Get ready to embark on a rollercoaster ride through the wild world of social media in Olivia Worley's debut novel, "People to Follow"! This thrilling tale takes a deep dive into the consequences of fame and the treacherous pitfalls of cancellation in the age of hashtags and viral takedowns.

Worley weaves an enthralling narrative around ten teenage influencers who find themselves stranded on a remote island, the perfect setting for a reality show that promises to be anything but ordinary. As you flip through the pages, you'll be hooked by the suspenseful atmosphere that permeates every twist and turn.

One of the shining stars of this novel is the fantastic cast of characters that Worley has crafted. Each one is not only relatable but also downright intriguing, adding layers of complexity to the story and making it impossible to put the book down. You'll find yourself rooting for, questioning, and even side-eyeing these characters as they navigate the tumultuous waters of social media stardom.

But "People to Follow" is more than just a gripping story—it's a commentary on the modern challenges faced by influencers. Worley fearlessly tackles the pressures and dilemmas that come with the territory, offering readers a front-row seat to the constant scrutiny and the struggle to maintain a flawless online presence. It's a theme that hits close to home in our Instagram-obsessed world.

The mysterious island setting amps up the tension, creating a palpable sense of isolation and danger that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This backdrop transforms the novel into a nail-biting thriller, where you'll find yourself eagerly anticipating what unexpected twist awaits on the next page.

And let's talk about that plot—brace yourself for a wild ride! "People to Follow" boasts a well-paced and engaging storyline, complete with unexpected twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the very last chapter. Worley proves herself a master storyteller, skillfully navigating through the intricate web she has woven.

In summary, "People to Follow" is a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of the dark side of fame and the repercussions of cancellation in a world dominated by social media. If you're a fan of young adult thrillers or simply intrigued by the ever-evolving landscape of online presence, this book is an absolute must-read.

I feel like this book is targeted and marketed towards a reader, like me who loves reality TV, and a good thriller this book did not disappoint, and I highly recommend you’re looking for some thing, action packed and suspenseful five stars!

I always love a good influencer type story. Also the fact that it was teens was even better. And the fact that this was sort like a game just topped it for me. I thought this was well written and I honestly couldn't even tell that it was suppose to be a YA book. Great writing.

Imagine a bunch of social media royalty forced to unplug for three weeks, "In Real Life" style. Elody, an impulsive Instagram model; Kira, a fitness influencer with a child-star past; Logan, a disgraced TikTok celeb hiding a secret; and Max, a YouTuber known for spillin' the tea on fellow creators. Sounds like a recipe for chaos, right? Well, chaos takes a dark turn when the production crew ghosts them, and a crew member ends up six feet under. Stranded, no way to contact the outside world, and the nightmare has just begun.

Messages from a mysterious Sponsor start rolling in, threatening to expose their darkest secrets. Suddenly, it's not just a reality show—it's a deadly game, and someone's pulling the strings. With a rising body count and cameras capturing their every move, it's a race against time to unmask the puppet master before they become the next hashtag.

The author serves up a gripping plot with twists and turns that'll keep you guessing until the very end. The tension is palpable, and the characters, each with their own secrets, add layers to the suspense. The exploration of social media culture and the dark side of online fame is both intriguing and a bit chilling.

People to Follow was a blast.  The premise is goofy fun: ten teen influencers go to a remote island to film a reality tv show, and get cut off from the rest of the world.  One of them soon turns up dead.

I’ve read quite a few thrillers about influencers this year and was getting tired of the topic, but Worley made it fresh again.

Each of the point of view characters is well-developed and has a distinct voice.  I was expecting the book to be fairly shallow, but I found myself empathizing with everyone and regularly changing my mind about who the killer might be.

The dialogue was witty and clever, while being as over-the-top as the premise promises.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys young adult thrillers, “And Then There Were None”-style mysteries, dark humour, and characters you love to hate / hate to love.  

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for my review copy of this book.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the advance copy.

I tried on multiple occasions to dive into this book but I just cannot get into it. Unfortunately it is a DNF for me.

This was terrible but I had a blast anyway. It's And Then There Were None but it's a bunch of influencers on an island, dramatically yelling at and murdering each other for 300 pages. I was highly entertained.

This did do a great job on the discussions around consent, underage relationships, photos being leaked and sexual assault. During these parts the tone of the story became more serious, and I appreciated it for that.

Every character is hiding something, from the completely inane to the dark and disturbing, and I enjoyed following the reveals as the story continued and the numbers started dwindling down. I didn't guess the culprit either!

This book was an interesting way to tackle influencer culture. I was very invested in the murder mystery of it all, and definitely didn't see the outcome coming. I liked that each character was flawed in their own way, and the uncovering of a web of lies each one told. I didn't really buy into this book at the start, not until the first murder, but I did get into it as everything got complicated. I mostly liked this book, and the murder mystery elements were very well written.

Big Brother is one of my fave reality shows so I knew I had to read this one! Ten teen influencers head off to a remote island for a reality show. (Think Big Brother) They are unplugging for three weeks to live IRL.
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What was supposed to be a fun little reality show turns until a deadly game and time is running out. This would be a super fun tv series.
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Thank you #stmartinspress and #netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this early read. I like this book but I didn’t love it. I like the premise of the book and I wanted to read it but I think I still may be a bit too old aOf a reader for it. I think if I was a teen this would be fantastic because of the things that happened in the book were odd to me because of my age.

What a quick, fun read! I don’t usually read YA books, but this was fun and entertaining throughout. A popcorn thriller if there ever was one. 10 influencers go to an island to film a reality show, when one of them turns up dead, who did it? There were unexpected twists, so much drama and lots of oh no moments. I would check this

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.