Uptown Oracle Reads… Influence

Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham

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After a video she makes goes viral, everyone knows Delilah Rollins. And now that she’s in LA, Delilah’s standing on the edge of something incredible. Everything is going to change. She has no idea how much.

Jasmine Walters-Diaz grew up in the spotlight. A child star turned media darling, the posts of her in her classic Lulu C. rainbow skirt practically break the Internet. But if the world knew who Jasmine really was, her perfect life? Canceled.

Fiona Jacobs is so funny–the kind of girl for whom a crowd parts–no wonder she’s always smiling! But on the inside? The girl’s a hot mess. And when someone comes out of the shadows with a secret from her past, it’s one that won’t just embarrass Fiona: it will ruin her.

Who wouldn’t want to be Scarlet Leigh? Just look at her Instagram. Scarlet isn’t just styled to perfection: she is perfection. Scarlet has a gorgeous, famous boyfriend named Jack and there’s a whole fanbase about their ship. To everyone watching online, their lives seem perfect . . . but are they really? The sun is hot in California . . . and someone’s going to get burned.

Influence reads a bit like Pretty Little Liars but is modernised to include influencers, and also somehow reads younger too. It’s written by Sara Sheperd so you know instantly where this comparison comes from. On the influencer side we have Lilia Buckingham who brings her experience, although I’m not sure of how much she wrote. 

I’m unsure if this was done on purpose, but the characters feel both insanely young and like adults at the same time. Each of the influencers we meet are to some degree controlled by a parent and/or someone on behalf of the parents. But in other cases, like Jasmine she’s written to seem much older than she is – and I think this is commentary on how creators are more and more acting and looking older than teenagers.

After the glamorous parties and socialising events our 4 characters attend, one of them shows up dead and the other 3 are all suspects in some way. Each of these characters have their own backstories, and these backstories include a lot of guilt which is pushed to the forefront after the death for multiple reasons. I liked that we see how difficult it can be for these young girls to navigate life in the limelight, even when they have support. 

The overall story took time to get to for our characters, the first maybe half of the book was focused heavily on our main characters, who they are, who they know and what they do. I felt this part was more of a social commentary at times and wasn’t as gripping as it could be. Then when the girls story arcs come together it starts feeling more murder mystery and thrilling. 

I don’t think the ending was foreshadowed as much as it could be – the answers given felt more given than worked out at times. But no one is selling this book as a huge mystery thriller, but on the characters and conversation around influencer culture on the rise. I also think the book is for a younger audience, and there’s a lot of good morals in the story as well as a gripping mystery as you want to find out who did it.

As a whole, Influence is an easy read with a mystery twist, however it does steer to the younger side of YA and doesn’t have that “wow” factor that many thrillers do. If you’re looking for a quick read on a Saturday afternoon this is a good shout, but if you want a book to really think about who the killer is then this wouldn’t be for you.

Positives of Influence

• Interesting murder mystery
• Shows off the negatives of being a young “influencer)

Negatives of Influence

• A lot of backstory before we get to the main plotline

I received Influenceby Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review

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