one thing I will say is that I did not ...more

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Nov 23, 2019 Angela Staudt rated it it was amazing

A received an ARC from BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful and captivating story from the very first page. Honestly, I didn’t go into this expecting anything spectacular, but that is exactly what I got. The author wove such a detail orientated book about how social media and technology affects our lives, and it was just amazing. I don’t have enough words to describe this book.

Followers is told from two POV (which I love), one of the point of views is Orla and that A received an ARC from BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful and captivating story from the very first page. Honestly, I didn’t go into this expecting anything spectacular, but that is exactly what I got. The author wove such a detail orientated book about how social media and technology affects our lives, and it was just amazing. I don’t have enough words to describe this book.

Followers is told from two POV (which I love), one of the point of views is Orla and that takes place in 2015, the other point of view is Marlow which takes place in 2051. Right from the very beginning you get dropped in the middle of their lives, but it wasn’t confusing in the least. The author knew what she was doing and developed such an intriguing book full of detail. This is solely based around what technology and social media is doing to our lives, how it can sometimes destroy friendships and families. In, 2015 social media is at an all time high, which Orla uses to her advantage to get famous with her roommate and friend, Floss. A couple year later and “the spill” happens, and people go crazy. I won’t go into detail about what happens because reading about it was incredible and quite scary to be honest, because I can see it happening in the real world. Fast forward to 2051 and Marlow is a celebrity that is watched 24/7 by her 16 million followers. They’re no more phones, computers, etc, all that is needed is a little device on the inside of your arm and you are now connected to everything with the internet. You only need to think of what you want to do and it will be done. Diving into this world that Angelo wrote was fascinating to say the least, learning how events from the past led up to this new world was scary, but very captivating to say the least.

I had such a connection with Orla, Floss, and Marlow I was sad to see the story ended. I honestly am just blown away with how astounding this book was. How Orla’s story intertwines with Marlow’s was crazy. Reading about this futuristic world in which I could fully imagine and picture in my head was freaky, because as I said before I could see our world going to an extent of what the author has created. The whole storyline was magnificent and was full of drama, friendships, family, love, and loss. This doesn’t come out until January, but I can tell it’s going to be one of my favorite 2020 reads. ...more

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