An electrifying story of two ambitious friends, the dark choices they make and the profound moment that changes the meaning of privacy forever…
Followers traces the paths of 3 women 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.
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.
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