Wonder Woman for President/Rule the School! (DC Super Hero Girls)
Shea Fontana
Explores dark secrets and the consequences of fame in a high school setting.
The Obsession
A fast, binge-friendly YA thriller that turns family vlogging into a source of dread, asking what happens when millions of strangers feel they own a teenager's life.
What It's About
Connie has grown up as content. Her mother's family vlog has broadcast her childhood, and her sister Isla's, to an audience that believes it knows them personally. The premise turns sharply when girls in their town who resemble Connie begin turning up dead. The story follows Connie as she realizes the attention she never chose may have made her a target, and as she tries to work out who among the watchers has crossed from interest into something far worse.
Natasha Preston is known for short chapters, quick escalation, and a steady supply of suspects, and this book appears to follow that pattern. The real hook is the setting: the ethics of parents monetizing their children online, the false intimacy of parasocial fandom, and the claustrophobia of having no private self. Those ideas sit underneath a classic whodunit structure with mounting danger and plenty of misdirection.
Expect a quick read you can finish in a day or two, built for momentum rather than depth. It works best for readers who want a timely, slightly creepy page-turner with a teen narrator, and who enjoy guessing the culprit while being nudged toward the wrong person. If you have read Preston before, you will know the tone: dramatic, accessible, and designed to keep you reading past bedtime.
Read this if you…
- love quick YA thrillers with short chapters and cliffhangers
- are interested in stories about influencer culture and online fame
- enjoy guessing the killer from a field of suspects
Skip it if you…
- want literary depth, nuanced prose, or slow-burn character work
- are put off by implausible plot turns or melodrama in thrillers
Key Ideas
- 1
Children as unpaid content
The book's most pointed theme is family vlogging. Connie's life has been packaged for an audience without her consent, and the story uses that to question parents who profit from their kids' childhoods online. It gives the thriller a real-world edge that will feel familiar to anyone who has watched debates about child influencers and the lasting cost of a publicly documented upbringing.
- 2
The danger of parasocial attachment
Viewers who have watched Connie grow up feel they know her, and some believe they are owed something. The novel turns that one-sided closeness into menace, exploring how online familiarity can curdle into entitlement and fixation. The title points straight at this idea: attention that starts as harmless fandom becomes something that threatens the people on screen.
- 3
Losing control of your own identity
Connie never decided who she wanted to be in public; the camera decided for her. Alongside the mystery, the book follows a teenager trying to separate her real self from the curated version strangers consume. That struggle for privacy and autonomy adds emotional stakes beyond simple survival and will resonate with readers who feel watched online.
- 4
Pacing built on suspicion
In keeping with Preston's style, the storytelling relies on short chapters, cliffhangers, and a rotating cast of people who might be responsible. The goal is constant forward pull rather than slow character study. Readers who like playing detective will find enough red herrings to keep second-guessing, while the tension rises as the danger edges closer to Connie herself.
Limitations
Preston's books are often criticized for prioritizing speed and shock over plausibility, and readers frequently note thin secondary characters and dialogue that can feel stilted. Expect some of that here: the social commentary on family vlogging is timely but likely sketched rather than deeply examined. Adult thriller fans may find the mystery predictable or the twists more dramatic than earned. Because the book leans on current social media culture, some details may date quickly. It is a fun, fast entertainment rather than a serious exploration of its themes.
Questions Readers Ask
- What age group is The Obsession for?
- It is marketed as young adult, so roughly 13 and up is typical. Expect murder, menace, and suspense rather than graphic content on the level of adult horror, but sensitive younger readers may find the stalking and killings unsettling. Parents can check content guides for specifics before handing it to a younger teen.
- Is The Obsession connected to Natasha Preston's other books?
- It is presented as a standalone thriller with its own characters, so you do not need to have read The Cellar, The Twin, or her other novels. If you enjoyed those, the fast pacing and twist-driven plotting should feel familiar.
- What should I read if I liked this?
- Try Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying for a social-dynamics mystery, or Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder for a teen sleuth story with stronger investigative detail. Preston's own The Twin and The Lake offer a similar quick, suspenseful reading experience.
- Published
- 2025
- ISBN
- 9798217028009
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Category
- Young Adult
Book details and cover from Google Books.
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