SYNOPSIS
When a video depicting the brutal murder of a former classmate leaks online, Kylie Bennington’s—whose dreams of becoming a successful influencer remain frustratingly elusive—curiosity gets the better of her, leading to the discovery of an off-the-grid social media app called MonoLife. As it turns out, there are certain cryptic rules in the user agreement that must be adhered to, such as interacting with other users at least twice daily or risk losing it all…and never, ever speaking of MonoLife’s existence to non-users or risk dire consequences.
For this is a platform that primarily rewards the worst in human behavior, and which begins chipping away at Kylie’s sanity across post after post for an ever-increasing audience of immoral fans. Now Kylie’s going to find out just how far she’s willing to go on her unyielding rise to the top—even if that means coming face-to-face with the frightening and ruthless forces behind MonoLife, who see all from deep within the shadows…
REVIEW
Feeders is a fast paced, descent into the darkest corners of the internet and the human mind. Jealousy, greed and depravity pave the way to hell as we watch how far Kylie Bennington is willing to go for internet stardom.
Social media is terrifying enough as it is, and in Feeders, Matt Serafini takes it to another level. We follow Kylie as she struggles in the shadow of her friend Erin and her ever growing social media stardom. Kylie grows increasingly envious of the endorsements and opportunities, her envy quickly turning into resentment. So when Kylie learns of a new app called Monolife, she jumps at the chance to surpass her friend on a new platform, no matter how shady it seems.
Feeders has a lot to say about social media and the influence it has on today’s youth. Worth is defined by likes and followers. It also has a tendency to bring out the worst in people. There’s an anonymity you can only get online and sadly, most people will take advantage of that to show their ugliest attributes.
The violence in this novel is visceral and more than a few moments may be triggering to some. Monolife is basically Twitter meets early 4Chan or the infamous rotten dot com. The worst things humanity is capable of are rewarded in the only way that matters, likes and praise from strangers.
Watching Kylie go down an increasingly dark path to achieve what she believes is success is both heart-breaking and fascinating. Serafini makes the reader an unwitting participant in her descent. I found myself at one moment wanting her to see it’s not worth it and turn back, then the next, curious about what she’s going to do next.
Like a great episode of Tales from the Crypt or Black Mirror, Feeders is a cautionary tale wrapped in blood, gore and bad decisions. A train-wreck you can’t take your eyes off of. Dark, satirical and violent, this novel is a wild ride straight to hell. Fans of Grady Hendrix should definitely check this out.
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