One of Us Is Lying meets Lord of the Flies meets Fyre Fest in this wickedly addictive and funny YA thriller.
Rafi Francisco needs something really special to put her true crime podcast on the map. She sets her sights on River Stone, the hearthrob musician who rose to stardom after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. Rafi lands herself a ticket to the exclusive Fly Fest, where River will be the headliner.
But when Rafi arrives on the Caribbean island location of Fly Fest with hundreds of other influencers and (very minor) celebrities, they quickly discover that the dream trip is more of a nightmare. And it’s not just confronting beauty gurus-gone-wild and spotty WiFi. Soon, Rafi goes from fighting for an interview to fighting for her life. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers that he might be hiding even darker secrets than she suspected . . .
Lord of the Fly Fest appears to be a modern-day retelling of Lord of the Flies; I say ‘appears to be’ as, to my shame, I’ve never read Lord of the Flies but I did recognise some nods to the classic novel. It’s a YA novel but can of course be enjoyed by adults too.
The book cover is stunning and that’s what drew me to the book in the first place; the colours are so eye-catching and I was intrigued about the smears on the girl’s lips and eyes (and then wish I’d never found out).
The story revolves around a group of social media influencers who attend a music festival on a remote island. They can’t wait to start uploading photos and videos as partying with rock stars and models is going to get them so many likes…but there is no internet. No internet?!?! What kind of hell is this? Not only is there no internet, there’s no Fly Fest.
I don’t want to mention any more of the plot but it’s a very twisted tale. Seeing how different people react to adversity always intrigues me but these people are something else entirely; they live and breathe social media. These are the monsters that social media has created and it was actually pretty eye-opening and sobering to be reminded that a lot of what you see online is fake. It’s all filters and poses yet somehow people become influencers; influencing fakery more like.
Highly imaginative and thought-provoking, Lord of the Fly Fest is perhaps the weirdest book I have read all year but I really enjoyed it. A solid four stars and a recommended read.
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