Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC. I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I love a good whodunnit and this book was a lot of fun. It kept be guessing right through to the end. I like a book where I am changing my thoughts on who is actually controlling things. I wish I could give this book a half rating as it's a solid 3.5. The area of the book that keep me from giving a higher review are around the dialogue. I kept forgetting that these characters were in the late teens and very early twenties. I felt that they acted a lot older than their age. Maybe it is because I am much older than that demographic now but they just seemed a lot more mature as characters than the ages they were supposed to be in the story.
Overall, I read this book quickly as I wanted to find out what was going on!

WARNING: This book should be classified as a Young Adult Thriller. At 33 years old, I felt a bit "behind the times" with all of the acronyms (IRL, IMO, etc) and the newer influencer words. Some of the words I actually had to look up. Maybe the book could offer a glossary in the prologue or epilogue for anyone that didn't grow up Gen Z.

As 10 influencers descend onto a deserted island for a new Reality TV show where they give up their cellphones, social media and unplug, the 18–22-year-old kids come off as superficial and unrelatable. The twists and turns of the book were laid out well, I will say, some of my least favorite characters died first!

I think this will be a good read for late highschoolers, but it was just a bit too "hip" for me.

10 influencers are going to be spending three weeks on a private island to unplug - and film a new reality show called IRL. When a body is found the first morning, everyone is suspicious of everyone and secrets start to be revealed.

This book was hard to start. I was interested in the concept because I love the closed door mystery troupe but getting 10 characters right off the bat was hard to keep track of. I went back and forth so many times at first I ended up making a note to keep them straight. This was also exasperated by multiple POVs that sounded the same.

It held my attention and some things I predicted, some things I did not. <spoiler> I honestly think there would have been more mystery and less confusion with less POVs. </spoiler>

Overall, it was a nice quick read. If you’re looking for a Gen Z thriller that discusses relevant issues with influencers, you should give this book a chance.

The premise is really cool and right up my alley, but the actual writing fell flat for me. I stopped at 8% on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I first saw this book on social media and was intrigued by the cover. Then, i read the description and it fit right in with my current thriller-ish mood, so I was very excited to get to read this book. Each chapter being dedicated to a different character is always a hit or miss concept for me, but this was done so well in this book; it wasn’t the SAME story told over and over by different characters (which sometimes can be interesting and helpful, but sometimes drags.). I loved how it felt current with ideas mimicking the Hype House, Dance Moms, and TikTok creator drama, but distanced itself from the real world with… well… the fact that something like this isn’t likely to actually happen. I had a lot of fun reading this and trying to figure out who was the ‘Sponsor’ and what each character was hiding.
The only thing I wish we saw more of was a flashback to how Corinne and Kira got on the same page. I feel like that could’ve enhanced the book that much more. Overall, I really liked the concept, characters, and end of this book.

Very much enjoyed this quick thrilled! While none of the characters were particularly likable, their story was fun to follow. Additionally, the twist surprised me! I can see readers enjoying this piece.

A group of ten influencers join together to live in a house for a few weeks for a new reality show called IRL. Tiktok stars, Instagram thirst monsters, YouTube sensations, and Twitch streamers all under one roof without cell phones- what could go wrong? Turns out, everything. As the influencers start to get targeted about secrets that they’re keeping by their ‘Sponsor’, they end up getting publicly cancelled and wind up dead. Told in multiple POVs, you have no clue which among them is the killer.
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I cannot get over how much I enjoyed this! The premise, the writing, and the twists in the plot were all premium. As a millennial, some of the dialogue was very Gen Z, but it was authentic to the characters. It was also fun trying to differentiate who each of the influencers was based off in real life.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
My favorite moments were in the beginning when everyone did think it was a real show and they were all hanging together and bickering. I think this book could have gone a different way too, where the show was real and they actually competed, and it would have been cool to read as well!
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Their first night there, they have a huge taco night meal. Shredded pork, tortillas, guacamole, and lots of alcohol! As time goes on though and no one is there to bring them food, they survive solely off of pop tarts.

Page turner!

10 influencers are brought to a remote island to live screen-free for 2 weeks. What starts out as a dream, quickly ends in a nightmare when dead bodies start piling up.

This book was definitely a fast paced read that I finished in a day. The plot and characters were underdeveloped, but it still had me racing to finish.

3.5 stars for me! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC!

“People to Follow” is author Olivia Worley’s debut novel. Ten influencers decide to participate in a reality TV show on a remote island. Three weeks with no phones, no social media, and no contact with the outside world. What could go wrong? When influencers start to die left and right, it seems that this reality show might be a bit too ‘real’ for everyone’s liking. It’s only a matter of time until the next member of island gets ‘cancelled’…permanently.

This was a solid novel. I was easily able to read it in one sitting. As someone who isn’t super social media oriented, this book totally made me cringe (in a good way). I felt it really did hit on the issues involving content creators. I did find most of the characters to be unlikable, but I think that was the point. This did make me reflect on who I let influence me and why.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy of this novel.

People To Follow contains a very modern, relevant premise -- influencers and all the unethical things they do, combined with reality television. I cannot think of a more relevant premise to the modern youth -- the cast of this story is rather unforgettably Gen Z.

All of the cast whose POVs we get to see have distinct voices. Some of them will be instantly dislikable to some; Kira and Elody specifically will irritate people in different ways. The cast is just irreversibly unlikable, which is what makes this thriller so interesting. Morally grey characters are what we are all after, after all. And it doesn't get greyer than these influencers. The depths of this greyness weren't plumbed in the way I expected, but it was a fascinating journey nonetheless.

This is the perfect book for anyone who enjoys gossip and drama -- some of it is the harmlessly aimless kind and some is surprisingly dark. It is paced in a way which will be very agreeable to people with short attention spans. Each chapter moves the plot forward and heightens the mystery; every other chapter or so contains a revelation. It's the perfect book to get you out of a slump.

What actually was happening was a simultaneously more boring and more exciting than what I was expecting; it felt a bit like an intricate plot that somehow also relied on the idiocy of some characters. I wasn't very happy with the ending but it very much made sense and I think some people will absolutely love it.

Overall, I couldn't put this book down; fascinating mystery with a deeply entertaining cast.

I was quite excited to read "People to Follow" by Olivia Worley. Such a great premise and captivating characters.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Olivia Worley for letting me read “People to Follow”!

Perfect for fans of “One of Us is Lying” by Karen M. McManus and “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson, “People to Follow” was a nail-biting YA mystery novel full of suspense. Each plot twist led to me trying to figure out what would happen next, and each time I was blown away by the result.

I do have to say, the novel came to a very abrupt end. If you’re someone who likes closure in a story, you may be disappointed. I gave this book four stars because of it.

Besides this, “People to Follow” was an amazing, suspenseful read, and Olivia Worley is definitely an author to keep an eye on.

This was a bit slow going at the beginning, but that improved as the book went out. I enjoyed the multiple POVs. However, there was a bit too much description, particularly with the secondary characters in relation to the main character. It's clearly a YA book, which I do enjoy, but it felt a bit like a soap opera. I didn't really like any of the the characters, and the storyline never really captured my attention.

Great high-concept and probably well done. I just couldn't get into the characters.

I think it started with too much description of all the other characters and not enough about the main character. To be honest, I'm not really sure who the main character even was. I only read a little bit before I got bored. I'm a mood reader and haven't been too much in the mood for YA lately. I thought this would be more of an adventurous, suspenseful read, but it just felt more like a soapy, whiney ya novel. Again, I didn't read too much, so I cannot speak for the whole book, but it did not capture my attention fast enough in a season with very competitive books.

I flew through this! An addictive thriller about ten influencers stuff on an island being picked off one by one. A fun and fast-paced update of And Then There Were None.

Isolation type thrillers are starting to become a favorite for me! The beginning of this book was a lot to take in, a lot of character introductions and backstories which I get is necessary but was a little overwhelming. I understand the basics of social media but this is definitely heard to a specific audience. You can tell this is YA but still plenty going on to hold my focus. I don’t mind multiple POVs but I definitely could have done with less here. The characters were written well and each one’s story equally engaging. Elody was the only one I really rooted for. But trigger warning. This may be a quick read but still addressed some pretty tough subject matter.

10 influencers you love to hate on an all expenses paid vacation in the Caribbean. What could go wrong? When I first picked up this book I was a little worried about there being 10 characters because that's a lot of characters to .keep track of (especially because I am guilty of reading 2+ books at the same time). Luckily the author only had us experience the events through the eyes of a select few. I'm relatively young but I HATE influencer culture and this book reminded me exactly of why it's so toxic. One had to wonder where are all the parents/adults in this book? Overall a good thriller that will keep you guessing who the Sponsor is and what secrets they each have to hide.

People To Follow is a great debut novel from Olivia Worley. This is a YA thriller about 10 teen influencers invited to a private island to film a reality show. The film crew doesn’t show up and they start receiving mysterious messages from the Sponsor. They need to figure out who the Sponsor is before they all end up dead.
This was a quick and fun read, thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this eARC.

A group of influencers participate in a reality show called "IRL" but it should really be called chronically online.

Every single influencer shows up to this island with a secret that could get them cancelled, but they show up because the career of an influencer can easily become obsolete and they need the clout. There's Elody, a Instagram model; Kari, a fitness influencer; Max, a YouTuber known for exposing his fellow influencers; McKayleigh, Graham and Zane, members of a social media house known as the "Bounce House" and their former member/friend, Logan; Carinne, a growing video game streamer; Cole, a freshly cancelled social media star; and Aaron, a former child star trying to take his shot again at fame.

Does that sound like a lot of names and people to keep track of? It's because it is. And it's made even harder by the fact that this book is written entirely in the first person and not a single character has a distinct voice.

While this book was a fast-paced and (semi-)fun read, I could not get past the cringy dialogue, endless internet slang, and the author's diction. I thought this was an interesting choice to make on the author's behalf considering how quickly internet trends seem to come and go, and a lot of the reference made already felt old and cringy. There were references to Among Us, a near-chronic use of the word "yeet", and so many other quotes where I had to put the book down and stare at the wall for a second.

In other words, go in with low expectations and you might just enjoy the journey, but not the destination. Go in with high expectations? You're going to be disappointed.

This book was so fun! I really feel like this would make a great tv show! I enjoyed being immersed in the world of the influencers and didn’t figure out what was going on for a while!