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.

Ten influencers, one month, one Caribbean island. The premise is a reality show, where ten well-known young influencers will come together in one house on an otherwise deserted island. They have no phones. There is no way to contact them. They are getting away from their usual streams (although many have scheduled posts to keep their followers hungry), to take a breath and film a show called “In Real Life.” The show will bump up everyone’s followers.

Unless they get cancelled.

The influencers are brought to the island in boats, 5 in each boat. So they don’t realize until they get to the island who all is there. There are the 3 founders of the popular Bounce House, Zane, Graham, and McKayleigh. Then there is Logan, a woman with a comedic streak who had been a part of Bounce House and then fired. There is Kira, a fitness influencer who was on a dance reality show as a kid with McKayleigh, and had been mercilessly bullied by her. There is a gamer, a documentarian, a disgraced child star, a woman known for her stunning beauty, and a prankster.

The boats head back out, with a promise to be back the next day with producers and crew, so the ten are on their own for their first night. The kitchen is stocked with food and alcohol, and they settle in to have a good first night. But hurt feelings, unrequited crushes, and old resentments start to bubble up almost immediately, offering up that drama that fuels reality shows. The house is stocked with cameras in every room, and the influencers are ready.

But the next morning, the boats don’t show up. There are no producers or crew. There are no boats. The one cell phone that had been left behind in case of emergencies is missing. And one of the influencers lies dead on the concrete around the pool.

As the influencers try to figure out what’s going on, they realize how much trouble they are in. There is no way off the island except to swim fifteen miles, and as time goes by, secrets come out. Then another influencer ends up dead. And another. No one knows who to trust. No one knows who is next. All they can do is try to survive. Otherwise, all ten of the little influencers will get canceled.

People to Follow is a fun, feisty, modern take on the classic Agatha Christie And Then There Were None. The idea of a reality show for social media influencers means there is instant drama, and the stakes just go up from there.

The thing about this book is that none of these characters are particularly likeable. There are some that are less offensive, certainly, but I had a hard time feeling bad for any of them. They chose their own paths, and they decided to do the reality show. But don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying I disliked the book because of that. I liked the book—no, loved the book—because of that. As these people went down one by one, I didn’t have to feel bad in any way. I could just sit back with my popcorn and watch the drama play out, because when a bunch of bad people try to take each other down, it makes for great entertainment. And this book is great entertainment! Read it when you’re between seasons of Big Brother of Real Housewives, and you won’t be disappointed.

Egalleys for People to Follow were provided by Wednesday Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

A little too drawn out.

I like a good YA mystery, especially one that pays homage to And Then There Were None, but this one skewed a bit too young for me unfortunately. It's overall satisfying in the end once things are explained, but some of the things were kind of eye rolling as they were happening.

A group of ten influencers are invited to an island resort, leaving all phones and technology behind. They are participating in a reality series called In Real Life. But things quickly turn deadly and their darkest secrets start to be revealed.

Reminded me a lot of these books that I've read in the past year, You Can Trust Me
and Never Coming Home, so I feel like maybe I compared them a bit in my mind and got the situations a bit confused together. The "influencers on an island" thing has been a bit overdone at this point.

I thought the character development was a bit lacking, I had difficulty telling the various people apart and their immaturity made it even more difficult. It is a very quick read though and was entertaining enough to keep my interest.

People to Follow is a sun drenched scorcher of a book. Its glamorous facade soon crumbles into a nightmarish dose of reality in this thrilling take on influencer culture and reality television.

I was sold as soon as I heard And Then There Were None meets Love Island. Worley’s mystery delivers suspense by the bucketload, with mostly horrible characters and incredibly creative reveals that are very timely.
There is just something so surreal about writing about this book while Big Brother has returned to our screens. You see these people on a screen and they become the fascination of the world. I cannot imagine in today’s climate that feeling of being cut off but also on display simultaneously. Worley captures that reality obsession with stock characters and produced storylines and dials it up to eleven here. That sense of isolation and paranoia is executed perfectly, with a throughline about ‘cancel culture’ that is thoughtful and asks what consequences some actions truly deserve.

Worley really takes aim at the artificial narratives that drive our lives in today’s culture. This ranges from the social media gloss over everyone to the overly produced reality TV scenario. Of course, nothing is really as it seems here and these falsities are brought down in spectacular fashion. Within this, a lot of our central characters are deeply unlikable people. They are vain, shallow and self-serving, with some much darker natures hidden beneath. This is a book that goes there in terms of intense content, so please check trigger warnings. However Worley always imbues them with some sense of humanity and those we spend more time with are resolutely more three-dimensional and nuanced.

People to Follow is a creative, compelling and conniving YA mystery that pulls back the curtain on the curated reality of media for today.

Ten young influencers are invited to an island to take a break from social media and be on a reality television show. Of course, there’s a storm and a dead body, and everyone is keeping deadly secrets. Despite the cliched plot, this was a fun one- afternoon read. It’s told from multiple perspectives, and while cliched, it wasn’t 100 percent predictable. Readers looking for a fluffy, popcorn thriller should give this one a try.

Ten teen social media influencers have to travel to a deserted island to film a reality show called “In Real Life”. They are unable to bring their phone and computers with them, they are completely cut off from the internet world. 

We learn each of them are keeping a secret. As we read deeper we find out that one of the influencers is out for revenge and murders begin happening on the island. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat to find out who is doing this and who will be killed off next. 

I didn’t feel strongly connected to any characters throughout the story but I was immediately pulled in because I wanted to know who the murderer was. This story is told through four POV’s hopping between each of them. It is told through Elody a model, Kira a fitness influencer, Logan who recently got kicked out of the Bounce House, and Max who is documenting the experience. 

This is a great young adult thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Wednesday books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Definitely a Gen Z read. Plot was completely unbelievable. It is fast paced and kept my interest but felt like a huge reach.

If you like influencers being bad this is the book for you! It was messy and twisty and way darker than I anticipated. Could definitely see this being made into a show!

Thank you St Martin's and Wednesday Books for People to Follow. This is a great, twisty, locked room story that brings in social media influencer themes, which I do love. It's a fun read for a stormy night, a winter weekend... (even with the island setting this would be a great winter storm read with the locked in vibes).

I liked the plot, an homage to classic locked room plots, and the pacing was solid. For me, a character driven fan, my quibble is the multi POV format, I am not sure if it added much to the plot to have each chapter from a different perspective, esp with short chapters. For me it was hard to remember who was who without more time for character development and background. Other readers won't mind this but it was my one dislike for overall a fun mystery book that despite my quibble did suck me in, which is the best kind of thriller!

Thank you NetGallery for the arc. You have to go into this book with the understanding it’s about young adults who are influencers. Taking it for what it is, it’s a good book when you don’t want anything too mentally taxing, but want something good with a little mystery.

This book was promising. There were too many people to keep up with and I never quite understood why Kira or Aaron ended up being there. I also think Graham and Zane could’ve been combined into one person. It was also weird that they were dealing with an unknown murderer and then going off to kiss or play spin the bottle like nothing was happening.

This book plays on the fears about influencers. It is a good YA thriller that will keep you engaged the whole time. Can't wait to read more from Olivia Worley!

This was such a fun “locked room” thriller. I enjoyed the main characters being influencers and not being able to trust any of the narratives/POVs. While I read it close to publish date, I wish I had saved it for a summer read as Jr would make a perfect fast-paced beach read.