This novel alternates between present day (2015) and a near-future (2051) dystopia after a dramatic shift in American culture due to something called “The Spill.” The main characters are all public figure influencers in some way, and the story climbs towards the confluence of their timelines. 

I’ll start by saying that I didn’t dislike this book, but I couldn’t give it more than three stars for a few reasons: I have a big pet peeve around timeline discrepancies in stories, particularly dystopia/sci-fi, and this had a couple glaring ones. For instance, Aston’s rise to fame was based on YouTube videos but was set prior to 2005... Secondly, I was very unsatisfied with the ending. Loose ends were tied up, but lots of it felt out of character or underdeveloped, which is a shame because one of the things I did like about the book was the dimensional characters. I also guessed the twist before I was even halfway through which was disappointing. Finally, when we finally learn about “The Spill” I was underwhelmed and unconvinced that it would have been as devastating as described. 

All that said, I was enthralled by the world-building and the character dynamics. I read this quickly and was invested in learning what happened. The concept was super intriguing and parts were eerily prescient (e.g. full time streaming of someone’s life... I give it five years max before Twitch teams up with Big Brother/The Bachelor to make that a thing). Overall, I don’t regret reading it but don’t know that I’d recommend it.