Idol
The must-read, addictive and compulsive book club thriller 2022
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4.0 • 22 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'Darkly delicious' ELIZABETH DAY
'Fresh, glamorous, surprising' MARIAN KEYES
'Compulsive, brilliant' ABIGAIL DEAN
'Utterly gripping and unsettling' LUCY FOLEY
'An absolute page turner; addictive' CECILIA AHERN
PICKED AS ONE OF STYLIST MAGAZINE'S 'FICTION BOOKS YOU CAN'T MISS IN 2022'
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'Follow your heart and speak your truth.'
For Samantha Miller's young fans - her 'girls' - she's everything they want to be. She's an oracle, telling them how to live their lives, how to be happy, how to find and honour their 'truth'.
And her career is booming: she's just hit three million followers, her new book Chaste has gone straight to the top of the bestseller lists and she's appearing at sell-out events.
Determined to speak her truth and bare all to her adoring fans, she's written an essay about her sexual awakening as a teenager, with her female best friend, Lisa. She's never told a soul but now she's telling the world. The essay goes viral.
But then - years since they last spoke - Lisa gets in touch to say that she doesn't remember it that way at all. Her memory of that night is far darker. It's Sam's word against Lisa's - so who gets to tell the story? Whose 'truth' is really a lie?
'You put yourself on that pedestal, Samantha. You only have yourself to blame.'
Riveting, compulsive and bold, IDOL interrogates our relationship with our heroes and explores the world of online influencers, asking how well we can ever really know those whose carefully curated profiles we follow online. And it asks us to consider how two memories of the same event can differ, and how effortlessly we choose which stories to believe.
'Unflinching, clever and completely riveting' FABULOUS
'An absolute must for your book club, with so many issues up for discussion' PRIMA
'A compelling, clever and beautifully crafted thriller' OBSERVER
'A smart, addictive page-turner' STYLIST
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With Idol, Louise O’Neill takes on influencer culture and its tenuous relationship to authenticity and the truth. Samantha Miller has achieved incredible success telling young women how to live better lives and is poised to expand on her three million followers when her account of a teenage sexual experience with her childhood best friend is challenged by Lisa—who recalls the incident as something she did not consent to. As Sam’s public profile disintegrates, she travels back to her hometown to salvage her career and reputation. Incisive and timely, this is a profound reflection on online celebrity, cancel culture, the #Metoo movement, female friendship and envy—and what can happen when you turn yourself into a product.
Customer Reviews
Devoured it
Instantly started searching her back catalogue for my next read. Idol is brilliant.
A compelling read
“Not everyone we put on a pedestal deserves to be there…”
Samantha Miller, a lifestyle social media influencer has it all. An adoring following of 3 million people who hang off her every word, a best selling author and business owner. But all that is threatened when she is accused of sexual assault from her childhood best friend Lisa.
There are 3 sides to every story. The memories of two people and the truth. O’Neill takes the reader on a journey as she delves into each side of the women’s take on that night and how things can be perceived so differently. The change up of traditionally stereotypical characters on this issue added an interesting element.
I had mixed emotions for Samantha. A complex unreliable narrator, she is fuelled by her need to be loved and adored, her past of abuse and addiction shaping who she has become in the present and who will do anything to protect her brand she has worked so hard for.
Idol is a dark, wicked and addictive read where you are compelled to keep flicking the pages, as each chapter ends with you wanting more. Fast paced, twisty and eye opening this is a powerful read and that ending….BOOM!! Mic drop!!