This was just.. fine. I didn't love the writing and I wasn't super invested but it wasn't boring so I'll give it that.

Triplets Cecily, Amber, and Rudy are Instagram famous, both on their own and as a family of home renovators. After moving into their parents' newest home renovation project, they start receiving threatening messages on their Instagram posts from "the follower". When harmful "accidents" start happening to the family, things get serious. Who can they trust.

This book would be good for teens and tweens looking for a thriller story. While there is mention of a murder in the house, it happened long before the triplets and their family moved in. Scary, but not too scary. The twist will keep most readers guessing to the very end. Parts of this one are written in social media style which some readers may find annoying. Overall, a good story that reminds people that the internet is always watching, and followers may not be who they seem.

Cults, windswept moors and isolation. I love the premise of this book and enjoyed the story. I appreciated the sensitivity the author gave to this story and this it is not one to be missed. It had a slow starter but captured me. Don't put it down...it crips you.

I decided to pick up this book because it was nearly Halloween and I wanted a creepy book that would make me scared. This book did make me unsettled at times, and I really enjoyed the overall premise of this book however the writing of this book was not for me. It took me a while to get into this book because the writing kept putting me off and making me not want to pick it up as I could not get into the story because of it.
There were times in this book where I was unsettled by what was happening but I could not fully immerse myself because the writing just would not let me.
This book is quite average length for a young adult thriller, but it felt so much longer and dragged out a lot in the middle.
Although I may not have been obsessed with this book, the overall premise was amazing and so I don't regret picking this up and giving it a go.

Thank you to ABRAMS books for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am always picking up books about influencers and the Follower was no different. triplets, Cecily, Rudy, and Amber are the children of home renovation stars that recently moved into their parents latest renovation projects when they start to get it chilling messages from someone calling themselves the follower. It becomes clear that this is more than just a simple troll and actually someone looking to destroy the Cole family’s reputation,

I felt like this novel was going for the haunted house trope adding the aspect of triplets as influencers with an online stalker. it seemed like a plot line with a lot of potential however, it just did not work for me. The ending I was able to guess fairly early on and it just wasn’t satisfying. In all fairness others may love this one especially if the haunted house trope is one you enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Harry N. Abrams for my digital copy of the book to review.

Amber, Cecily and Rudy Cole are seventeen years old triplets, and bonafide social media stars. Posting collectively under a shared social media handle (@ColeTripsHouseFlips) they each feature in their own speciality (fashion, makeup and health / fitness/working out) combining their efforts to promote their house flipping endeavours, documenting each property as they move into it, renovate it, and then sell it for a healthy profit. However, as is so often the case with social media, when you scratch the surface, all is not as it seems. The triplets are all home- schooled and are subject to the modern day “stage mom” who dictates their brand and directs their content. The financial burden of supporting the family falls far too heavily on the children, and with the new project that they have taken on, the cracks in the family may soon be too big to hide..

Taking over a historical house with a murky past, the family settle in to carry out their usual works, but when they start getting mysterious messages from an online fan, is it a simple case of trolling or will the answer lie in the history of the house?

I enjoyed this book, I liked the premise and I’m enjoying the current run of thrillers examining the potential problems of living life online - it reminded me in parts of People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd, which I read recently and which had similar themes. The characters were decent although I felt like they could have had a bit more depth, particularly the parents, although I appreciate that I’m more than likely older than most of the target audience!! I liked the format of the book with the chapters being broken up by ‘online comments’, which I enjoy as a device. I thought the tension built well and the book was well paced, there was a good range of potential villains and I didn’t guess the ending too early which is always a bonus. An enjoyable read and I’d definitely look out for more by this author.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book had a slow start. I struggled a little bit at the start to tell the various pOV apart. I thought the end of the book def took the cake with so many unexpected twists and turns. I really loved the ending. This book had so many vibes of jennifer lynn barnes reads that def tied into the family connection. Once I got into the read, I had a hard time putting it down. It was a fast pace read and by the end i def did grow to love all the characters!!

It was an enjoyable thriller. Darker than I thought, and for my taste to be honest. But, I thought triplet influencer protagonists were a very original idea. There's diversity and creepy vibes for sure.
All in all, it was a good thriller. Thanks a lot for this copy.

I flew through this book! There were a lot of creepy parts that kept me on the edge of my seat, keeping me hooked on the story. Further, I really liked the triplets! The characters were well written and I liked getting to know the real triplets in comparison to how they depicted themselves on Instagram. I connected with them and cared for them throughout the story. However, I wasn't a fan of everything in this story, hence the 3 stars. The main issue I had with this book, was its portrayal of mental health. Mental health issues are presented to show that the villain in this story is dangerous, which adds to the stigma around mental health. Next to this, I detected some predictable tropes which are seen often in thrillers. Even though they made this read a bit more predictable at times, I didn't mind much because they didn't give away the main reveal: "who is the follower?". I did have a problem with one of the tropes but this is a personal problem (skip the next part to avoid a spoiler). When Cecily's pet got introduced, I already predicted that it was going to die and I was right. This death didn't sit well with me because I absolutely love animals and just can't bear to read about them dying in books. All in all, this was an addictive thriller that kept me hooked but which did contain a few issues.

Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids for providing me with an e-arc. This did not affect the honesty of my review in any way.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Abrams Kids for my copy of The Follower by Kate Doughty in exchange for an honest review. It published March 23, 2021.
I was drawn to this book based off of a few things in the premise. One, that the main characters are triplets, I love anything to do with multiples. Two, I love reading books about influencers, it's kind of a guilty pleasure. Three, I thought the idea of a rogue follower sounded really thrilling.
This book has all of those things, but what I didn't realize is that it was also part horror. Not so bad as to give you nightmares, but enough that it caught me off guard. That's definitely a thing for some, but not really my cup of tea.
Also, I really detest teens doing things they shouldn't, and it being glorified in YA books. Drinking, sneaking off with a love-interest, etc. I don't think that's necessary to make them seem cool or relatable, but rather just continues to confuse the YA demographic.
So if you're drawn to the things I mentioned, and things like teens acting out, and the horror genre don't bother you, then you'll probably enjoy this one!

Thank you to Abram Kids and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A thriller surrounding an online 'influencer' family? Such a unique concept which I can fully get behind! I was able to read this quickly in a sitting which is what I like in thrillers, I was still able to guess the 'follower' and saw some twists coming, but I didn't mind as much because I enjoyed the ride. It had the creepy side of a stalker case which is something very likely to occur the more people share of their lives on social media.

The triplets had a fleshed out relationship with each other and were complex which is a rarity inside a YA thriller! The LGBT and body positive rep was a nice touch. I very much enjoyed the horror/darkness which came from this, however some scenes are probably to intense for younger readers.

A solid YA thriller with a responsible message underneath about the dangers of social media.

The Follower by Kate Doughty is a ya thriller about an influencer family who starts to get online threats when they move into a new house. Soon the threats turn into something more sinister.

The book has an interesting concept that is executed pretty well. The triplets are actually quite likeable and have a nice and realistic relationship which is refreshing, they sometimes argue but they deeply care for one another.

I also liked that there was some nice lgbtq+ and body diversity representation.

Small details but the instagram comments at the end of each chapters were a really nice touch

However, one thing that really bothered me was that when one of the kids got seriously injured, the parents decided to stay until the open house because they couldn’t afford to stay at a motel. While I do understand that money was tight, would any parents risk the lives of their children for a week or two of motel money?

The mom was also very annoying with the social media stuff and it made her really unlikable.

I saw the plot twist coming but I never would’ve guessed who the follower was so I was still pretty surprised by it.

All in all, it wasn’t a perfect book but I still enjoyed it.

Thanks Abram Kids and Netgalley for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thought I'd like this more, but it definitely DOES have some 90's Fear Street vibes that were super fun to relive.

Enjoyed this read a lot, went through it quite quickly. The characters were complex and the story line itself was very interesting. Definitely recommend this book!

Social media stalking meets the true crime "Watcher" case. I've seen quite a few thrillers recently based on the dangers of living your lives as online as influencers do, and I'm always pretty interested. There's a lot of really interesting and creepy possibilities to be mined. I've also been really interested in the true crime mystery of "the Watcher house", where a family got menacing letters mentioning things outsiders couldn't really have known, just as they moved into their new dream home. So this book taking creepy elements from both was right up my alley, and while it delivered on the scares and definite menace, there was something about the tone that wasn't quite right for me.

First of all, the danger gets pretty real and pretty dark quickly. The book opens with a teenager's death and goes from there. [ The MOMENT the rabbit was introduced, I knew it was going to be gruesomely killed, and I guess I wanted to get it over with. (hide spoiler)] I like scares and chills but I have a soft heart and a weak stomach so some of this was a little too much for me. I didn't enjoy the unhappiness I felt reading some of this, the way other horror might give me a thrill. That's definitely not universal, this tone was a choice and probably works for a lot of audiences. Teens might appreciate not being talked down to, to have horror with real disastrous consequences [ and me being an adult and a parent might be part of why a teen's death and grieving mom hits me hard. (hide spoiler)]

There were some passages that seemed removed, which is especially odd in something that wants to ratchet up the tension, a lot of "Cecily looked at Amber and realized..." language that had me experiencing the triplet's emotions more second or third hand rather than reading them and being right there with them. There was also a lot of repetition about the triplet's goals and hopes. Cecily wanting to start her own channel and talk about science, Amber feeling judged and less than, Rudy not wanting to monetize all of his interests but also having difficulty prioritizing things that aren't monetized. It's realistic that they think about these things often, but it isn't necessarily good writing to have it in the third person narration so often. The first mention of Amber being a lesbian was super awkward and abrupt, but there was a good moment later when Amber is out and considers when she should casually mention an exgirlfriend, just to get it out there. [ For a realistic critique of internet comments, Amber being gay probably should have been mentioned more, especially as she enters an interracial relationship, but let's face it, no one reading this DOESN'T know that she we don't need to rehash that nastiness and it's kind of a little treat to not have to. (hide spoiler)]

[I also found it a bit frustrating that they seemed to alternate thinking there might be a ghost and that the follower is a real person randomly out there, and no connection was made earlier, but I think I often am critical of things because I read a lot and am genre savvy, but for the ya audience, someone living in the house might seem fresh rather than something you immediately expect once you hear about a sealed attic and a dumbwaiter system. (hide spoiler)]

There's a pretty strong critique of online and stan culture here, without promoting the idea that teens should be off it completely. The triplets are able to influence people and provide much desired representation but these viewers are not their friends and the commenters say really horrible things either not caring that the triplets can read it, or not even considering them as real people who might. There are downsides to having an online presence, but the real problem seems to be their lack of control over their own content, and the family's need for them to monetize at all costs.

There's an audience who will eat this right up, and I did enjoy some of the thriller parts, but softer
readers might not expect the more horror direction some of the darkness goes.

Author: Kate Doughty
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Age Range: Young Adult
Format: E-Book Advanced Reader Copy
Published: 23rd March 2021
Pages: 777 (Just to note this is what netgalley had as the page count while I was reading however every time I started reading a new page it jumped forward 3 numbers so I assume this was a formatting error and it will not be 700+ pages)
Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis

A spine-tingling YA thriller, based on a still-unfolding true story
 
Instagram-famous triplets Cecily, Amber, and Rudy—the children of home renovation superstars—are ready for a perfect summer. They’ve just moved into the site of their parents’ latest renovation project when they begin to receive chilling messages from someone called The Follower. It soon becomes clear that this anonymous threat is more than a simple Internet troll, and he can’t wait to shatter the Cole family’s perfect veneer and take back what’s his. The Follower examines the implications of what it is to be watched in the era of social media fame—as well as the lies we tell and the lengths we’ll go to uphold a perfect image, when our lives depend on it.

CAWPILE

Characters – 6
Atmosphere – 7
Writing Style – 5
Plot – 6
Intrigue – 7
Logic – 6
Enjoyment – 6

Overall: 6.1

Review

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Gambling Addiction, Blood, Murder, Death, Animal Death, Loss of a friend, and Grief.

This review contains spoilers.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, ABRAMS Kids, however, this in no way influenced my opinion. Thank you to ABRAMS kids for providing me with a copy.


I love mystery/thriller so when I saw this up for request on Netgalley I decided to request it. As soon as I read the first chapter I was immediately curious about what was going on as it honestly gave me the chills. One aspect of this novel that I think was really well done was that it captured the creepy atmosphere perfectly, there were multiple moments where I was on the edge of my seat and had goosebumps. Another aspect of this novel that I really enjoyed was the look at influencer culture, it was interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes and the fact that the triplets weren’t posting the content that they wanted to but instead what their mother wanted them to. Also, I was so frustrated with how their mother was behaving and how she treated them. Now, let’s talk a bit about the characters, I will say I wasn’t overly attached to any of them but I did thoroughly enjoy Amber’s character and in my opinion, her POVs were the most interesting. Cecily was an interesting character and I felt so bad for her after her attack. I really wish Rudy had more development throughout the novel as all I really know is that he likes to make music so I would’ve liked to have seen more of his backstory and personality. While the final plot twist shocked me, I can’t say that I was a huge fan of it. Another issue I had was that I felt that at times the pacing was a little off. However, I did really like that this novel had an ambiguous ending.

Overall this was a decent mystery/thriller with a creepy atmosphere that examines influencer culture, however, I found it to be a little slow-moving in places and the characters were a little under-developed.

The Cole triplets are Instagram famous for their family account where they share all aspects of their lives with hundreds of thousands of followers. Their followers watch the family renovate houses and their latest project will be their biggest yet. Instead of a summer of practiced posts and live streams of paint samples the Coles begin to notice a malevolent follower who insists that they need to leave the house, or else.
Things escalate quickly for the triplets and anonymous online posts quickly transpire to very real active attacks on the house and the family themselves. I loved this book which perfectly combines the present risks of social media and the age old tales of abandoned, haunted houses. I really enjoyed the pace of this YA thriller and it is one of those books that makes you just want to close the curtains, curl up and read nonstop WITH the lights on.
Cannot help but highly recommend this for anyone who loves a 90’s horror movie or has considered the dangers of presenting too much information online for anyone to use against you...

**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of The Follower by Kate Doughty through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.

The Follower by Kate Doughty is a young adult mystery thriller novel about a set of triplet social media influencers.  The Cole triplets move from house to house with their parents as they flip homes.  This new house is their last chance, but it seems that maybe they've bitten off more than they can chew.  The Follower is due to be published on March 23rd, 2021.  I rated it 5 stars on GoodReads.


Here's the summary from GoodReads:

A spine-tingling YA thriller, based on a still-unfolding true story
Instagram-famous triplets Cecily, Amber, and Rudy—the children of home renovation superstars—are ready for a perfect summer. They’ve just moved into the site of their parents’ latest renovation project when they begin to receive chilling messages from someone called The Follower. It soon becomes clear that this anonymous threat is more than a simple Internet troll, and he can’t wait to shatter the Cole family’s perfect veneer and take back what’s his. The Follower examines the implications of what it is to be watched in the era of social media fame—as well as the lies we tell and the lengths we’ll go to uphold a perfect image, when our lives depend on it.

This was such an interesting book.  I didn't really know what to expect going into it, but I'm genuinely so glad that I read it.  It's been a long time since a book actually freaked me out, but this one did.  I was reading it before I went to sleep but I had to put it down several times because I was so freaked out by the concept and the potential of what was going to happen.  

I loved that it was a multi-point a view story and that we got the perspective of each of the Cole triplets and got to see their view of the events.  Each triplet was well developed and I really appreciated how different they were and also how they related to each other.  They were understandable characters, and it was interesting to see from the perspective of the social media influencer rather than just seeing their posts.

I also really enjoyed the use of social media to start the terror for the triplets.  It was a good place to start to develop the fear, and it made me wait with baited breath for how the threats were going to come to fruition.  It really hammered home the lesson of be careful what you post, and I found it really intriguing how the culprit drew from the knowledge of what the triplets had posted online to torture the triplets for changing the house.

This book made me cringe as bad things happened.  Not in the way that they were cringeworthy and awkward, but in that they tended to really gross me out and I sometimes felt like I had to look away from what was going on.  The follower was a truly disturbed and it really made the book feel like the triplets' actions had consequences.  

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend that you check it out if you're at all intrigued by the concept.  I really only have good things to say about this book.

4.5/5
This thriller comes out this week and if you like thrillers or horror novels you should be adding this one to your tbr right now!! I was hooked from the first chapter, but as it went on it got harder and harder to put it down. Unfortunately I didn’t heed the warning at the beginning and definitely read it right before bed….yes I actually had a scary dream that night haha. I deem it was worth it, though, to get to the epic climax.
I was easily invested in this story at first, because of the in-depth characters. Each of the triplets in this novel felt locked into their role as a social media influencer, but in different ways. I think the author did a great job exploring the impact of social media on different types of people. The follower character was soooo creepy the whole way through and I really thought that I had figured out who it was by the time the climax came, but then the plot twist came through and I was caught completely off guard. I don’t think there was a single thing that would’ve pointed me towards who it really was, whereas almost every other character felt suspicious. Once it was revealed, though, it made total sense.
I also really loved the character development in this book and I thought that the ending was wrapped up nicely, with no loose threads. My only complaint overall is that I never really had a good picture in my head of what was happening or what the characters looked like. I’m not sure if I just missed some of these descriptive details, but either way I would've liked some more descriptors. Unless that’s your pet peeve, though, I would highly recommend this. If you do read it, please properly heed the warning: Don’t read this at night!!

The Follower was such a great thriller! It had all of the creepy vibes! The story follows influencer triplets as they move into a run down mansion that their family is going to renovate. This is a very quick read that will keep you wanting more. Looking forward to reading more from Kate Doughty.