Influencer by Adam Cesare is a teen read having hints of the movie “Heathers,” but with a social media villain.
It is told partly from villain Aaron’s point of view. His online persona is called the Speaker, and is reminiscent of the Riddler character. His goal is to manipulate his followers in order to achieve chaos and violence. Spoilers ahead
Aaron just successfully orchestrated a family’s murder in Arizona before his family’s move to East Bay, NY. Now, he immediately begins planning his next terrible event by homing in on a friend group consisting of gay Boy Scout Trevor, his former boyfriend and friend Paul, mean/pretty Harmony, goth-girl Gayle and her closest friend- the nondescript, socially awkward Crystal. He uses his skills to turn friends against each other and to use them to accomplish his missions. The first is killing his English teacher and the big murder event is meant to take place during their senior prom.
The other part of the story is told by Crystal. She reveals Aaron’s identity as the speaker on his first day, and he attempts to destroy her. His first step is by publicizing her private video “diary” entries which turns all her friends against her. Crystal knows something is off with Aaron, so she begins her own investigation.
Events culminate on prom night. Some lives are lost, but Aaron finally is revealed to be the sick kid that he actually is. However, his social media presence lives on in his devoted followers.
This book is a disturbing page turner with despicable characters and events. I was glad when Aaron was taken down.
