Followers

Written by Megan Angelo

Narrated by Jayme Mattler

‘An eerie masterpiece’ Christina Dalcher ‘Think Black Mirror with a comic twist’ OK!

When everyone is watching you can run, but you can’t hide…

2051. Marlow and her mother, Floss, have been handpicked to live their lives on camera, in the closed community of Constellation.

Unlike her mother, who adores the spotlight, Marlow hates having her every move judged by a national audience.

But she isn’t brave enough to escape until she discovers a shattering secret about her birth.

Now she must unravel the truth around her own history in a terrifying race against time…

An explosive and unsettling novel set in the near-future, perfect for fans of Station Eleven, Black Mirror, The Circle and Friend Request.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Jan 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9780263275896

Megan Angelo

Megan Angelo grew up in Quakertown, Pennsylvania and graduated from Villanova University. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Glamour and Elle, among other publications. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family. Followers is her first novel.

Reviews for Followers

[Victoria Edelsbrunner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Different to what I imagined, more of a science fiction thriller with social commentary than the contemporary fiction I was expecting. But enjoyable once I got into it.

[thereserose5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a really enjoyable read! The science fiction/dystopian elements felt very real in their subtlety and I was invested in both of the narrator's stories because of their flaws and authenticity. Highly recommend!

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This post-apocalyptic novel is different than most--rather than an environmental or disease apocalypse, there was a hacking/electronic apocalypse in the US.This novel bounces between 2015/16 and 2051. In 2015 we meet two friends, Orla and Floss, one of them desperately wants to be famous. The other can get her there by blogging and tweeting. This is the NY we know.In 2051, Floss is living in Constellation, CA, with her daughter Marlow. This planned community is televised 24/7 with plot lines largely scripted. Marlow has grown up with the entire country following her every move. She thinks this is normal. Floss loves the spotlight.The story connects these two times--how the Spill resulted in Constellation being created. But what has happened to Orla?

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Followers by Megan Angelo is a 2020 Graydon House publication.Dark, clever, and contemplative -This is the second book I’ve read recently that had a science fiction element. For the record, it’s not the outer space type of sci-fi. It has a dystopian flavor to it- so basically, what qualifies it for the sci-fi category is the futuristic setting. For me this is a big change of pace since I normally prefer historical fiction. As before, I went in blind, thinking this book was more of a current day cautionary tale.As it turns out, this story has a dual timeline- 2015 and 2051.The story begins in 2015, with Orla Cadden, currently working as a blogger for Lady-ish.com. Her pieces are usually gossipy celebrity driven articles, but her real goal is to become a novelist- although her goals tend to stay on the back burner due to the many gadgets- based distractions in her life. However, her entire world is upended by her roommate, Floss, who wants to be a star. Orla agrees to work her ‘Influencer’ magic for Floss, creating an image out thin air, which is how talentless celebrity is formed.Fast forward to 2051-A catastrophic event called “The Spill’ –an online data breach or meltdown, of sorts has entirely changed the dynamics of society. Yet being famous for being famous, and reality television still reigns supreme, but is now regulated by the government in the form of a village called ‘Constellation’, where all the celebrities reside and are on ad supported camera 24/7.The residents have multitudes of followers, and their lives are discussed and commented upon, in the same way we are familiar with, except they aren’t allowed to respond or participate in the conversation. But for Marlow- one of the most popular celebrities, with a healthy twelve million followers, makes a shocking discovery that tempts her to go rogue.This is a wickedly sharp and timely satire that puts our current society in front of a mirror. Do we like what we see? Is it possible for our future to come to his point? Could an event on par with ‘The Spill’ prompt the government to step in and attempt to restore our trust? Are we really this shallow and celebrity obsessed?Ha! Yes. But the story examines a few other serious topics, along the way, framing the heaviness in a darkly comedic vein. The story is one that required my undivided attention and presented me with a little bit of a challenge. It was a little confusing at times and I had to read slowly and carefully to figure out how the past and the present were connected and to keep up with the people and developments. The pacing is also a bit uneven- but under the circumstances that might have been an advantage for me personally. The slower portions probably saved me from having to re-read passages.But I have to say I thought the story was brilliant! It will really make you think about the internet and how society has changed since social media has overtaken our world. In many cases it has become the basis on which so many people live and die by its double- edged sword.Although the future doesn’t look all that pleasant, the story isn’t entirely without hope, and it definitely gave me pause. This is still a cautionary story for the present and the future. It’s a frightening and topical tale, but also highly entertaining!Overall, this is a smart, impressible debut from Megan Angelo!4 stars

[alliepascal-876024 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I slogged through this book for over a month. I mostly liked Angelo's writing style, but felt divorced from the characters and found the plot a bit weak. I don't know, in the end there was just so little I cared about, and the ending just hammered home that feeling.

This could be because I'm almost completely divorced from influencer culture; obsession with celebrities and not-quite-celebrities just weirds me out. I didn't find it weak as a work of speculative fiction, just not that great; there are some things I find credible and a bit terrifying to think about possibly happening. Other things, I found less believable. As a cautionary tale I found it unsubtle, which isn't my preference but is necessary for some people. Followers was just okay.

[brangwinn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The cover is deceiving. Harlequin Books, well I haven’t read many of them and I was expecting an easy read. Dystopian is never easy reading. Time travel and evil plots are not the Harlequin I remember from my high school days many years ago. This is much better! Makes me wonder if social media is making us overshare our lives.

[pinkpurlandprose · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Graydon House Books and Megan Angelo for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of Followers. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.For the next thirty years we, as a society, continue along our path of indulgent social media behaviour trying to procure followers. This leads to an event that causes a break in society so severe that the government has taken over the internet. This way they can “protect” its citizens’ information. Now there is a town dedicated to technology, for people whom the government chooses and puts them on social media. With cameras watching them 24-7, they have a chip implanted in their heads and chips in their fingertips. The feedback from your followers is instant and you must make adjustments or you’ll be out. Marlow has grown up with this implant that provides a feed to her whole life. She was targeted as a young girl who needed anti-depression medication. She has millions of followers. Her whole life is geared to promoting products and the government controls all aspects of her life. It’s not just what she promotes, what she wears but also who she marries and when she’ll have kids. I mean every part of her life and she can’t take it anymore. She is not happy. She wonders what it would be like to be free of it all. This book is set in two different time periods with alternating chapters. The time is now and it is a couple of years before the big event. Orla is living in New York writing for a rag of a publication about what the latest influencer is doing. Think TMZ for bloggers. She came thinking she would fulfill her dreams of being a writer but can’t seem to break free of the rut she’s in. She hasn’t even been able to work on her novel. Along comes Florence who rents a room from Orla. Floss, as she likes to be known is trying to break into the biz and become an Instagram sensation. She is a constant partier and a bit of a troublemaker. Orla has never seen anyone with such confidence. Soon the two of them figure out that they can help each other. Orla can make Floss’s dreams come true and Floss can then help Orla get her novel published. There is obviously a connection between the two time periods, but you don’t find it out for quite a while. It was about 20% of the way through before I could relax, realized that I wouldn’t know until I knew, and started to latch onto the two stories. I was really confused about Marlow’s time period because I didn’t understand how the world worked. It is an easy read and for the most part, I enjoyed this story. It is a cautionary tale about technology, what we place importance on and what will happen if we continue down the road. At times it got a bit preachy, like, yes I get it, we are all doomed but I never appreciate being hit over the head with what the author is trying to say. The story does it well enough on its own. But overall, I enjoyed it.Funny thing happened. I finished the book and I was feeling like, boy, this is really way out there. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love books that ask what if and what will the future be like but I felt like it was overkill. Two days later I was listening to the news about this new app causing all kinds of problems. It’s an app that looks at your face and then will scour the internet for every piece of information about you. Not just the stuff you post but what other people post, crowd shots, your business photo. Then, from all that, it can figure out where you work, your personal information like driver's license and social security number. The government was looking into shutting the app down, or taking it over because it was violating all kinds of privacy issues for individuals. So I felt like, hmmm, maybe this book isn’t that far out there after all…