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

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Compulsively written, Yomi Adegoke’s debut has all the tension and build of a thriller, but swaps its typical tropes and themes and instead delves into the depths of race, infidelity, cancel culture in the wake of the Me Too movement, and virtue signalling.

I think the author was trying to make a grand statement or say something important, but mostly, this reads as a defense of ain't-shit men.😩It began as a list of anonymous allegations about abusive men. Now it has been published online. Ola made her name breaking exactly this type of story. She would usually be the first to cover it, calling for the men to be fired. Except today, Michael’s name is on there.

Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is marrying the love of her life in one month's time. Young, beautiful, successful – she and her fiancé Michael are the ‘couple goals’ of their social networks and seem to have it all. Topical, heartfelt, provocative and wise, Yomi Adegoke’s characters are tenderly realized, and she has an exceptional ear for capturing different vernaculars so that the entire cast of this ultimate millennial novel springs vividly to life.”— Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other I'd describe this as a finger-on-the-pulse hot and buzzy book but also as one that could have been more polished as a fictional vehicle to carry the important social commentary and debate. It's a very readable and engaging book. Also I love that novels are exploring our digital lives and how the internet is intertwined in our relationships and bias because of what we consume.

Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist, is marrying the love of her life in one month's time. Young, beautiful, successful – she and her fiancé Michael seem to have it 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. Halfway through the book I felt it should be rounded up and got bored. I had to force myself through a lot of things I thought were unnecessary. Mapping the seemingly perfect relationship between a “feminist writer” and her man - a podcaster & newly hired content creator at a well known media firm after they wake up to his name on a public document accusing him of harassment alongside other notorious men in the creative space, this novel focused heavily on the real life implications of cancel culture and the dark side of social media; exploring other themes such as suicide, grief, sexual abuse, misogyny, and love.

I was drawn in by the synopsis and expected an interesting story but this was so messy and I get why people tag this book as apologist. The author clearly lays out that less than 1% of men accused are impacted while all victims are harmed 100% of the time. The debacle with Meg thee Stallion after being a victim of gun violence is all the proof I need that wr don't need to be worried about the impact of this type of public shaming on perpetrators.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. There are also holes in the characterisation as people do things for the convenience of the plot: jarring instances are the opening scene where Ola and Michael are club-hopping, drinking champagne to celebrate their upcoming wedding, don't get home till 3 am... and then he doesn't stay the night as he's starting a new job the next day? All this just to separate the two protagonists when The List drops on social media. With their future on the line, Ola gives Michael an ultimatum to prove his innocence by their wedding day, but will the truth of what happened change everything for both of them? 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? There were aspects of this novel I liked; I believed in Ola and Michael's relationship, I cared about Ola, and I thought the choice she makes near the end of the novel is brave, both on the part of the character and the author. However, even this was undercut by a final twist that I felt was a real cop-out, like many a final twist at the end of a thriller (though this book isn't a thriller, at least not up to this point). It offers too neat a solution to the novel's central dilemma, and forecloses some of the interesting questions that it does raise. I think there will (and have already been) better things written on calling out and cancellation.

This had the bones of a good story in there, and the author clearly understood the basics of the story. Thank you to HarperCollins UK & 4th Estate for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be available in bookstores in July 2023! The List" by Yomi Adegoke is a contemporary novel that focuses on one of the most insidious aspects of most social media platforms: cancel culture and its dangerous consequences. Ola Olajide, a feminist journalist in London, is preparing for her wedding to Michael Koranteng, a podcaster who’s just landed his dream job, when his name appears on a list of abusers in the media industry.Intelligent, funny, topical, and impossible to put down.”— Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train I absolutely loved how Adegoke explored Ola's situation. Does she trust her fiance or an anonymous list? There's always a grain of doubt in one's mind after such an issue blows up. How to deal with being a feminist and being accused of being a pseudo feminist? How to balance her job and personal life?