Followers

Megan Angelo’s upcoming novel Followers tells two linked storylines, connected at first by the concept of followers and reality celebrity, but later by the needs of these well-developed characters.

In the first story, twentysomething Orla is sure she’s going to move to NYC and become a novelist, but unfortunately, she finds a job writing celeb clickbait, with success measured in views and not literary merit. I was reminded of Eleanor’s popular listicles in Sociable, Orla would definitely write about things that are just so coffee on a slow celeb-news day. She still wants to write a novel, but at night, she finds herself exhausted, drained, and aimlessly scrolling social media instead of creating.

Her roommate, Floss, knows that social fame is the key to riches and stardom, and she’s ready to crash parties, date a famously obnoxious celeb, or whatever it takes to make that happen.  What Floss and Orla put into motion changes everyone’s lives, and I loved how it was unstoppable without being a predictable Overnight Sensation storyline. The scenes of Orla’s high school crush, now a suburban schlub, are deeply sad, especially how she really wants him to be her True Love, even as he prepares a depressing pitch deck on applying Floss’ stardom for his own chance at wealth.

The second story begins in our future, in a closed, reality-TV community. Resident Marlow is extra famous as the face of an anti-depressant, mood stabilizing drug. She’s on camera 23 hours a day, with a handsome husband, beautiful friends, and this season, the scriptwriters tell her that she’ll be having a new baby. The viewer comments are hilariously on-point, criticizing armpit chub or tiny facial expressions, but of course, Marlow can’t respond directly to them without breaking the illusion. This lifestyle is obviously brittle and unsustainable, but again, it doesn’t unfold too predictably.

There was one small part of the book that was gorier than I expected — it’s not a shock, readers are led up to it with a lot of warnings about that terrible night and the scar left behind, but I was still revolted.

Because both storylines explore internet celebrity, I worried that this was going to slip into typical pearl-clutching thinkpiece territory (Young people are doing things in public, just for the clicks! Dumb stunts didn’t exist before the internet!) but instead this well-plotted novel showed the corporate machine behind reality celebs and sponsored products.

***

Followers will be out from Graydon House in January 2020, I received an eARC fron NetGalley to review.

This post is my submission for this month’s Booknificent Thursdays.