It was fine. It's a little bothersome, but nothing particularly awful. River was sadly the only lovable character. I had hoped for a grimmer book. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this advanced copy

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy.

I loved the concept of this! It gives me so many vibes from Yellowjackets, Lord of the Flies! I really enjoyed The Mary Shelley Club and now this so Moldavsky is definitely officially on my radar!

This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending I think people would like this one it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy.

I was one of those kids who was really into The Lord of the Flies, the way it tore apart the trappings of society and the idea of being civilized. So I was pretty on board with a book that would do the same for modern influencer culture. And this book certainly achieves that end. Moldavsky absolutely points out all of the flaws and ridiculousness of that subculture. To an extreme degree. And the extremes are part of why this book doesn't work for me. There is a heavy sense of unreality, like the whole thing might just be a fever dream. The characters are not developed in any serious way and it's hard to take the messaging with anything more than a smirk. While I agree Golding's original novel perhaps has not aged well and has been lifted on too high of a pedestal, I'm not sure this book is the answer.

"Lord of the Fly Fest" was a fun and clever story made even more delightful by the allusions and parallels to William Golding's classic, "Lord of the Flies." Rafi is surrounded by social media influencers and one of the few voices of reason on the island. She is a wonderful character, but the author also has a variety of fabulous secondary ones that parody the influencer communities of Instagram and Tiktok. I laughed until I about cried several times over the absurdities the situation created and the exaggerated but realistic portrayals of the various lifestyle influencers still trying to maintain their online habits. Throwing back to the classic foundation novel, one character lovingly calls his followers "piggies." The author creates a remote island setting, frightening and surreal, reminiscent of the island from Golding's work, and includes similar names and outcomes that echo the original. There is so much to love about this story, especially if you're a fan of the "Lord of the Flies" novel or movies.

But parody aside, the plot is about Rafi exposing River Stone, a young man who has been very kind to her, as a murderer based on very little evidence. She initially feels she is above the shallowness of the rest of the stranded festival-goers (and yes, they are shallow and awful people) but comes to realize she's not perfect either nor entitled to be so righteous. There is a nice revelation of truths, and mistakes are made, leading to her heartfelt offer and attempt to redeem herself. There is a great wrap-up that closes out the hanging subplots, too.

I recommend LORD OF THE FLY FEST to readers of young adult fiction, especially those who are fans of online social media or social media-related stories or have read Lord of the Flies.

#CaribbeanIsland #LiveYourBestLife #NoThreeHourCruise #WheresMyVilla #AreBananasGlutenFree #DoesThisPigDungMakeMyButtLookFat

This book was not good. I get what the author was trying to do with the mash-up of Lord of the Flies and the disaster that was Fyre Festival. IT's also a commentary on social media and influencers. However, all of the characters were insufferable. I'm honestly surprised I finished reading the book. Even the main character who we are supposed to root for was not likable. I don't recommend this one.

Top 5 Reasons to read this book ~

✿ Firstly, just look at how gorgeous the cover is. If you know about The Lord of The Flies and Fly Fest, you might want to check this out.

✿ This had a different setting by getting influencers as characters and how they are in person.

✿ Fast paced with dark humor.

✿ The podcast before every chapter made it more interesting.

✿ Plot twist that is mysterious. Perfect for YA thriller lovers.

Although this book jumps straight into the action, that's all I can find to say positively about it. The main character gave off major "I'm not like other girls" type vibes which is a trope I simply can't stand as it goes against everything I feel. Although I knew that a major festival that shall not be named was an inspiration for this book, it didn't feel like anything else went behind it. A real disappointment, as I have loved the author's other works.

First up, thanks for allowing me to read this book! I was superhyped, I really enjoyed Goldy Moldavsky's other book: . I really enjoyed that one, it had all the twists and turns.
So when I heard about this one promising Lord of the Fly x festivals x influencers, I was more than excited about this one. However I am now just going to give up on this one. Everyone is 100% dumb/vapid and I just cannot like any of them. Raf was even more annoying. Podcast this. Podcast that. Even had a microphone on her person???
But the descriptions of things just didn't work for me: "The words poured out of River's mouth smarmy as an oil spill." or The way his shiny hair kept spilling over his eyes, and every time he brushed it back with his fingers it seemed to volumize with so much body that if little tiny people existed, they would take their teeny surfboards and ride those waves into the sunset?"

Lord of the Fly Fest is a satirical thriller that introduces True Crime Podcaster Rafi Francisco, who is hoping to out musician River Stone as a murderer on her podcast Musical Mysteries. She follows him to the Fly Festival, which, like the real-life Fyre festival, promises to be a luxurious festival filled with music and opportunities to increase one's social media following. The attendees arrive on the Caribbean Island and realize the advertising has been all smoke and mirrors. There's is no staff to greet them and accommodations are FEMA tents left over from the last disaster. Most of the guests are wealthy social media influencers and Rafi feels out of place. But River Stone shows up and she is determined to get an interview with him and prove he murdered his girlfriend Tracy who disappeared. When another girl goes missing after hiking with River, Rafi is sure she is right. Meanwhile, rumors of the appearance of River's latest girlfriend Hella Badid keep festival goers from fleeing. The absurdities in the social media world are showcased by the cast of influencers who are with Rafi on the island. Waiting for Hella to appear, they are monetizing everything from Wi-Fi access, which is fairly non-existent to poop beauty masks, for those stuck without their usual makeup and beauty supplies. While the central mystery is suspenseful, it is really the silly influencers and their Lord of the Flies inspired antics that make the book an entertaining read.

I’ve read the Mary Shelly club by this author and I really enjoyed it. This one however was a bit of a disappointment. It seemed like a missed opportunity and she could have explored the “Fly Fest” concept a bit more. I knew what she was going for as soon as I started it and was looking forward to a packed thriller. Instead it took a long time to take off and I wasn’t at all invested as all the characters were pretty irredeemable. I rooted for no one in this. The concept was strong but the execution was wanting

Despite not ever reading Lord of the Flies (and having absolutely no interest in reading it), I actually really enjoyed this! I found every single character insufferable but that was definitely the point so kudos to the author for that. This story was super fast paced and easy to read. As a retelling I thought it was pretty good too! I watched a few videos about the source material and it was fun seeing the connections between the two stories. I continue to enjoy the books this author writes, and I'll be keeping an eye out for anything she writes in the future.

Thoughts and Themes: This one took me quite a while to finish but not because of a lack of interest, I was trying to savor every moment of this book. I wanted to take things slowly because I was enjoying the world-building in this book and the dystopian aspects. I really liked the way the author describes this island and how things slowly build. So once I finished this book I read some reviews and they all mentioned this being a satirical telling of Lord of the Flies I got this from the title but because I haven’t read that book I wasn’t able to make the connection myself.

I was skeptical about reading this one because I had recently read books similar to it and didn’t really care for them. I am glad that I decided to read this anyway because of how much I enjoyed the book. I liked how this story plays out and how we begin to see our main character as a bad guy because she put them in this situation longer than they had to be. I really like the way this book pokes fun at influencer culture and the people who feed into this. I liked that this book made commentary on our current lives.

Characters: In this book, you are introduced to several characters through their interactions with our main character, Rafi. You get to meet several people who are on the Island with Rafi, such as Peggy, River, Jack, Ryan and Paul, and much more.

I really liked reading as the relationship between River and Rafi develops and how this shifts throughout the book. I liked seeing them both when they are together and seeing how River trusts Rafi but this also makes you skeptical of River just like Rafi is. I like that we never know who the bad person is in this story and that the narrator is removed adds to this mystery.

Writing Style: This story is told in the third person with a narrator who follows different characters around yet it is told mostly from Rafi’s perspective. I really enjoy that this story was told in the third person because we seem to know everything going on with each of the characters. What I really like is that this isn’t an all-knowing narrator though so the mysteries aren’t automatically solved.

This book also includes snippets of the podcast Rafi is recording, which I really enjoyed. I liked getting to see a different side of Rafi through the recording of the podcast and I liked to see the other’s responses to this podcast. I thought the podcast episodes being included added a good portion to the book because it shows us what Rafi is thinking about everything that we are reading.

Book Review

Title: Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky

Genre: Contemporary, Horror, Thriller

Rating: 3.25 Stars

The opening to Lord of the Fly Fest was interesting as we are introduced to our protagonist Rafi, a podcaster who has spent her life savings to go to an exclusive musical festival on a desert island called FlyFest but an artist named River is there and she wants to interview him about his missing girlfriend, a model who should also be there. However, upon arriving at the island it is clear that FlyFest was never a thing and there is no one else there besides the guest who are all rich people acting like complete toddlers apart from a few like Rafi, Peggy and River. Rafi ends up exploring the small island with River and an influencer named Jack after being appointed to spokesperson by Peggy. During this brief trip they concludes that all the acts were cancelled last minute but River never got the message until it was too late and none of the people attending were informed. They end finding a shipping container which they hope contains their luggage but it doesn’t. This gave me really strong Lord of the Flies vibes minus the plane crash with a scam music festival added in but I get the vibe it is going to be a murder mystery or potential horror novel so I need to see where it goes.

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, everyone spends their first night on the island and the next morning it becomes clear that people aren’t really looking for them and the boat was scheduled to pick them up in a week’s time which is how long they are going to have to survive with no supplies and very few useable skills between them all. Rafi also lets slip to Peggy that she believes that River Stone murdered his first girlfriend, Tracy or at least had a hand in her disappearance and that was why she came to prove it and publish her findings on her podcast to further her own influence and platform the same as so many others there. Rafi also seems to take the moral high ground with many of the influencers even though she is essentially doing the same thing in a different way but nothing has really happened yet apart from being stranded on the island and spending a single night there. No one has been hurt or injured, no one has died so there aren’t any real stakes right now just some theories and bit of a creepy atmosphere so I need to read a bit more to figure out what path the author is going to go down and whether or not I am going to enjoy it.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, things begin to change on the island very quickly when Peggy figures out a way to get internet and begins charging people for it with whatever they have. Rafi also plays into people wanting to stay by telling them that River’s girlfriend, Hella is on the island and they are still setting up the festival which is a lie but this is quickly overshadowed by the fact that Sierra, another influencer has gone missing. Rafi doesn’t actually believe that the girl is missing at first but after searching everywhere on the island where they are other people as the influencers flock together and not finding Sierra, Rafi begins to think that something might have happened to her and the last place she saw her was heading into the jungle with River which strengthens her theory that River killed his first girlfriend and might have done something to this sweet girl now. The atmosphere on the island has also changed from panicked to rather calm now they have internet but there is sense of foreboding building in the background that was making me a little uneasy.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, things are just getting stranger and stranger on the island and Rafi realises that she can’t do anything to stop it. Yes she did set it all in motion by convincing people that Hella was on the island and that they had a reason to stay but since so many people it now and are living their lives around this lie to avoid going insane there’s nothing she can do or say that will stop it. However, it is affecting River as well since he has always said that there is no way Hella is on the island but Rafi still doesn’t trust him because she thinks he killed Tracy. In a major bonding moment he does confess to her off the record that Tracy didn’t go missing but he didn’t kill her either, it turns out she was killed by wild animals in the bush which considering Australia is the land of things that have no business being huge that want to kill you anyway I believe it. This all adds to the mystery of where Hella really is and what happened to Sierra since she still hasn’t turned up but now no one seems to really care what happened since they believe she was given admission to Fly Fest and the rest of them have to prove they are worthy to get in.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, the island is descending further and further in chaos and anarchy but not the disorganised kind, the kind you see when people form cults and how easily people believe the lies coming from them because they are desperate for some kind of answer. The myth of Hella being on the island is only gaining more attention since many people have claimed to have heard her and some even claim to have seen her which River maintains can’t be true but he doesn’t offer up any explanation either. It is decided that River, Rafi and Jack will go into the jungle to find Hella is she is really there and they end up coming upon the half built stage of where Fly Fest should have been happening making Rafi question why it was abandoned but all three hear Hella’s voice which cements the cult mind as being right. However, that night River tells Rafi he knows exactly where Hella is and it isn’t on the island but he won’t tell her where Hella is even knowing it can stop all this madness and allow them to convince everyone that going home is the best course of action which makes him kind of a dick. Despite this Rafi is still determined to at least get herself home but it will mean learning where Hella really is and what actually happened to Sierra in order to try and convince everyone but even then it might not be enough at this stage.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, I don’t really know what to say about this book. It genuinely seemed like the first half was going somewhere interesting and then it turned into a bit of a mess in the second half but it would have been worth it if there was a decent payoff at the end and unfortunately there wasn’t so I was deeply disappointed. The writing style was good and easy to read and certain characters like River I really liked and wanted to see more of so for that it gets 3.25 stars but apart from that it felt like a really big flop to me. I will try The Mary Shelley Club which I’ve heard good things about but if that doesn’t work for me then I think Goldy Moldavsky is going to be an author that just doesn’t sit right with my reading tastes and styles. Honestly, I think if you like books that take a singular point, like social media use and the role of influencers and run with it then you’ll really like this but it just wasn’t for me.

Rating: 4/5 Make-up palettes made out of questionable materials

Format: e-book and audiobook. I’d like to thank the author and FierceReads for sending me an e-arc of this book to review! I ended up listening to the audio since I was behind and could catch up faster that way!

To sum up:
This is a modern retelling of the classic Lord of the Flies, but one where the cast is a group of wealthy social media influencers who think they are on this island for the most exclusive concert/festival experience of their lives (Fly Fest!). What they find is an abandoned island with limited food, no selfies with rockstars, and none of their checked luggage. The main character, Rafi, is there for a different purpose, however. She is there to try to uncover the truth about one of the performers, River Stone, whose girlfriend mysteriously disappeared and somehow River was cleared of suspicion. Rafi expected to get the interview of a lifetime, she did not expect to get it while having to barter for wifi access and bananas. The longer the festival goers spend on the island, the more bizarre things get, as they are desperate to show their followers that everything on the island is as promised, even as people start to disappear.

What I enjoyed:
This was HILARIOUS. I laughed out loud so many times. The way the influencers react to being stuck on a desert island felt so spot on and entertaining. The way that they will convince themselves of basically anything rather than admit that they have been duped, or are living anything less than their best life to their followers, is poignant and pretty believable. There are so many smart choices done here to examine our relationship with social media and the lives we put on there. I also genuinely loved that there is a murder mystery at the heart of this book! The main character is adamant in her suspicions but ultimately has to face her own biases and the image she has of herself to get to the truth.

What was meh:
There are definitely some flaws in the believability of this story (not one person used their wifi to alert the outside world or attempt to get Grubhub at least? lol) but that was really the main flaw so if you’re willing to just take that leap, this is a very entertaining read. There was something odd about the passage of time in this book too, I felt like they had been on the island for weeks but really it’s just 6-7 days, so the transformation within their little society was a little rocky/confusing at times. There are a few other logistics about the island and their survival that don’t make sense, but again, if you can accept the slightly wild premise, this book is super fun.

Overall, I thought this was a great retelling. It’s perfect for addressing our obsession with social media and how it affects our perception of ourselves and what we could put up with to maintain a mirage of perfection haha I definitely recommend!

This book was so much fun! I loved the witty prose— it even made me snort laugh at times!— and the nods to original source material. Wildly inventive and so easy to devour!

Lord of the Fly Fest is written for Netflix, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was picked up. I loved that the author thought Fyre Fest, but what if everyone decided to pretend. I guess influencers are good at pretending that everything is fine and that they’re living their best lives while the world falls apart.
And there we have Rafi. She’s the person doing her best to be an intellectual because it’s a podcast, but you also get the sense that Rafi also really wishes did have more influence. She is trying hard to get sponsorships for her podcast while choosing a medium where she can put her thoughts out without putting her face out there. Rafi also plays the sane person on the island; she’s the one who wants to get help ASAP and tries to calm people down. However, when she doesn’t have enough followers to be considered significant, she’s shunted to the side and given plenty of time to think about how River killed his first girlfriend.
As Peggy puts it, Ravi is a little obsessed and knows more about River than his actual fans, and for most of the book, you get the sense that she may just be into him. As the book progresses, you can see Rafi breaking down and doing her best to survive. Towards the end, she also cracks and engages in the same behavior that she looked down on!
I loved all the characters! As I said, this is a Netflix show in the making! Everything is slightly ridiculously over the top and a caricature of what we think influencers are like in person. River’s real story was so ridiculous! I loved the two guys who wanted to sue Banana Republic! I also really loved Greer, Sierra, and Jack and how Sierra was the sanest one of the lot of them. Goldy Moldvasky’s inclusion of Hella Badid was also one of the things that made me love the book!
At one point I literally put the book down and cast people as characters. Of course, Hella Badid will be played by Bella Hadid in my production!
Basically, if you like pop culture, you’ll like this book!

Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky
Genre: Young Adult Horror
Publishing Date: August 30, 2022
Synopsis:
One of Us Is Lying meets Lord of the Flies meets Fyre Fest in this wickedly addictive and funny YA
thriller.
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
Content Warning: violence, missing persons, and bodily functions

What happens when you mix Lotd of the Flies with Fyre festival? This novel happens. When read as the satirical sarcastic commentary on social media and fame, it’s very entertaining. It’s ok to laugh at this and at yourself because we all get sucked in now and then. Plus this cover is gorgeous.

There's something about the idea of how trusting we are as a society to believe in the idea of paying for these island experiences, part being afraid of NOT being included, part entitlement that we deserve exclusive, luxury concerts on an island that for many of us wouldn't ever seem realistic.

I don't know about you, but Lord of the Flies is one of the books that sticks out most from my childhood school reading experience, and I always enjoy a great twist in a retelling so these influencer islands have been such fun, interesting reads. I giggled at the take on the disaster Fyre Island scam mixed with a reality check on the impact of social media on society today, so many of the characters were what I would consider unlikeable, but WHO would be likeable in this situation, I certainly wouldn't expect people used to getting everything handed them to be prepared to be stranded.

Rafi MADE the book for me, I really enjoyed her personality in the book, and how her podcasts were incorporated into the story.

While the overall plot seemed a bit repetitive, I felt I knew what the author was going for and enjoyed the read. That COVER is so eye catching, I know it will grab readers' attention and I hope finds its' ideal audience, I know I will definitely read more books from her in the future.

Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours for having me on the book tour, and the publisher for providing me an early copy to read and review.

4.5 stars

I love that this book combined Lord of the Flies with the dumpster fyre (lol) that was Fyre Fest. It was a funny, but sad look at the importance we put into our social media & how far we would go to maintain our followers/engagement.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

“You work here, right?”

- Rafi is already off to a bad start because she purchased the overpriced, loud t-shirt merch that the Fly Fest sold on their website. She stands out and not in a good way, which seems to be a theme throughout the book.

“Now let’s see how deranged things get.”

- Influencers, beauty gurus, and a rockstar stuck on an island without internet, what could go wrong? And if someone happens to have access and willing to share for a price? Oooo this could get ugly. LOL

“Let’s be honest, we all look like pigs…”

-I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are some really gross things that some of the influencers do and it made me laugh out loud and then shake my head in disgust. It just shows you how far people are willing to go to be popular/relevant and to not have to admit their mistakes.