Followers by Raziel Reid started as something very dull and boring, something in the writing style that made sleepy and not care about any of the characters.

Valeria has over three million followers because of her acting career , and Joel has over a million because he sold his soul on Youtube when he was,like,five. Neither of them care.

Yeah neither do I. As you can tell by the quotes, it’s about a bunch of influencers.  And tv-reality stars who share the fame and the drama. It centers around 3 different families, with a powerful teenager leader Hailey who plays the Queen B, the protagonist is Lily who is the black sheep of the rich family, Hailey’s cousin who suddenly found a place in the tv show.

The novel is very much inspired by Keeping Up With The Kardashians and with the right amount of drama like Gossip Girl.

The same type of set up and parties, the same I’m-bored-so-I’m-organizing-a-fashion-show à la Blair Waldorf. Chapters after chapters, I started to be curious about the character’s roles and want to know what will happen next. In the end, the last page has totally surprised me as it took a much darker turn than I have anticipated. 

Although it would definitely not be in my top books nor recommendations, I do have to give the credits for the successful drama stirring feeling, reminiscing of my own teenager years and the books I was reading when I was that age. It’s the first book that even though I’m not a fan of the writing style, I still stuck to the end and rather find enjoyment in the plot and the events that are happening.

RATING : 3/5 

Thank you to Penguin Random House for this advance copy! 

TRANG TRAN