The List: The instant Sunday Times bestselling debut novel – ‘The perfect summer read’ Paula Hawkins

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I really wish more of this background was explored because that's one reason that there are so many eyes on this couple when the List blows up. It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media.

It’s almost as if the novel is geared for a Netflix production (and I believe it’s been picked up for screen adaptation), hence why it was written the way it was. The blurb compares The List to Such a Fun Age, Luster, and My Dark Vanessa which I don't think holds true at all. the list follows ola, a high profile journalist and influencer (along with her fiancé michael), as she grapples with a list that challenges her relationship and her trust—a crowdsourced list of abusers in the uk media industry that contains michael's name on it.The dual narrative from Ola’s POV to Michael’s can be a bit jarring, especially when one POV acts as a recap to give us a glimpse into what both characters felt of the entire situation. Ola and Michael's wedding is approaching, but when 'The List' drops online, will its revelations change everything they think they know about each other and will their perfect lives become a nightmare?

All of this is important material but I found the writing foggy and messy at times with extraneous exposition and descriptions that could have been cut or better integrated. Michael’s friends are a bunch of women hating idiots (Kwabz who was meant to be the redeeming one is just okay). We're made to assume that Jackie was a 'psycho' when, in actual fact, she was treated appallingly too. The book tried to cover entirely TEW much- feminism, being woke, modern day influencing, love, culture, friendship etc. Does she proceed to marry Michael, does she confront him with the same condemnation the rest of twiterrati has and end things swiftly with him?A crowdsourced document of sexual harassment allegations surfaces on the internet and Michael is on the list. It offers too neat a solution to the novel's central dilemma, and forecloses some of the interesting questions that it does raise. In The List we are taken to London where we meet Ola Olajide, an upcoming journalist at a feminist magazine who will be marring the love of her life, Michael, in less than a month.

A month or so before the wedding Michael is named on The List, a list of men working in the media accused of abuse of varying degrees (rape, violence, groping etc).The debut novel from Yomi Adegoke, author of 2018’s bestselling Slay in Your Lane, finds an Insta-obsessed couple’s world blown apart after a list of alleged sexual predators is anonymously published online. It occasionally feels as though she is trying to shoehorn too many characters and subplots into one tale, but we remain invested in her main protagonists’ journey.

Most of all, I found the two protagonists so painfully underdeveloped as characters that it just made the book feel even slower. This had the bones of a good story in there, and the author clearly understood the basics of the story. Perfect for fans of Such a Fun Age, Luster, and My Dark Vanessa, this is a searing portrait of these modern times and our morally complicated online culture. So lots of interesting material here and it's a bit chick-lit-y with issues giving it mass market appeal.Sheila Atim and Arinzé Kene deftly narrate this story, which is already being developed for TV, from the alternating perspectives of our two protagonists. The novel follows what happens after this event, to their relationship, careers and also some of the other men on the list, and women who’ve suffered sexual violence. However, so many issues are contended with, within the story, I felt it fractured any one, particular, message. tried to be an ally to every vulnerable minority under the sun and then ended up being centred around a false sexual assault accusation.