Thank you very much to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me the audiobook of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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 . . .
Lord of the Fly Fest is a whacky and surreal take on the classic tale of Lord of the Flies. It is Lord of the Flies for the social media age and I had a lot of fun reading it. Goldy Moldavsky is definitely an author who I will be reading more of in the future.
Rafi Francisco wants to put her true crime podcast on the map. She sets her sights on River Stone, the musician who rose to stardom after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. When she lands a ticket to the exclusive Fly Fest, where River is the headliner, Rafi can’t believe her luck.
But, when Rafi arrived on the island location of Fly Fest with hundreds of other influencers, they very quickly discover that the dream trip is more of a nightmare. Soon, Rafi goes from fighting for an interview, to fighting for her life. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers he might be hiding more than she suspected.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way that this book references real-life influencers, influencer culture and the failure that was Fyre Fest. I’ve seen a number of people saying they expecting this book to be a little more serious but, I think if you go into this expecting satire you will certainly have a good time.
Rafi is an interesting main character who certainly showed her determination to uncover the truth. I enjoyed the involvement of her true crime podcast and what that brought to the story. The whole host of characters are excellent and at times hilarious. There are certainly a number of references to characters from the classic book this is inspired by and I enjoyed that!
I listened to the audiobook of this and I loved it. The narrator, Barrett Wilbert Weed, brings the story to life in the perfect way. Barrett Wilbert Weed reads it in way in such a way that enables the reader to easily distinguish between characters and give them all excellent personas. I would certainly like to listen to more audiobooks read by her.
I’m already on the lookout for another book by Goldy Moldavsky as her writing is hilarious, thrilling and a lot of fun. At times I did find the satire a little much but as I made my way through the story I grew to like it and loved the parallels between the story and the modern day world.
Overall, I would certainly recommend Lord of the Fly Fest if you are on the hunt for a thrilling YA story with a satire take on a classic. Also, if you get the chance, I would definitely suggest giving the audiobook a listen!
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