People to Follow is a wild book. Wild and fun and engaging enough to keep me bulldozing through it so I could find out what the heck was going on.

Ten teenage influencers descend on a private island for what they are told is a reality show. No phones, no communication with the outside world, just interpersonal drama and raw footage. But soon, things start to go wrong as the producer has to leave the island and the rest of the film crew never arrives. And then, people start dying as mysterious threats about "cancellation" are issued.

A bunch of people on an isolated island is a classic premise for a thriller, and it makes an excellent backdrop here. The influencers start to turn on each other as they wonder who's responsible for everything that's happened, and paranoia runs rampant as they all try to protect their secrets. There's a lot going on with all of the different influencers - past scandals, secrets, inter-personal tensions, etc. - and it gets a little hard to track at times, especially with information doled out so sparingly. But I was still hooked the whole way through.

Does this book get a little silly? Sure. Was the ending essentially satisfying? Definitely! This is a book to be devoured and enjoyed without too much thinking happening. Basically, a good time!

4/5

What in the world. I feel like I need to re-read this to see all of the things I missed. I truly didn't see that ending coming, at least not in the way it played out.

<spoiler>There's no way babe.</spoiler>

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a YA book with 10 influencers and I could not connect with any of the characters. I guess it’s just not my genre but will give it 3 stars. All opinions are my own and I received this from NetGalley and the publisher.

People to Follow was an exciting, fast-paced YA mystery/thriller. A group of social media influencers take an opportunity to spend weeks on a private island disconnected from the world and social media. But some weren't expecting to be on an island with people from their past - drudging up a lot of old drama. The group soon realizes things aren't right when their "sponsor" begins to expose their secrets and people end up dead. Told from the perspective of 4 different influencers throughout - you are constantly questioning who to trust. This was definitely a lot of fun to read - a great debut novel. Very entertaining! Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

People to Follow by Olivia Worley is a YA locked-room (or island) mystery about influencers who all have secrets to keep. I’m grateful to @WednesdayBooks for an advanced copy. This one came out on Halloween!

When ten teen influencers show up on a remote island to film the new reality “In Real Life,” they all have their own reasons for being there. But when a possible storm sends the show runner back to the mainland and none of the crew shows up the next day to film, they realize they’re stranded with no internet access and no way to contact the outside world. And then someone dies.

This book had a lot of enjoyable elements. A locked room mystery is always exciting to try and solve and many of the characters were unpleasant enough that it was fun to try and guess which one of them might be behind things and why. This was also a quick, propulsive read with great cliff hanging chapter endings making it hard for me to find a good stopping place while I was in the middle of the book.

But there were a lot of characters to keep straight from the beginning—ten in fact. And while I eventually sorted them out (it was made easier, obviously, when some of them started dying), I do wish it had been a little easier to tell them apart. About a quarter into the book, I realized there were two characters with names starting with K (or maybe one was a C with a K sound) that I’d been thinking were the same person for a chunk of the book. I could have solved this by making a list of the characters early on, but I’m just not that conscientious of a reader. I also found the resolution a little wanting. It’s hard to explain without going into details, but I was hoping for a more cohesive, meaningful end.

All that said, this book is aimed at teens, and it’s a book I’m positive would work better for the intended audience than adults like me who are reading YA. I can completely see teen readers enjoying all the drama and influencers acting out and hiding secrets. It actually reminded me of the Christopher Pike books I loved back in the day.

There is one main storyline in People to Follow. It follows the ten influencers and why they are on the island. Then, it morphs into a fight for survival when the Sponsor starts making their demands. This storyline was well-written, and I couldn’t put the book down. It was also a chaotic mess. I’m not too fond of books with more than one viewpoint. But in this case, it worked. The author would end one POV with just enough information or half of the information given about a person and then start the next chapter with that person’s POV.

Numerous secondary storylines are married to the main storyline. Some will not make sense initially, but a lightbulb will go off while reading, and you will understand why the author mentioned that storyline. All of the characters are intertwined in one way or another. Even characters that you think didn’t know each other are connected. It makes a massive spiderweb of storylines that can be difficult to separate.

The mystery angle of People to Follow was excellent. I didn’t figure out who the Sponsor and the killer were until almost the end of the book. And even then, I was only halfway right. The author had a massive twist in the plotline where the author revealed everything, and it was freaking wild. My mouth dropped because of not only who it was but because of why.

The thriller angle of the book was just as good as the mystery angle. The author used being confined to an island during a storm with no electricity to give an appropriate background and feel. The characters’ helplessness and horror over what is being done to them come off the pages.

The end of People to Follow was very anticlimactic, but it gave me chills. I can’t go much more into it, but I will say that the killer was not sorry.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, NetGalley, and Olivia Worley for allowing me to read and review this ARC of People to Follow. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

A fast-paced, unputdownable novel perfect for young adults and those older adults who like to read young adult books every now and then. That's me.. I'm the older adult. Told from multiple points of view, the pages fly by.. I'm the type of reader that likes to end my reading session at a chapters end.. People To Follow broke this habit... as the chapters end on cliffhangers, making me not want to put the book down. A bunch of influencers are stranded on an island, and when the bodies start piling up, the mystery to figure out the killer and why becomes more pressing. A modern-day twist on the Agatha Christie locked door mystery. I loved the pacing of the book, the characters were a tad annoying and I silently rooted for a few of them to be the next victim (but really that was the intent I'm sure and it was well done).

I was given a complimentary copy by the publisher and netgalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Thank you for allowing me to read this advanced readers copy of this book! I really enjoyed reading this book, it had me guessing until the very end!

I enjoyed this overall, it was very intriguing. The concept brought together so many fun elements. I do wish it was a little less YA , it did make sense in the context of the story, but it made a few characters slightly annoying.

Thank you, Wednesday Books and Netgalley, for my eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

If I never hear the word "babes" again, it would be too soon.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I mean, annoyed because the characters all seemed so vapid and parts of the plot felt shaky. But also entertained because this was just a silly book meant to be entertaining.

There weren't really any likeable characters for me, and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending.

Although at times irritating and unrealistic, this one was a quick read and I was entertained while reading it. Give it a go, just don't call me babes when you tell me your thoughts.

Okay, I really liked this one! It has a strikingly similar premise to The Island by Natasha Preston that came out earlier this year, but this one delivers so much more!

In this YA mystery/thriller, ten young social media influencers are invited to a three-week, unplugged getaway on a private island where they will be shooting a reality TV show called IRL (yuk yuk). Before the first day is even over, things go off the rails when the production team's arrival is delayed by a storm. The largely underage group is left to their own devices—without devices, except the signal-less smart watches provided by their mysterious "Sponsor" and ONE cell phone that quickly goes missing. Oh, and all the surveillance cameras in every room.

Soon the influencers start receiving increasingly ominous challenges from their Sponsor via the watches (even though they can't seem to get any messages to send). And then people start dying. A coincidence? It's clear this Sponsor has dirt on each of these influencers and is out to get them #canceled, one by one—and it doesn't look like they just mean socially.

This story is told from a variety of the influencers' POVs, plus some surveillance transcriptions. While it was challenging to keep who's who sorted out in the beginning, I felt like I got to know the characters enough to develop opinions and theories about them individually. I did end up listening along with the audiobook after its release, and the different voices definitely helped me distinguish the characters. Plus, their delivery added characterization that I might not have picked up on otherwise.

For me, this mystery was well crafted. I didn't fully figure it out, but I did begin to put pieces together. And when reveals happen, they actually make sense in most cases, which isn't always true with books of this genre! When people die in this book, they're not just another dead body on the island; they're an actual person who has been lost and their individual death goes along with the story. (Again, that's not always how these stories are written.)

I will say that there are a few times when my suspension of disbelief faltered and I couldn't help thinking "well, that's not how that works," but it wasn't enough for me to abandon the story.

One thing that was almost a dealbreaker for me, though, was the VERY ONLINE slang. Man, I felt old, even though I work with teens and am on TikTok. I am embarrassed by how much I had to google the definitions of this and that. But this story is told in these characters' voices, and with them being social media influencers, it does makes sense. Still, if this book gets a reprint ten years from now, it will need a full set of footnotes to keep the reader in the loop. In the end, I am very impressed by Olivia Worley's ability to capture the voice of Gen Z, even if it is exaggerated.

I won't expound on this because it will give too much away, but this story dips into some real and current issues facing young people today. (I know that sounds corny.) We get glimpses of the seedy underbelly of influencer culture and the lengths some folks go to gain and maintain viral status.

This is a great debut, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else Olivia Worley is going to write. I'm excited to offer this book to readers at my library with relevant trigger warnings for these topics: racism, classism, sexual assault, grooming, gaslighting, body dysmorphia, and possible suicide, among others I may have missed.

Review posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5386366094

Fast read based in the whole 'and then there was none' philosophy. Full of twists and turns. Just when I figured out who/what was going on, the story went in another direction. I would have rated it a 4 if it wasn't for the ending. I got what the author was trying to say about influencers, social media and how it affects us as a society. It came.off as preaching and a little too fake. In the end, I still would recommend the book for a fast, fun read.

#NETGALLEY. #OLIVIAWORLEY. #PEOPLETOFOLLOW

I requested this book under the impression this was an adult book but its definitely more in the YA category. It was a bit drawn out and unbelievable for my liking.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This was a fun YA thriller set on a Caribbean Island and told through 4 different POV.

2.5 stars

I typically enjoy murder mysteries where the characters are isolated and the numbers slowly dwindle. It makes things exciting and usually means that one of the group is the killer. In this case, the issue I had was having too many characters that were similar and not being able to keep track of them. They're all social media influencers and don't have enough differences in personalities to be distinct. I literally didn't know who one person was that popped up at the end, even though apparently they'd been there all along?

I also thought the characters were all kind of awful and didn't care that much about their deaths. If I don't have anyone to root for, it's not as gripping and just becomes a murder spree. The ending was a huge information dump and became overwhelming with details I didn't necessarily follow, so overall it just wasn't for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the copy.

I have yet to start screaming from the rooftops about this book, but I will be doing it, and I will be doing it a lot!
I really love books with social media influencers and the main characters, and this one ticks this box loud and clear, and then it also adds a thick layer of drama, suspense, and chilling twists, and it definitely was one of those books that deserve the label of being unputdownable.

What would you do if you, an influencer, have to go to an island as part of a reality tv with no internet, or any way to connect with the rest of the world and after a first night of partying discover a dead body? Or a mannequin by the ocean that says “you have been canceled”? Or your most horrible secrets are exposed? Olivia Worley show us what social media affects not only the ones influenced by but the lengths that an influencer would take to maintain their reputation and followers.

I liked the premise but sometimes I got lost between the characters and I had to go back to understand what was going on. I liked the villain of the story and even though I didn’t know until the very end who it was I knew who it was (confusing but if you read the book you would understand what am I talking about).

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Twists and turns for days!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC e-copy of this book!

The absolute best thriller I have read in over a year. I didn’t see any of that coming.

This book is a mix of And Then There were None meets reality TV and influencers.

People to Follow is told from 4 different POVs - Kira, Logan, Max and Elody. There are 10 influencers on a isolated island with the idea that they are "unplugging" for a new reality show called In Real Life (IRL). The influencers are cut off from their phones and other technology other then watches that are provided by "the Sponsor". On the first night, one of the influencers are found dead and soon it is a game of cat and mouse to see if the killer is one of the other 9 influencers or someone else on the island. In trying to communicate with the outside world, they find that their watches can only receive messages. They cannot send any messages out. Soon the influencers find that one of them is out for revenge and one by one they start to get "cancelled".

This is a fun, guilty pleasure read. It is a young adult thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Finding out who the killer was was interesting and there were some good twists mixed into the story. This is a great debut novel from Olivia Worley.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books from the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the povs and all the twists and turns but I think anything that references social media or any pop culture references isn’t for me.