Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. At the beginning it was hard to keep track of every character. I honestly kind of hoped for a cheat sheet up front. The story was fun and I think it will have a lot of younger people reading it.

This is a type of thriller that I love. 10 teenage influencers are sent to an island, alone! And, suddenly, murder! As these teens begin to die off one by one, the pov rapidly changes, leaving me in the dark on what is actually happening.

I loved this. It was a fun, fast-paced read that kept me interested. I love reading a lot of different pov's so this was a good book for me!

Out October 31, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!

I had high hopes for this one. The characters were not likable. They all seemed like entitled, spoiled brats who were either social media influencers, or social media wannabe influencers.

I tried really hard to like it but it lost my interest somewhere in the middle, and I finished it because I wanted to know who the killer was - and mostly whether my guesses were right (spoiler alert - I didn’t figure it out). I think this book would’ve been better if it was shorter - and if there was a bit less entitled whining.

⭐️: 3.5/5

Ten social media influencers show up to a remote island to be part of a new reality show, “In Real Life”, that forces them to “unplug” and live without filters for three weeks, but when the producers fail to show up, things begin to go off the rails. They begin receiving messages from mysterious Sponsors that threaten to expose their secrets, resulting in them being “cancelled”, and when one of their own turns up dead, they realize they’ve been lured into a deadly game.

This is definitely one of the most Gen Z books I’ve ever read 😂 The concept of a locked room mystery with the twist that the characters at the center of it all have massive social media followings so they can be blackmailed and controlled by the secrets they don’t want their followers to know about is definitely interesting, and the super fast paced plot kept me really immersed and invested in the story. Initially, I had some reservations about how much I’d get invested in the story, since there are ten main characters, and you’re supposed to keep track of all of their names from the beginning, even though only four have POV chapters. I always get really overwhelmed at the beginning of books with large casts of characters that you don’t really meet organically, since it seems like I’m going to be quizzed later on, and having to remember so many names (when I’m actually terrible with names, especially IRL) gives me anxiety. Once I started to get a handle on who was who and who had beef with who, it was a much quicker read. This was a fun, YA, silly thriller that you could definitely read in a single day.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @stmartinspress and @wednesdaybooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Woohoo! People to Follow is like a modern YA version of the movie Clue and it couldn’t be better!

Ten young influencers are invited to film a reality show on a private island to capture “real life” without social media. But after one influencer is found dead, and an unknown “sponsor” starts sending them messages threatening to reveal all their secrets, they realize that this is is no vacation. The game is deadly.

This is a YA novel, but it could easily fit into the “new adult” genre instead. The characters are not in high school and range in age from 18 to the early 20’s. This is a great crossover book for older readers that enjoy the simple style of YA books without the high school drama that they usually contain.

That’s not to say there isn’t drama in People to Follow. Boy, is there. These influencers are young, rich, and obnoxious. They all seem to have personal grudges against each other. Most of the characters are unlikeable, but it is their unlikeability that made this book so much fun. I was rooting for these characters to get killed!

The beginning of the book was a little confusing since all characters were thrown at the reader at once and it was tough to keep track of who each character was and who they had a grudge against. Chapter narrations alternated between four characters – Elody, Kira, Max and Logan. Although Kira is probably the most likeable, Elody is the most entertaining. She is self-centered and has some of the wittiest comebacks. I enjoyed seeing what she would say next.

And let’s not forget the twists! I didn’t guess all of them.

This is 4.5 stars, but I rounded up to five stars since I think YA readers will love this. It’ a quick read that kept me wanting more. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for this advance review copy. All opinions are my own. #netgalley

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley to read and review.

CWs: death, murder, SA (implied, off-page, historical), allergic reaction (anaphylactic), bullying

This was a wild ride of a thriller! It was intense, fast-paced, and I was hooked. This has been a popular thriller take lately with a group of influencers in an isolated setting who all have secrets. In the vein of And Then There Were None, they start to die and their secrets come to light.
I enjoyed this author’s take on the story, and I liked that some of the “influencers” had doubts and reservations about their own positions in society. The different kinds of topics that they were known for were interesting, and the characters themselves felt realistic. I liked the complicated connections between them, and I enjoyed trying to figure out secrets and motivations.
The book is told in 4 POVs: Kira, Logan, Max, and Elody. The POVs felt distinct enough that I didn’t get confused between them. I liked the writing style and it was easy to read and be sucked into the story.
This was a really good YA thriller!

This book had a creative storyline but did not move as quickly as I wanted. There were a lot of slow parts and it took too long to get to the twist

After reading the synopsis I was hooked. Who doesn’t love reality TV meets influencers on a deserted island and murder. Sadly I struggled to connect with the characters because they all felt the same. So I tossed it into the hands of my 15 year old who devoured it…clearly I’m not the right demographic but I think teens will love it!

Thank you Zibby Books for the gifted ARC’

I was hooked into this story from the premise - reality TV, influencers, and a mysterious murder!

Unfortunately, I wasn't anticipating how unrelatable and entitled the characters would be. Being wealthy, spoiled teens on a deserted island seemed interesting enough, but it became a little challenging to keep track of which character was telling their side of the story from chapter to chapter. Because of this, I had a hard time maintaining focus with their point of views and all the "Babe"s.

I'm sure this book will be enjoyed by those in the demographic that the characters are in, so perhaps I missed the YA boat on this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my own opinions.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday books for my gifted copy.

I really liked this book about 10 influences on a remote island. They are participating in a reality show that has gone terribly wrong when one of them ends up dead.

This was definitely a fast read. My only negative, there was a lot of characters and POV'S and it did get confusing at times. This will definitely be a hit book!

What a fun read! This book is definitely up with its times featuring the thrills (and kills) that come from social media. I felt this book was face paced and was an easy read. I will definitely recommend!

I really liked the idea of this book. But man the characters were just so annoying. If they weren’t so annoying I would have rated this one higher. But I still enjoyed this.

Meh. I wasn’t a fan of this one. There were a lot of characters and POVs (y’all know how I feel about that) and the characters were absolutely TERRIBLE people. I also didn’t love the whole influencer thing; every character was shallow and there was no character growth. I did sort of like the “twist” and I kept reading to get to that point.

Read this if you like:
🏝️ Deserted islands
🏝️ Gossip Girl x Survivor
🏝️ Lots of characters
🏝️ Dual POV

Rounding up from 3.5 stars....

This was an entertaining book. A bunch of influencers come to film a reality tv show on a private island...what could go wrong? Turns out, a whole lot.

The story itself was entertaining, and the book was a quick easy read. Once I started it, I definitely wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen. This had some similar vibes to the movie Glass Onion, so if you liked that movies, I'd give this a go.

I struggled connecting or feeling for pretty much any of the characters. Most of them were just not great people, so when they started dying, I honestly didn't care too much. The multiple POV was a little confusing, especially at the start, and I found myself constantly having to flip back to the start of the chapter to confirm whose perspective it was. The main twist also wasn't overly surprising. I figured out who the sponsor was at about the 50% mark. That said, I still enjoyed seeing the rest of the characters figure it out.

Overall, this was a perfectly enjoyable book that kept me interested from the first page until the last.

Read if you enjoy:
- Murder mysteries
- Drama
- Glass Onion
- Unreliable Narrators
- Off-the-grid Locations

Ten influencers head to a remote island for a reality show, "In Real Life (IRL)," expecting an easy ride, but they face a reality check. Cut off from tech and followers, they reveal their true selves and deepest secrets. Amidst it all, one influencer seeks revenge, targeting contestants one by one.

The story is told from four viewpoints: Kiral, Logan, Elody, and Max. None are particularly likable, but Kira and Max are more stable. Many of the influencers aren't endearing, and some meeting their demise is oddly satisfying. The narrative's uneven, with varying chapter lengths and smartwatches for communication and challenges.

It's a guilty pleasure for those who can stomach privileged teen influencers dealing with their problems. The murder mystery adds intrigue with clever twists. Overall, a solid debut by Worley.

A little backstory, last Christmas I watched #knivesout and #theglassonion and I absolutely loved both but The Glass Onion was instantly a favorite movie. Being more into books than movies/tv—I wanted to find a book with those same feels. I have read a lot more mysteries this year than ever before chasing that feel—I finally found it, and just like The Glass Onion jumped to the favorite movie list People to Follow jumped to a favorite book list!

People to Follow has a large cast—some you want to root for and others you’ll want to root against—of influencers who are invited to a private island to unplug and live IRL for awhile.

With the mix of secret and not so secret histories, rivalries, alcohol, and egos—the drama begins to unfold right away and puts some in the hot seat which may just get them #cancelled .

This book gives a glimpse of the influencer lifestyle and a healthy amount of gen z speak—which while not fluent I knew enough to keep up 🫣—I was up until after 3am because once I started I could not stop!

**some content may be triggering to some readers

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I was really into the premise of this book. It was a very entertaining read and kept my interest throughout. There are multiple POVs, which was a little hard for me to track initially. Once I got to know the characters better it was easier, but the beginning started off a bit slow for that reason. Overall, I thought it was a good YA read and would recommend it to anyone who likes that genre.

7/10. Basically a modern, YA retelling of Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None.' It was well done for what it was, though I would have been okay if everyone had would up dead—hard to find one likable character! I really wish that I had been able to sympathize with Kira as she seemed the most down to earth, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way. I was surprised by the reveal at the end, and would recommend to anyone who likes thrillers with a twist.

Ten young adult influencers arrive on an island for a few weeks to "unplug" and film a show about being disconnected. But soon, one of them is dead and they all have to wonder - is it one of them killing them?

My first piece of advice, because there are 10, is make notes when you first get introduced to everyone. It's a lot of people at once and it was hard to keep track of which one was a fashion blog and who was mad at who. Luckily, you don't have all 10 POV so it got easier and easier to keep track of the crew as the chapters went on.

And I was highly entertained! The drama and secrets were dark and I loved how each one was pushed out through a vote. It was interesting, also, to see all the ties and the way the influencers connected with each other. But fame under a spotlight is tough and their lies and secrets were pretty brutal. I didn't have any good guesses but just let the story take me. Only one twist didn't quite hit right with me but the rest was just great. I love the cover, too.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book was phenomenal! The isolated location and trying to guess who was behind it all made it a really fun read! All the different personality types in close proximity helped to increase tension. I couldn't put this book down!