Have you ever read a book that reminds you strongly of another book you've read, but you can't quite put your finger on it?

That was my experience with People to Follow. The whole time I was reading, I kept getting flashes of a similar story, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it is. Ten influencers are left on an island under the premise that they are going to be on a reality TV show where they are unplugged from their devices and the outside world. Each one has their own motivation for being on the island and are also plenty shocked to see who their castmates are. Turns out many aren't strangers and there are deep secrets waiting to come out. While they await the production crew to arrive, tragedy strikes and one of them ends up dead. As the remaining nine scramble to figure out how to get help, they get a message from their anonymous "sponsor" threatening to reveal those dark secrets and "cancel" them once and for all if they don't play along. Completely cut off from the outside world, they either play along or see what happens... if they dare.

This definitely reaches a YA audience with the teen/new adult influencers and cultural references to the reach and impact of social media. I felt the premise was intriguing and there are some valid points made about influencer and social media culture, but overall the story wasn't my favorite. The POV changes with varying chapter lengths that could be somewhat confusing. Some characters were more developed than others and I didn't particularly like any of them, but maybe that was intentional. Lastly, like I mentioned, it just felt so familiar, like I've read a version of this premise before but without the influencer twist.

Overall it's a fast read and there are definitely some twists and red herrings that caught me off guard, but not my favorite.

Thank you to @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a twisty, locked room style YA thriller that sees ten morally questionable social media influencers who each have something to hide, agreeing to a new show that has them giving up all connection to the outside world.

The teens all have a history and some harbor grudges that see tensions escalating quickly, especially when the first body shows up and the mysterious 'host' forces them to reveal more secrets than any of them are comfortable with.

Full of lies, betrayals and an ending I didn't see coming this was good on audio with a cast of narrators. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I would definitely read more this author!

This was a fast-paced and compulsively readable YA thriller. A group of influencers are invited to a remote island to participate in a reality television show, however, things aren’t exactly as they seem.

This is told from the perspectives of four of the main characters: Elody, Kira, Max and Logan. Also on the island with them is Corrine, Aaron, Zane and McKayleigh.

We find out as reading each of them is hiding an abhorrent secret and soon people start being “canceled” and then winding up dead! There are a lot of unlikable characters with Logan being the one you’re most able to empathize with (though still not without a foul secret).

I found this a quick and entertaining YA thriller read and definitely think for fans of the genre this is sure to be a hit!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A group of ten teenage influencers embarks on an adventure to a secluded island, eager to star in a reality show titled "In Real Life" (IRL). What they anticipate as a straightforward experience takes a dark turn when one of them ends up dead. It becomes apparent that, in this chilling scenario, the cost of being "cancelled" could extend beyond their online presence to their very lives.

Initially, the influencers believed that living in reality on the deserted island wouldn't pose significant challenges, only to discover how wrong they were. Stripped of technology and cut off from their followers, the true facets of their personalities emerge, laying bare their deepest secrets. The stakes escalate when it's revealed that one influencer harbours vengeful intentions, orchestrating the demise of contestants one by one.

This YA thriller unfolds as an entertaining and gripping tale, offering a popcorn-worthy experience. The concept of placing influencers on an island, unveiling their narcissism, adds an intriguing layer to the narrative. While the premise may not be groundbreaking, the novel is characterized by a seamless flow, and abundant twists, and turns that maintain suspense throughout. Despite lacking in originality, the engaging and suspenseful nature of the book makes it a compelling read, difficult to put down.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t tend to enjoy many YA books, but this one wasn’t too bad. It started out slow and with a lot of characters to keep straight, but the last quarter of the book was pretty entertaining. Some of the twists were obvious and the characters were all horrible people, but I think I would’ve liked this one had I read it as a teenager.

My rating: 3.5/5

Bodies, Bodies, Bodies meets And Then There Were None in this debut isolation thriller following a group of teen influencers on an island for a reality show when people start dying. This is a very solid debut that is plotted in a way that will probably surprise teen readers and will keep you turning the pages. It's a lot of moving pieces to keep straight and doing that effectively is impressive for a new author. There's also a lot of great social commentary and this was written by someone who feels very in tune with the landscape of YouTube, social media, and influencers.

That said, I wasn't as invested in any of the characters as I wanted to be for building tension of the book to really work for me. And some of the decision-making and thinking felt conveniently stupid. Plus I don't feel like the ending was super satisfying for spoilery reasons. I think this might have worked better if there was at least one character the reader really cares about. That said, I still liked this and there's definitely skill to being able to manage such a sprawling cast of characters and complex plot. I received a copy of this book for review via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this book, as I enjoy the premise. Unfortunately, I don't think it was executed well. It didn't really hold my attention, but I pushed forward, hoping as things picked up it would. I typically really enjoy thrillers of this nature, so I'm not particularly sure how this one went wrong for me, but I am hopeful that trying again later may help. This is no one way a slight to the author, I just wasn't captivated by the story, and that happens and is okay.

This was a little drawn out, but I liked the story and would try this author again in the future. I think the plot and cover reeled me in initially and then I just really started to get into the story.

Teen influencers are filming a reality show when someone starts killing them. This is kind of fun in an embarrassing sort of way, but should in no way be confused with a good book. Most of these people are too shallow and interchangeable to want dead or to hope they survive. This puts us all in the position of Mean Girls.

I love a good locked room mystery! This was filled with unexpected secrets. Damn everyone had a wild secret. It was a little hard to follow each character at times but not too bad.

Most of the characters were shallow and really only cared about themselves but i liked the underlying theme of basically there’s more to “influencing” and don’t lose yourself in it. We definitely live in the world of everything is on the internet and gotta post it and make content and i liked that this brought attention to maybe we should be more careful. I grew up before the internet and i kind of miss it 😅

It was an interesting case to figure out how and why each character landed on this island & i definitely was puzzled the whole time on who was actually behind it all.

I enjoyed this one.

Ten influencers are stuck on an island after signing a contract to be on a reality show. It quickly becomes apparent to them that not all is what it seems after their "sponsor" makes them vote on who to cancel... and the first person voted out is killed.

*YA thriller
*multiple POV
*pop culture references

Unfortunately this one was not for me. I'm probably not in the right age demographic because I was really annoyed by the character's dialogue and decisions. The characters were unlikeable and one-dimensional so I found myself not caring who the perpetrator even was.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was such a fun YA mystery. Everyone wants to secretly see influencers struggle, and boy did they In this one. I loved it.

I did not love this book. I found the characters unrealistic and unlikable. I liked the premise, but something was lost in translation for me.

Honestly this book was not a favorite for me. It took a while for me to get through. It felt very immature to me and while I know its a young adult book I expected the characters to have more depth. The storyline did pick up in the last half and it was more interesting to me.

Overall I would say it was good book but I wouldn't read it again.

This book was super twisty. SO much happened, but the change in narrators made it really hard for me to follow and keep track of the characters. There were just so many names, and it really look away from the story for me. Overall, this was just fine.

People to Follow is Olivia Worley’s debut novel, is yet another retelling/reimagining of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. These seem to be particularly popular lately, and I don’t hate it since it’s one of my favorite Christie works. It shares a similar tone with Lucy Foley’s The Guest List but is distinctly tailored for a younger audience. This became apparent to me about halfway through. It’s technically considered a YA Thriller, but I would consider it more of a mystery than a thriller.

The characters in People to Follow are an intriguing mix; none are particularly likable, each harboring both annoying traits and deep-seated secrets. These secrets are the threads that bind them together and lead them to an isolated island for a three-week retreat. What starts as a period of relaxation quickly turns sinister when a storm leaves them stranded, and the murder of one among them sparks a tense whodunit.

10 young influencers are invited to a private Caribbean Island for 3 weeks of relaxing and unplugging, all to be filmed of course for a new reality show titled IRL. Each of the characters is facing some sort of personal crisis, mostly revolving around their dive in popularity. A “storm” strands the production crew, and the emergency takes the PA off island. She leaves a cell phone for emergencies, and each influencer has a watch. Turns out the cell phone goes missing, and the watches only get messages from “The Sponsor”, and they can’t send any outgoing messages. When one of their number ends up dead, the remaining 9 come to the logical conclusion that one of them is a murderer.

The story is told from alternating points of view between 4 of the main characters. Max, an aspiring documentary YouTuber who has had trouble catching a new story since his smashing expose. He’s here trying to catch a story on The Bounce House, a famous TikTok trio who have also been invited to the island. Kira, a fitness influencer who was a former reality star of a popular dance show. She finds her old nemesis from the dance show, a member of The Bounce House is also on the island. Logan is a former member of The Bounce House who has recently been kicked out/left. Who knows, but the internet is awash with rumors and conjecture. She isn’t happy to see her former friends. Then there is Elody. She’s the most annoying of the bunch, but she has the most distinct voice of all the characters. She has no apparent ties to the other influencers but seems to be there as the life of the party. When in doubt, she finds a way to make it fun/interesting. I found myself enjoying her chapters the most as the book unfolded.

I managed to guess the murderer’s identity mid-way, but the specific character revelation was a surprise. Particularly interesting was the plot involving Max’s secret, which led to a predictable yet intriguing revelation of the perpetrator’s identity and their accomplice. Despite some predictability, the book’s ending was engaging, with a well-executed plot twist.

This book is literally begging to be made into a movie. It was an absolutely solid debut from Worley. While the ‘closed-room mystery’ theme might seem overdone, Worley’s take is great.

The market is over saturated right now with influencers on an island and so you really need to be special to stand out. Unfortunately this wasn’t it. All the characters were caricatures of personalities. None of them were likeable and it was hard to tell them apart. One of my least favorite influencer stories

I am a huge fan of reality shows and this one has influencers on a reality show. This was a fun debut by Olivia Worley and I am looking forward to more books by her

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of People to Follow by Olivia Worley.

People to Follow is such a fun debut! Influencers stranded on a remote island without their phones, mysterious messages coming from an unknown person, and murderous activity. What’s not to love?

Worley unravels our story through the eyes of four different influencers, which gives the reader the opportunity to both, get to know them and to learn about the others on the island through their eyes. As things start to ramp up and get more tense it was fun to see what these individuals would do and who they would believe among them. I loved how each character had a distinct voice that fit their influencer personality. They felt exactly like how I would imagine an 18-year-old influencer to talk and behave in this situation.

There are so many secrets in the pages of this story that you’ve got to make sure you’re paying attention throughout. I found myself multiple times kicking myself for missing something as Worley revealed a pivotal connection or truth.

This is very much an And Then There Were None type story, which I absolutely adored. Trying to guess who would fall victim next or what secrets would be revealed about who kept me consistently coming back for more.

A huge thank you to Wednesday Books for my gifted copy!