Out of the wreckage of environmental collapse, the country of Delicatum emerged. Its most popular celebrities are the Famoux, uniquely beautiful stars of a reality TV show called the Fishbowl. In a world still recovering from catastrophe, they provide a 24/7 distraction.
Sixteen-year-old Emilee Laurence is obsessed with the Famoux—they provide a refuge from her troubled home life and the bullies at school. When she receives an unimaginable offer to become a member herself, she takes it. Leaving behind everything she’s ever known, Emilee enters a world of high glamour and even higher stakes.
Because behind their perfect image lies an ugly truth—an anonymous stalker has been dictating the Famoux’s every move, and being popular really is a matter of life or death.
Some books have a very subtle message, one that maybe not every reader will get. Some hit you over the head with the message. Of those ones, some are so heavy handed you can't get through them. And some are so well written you don't care about the not so hidden message. This book is one of those last ones.
The message is clear, of course; people are so rabid about celebrities that they'll do anything, including invade their privacy and threaten people they perceive as threats. There's also a warning about becoming famous; it might look amazing on the outside, but it's not so much fun on the inside.
The writing and characters were great, although I felt like we didn't get to know all of the Famoux as much as we could have. That's always a problem when there's this many characters, of course, and there's more books coming in the series, so it might be addressed. I also wasn't quite clear on the endgame for the evil master plan. Short term, I understand, but what's the point of it in the end?
Right until near the end I wasn't sure who the bad guy was; I had an idea, but not enough to be certain. That's good writing, because I'm usually pretty good at figuring these things out. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series to see where the story goes next.
The Famoux publishes on the 19th January, 2021.
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