What is this about?
Influence takes us behind the photos on Instagram and into the messy lives of Delilah, Jasmine, Fiona and Scarlet. They’re young, hot Instagram influencers and everyone loves them and their ‘gram feeds. Except, truth is far messier than Instagram pics.
What else is this about?
It’s a look behind the curtain of influencers, which given that one of the authors is a young, 16-year-old influencer brings some interesting perspectives to the story.
Blurb
Get ready to delve into the world of teen influencers like you’ve never done before–from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS Sara Shepard and sixteen-year-old actress and social media personality Lilia Buckingham comes a twisty mystery that takes place in the fiercely competitive world of Internet stars.
After a video she makes goes viral, everyone knows Delilah Rollins. And now that she’s in LA, Delilah’s standing on the edge of something incredible. Everything is going to change. She has no idea how much.
Jasmine Walters-Diaz grew up in the spotlight. A child star turned media darling, the posts of her in her classic Lulu C. rainbow skirt practically break the Internet. But if the world knew who Jasmine really was, her perfect life? Canceled.
Fiona Jacobs is so funny–the kind of girl for whom a crowd parts–no wonder she’s always smiling! But on the inside? The girl’s a hot mess. And when someone comes out of the shadows with a secret from her past, it’s one that won’t just embarrass Fiona: it will ruin her.
Who wouldn’t want to be Scarlet Leigh? Just look at her Instagram. Scarlet isn’t just styled to perfection: she is perfection. Scarlet has a gorgeous, famous boyfriend named Jack and there’s a whole fanbase about their ship. To everyone watching online, their lives seem perfect . . . but are they really? The sun is hot in California . . . and someone’s going to get burned.
When I first started reading this book, I didn’t realise that Lilia Buckingham was a 16-year-old Instagram influencer who approached Sara Shepard with the idea for this book. Sara is the author of Pretty Little Liars, which actually means these two work together well for an enjoyable read.
Influence is about Delilah, Jasmine, Fiona and Scarlet.
Delilah’s Instagram fame is just taking off, and moving to LA for her father’s work brings her into the sphere of the other girls, who are more established influencers.
Delilah is pretty innocent in the grand scheme of things. She’s new to this world, resisting her parents’ attempts to control (her POV) and protect her eir POV) from the nastiness that’s out there. That she can be in the same room as Jasmine, Fiona and Scarlet and that they know who she is, blows her damn mind.
Her little sister, Ava, is dipping her toes in that same world, making friends with her own insta feed as well.
Jasmine is a child star who wants to break free of that brand and everything that comes with it. But the world won’t let her grow up. Her family relies on her money, and that again becomes a concern for her – what happens if she loses her brand, sponsors and money if she steps out of the brand that has continued to earn her money for so long?
Fiona is talented, funny and has OCD. She’s got a boyfriend – Scarlet’s former boyfriend to be exact – and she seems to be a shoe in for a part everyone one wants in a sitcom, Scarlet included.
And Scarlet, is the centre around which all these girls kind of hate-orbit. She is the hottest influencer around, ruthless and everything in her life is choreographed to the nth degree. Including a boyfriend, Jack, … that actually wants to break up with her to have something real with Delilah. Except, their fans adore their ship Jacklet, and Scarlet can’t let that happen.
These girls all have different sorts of messiness in their lives, but at the heart of it is that no one is who they are in their photos on Instagram. The book makes the most of the focus on each girl, delving into their lives and the issues that they are trying to deal with, sometimes unsuccessfully.
Then of course, there’s murder
Scarlet is murdered, and soon enough all their secrets come out to light. Relationships are destroyed, and in some cases irrevocably shifted.
The book does well in tying the remaining girls together as they try to find out what happened to Scarlet. But I wanted more than the book gave me in terms of their relationship. I hope if there’s more to this series, we learn more about their relationship.
However, their instagram lives undoubtedly caused manipulations of their real lives, and that proved to be riveting reading. Everything around them is affected from their personal and family relationships, to their romantic ones and to the relationships that will determine their futures and their future careers. Also, if this is even a little of what happens in influencer’s lives, it’s exhausting.
The ending is a bit open ended, and from what I know of Pretty Little Liars and A (thanks Wikipedia!) a little similar to that.
All in all though, Influence is a quick and enjoyable read.
