Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky - HIGH

Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky, 320 pages. Henry Holt and Company, 2022. $19.

Language: R (38 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Rafi (18yo) knows that River is a killer, and she’s going to prove it on her podcast by interviewing River at Fly Fest, the upcoming music festival on an island. But arrival on the island is nothing as advertised. When the time comes to make a decision about what to do, Rafi has a choice: convince everyone to unite in a call for help or trap all of them on a deserted island so that she can get her interview with the killer among them.

Moldavsky has rewritten Lord of the Flies in a modern setting, including the internet, social media, and influencers. The principles are the same and apply to us now as much as they always have, which is something that I knew intellectually after reading the classic version, but seeing it through Rafi’s perspective was both eye-opening and fun. One thing I have always enjoyed about reading Moldavsky’s works is her wit, and this book did not disappoint.

Jack is implied white, and River is Australian. Rafi appears to be white on the cover, but her and Peggy’s skin tones are not mentioned in the book. However, they are implied American, like the majority of the characters. The mature content rating is for mentions of drugs and alcohol, mentions of nudity, and innuendo. The violence rating is for mentions of murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen