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 . . .
It's a long time since I read Lord of the Flies, and for a while I didn't realise this is actually a retelling - I thought it was an homage, but as we got near the end I realised that there are parallel characters, plot points, ideas and scenes.
Sadly, I almost didn't realise, because I almost didn't keep reading. The 'influencers' were all such horrible people, I very nearly couldn't keep going. Rafi has her bad points, but overall she's at least better than they are.
Plus, I kept getting distracted by practicalities. The only food on the island is a few sandwiches no one eats, some fish that only River and Rafi eat, and some fruit that no one can buy because they've already given all their stuff to Peggy. We're outright told there's no water. And yet no one is hungry, thirsty, no one falls ill apart from in plot relevant ways, no one even gets a headache!
The mystery is pretty good, I didn't see it coming, and overall the story itself was fine. I just didn't like most of the characters. But that's ok, right?
Lord of the Fly Fest publishes on the 30th of August, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment