Influenced

Publication Date: August 2025 | Thanks NetGalley for an ARC

Overall Verdict: A cautionary tale of the impact of social media from both the perspective of the influencer and those who follow them.  Good choice for younger YA readers who could benefit from seeing the power of influence.

3/5 Stars

Book Summary: Lainey is having a challenging sophomore year, especially now that her twin brother is moving across the country to live with their father.  When she finds it challenging to connect with her friends at school, she reaches out to Bliss, an influencer who is starting to make a name for herself.  Bliss finds herself the center of attention when her wheelchair breaks down and her friends help to push her to their destination.  Capitalizing on going viral, she ends up with a large follower count and with the support of her parents, creates a persona to talk about her disability.  When a concerned Lainey shows up unexpectedly at Bliss’s apartment, things begin to unravel as not is all as it seems.

My Analysis: This is a great depiction of a parasocial relationship between a teenager and a teen influencer.  Something that is very relevant to current times, and would serve well as a cautionary tale of the impact social media and influencers have.  I liked that it not only shares Lainey’s experience with watching and interacting with an influencer, but also Bliss’s perspective as an influencer and how daunting a task it is to become a persona while also balancing your true self and life.  My biggest gripe with this one is that the big event happens so early on, that the rest of the story was a touch mundane.  It was interesting to go back into the past and see how the two main characters got to where they are now, but other than seeing how that played out there’s not much else to wonder about as the story goes on.  Lainey and Bliss are both interesting characters and I did appreciate their individual struggles with their families and friends.  I felt the authors did a decent job of making them realistic, although Lainey bothered me a little bit when it came to her interactions with her family.  Although they may have been part of what drove her to develop the relationship that she did with Bliss, it made it hard for me to want to root for Lainey when she acted the way she did to her friends at school and members of her family.  Overall, this was a decent book and provides a very relevant look at the influence of social media and how teenagers can get so caught up in both being an influencer (or wanting to be) and following those who share the fake personas they have created.