Idol: The must-read, addictive and compulsive book club thriller 2022

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Although I accept that not all protagonists are perfect - they are, in fact, better when they have some flaws and complexities to their personality - with Samantha I was repulsed by her. We’ve seen plenty of stories of successful white men being accused of sexual assault, so seeing it from a female perspective could have been interesting. Referencing songs, musicians, guitar makes and styles in such a way it sent me off to google on a couple of occasions so that I could envision it in the story properly. There’s an imbalance of power because those with huge platforms have more power in which to tell a story. This is my 4th book by the author and once again, she tackles the most difficult topics with such ingenuity and skill.

We meet Sam in the run-up to the release of her fourth book Chaste (“Sex is sacred and we have to honour it as the force that it is. Shout out to the Sam Miller I knew when I taught in England (aside from being a blonde white woman, she was nothing like this Sam Miller). She travels the world as a motivational speaker and her book "Chaste" is top of the bestsellers list. Louise contributes regularly to Irish TV and radio, and has a weekly column in the Irish Sunday Times. Not only a reflection on how we can create our own reality, but also on the fact that the stories we tell ourselves can be at stark odds with the realities of other people.Samantha Miller is an influencer with three million followers and tells her young fans the absolute truth. Her second novel for adults, After the Silence , was published in 2020 and was an instant bestseller in Ireland.

Her first novel, Only Ever Yours, was released in 2014 and won the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, the Eilís Dillon Award for a First Book and the Bookseller‘s inaugural YA Book Prize. At the same time, we can admit that when we as a society do hold women to account, we do so with a vociferousness and viciousness seldom seen for men. IDOL analyses our relationship with social media while also highlighting the toxic nature of the cancel culture.Sam heads back for the first time in years to the small town in Connecticut where she grew up, to clear her name and reconnect with Lisa.

As the persona Samantha has created for herself starts to crumble, she decides to revisit her old friend and the past. As her public profile disintegrates, with reporters contacting old friends and flames for dirt, Sam travels back to her hometown to confront Lisa and attempt to keep her life on the rails. This has, for some reason, messed with my head so much that I literally have flashbacks to scenes from this book and it's genuinely causing me distress. There's an interesting yin yang in my feelings about Idol - written by an author who in her previous novels, especially Asking For It, has always challenged my world views and had me thinking long into the night about the narrative she has presented.It took inspiration from the real life Steubenville rape case but set the story in Ireland, and told from the perspective of the victim who struggles to label what happened to her as rape, and internalises the shame and blame. This novel is a true examination of what it means to be a celebrity, and how we put them upon a pedestal. You won’t pay any more for your purchase but i will get a very small commission which goes towards paying for the running costs of this blog. IDOL is such a cleverly constructed novel, taking a scalpel to the superficiality of social media and the wellness industry.

Samantha Miller is an influencer - she tells her ‘girls’ (her adoring fans) how to live their lives, but when you’re up there on your pedestal with 3 million followers, there’s only one way to go, as Samantha is about to find out!A gripping, piercing and murky read and one that, no doubt, will amass its own large following on publication. The look at the intoxicating, obsessive way female friendships can be especially at a young age when emotions and hormones are so out of control was done really well. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket (if applicable) is included for hard covers. Louise isn't afraid to grasp nettles and IDOL is a confronting exploration of toxic female friendships, consent, and the gross hypocrisy of influencer culture.