Release date: February 13 2025
Publisher: Chicken House
Pages: 384
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Synopsis
Harper wants to be an influencer. Badly. She’ll do anything to be like her famous cousin, Belle.
Review
Island of Influencers is an entertaining YA story that follows a young girl called Harper, who wants nothing more than to be a famous influencer like her cousin Belle. When Belle and some other influencers are mysteriously kidnapped, Harper is determined to find out what’s happened to her. Harper unwittingly ends up part of a new influencer reality show and she’s sure this could be her big break, but not everyone on the show is who they appear to be and as tensions rise, the influencers she thought she knew and loved, might not be who she thought.
This was such a fun, gripping read that I raced through it in a single day. The story is fast-paced with some twists and I thought the writing was really easy to get into. The plot is engaging and focuses in on influencer culture and the price of fame. I thought this was a really interesting read and Turner did an excellent job of bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion.
The characters in this story are pretty unlikeable, but I did like the way Turner explored the dynamics between Harper and Belle, particularly as their roles are reversed and Harper becomes the more popular one. The characters felt well crafted and I really enjoyed seeing how the characters changed as they adapted to the game they were playing (I also loved that Turner included a character who is clearly supposed to be Youtuber MrBeast)
Island of Influencers is a fun, engrossing story. It’s the perfect light read in between heavier stories so if you’re looking for a fast paced, clever tale about the downfalls of fame and trying to stay relevant, this is definitely one to pick up.
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The Bibliophile Chronicles 