"You had to steal everything from me because you couldn't get it by yourself, you wouldn't have a clue how to do it alone. And now - after I've spent so long working and working, building a career that a pathetic little housewife like you could only dream of - you want to steal that from me too?" Sam could feel spittle running down her chin but she couldn't stop, not now. "You and all your ambitions of being a writer? Ha! What did you do? You did nothing. Because you're not like me Lisa. You've never been like me."
I have just finished reading Idol, which is a novel based around Influencer and Cancel Culture. Like many people, I am somewhat fascinated and bemused by this new way of becoming famous. How does it work, why does it work and should we be worried that absolutely anyone can pick a platform, upload a video and start selling to the impressionable youth of today? Who holds them accountable for the promises they sell?
Idol is told through the eyes of one such social media star, Samantha, who is at the top of her game with over three million followers, seminar tours and best selling books to her name, selling the idea of self-healing via universal energies, mantras and so on. The opening chapters read just like a Gabrielle Bernstein workshop and so the novel certainly strikes the right vibe for Samantha's fictional career in the very real world of social media personalities. So far, so guru.
But then it takes a darker turn, for right when Sam should be celebrating her latest win, a blast from the past threatens everything she has built, in the form of an accusatory email from none other than her former best friend from school. This unleashes the Cancel Culture-Vultures in droves and Sam has to do something fast to save the career, reputation and lifestyle she has worked so hard to achieve.
So she pays her old friend a visit and unearths a few home truths that she wasn't quite ready to deal with. Back in her hometown, little has changed and she is faced with the subtle jealousy that permeated her friendship with Lisa throughout childhood - the copy-cat ways, buying the same clothes and shoes, even living in an identical house - it all becomes visible to Sam in a way that she can't ignore. Lisa has always been jealous of her and now she is trying to sabotage Sam's career with lies.
Idol looks at the often toxic and deeply intense friendships that exist between teenage girls, exploring what happens when these old rivalries spill over into adult life. What happens when one person becomes successful, while the other lives a more rudimentary life and those old wounds are reopened? Can you really forgive someone who has been jealous of you your whole life, determined to take everything that was yours? And what happens when two people remember the same event very differently?
This novel is so skillfully crafted that secrets and lies are revealed in a steady drip, drip, drip of information and back story, each woman giving her version of events, each secret surfacing slowly as the story progresses, making very effective chapter hooks that keep you turning the pages. I read this book in two sittings, because I just couldn't put it down. I didn't know who to believe or which character I was rooting for, because the story was so intricate, just like a lifelong friendship would be. After all, if you can't trust your best friend, who can you trust?
As the two women try to come to terms with their past and the toxicity of their friendship, they are each confronted with truths and lies they thought were long buried. The ending of the book is very satisfying, and also surprising, reminding me that the traitor is always the one you just don't see!
In conclusion, I have really enjoyed reading this novel and the darker side of the social media world it explores. It is a gripping story and would appeal to anyone who has an interest in social media, female friendships or cancel-culture. Definitely a great summer read. Idol is released today. Enjoy.
BB Marie x
AD: This novel was sent to me by the publisher for review purposes. It is released today in both hardcover and digital formats.
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