Book Review | Influential by Amara Sage

Hello my fellow readers, long time no post. Before I head on to my review of this brilliant book I just wanted to update you on my MIA from the blog. The last two months I’ve been unwell, one thing after another, flu and such and it’s taken me a while to bounce back to normal. To get back to reading, to blogging to really get my energy back. I think I suffered from massive burn out at work,

But I’m typing this with the sea in front of me whilst I’m on holiday, relaxing and just feeling refreshed I can say that I am so much better and I look forward to writing more on my blog. So without in mind here is my next review… 

Influential by Amara Sage
Published by Faber Faber on December 22, 2022
Genres: Contemporary, General, Love & Romance, Mental Illness, Social Themes, UKYA, Young Adult Fiction
Amazon | Waterstones
Goodreads

Almond Brown has no friends in real life . . . but 3.5 million followers online. A heart-felt, whip-smart deep dive into what it would really be like to be internet famous at 17: a cautionary tale for our time from a writer who has grown up with social media.
Almond is forced into the spotlight when she was just a perfectly filtered bump: her mum has been documenting their family through social media since before she was born. And her family enjoy all the rewards that come from that level of influence. Only, it's not the life Almond would have chosen for herself, and being on a platform all the time has made her anxious and insecure. When the darkest side of the internet begins to haunt her, Almond feels like she's going to lose everything . . . If only she could see that she has a real-life, too, full of friends and family who love her, and that it could save her.
CAWPILE - 10

Trigger warnings – self-harm, mental health, therapy, depression, anxiety, drug-use, racism, bullying, suicide thoughts/attemp

I started this book late Jan, early February and absolutely devoured it. As a reader and a librarian is extremely important that we explore social media and the toxicity it can have to teenagers and their mental health and wellbeing. Influential showcases the reality of being an influencer, the darkness of it all whilst also finding the light at the end of the tunnel with some help from new friends outside of her social media bubble.

Almond Brown has lived her life on social media for as long as she can remember. Her mum has practically raised her on her YouTube and Instagram platforms. Her 3.5 million followers is all she knows and the longest conversation she has with her mum is about follower count and does this photo look okay for this campaign. Almond doesn’t know what real friendship is, a photo or conversation that isn’t filtered. Almond falls down a rabbit hole of darkness when someone starts to stalk and haunt her. Nobody really knows how this is affecting her as she has no one she can talk too until she goes finds what she needs in a therapy group. How far will it go before she realises she is surround by love?

Amara Sage writes with such honest rawness, at times it’s hard to read. Working in a school or even as a bookstagrammer we focus far too much on what looks good that we don’t see what is happening behind the photo. We don’t see anything that’s unfiltered and Influential is exactly that a unfiltered awareness of life as a influencer. But whilst there was darkness, Amara really focuses on building friendship and relationship which made not only Almond’s character flourish. I loved the dash of romance in the middle and was rooting for Almond all the way.

These are the types of books that aren’t in YA. They make you feel and really resonate on a much deeper level with the plot and the characters. I am passionate about recommending this to everyone as it’s a book that is very easy to get into, with sharp and snappy pacing that you won’t be able to put down. 

Thank you to Faber Children’s for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.