Thanks to Wednesday Books for the eARC.
This was a fun YA debut, especially if you like lots of twists, turns, and an intricate mystery. Ten young adult influencers are invited to an island for a reality TV show when one of them ends up dead, from there you're in for quite a ride. Worley nailed the pacing of this book. Each time I thought I had figured something out, she would surprise me with another revelation. I liked how everyone was a suspect and the further into the story, the deeper the motives became. It was so intricate and full of characters that were richly developed and also hard to like at times. Each POV also helped create the atmosphere of fear and suspense. This was well done and I can't wait to see what this author does next.

This one pleasantly surprised me as a quick and easy bingeable thriller. At first I wasn't sure...ten obnoxious influencers brought together for what they believe is a reality show only to start having their darkest secrets revealed whilst simultaneously being murdered one-by-one. It wasn't the "locked island" plot, but our author did a great job of making these people so unlikeable that I was almost turned off. However, thanks to the quickness of this one, I ended up accepting these atrocious humans and settled into the mystery of how had brought our influencers together for a game of murder.⁠
I will say I truly didn't know until the end who orchestrated the entire thing and why, and kept bouncing back and forth between the influencers were left alive, and I always appreciate when I can't guess the ending.⁠
This one can be binged as a beach read or to get you out of a reading slump!

Here's a reality show concept for you! Invite some of the most popular teen Instagram influencers to a remote island and take away their phones and platforms and see how it plays out! For various reasons, these influencers could use the boost, so they jump at the chance. Until they arrive that is. Pretty quickly some of them can see this cast was assembled to create some drama. But they could never imagine the extent of it until they find themselves isolated and one of the cast unexpectedly dies, and then another....
People to Follow is a Young Adult mystery thriller. Told from four POV (out of the ten influencers) the reader will quickly learn they all have something to hide. Challenging in any book is writing a story where almost none of the characters are likeable. And there was a lot to not like about these characters! The author highlighted some the worst about Influencers and reality tv. For me the story got a little bogged down in the middle and dragged somewhat. However, the ending moved quickly and wrapped up the whole storyline.

People to Follow, by Olivia Worley, is a young adult mystery/thriller featuring ten young influencers who are stranded on an island under the pretense of a new reality TV show. Things quickly go wrong, and before long bodies are piling up. I felt this novel had a lot of opportunity but fell short for me. It's told from 4 main POV - Elody, Logan, Max and Kira; but I didn't really like any of them and I felt like it was hard to keep up with who was who. I was glad when someone died because it was one less character to keep track of. I love YA but this one didn't live up to its potential for me! 3.5 stars because I was still entertained and read it pretty fast and never wanted to give up on it.

Ten teen influencers on an island and one winds up dead. Now the remaining nine are stranded there with no way to contact the outside world and a killer among them.

I likes the premise here but the characters were so unlikeable. I get that them being influencers that is bound to happen. But it’s a problem when it makes it not enjoyable to read.

This was such a fun one to read and definitely one that I would’ve enjoyed as a teenager as well. It’s a YA thriller with locked room vibes and a serious whodunnit plot.

There were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning (which always makes me a bit nervous because I can’t remember anything) but it worked out fine and actually helped with the plot a lot. There was that whole “picking the characters off one by one” trope that worked really well and made the story intense.

I honestly didn’t see the grand reveals coming! Well, I did a little bit. But I had some of the details mixed up, so I was very pleasantly surprised. There were a lot of red herrings, and that made it so fun to read.

My main complaint is honestly the amount of times one of the characters says “babe”. I know it’s part of her character, but I was ready to throw my book at the wall by the end.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for my gifted copy!

An exciting thrill ride following ten influencers trapped on an island where being canceled takes on a dangerous new meaning, and dying becomes a very real reality. WIth tv cameras rolling for a new reality show, the social media stars will have to find the killer among them before they’re all just a tragic byline. Tense, twisty, and half insane, this one is for fans of Among Us (game), Big Brother (tv show), and And Then There Were None (book).

This one was absolutely ridiculous, but honestly in a great way. Ten influencers fly to a private island for a reality show to unplug with no phones or internet only to have them start dying off one by one with an anonymous entity spilling their darkest secrets to the world. Talk about getting cancelled. As a child of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, I LOVED the anonymous bully/secret spiller angle. It was creepy and ominous in all the best ways. I liked having multiple POVS however I did think some were more developed than others. This book was filled with deeply unlikeable characters, but I thought it really showcased how toxic influencer culture can be. You do have to suspend your belief in reality a bit for the mystery, but I didn’t figure it out ahead of time and honestly I thought it was well done. If you’re a fan of Pretty Little Liars, I think you’ll enjoy this one!
TW: Murder, violence, mentions of grooming, bullying

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

THIS WAS A DEBUT NOVEL?! It was SO good. First of all, when the story started I thought I was going to be too old for this one. Thankfully I watch a lot of TikTok so I understood most of the slang 😂

Second, this really pulled me in from the beginning. We get to experience the story from 4 different POVs, which normally drives me bonkers but for some reason these characters were really easy for me to follow and like.

Third, I was literally guessing “whodunit” until the very end. I was really impressed at how well everything tied together. The story was fun, fast paced, and suspenseful. Miss Olivia, you are DEFINITELY a person to follow after this. I can’t wait to read more from you in the future.

People To Follow is a debut YA mystery by Olivia Worley about 10 teen influencer/creators who travel to a remote Caribbean island to film IRL show for three weeks. Nothing goes to plan and everyone is hiding something, in fact one of them could be a killer.

What I liked:
-multiple POV chapters for different characters
-locked room setting of a remote island where the characters were isolated and trapped
-the dark world of social media and it’s toxicity
-unreliable narrators
-the ending along with several twists and turns

What I didn’t like:
-felt a little too long and repetitive
-could not relate to the unlikeable characters
-had to suspend belief at times

My rating: 3 out of 5

My final takeaway: Read this if you are a fan of locked room mysteries with a modern spin of the world of teen influencers. I think the novel will resonate with the YA target audience.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Wednesday Books for this eARC that will be published October 31 2023.

This book was a fun modern twist on the murder mystery category. It’s a classic who dun it, spun to be about social media and influencers, that keeps you guessing throughout.

8 influencers on a remote island that begins to go the way of And Then There Were None? Yeah, I'm into it.

This is a fun thriller, bordering on horror at times, that will make you think twice before posting on social media. I enjoyed the 4 point of views that we followed, Kira, Max, Elody, and Logan. There were some clear parallels to real influencers, like the Bounce House and the Hype House, but others were purely fictitious. I did feel like some of the twists were very abrupt and not entirely foreshadowed, but the entire premise of the book was already fantastical to begin with so I'll give it some grace. All in all, I'd be quite interested to read more of Olivia Worley's books in the future.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

10 influencers. 1 private island. So many secrets.

This book was such a fun read. I lived the concept of the characters all being different types of influencers and the way this book looked at the dark side of that. I was guessing the plot twist until the very end and this one really got me!

Such a fun, twisty read. Perfect for the spooky season. I will be keeping an eye out for new books by this author!

This book had an interesting premise, but ultimately could not hold my attention among competing titles.

This seems fun but is probably aimed at a younger audience and I didn't realize that. The characters are messy, which isn't a bad thing, I just couldn't connect with them. My main issue is that there were just too many characters.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I didn’t realize that this is young adult which I don’t read.

I knew what I was getting into, but boy was I unprepared.

The group of influencers fell flat for me. They weren’t unique enough to have a different voice when they were talking. Maybe I’m ’not In the know’ but playing spin the bottle while peers are dying… hormones are a hell of a thing!

Love the idea, but the different POV got me real confused. I hope to see a more elevated dialogue next.

I really wanted to hate these characters, teenage influencers who think that the world revolves around them but, in truth, I ended up rooting for them. Even the unlikable ones. They are young and dumb and keeping secrets. As with these types of books, some are innocent missteps, others are more serious. They all go to a private island to disconnect and, well, they should have read And then there were none to figure out it was not a great idea. The event’s mysterious “Sponsor” starts playing games with them with deadly consequences. Now, I’ve read so many novels like these that you’d think I’d have figured it out, but I didn’t. The plot is truly unpredictable and the final twists were really shocking. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, and I liked how they all have distinctive voices and opinions. It’s also very clever how the author plays with their internal dialogue. Everybody is lying at some point but, once you know the ending, it’s clear that the author used misdirection but never lied. Very entertaining.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books!

"People to Follow" is fast-paced and full of twists. I think it will be a hit with teens/young adults as the influencer theme is so relevant. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Fast paced YA thriller! Ten young influencers agree to be taken to a remote island to film IRL (In Real Life), a new reality show. They are completely unplugged and shut off from the rest of the world. But someone ends up dead and now this reality show has become a horror show! I think this would appeal to a younger audience and those who don’t mind excessive “kid speak”. I felt like there were a lot of characters to keep track of and lost my way more than once in this one. Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on October 31, 2023