Influenced: Serenity Acres: Where Secrets Barely Stay Hidden by Crystal Quast (Book Review #2403)

Influenced: Serenity Acres: Where Secrets Barely Stay Hidden by Crystal Quast, with illustrations by Rick Johnston, delivers a tense exploration of family control, online fame, and the dangerous consequences of living life under constant scrutiny.

At the center of the story is Brook Salinger, a young woman who has spent much of her life in front of the camera. Her family’s wildly successful channel may appear glamorous from the outside, but behind the polished image is a very different reality. Brook is tormented by online bullies and increasingly desperate to escape the influence of her mother, Daphne, who has turned her daughter’s life into part of an online empire.

Brook’s decision to break away immediately creates a compelling conflict. Her struggle is not simply about leaving a family business or stepping away from social media; it is about discovering who she is when the identity created for an audience no longer defines her. That premise gives the novel a particularly relevant edge in a world where children and teenagers can become online personalities long before they are old enough to understand the consequences.

The relationship between Brook and Daphne forms the emotional center of the story. Daphne’s determination to maintain control raises difficult questions about where parental ambition ends and exploitation begins. Her carefully constructed public image has become something worth protecting at almost any cost, while Brook is forced to confront what that image has cost her personally.

The story also expands beyond the family conflict as Brook becomes caught up in a neighborhood mystery with increasingly serious consequences. As unseen forces begin pushing her toward a shocking truth, the tension grows. Her search for answers becomes more dangerous precisely because the people around her have so much to hide.

One of the most interesting aspects of Influenced is its treatment of the idea of influence itself. Influence can mean popularity, persuasion, parental authority, or the invisible pressure created by an audience that is always watching. Brook finds herself caught between all of these forces while trying to reclaim control over her own life.

The novel’s subject matter feels especially timely given the growing phenomenon of “kidfluencers” and the blurred boundaries between childhood, family life, and online entertainment. Behind every carefully edited video can be a complicated reality that viewers never see.

With its combination of family drama, mystery, online culture, and psychological tension, Influenced offers a thought-provoking look at what can happen when a carefully manufactured image becomes more important than the person behind it. Brook’s fight to uncover the truth ultimately becomes a fight to determine whether she can finally live a life that belongs to her.

Written by Jayran Main