Sara Shepard's newest is a fun romp through the world of teenage influencers. Told through the point of view of four different teenagers, it's fun to pretend that these instagram influencers are real people as you read. Who knows what is lurking behind the screen? I think most teenage girls will enjoy this book. (I'm definitely not a teenager, and I did!) Thanks to Random House Children's and Netgalley for the ARC!

As someone who was a huge fan of the Pretty Little Liars series (mostly the tv show, there were too many books for me to keep up with at the time of release) I always keep an eye out for Sarra Shepard's books and she always writes stories that I find intriguing. I loved the idea of Influence - especially because we live in a world that is so concerned with everyone's social media presence I thought it was a really interesting subject to tackle and I really liked that she had Lila Buckingham, someone who is part of that world, working on the book with her. I think that it added a lot of nuance to the world of influencing within this story.

There were lots of things that I really liked about this book! I thought that the characters were very interesting and I was definitely invested in the stories of the 4 main characters, Delilah, Jasmine, Fiona, and Scarlet. There were definitely moments that heavily reminded me of Pretty Little Liars (especially when some of the girls were receiving anonymous messages) which didn't bother me necessarily, but sometimes it did pull me out of this story and got me thinking about PLL. Though to be fair, getting anonymous messages makes sense especially because it's a book that's all about social media.

I think that it also tackled some really important misconceptions about social media and being an influencer. It showed the negative parts of that lifestyle which I think is important, especially in a book geared towards young adults. I thought that the mystery of who was murdered and how was done very well, it unraveled at a good pace and keeps the reader interested. I will say that I was actually completely shocked by who the culprit was, which I really enjoyed.

Overall I enjoyed Influence, a solid 3 star read that I would probably round up to 3.5 stars

I honestly dont know how i feel about this one. Jasmine is the only character i liked and didnt want to slap repeatedly. Deliah and Fiona both drove me insane. The whole influencer party scene with the ages ranging from 16 on up was insane. Maybe im just to old for the target audience, but all of these characters seemed to desperately need some real parents and real life.

I have mixed feelings about this story. I did like the premise and the whole BTS of an influencer life part of this book. But on the other hand, I felt like I am maybe just too old for it so the experience wasn't as good for me. I found it hard to connect with the hollowness of the characters. I did like Jasmine the best, but even with her I wish there would've been more development at times. I think that once I got to the meat part of the story it went by a lot faster and I wanted to see what was going to happen next, but the ending was really unsatisfying for me. All in all I gave this 3 stars because I think what I didn't like could've possibly been different if I was just younger. I still love the writing and would definitely recommend anything this author writes.

Behind the glitz and glamor of pictures, poses, and personalities, there's a whole host of issues and pressure to be perfect. I love books that deal with the darker side of social media, and Influence is exactly that. For the most part, I enjoyed reading Influence, I don't think it would be a book that I'd reread or recommend to others. The first half of the book has very little driving action. Although several things are set up they're either quickly brushed over or don't really follow through, and it isn't until the halfway mark where things started to get interesting. I was really captivated for a bit, but the ending felt a little rushed and confusing. There were a lot of twists and turns to the point where I'm still not entirely sure what happened, and not in a good way.

An interesting story from the social media side of life but just not my cup of tea.
Maybe it was the age of the characters but they didn’t click for me either. Maybe a younger audience will enjoy.
Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hmmm. I think I'm probably just too old for this one - I didn't understand half of the lingo and found myself unmoved by the characters, but this very clearly seems like a case of "it's not you, it's me." I'm sure fans of Pretty Little Liars will enjoy this book immensely.

I really enjoyed this story! I've been reading Sara Shepard for a really long time so I was excited to see this new title. I'm not in to influencers and not in the demographic age group but I still found this book entertaining.. There are lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed hearing the story from four different points of view. I would recommend this to YA fans!

Being a bookstagrammer, I thought this book was fascinating. I loved seeing the behind the scenes world of influencers and was shocked at who killed Scarlet!

Influence is a classic Sara Shepard book with a younger/hipper feel, probably due to Lilia Buckingham. I'm a big sucker for a) everything Sara Shepard and b) influencer culture, so this book is my exact jam. It follows the lives of a close group of influencers with varying levels of fame whose lives all intersect.

I read this book in one sitting and couldn't put it down. There is a mystery/thriller element, but it almost takes a back seat to the influencer issues, which means that it hits a little bit different than books like Pretty Little Liars. I'd compare it more to the Thousandth Floor series. I would read every single follow up to this book and would watch any television show or movie adaption.

A fascinating fictional peek into the thrills and drama that come with being a social media influencer. The book has the inside scoop since it’s co-written by Lilia Buckingham, a teen with 1.7 million Instagram followers.

Influence is told from the POVs of 4 teen influencers, including one who is up-and-coming and one at her peak and willing to be ruthless to stay there. Each girl has a goal just outside of their grasp as well as something to hide. These goals and secrets both push them into alliances and pit them against each other, leading to page-turning drama.

Influence is not just an engrossing read. It will show teens the enviable and the ugly about the lives of the people they follow on Instagram and YouTube. It will appeal to fans of YA thrillers as well as teens who can’t keep their fingers from tapping open the social media apps on their phones to see what their favorite influencers are up to.

I received a free advanced reader copy of Influence in exchange for an unbiased review.

I'm posting to Goodreads now. This review will post to TheWingedPen.com on December 8th. And I'll post reviews to Amazon and B&N on pub date.

Thanks for the e-arc!
Rebecca J. Allen

Influence, by Sara Shepard, is a very timely novel. Teens today follow influencers on social media and often mimic their every move. Although the life of an influencer looks like one to idolize, life in the spotlight is not always as glorious as it seems.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advanced digital copy of Influence.

Spoilers ahead, be careful





Delilah Rollins was a regular girl in Minneapolis until a video of her saving a puppy from a burning shed went viral. Since then, she's appeared on late-night talk shows, received invitations to every exclusive party in LA, gained almost a million Instagram followers, and caught the attention of the popular teen YouTuber Jack Dono.

Jasmine Walters-Diaz got her start on the popular children's show "That's Hot" when she was eleven years old. Now nineteen, Jasmine is still expected to embody her character two years after the show's cancellation, and is strictly managed by her older sister, Ruby. But her followers don't know the real Jasmine- the one who likes to wear dark colors, go to secret parties, and kiss girls.

Fiona Jacobs is a fashion blogger who doesn't particularly like the content she makes, but she'll do anything to maintain her fanbase and not let anyone see who she really is- someone who blames herself for the accident that killed her worst bully, Lana, a few years ago, and struggles with OCD. She's trying to not let that get in the way of her upcoming role on a new ABC show.

What do Delilah, Jasmine and Fiona have in common? They've all gotten on the bad side of Scarlet Leigh, the beautiful and cruel influencer of so many fans' dreams. When Delilah is photographed in conversation with Jack, who puts up a fake relationship with Scarlet, she becomes a target for Scarlet's fans to threaten. Scarlet is one of the only people who knows Fiona's secret, or at least some of it. She's pretty sure Scarlet is blackmailing her. And Jasmine is a prime suspect as Jack's "mystery girl," being constantly spied on by Scarlet.

So, when Scarlet turns up dead, who's to blame? Delilah wakes up in Scarlet's bedroom and is pretty sure she's been framed. While hiding this from everyone else, she and Jasmine and Fiona decide to do their own investigation, as they're all considered primary suspects by Scarlet's fans.

I think Fiona was my favorite narrator, as her backstory was even more intriguing to me than the central mystery of the book. But what I didn't understand was how Lana's sister showed up hoping to be Fiona's personal assistant, got a text from Scarlet's mom implying that she's only there to hurt Fiona, and then kind of just dropped out of the story. Same with the reveal that Scarlet was the masked girl Jasmine kissed at the party. The way she talked to Jasmine about it made it seem like she really wanted a connection with her, but she is also revealed to have kissed Fiona's boyfriend, so did she actually care about Jasmine? I would call it queer baiting, but Jasmine's being gay is fairly important, so I guess I can't.


3.5 stars. Okay, this was one of those books where I just wanted more. Everything else was good, but the ending wasn't satisfying. When I read a mystery, I like to know exact details of how the crime happened. I'm not someone who's interested in endings that are left open to interpretation.

I thought long and hard when reviewing this one, because I’m really on the brink here. After tiptoeing between 2 and 3 stars throughout the duration of this novel, I decided to give it a generous 3 stars. While it is more of a 2 star read, I admittedly really did start to enjoy it as it neared the end, and that’s enough for me!

Why the almost 2 star rating though? There’s lots of things I couldn’t look past. One thing was how corny this book was, geez. So much of it read like a corny fan fiction, full of over dramatized fame and completely unrealistic characters. Some of the lines were so corny I legitimately felt second hard embarrassment reading it.

Here is an example of an ACTUAL line someone says: “You did too, cutie! But it’s okay. I know you want to look good for me.”

????

What teenager even talks like that? Outside of a fictional Disney channel series I mean.

Another issue I had was how completely unrealistic it is. One of the characters is famous for a character she goes by, named Lulu C (even the name is ridiculous) who is famous for wearing a rainbow dress. This girl is supposedly a teenager and famous amongst an older audience. I’m sorry but that image would not fly with any audience over the age of 7. Little kid fans, sure. But having paps and teenagers fawning over a girl in her upper teens who goes by Lulu C and wears rainbow skirts? It’s a stretch guys. It’s a stretch.

However, I genuinely did enjoy this, especially near the end, and I reserve 2 star ratings for books I did not enjoy. It’s convoluted and unrealistic yet somehow addicting? I think younger readers would be able to look past all that and enjoy this but I don’t know how older readers would feel about this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for sending me an advance copy!

NOTE FOR THE PUBLISHERS:

Since this is an arc I would like to point out some things I think should be fixed before the final copy of this book rolls out. First, 92% into the book there is an error. According to the context, the sentence should say “wanted Delilah dead” but instead it says “wanted Scarlett dead” which doesn’t make sense in the context.

Second, I would have Lilia edit out paragraph three of her introductory author’s note. This isn’t anything against her because I’ve seen her social media pages and she seems like a sweet girl, but the entire paragraph came off as an excuse to brag about how much free stuff influencers get and how famous she is. She has a right to flex if she wants to, but I just couldn’t see the point in putting any of that in, except for the purpose of bragging, because it really adds nothing to the story behind this book or why she wrote it. Especially the whole “I earn 10 thousand dollars just from posting one photo on Instagram” is especially insensitive to say during a pandemic, when there are people out there who have to work 8 hours a day for several months just to earn that amount. Also, really what was the point except to flex? It left a bad taste in my mouth and it seemed especially insensitive with today’s current events. I suspect other people would feel the same so I would recommend revising or removing that paragraph.

Wow this book was a journey. I admit, it started off great and then it hit a lull. I realized it wasn't because of the writing or the story but the fact that I found that I couldn't relate to it at all. However, this book tied up a lot of loose ends for me and I was shocked by the ending. I didn't see it coming at all. You can tell that Sara and Lilia really did something great here and I am excited to see this inevitably become a movie (because the story really is that good).

In a world where influencers are treated like royalty, I thought this book was fun and juicy. I don't always love Shepard's writing style but I very much enjoyed this book.

Sara Shepard has done it again! If you're familiar with Pretty Little Liars, The Perfectionists, or The Lying Game, you know exactly what I'm talking about. She has once again written an addictive YA thriller that would make an excellent TV show. And this time, Shepard did it with a co-author, Lilia Buckingham, a social media influencer herself. A perfect person to work with on a thriller set in the world of influencers. The story follows four influencers, all with their own secrets and drama. Of course, all influencers have what they want the world to see and what they want to keep hidden. And in true Sara Shepard fashion, someone ends up dead and a whodunnit ensues.

The characters are excellent with strong development. The writing is gripping and will keep readers hooked. Filled with plenty of twists and drama and you can't forget the romance. If you enjoy YA thrillers like PLL, be sure to check out Influence asap!

I've always loved Sara Shepard! I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the book as much, being that I am now a 30-something and read the majority of her books in my teens. But, I was pleasantly surprised! Just a twisty as you would expected from the Shepard book - lots of unexpected turns thrown in! Would definitely recommend.

When we meet Delilah, she has just moved to LA and is kind of a social baby. People kind of know who she is (thanks to a video that went viral of her saving a dog from a burning house), but she’s so clueless about what she even needs to do to take her fifteen minutes of fame and translate it into a life as a top social media personality.

Still, she’s working on it. And two of the most famous influencers, Fiona and Jasmine, have taken her under their wing. She has potential sponsors coming out of the woodwork who want to work with her and she finds herself invited to all the top parties (even though no one even really wants to be there except the fans). But when she falls in love-on accident- with another influencer’s boyfriend, she is very close to getting shut down before she even gets going.

The first part of the book was entertaining enough, introducing this vapid, superficial world where image is the only thing that matters. But after a while, I was craving something. I needed something to happen. And then it did – literally 60% of the way through the book. Which seemed strange to me.

Then from there it just kind of went. And in the end, it felt like a Scooby Doo/afterschool special type of ending. But as I’ve mentioned earlier in this post, I am no way the intended audience for this book. And I can totally see it turning into something more. A CW show? A made for TV movie? We will see.

Buckingham and Shepard have created some colorful characters that remind me a lot of the real-life (or were they?) shenanigans on Laguna Beach. Teens and young adults with more fame than they know what to do with, and no talent to back it up. But that kind of makes them genius, doesn’t it?

Special thanks to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. I think one is best left to the age-appropriate YA readers. This one is out January 5, 2021. Pick up a copy for the teen reader in your life. They will eat it up!

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.