3.5 Stars
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Because the PLL series is my number one guilty pleasure read, I’m always going to have a nostalgic feeling when reading Sara Shepard’s books— which may sway my opinion on them.
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This book went from who is the blackmailer to who is the killer about 1/2 way through. It centered on 3 social media influencers at different stages of their careers— all which have various secrets that they don’t want getting out. It was a typical Sara Shepard in that it brought the glamour and the drama, but it lacked the substance that some of her books have… or maybe it’s the characters in those books that draw me in?? Anyway, the characters and the substance in this book was lacking. The ending was also a little weak— I still have major questions about what exactly went down, and I think I 10/10 would have liked this better if one of the girls decided that all of this wasn’t worth it and deleted their accounts. ( )

I like the story more than I thought. It focused on not just the life of an influencer but the behind the scenes, the bullying the jealousy the desire to want more but also to have a private life. The story focused Not just on that but on the struggles that each of these girls have. Bullying, OCD, every day stress of trying to stay on top. I think it’s a good book for young women to read to show that same isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. ( )

Grades 7-10 The life of a social media influencer is rarely as it seems, and the latest from Shepard (Pretty Little Liars, 2006), a collaboration with Instagram star Buckingham, gives a look into the life of the internet famous. The story alternates between the perspectives of four teenage girls, each navigating the world of fame, from the up-and-coming Delilah, who went viral for saving a puppy from a burning building, to the well-established Scarlet, with her vicious reputation and rabid fan base. The cast is refreshingly realistic, including a character with diabetes, one with OCD, another who grew up in poverty, and two coming to terms with their sexualities. Readers learn at the start that someone dies, and the mystery only grows from there. Though a bit slow with the buildup, the story offers ample opportunity to get to know the characters and guess at who done it—and who gets done. A timely tale that calls into question the pressures put on young people of influence and how far people are willing to go to get ahead. -- Rebecca Gonner (Reviewed 5/1/2020) (Booklist, vol 116, number 17, p63)

When I heard about a new Sara Shepard book, I immediately wanted to read it. I love gossipy thrillers like Pretty Little Liars and The Elizas. In Influence, written with coauthor Lilia Buckingham, the girls are all Instagram models, which I thought would add a fun social media twist to a dramatic, backstabby story. I follow a lot of themed Instagram accounts: book cover flatlays, of course, but also quarantine baking fails, art history memes, found object jewelry, etc., and I thought it would be fun to see the Instagram lifestyle.

The narration changes between different characters, but since they're all kinda generic and vacuous influencers, it's hard to keep track of who is speaking. The girls angst a lot about the difficulties of being a brand, but I didn't really see what their brands are or what made any of their IG accounts different from each other. At parties, less famous influencers tried to take photos with more famous ones, while the most famous influencers were sad about going publicity parties all the time. I found myself skimming, and I never skim in a Sara Shepard novel! Gotta catch all the details and try to guess the twists!

Mostly, this didn't work for me because there was nothing aspirational about these influencers. They weren't passionate about makeup or photography or community or really anything. The girls were famous for being famous, and even the secretly-tortured side didn't work because there was nothing particularly bad about being Instagram famous. Give me Collette Bing any day!

One of the influencers is a former tween star (Oh! I did enjoy the descriptions of a thinly-veiled Disney Channel!), famous for wearing cute rainbows, who longs to wear black leather and Louboutins. A real teen might well try this identity experimentation, but such a heavy 180° feels overdone in fiction. Same thing with the Puppy Girl burning building rescue, Delilah not seeing or recognizing Jack, Delilah never getting recognized in public until she wants to prove that she's insta-famous, etc. There's no one event that goes too far, just a series of too-perfect coincidences that start to strain credulity and also start to get boring.

Finally, I wasn't sure if this book was supposed to be for kids. The murder(s), secret pregnancy, and evil frenemy actions more made this feel like YA, but the story also ties off with a heavy-handed Be Yourself! message, in an afterschool-special kind of way. Maybe this is the new Goosebumps, middle-grades fiction, with a body count.

The ending sort of surprised me. Good book! ( )