This is a powerful memoir that opened my eyes to the treatment of women in the music industry. I admire the author for her honesty in the telling of her story and look forward to seeing future work from her.

This is a funny yet raw memoir. I learned a lot about this musician, and I realized I had already known about her before diving in! I feel like we get a good look at the industry and the different pressures involved. Memoirs are my favorite genre, so I devoured this one.

This was a very brutally honest and painful tale that lead to self acceptance and understanding. Sometimes you have to learn who you are by being the person you are not. I read this in 2 days because I was so caught up in the story I didn't want to put it down.

People You Follow is Hayley Gene Penner's memoir, organized as a collection of memories of the relationships that have made some kind of impact on her life, and who she has become. Despite being unfamiliar with Penner's music, I was drawn to her stories.

When I finished the book I was left with a sense of unease. Perhaps this book makes a good companion to her album, but alone its focus was on the many abusive relationships she endured while glossing over other interesting topics (like her family dynamic and her eating disorder) that would allow the reader to know more about Penner outside these relationships. There were small snippets of stories that told us who Penner is (or who she has become), but I was left wanting more.

I didn't finish People You Follow. I have nothing against the book whatsoever aside from me just not jiving with Penner's writing style. I know for a fact that many, many others will really love this book and the writing style, but I just couldn't get through it.

Hayley Gene Penner is a very talented young woman, a singer songwriter and writer to boot. I think she could have waited a few decades to write a memoir, or I guess I wish there were a separate genre for partial-or-early-memoir. Her writing is frank and unabashed, in a way that reminds me of a child pushing boundaries and trying to shock its elders. It's like looking at a 20-something covered in tattoos and picturing them in the future doddering along with a walker, or marveling at the extent of cutting off the nose to spite the face, "How impressed he'd be with how insignificant I could make sex now".

It's so sad how hard Penner and other women are, on themselves and their bodies, the phrase "imperfect tummy" was referenced 8 times pertaining to a woman's body whereas for men her comments are "his adorable belly jiggling" and "his perfect little belly." Her list of partners who have taught her things is stupefying: The ones I've blindly put my body in danger for. The ones I've lied to about being on birth control, then secretly taken dozens of morning-after pills for" etc. Much of this story can be read as The Other Woman's POV. In the end Penner does draw good conclusions and present good advice to readers for example, it is wrong to believe that a woman who is expressing anger is ugly, and that a man who is apologetic is necessarily sad, and more importantly, that to love yourself is a very important lesson that is worth learning. Penner writes lyrically and beautifully regardless of how ugly her subject matter.

Put this in the 'who cares' pile for me.

I think if I had more background on who this person was it could have helped. Instead, I'm given a blurb by Lena Dunham which probably didn't help my opinion of this book.

I'm sure it's good if you are a fan.

Being a music enthusiast, I thought I would genuinely enjoy this book. However, while I definitely found some of the memoirs to be horrific, particularly the stories about her abusive relationship, I found that I could not relate to the book at all. While I was reading this, I kept thinking that black artists must have so many more hurdles to leap over. I felt like the memoirs were told from a position of privilege and ultimately, found the book to be slightly frustrating.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great lyrical memoir about a talented young woman navigating life, love, career, finding yourself. Without hearing her music you can tell Hayley is a talent by the way her prose flows through the stories she refragments.

What a spectacular book! I loved following Hayley and her story. Raw and emotional and a coming of age story that had me reading the book in one sitting.

This was a little hard to get through. It was interesting enough but just not for me. I didn't find it very fun with some of her experiences. I didn't really care to hear of the affairs but I can see why some people would like it. The cover is glorious though! Thanks for the advanced copy!

I had mixed feelings about this book. It's emotional and thoughtful, but it's just not very much fun to read. The tone is unrelenting, which makes for very little dynamic in the narrative. I can see people liking this really well, but the book wasn't for me.

This was a pleasant read. It was real, even raw and intimate. You see the scoop inside of the other side of LA, as well as the music and entertainment industry toxicity, yet the end of the book is very beautiful.

Raw, emotional, wise, with heartbreaking 20/20 hindsight. Very brave of the author to tell her story like this.

This book reads much like a juicy conversation with a friend that you might have over a glass of wine (or three). I was instantly engrossed in Hayley's personal stories about love, sex, friendship, and finding herself in the fast-paced culture of LA. You'll fly through this book.

Disappointed in the book. Not as "fun" as I was hoping for.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read the book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.