10 influencers are put on a remote island in order to film a reality tv series where they have be unplugged for three weeks. Each has a secret they are keeping, and will be revealed unless they want to be canceled, which has a completely different meaning than you think.
Although I don't think this book was targeted for me, it kept me entertained and I finished it rather quickly. A great debut by the author.
Thank you to St-Martin's Press, Olivia Worley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This young adult novel is about teenage influencers, which a lot of teens could relate to as they want to be an influencer. The use of a secluded island and a reality tv show will make teens wants to pick this book up to read.

People who loved the movie Glass Onion will really enjoy the new YA novel People to Follow by Olivia Worley.
People to Follow has ten famous influencers fly to a remote island to be on a reality show. Some are in the “Bounce House”, some are streamers, and some are workout influencers. They are all there to unplug while also hoping this reality show will help their career. But when one person winds up dead, they start turning against each other.
This book was cute, and I could really connect with the social media influencer theme. I could picture the real-life social media influencers these characters were based on. I just had a tough time keeping track of each character and what their influencer profession was. It was often hard for me to follow the story line with these characters, and since this is YA, I am afraid it will be the same for teens. It took me a little long to get through, but the ending did have a good twist that made the book more entertaining. 3 out of 5 stars for me!

I think I would have eaten this book up when I was in the YA demographic. I didn't realize this was a YA book before requesting — I am usually much more selective with the YA I read — and therefore struggled a bit with the book. As an adult, the character's lacked the depth I want and expect from a thriller, and the writing was more simplistic than I prefer. For my personal taste, this is probably a two star book, but considering YA reader, it would be closer to a four. So, I averaged it to 3. While I didn't care for this, I would buy it for a middle schooler who was interested in testing out thrillers as a genre — it would be a great entry point for those readers!

When ten influencers arrive at a remote island, they expect to film a reality show about unplugging from their social media-centric lives. They don't expect their darkest secrets to be revealed and to learn that on this island, being "canceled" leads to your death. This was a fun locked room mystery, filled with twists and turns and plenty of red herrings. I liked that it was told from four different perspectives and that none of them were reliable narrators. It also handled a lot of important issues surrounding modern influencers and the role of social media. But the way the characters spoke, full of slang and "babe" in every other sentence, made it hard to read. Also, the characters were all terrible people and insufferable, which made sense in context but made it difficult to care if they survived. I was more interested in the reveal of who was behind the murders to see who it was than to know that the remaining characters would survive. But overall, I enjoyed this fast-paced mystery, and it's a great debut novel by Olivia Worley!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I think this will be well loved by the YA crowd. It had a great plot but I did have trouble with the storyline at times. I think it just wasn't meant for me. I would recommend for YA and teens.

Really fun read, especially for folks who are perpetually online and live for reality TV. Occasionally the multiple perspectives were a little hard for me to follow and I had trouble remembering which characters were famous for what reason. But that could have been a me problem. I could definitely see this being a fun teen slasher movie or series.

THIS BOOK! I stayed up wayyyyy to late finishing it in one sitting. A dark and twisty YA thriller and an effectively scathing indictment of influencer culture. I LOVED IT!.

An engaging story, although a bit uneven and with some character-voice struggles (if you're going to write a story from multiple points of view, those points of view should probably not sound exactly the same!). I'm not the target audience for YA, but I think younger YA readers will love this book.

I love a good YA thriller but I just was NOT the target audience for this one. DNF. I know social issues are important but I feel like a lot of people read to escape our current world, and filling a thriller with constant social justice dialogue felt unnecessary and forced. Took me out of the story completely.

Olivia Worley will definitely become fan favorite for teens and young adults. People to Follow was a slow burn right from the starts but as the dead body pops in to the story line, Then you read on in to plot of the story. You might just figure out who did it.
Thanks again for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Cancel culture has met its match in People to Follow (PTF). A YA book, maybe a young YA, that is definitely on point with the current cyberslang used liberally throughout the story by the main characters, internet sensations all. I can see how PTF by Olivia Worley can inveigle itself right into a Netflix limited series such is the appeal of all things YouTube, IG, Twitch, tiktok, influencers, gamers, followers, brand ambassadors, and more. Bringing the newest trope to the thriller genre, PTF bands a group of teens and young adult influencers to an island under the guise of a social media break via a Big Brother-esque mansion. No cell phones allowed. Except for the sponsor is videoing everything. Each contestant has been provided a wristwatch with which they receive messages from the sponsor. Soon ten participants are nine. Being cancelled is a real career killer.
PTF will have the reader trying to guess who will be cancelled next.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and St. Martin's Press for access to an early review copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Ten teen influencers; stranded on a remote, luxury island filming a reality show.
No contact with the outside word.
One dead body.
The looming threat of being canceled.

Let me preface by saying that I am absolutely not the target audience for this novel. There was no way for me to feel connected to this cast of characters. While that’s all fine and dandy, it made a lot of their issues feel very surface-level and inconsequential. A group of selfish and entitled teens isn't exactly my cup of tea.
Being told from six different points of view was almost a hindrance to the story. There was no discernible difference in personalities or ways of speaking between them, it got confusing at times.
While it took me forever to get into it and several times of questioning if I would even bother finishing, I’m glad I did. The story really does pick up about halfway through and has a few nice twists thrown in that I didn’t see coming.
With an interesting take on the dark side of social media fame and cancel culture, I would recommend this book to those who are looking for a low-steaks, twisty read. (If you can look past all the shallow teen angst, Babe.)

Thanks to Netgalley for the free review copy.

Ten teenage influencers are invited to a remote island to film "In Real Life," a reality show where they live unplugged for three weeks. With several friends-turned-enemies invited, the influencers quickly realize that the producers are looking for maximum drama. When the production crew fails to show on the first day and one influencer dies, they realize they are trapped on the island without any way to escape. A mysterious "Sponsor" is pulling strings backstage, revealing their secrets to the entire world as more influencers end up dead.

People to Follow was an over-the-top young adult thriller that was still an addictingly good read for me. At first, I had to make a cheat sheet of all the characters but, once I sorted them all out, I was completely hooked. Worley masterfully manipulates this isolation thriller, adapting the And Then There Were None trope to a younger generation of readers. With plenty of drama and a few excellent twists, People to Follow has all the delicious beach read vibes that make it a quick fun read.

While I couldn't relate to this YA thriller as much as I hoped, I was kept on the edge of my seat as 10 influencers are stranded on a deserted island and chaos ensues.

Told from various perspectives there was a lot going on, but it made sense when considering the plot and the scenarios these kids (yes kids) are in.

I think that I am above the age demographic here because I could not read the inner or external dialogue without cringing.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

easy to follow, interesting and unique subject. kept me guessing until the end! i did think the characters could’ve been a few years older - seemed like quite a bit for them to go through at such young ages, but i know a lot of the tik tok houses are full of teenagers as well so it didn’t detract too much from the story.

A group of influencers sent to a remote tropical island to relax and unwind, until they slowly start getting picked off one by one.

I was honestly super intrigued by the premise, and while I did enjoy People to Follow, I hated how many POVs there were and the constant switching between them was confusing to follow at times.

Olivia Worley's captivating novel, "People to Follow," takes readers on a suspenseful and chilling journey into the dark side of influencer culture. Set against the backdrop of a remote Caribbean island and the enticing premise of a reality show gone awry, this gripping thriller explores the dangerous consequences of social media fame and the high price of being "cancelled."

The story centers around ten young influencers, each with their own unique online personas and massive followings. As they embark on the reality show "In Real Life," where they are forced to disconnect from the digital world, their lives quickly spiral into chaos when one of them is found dead. What was supposed to be an opportunity for exposure and stardom turns into a nightmare as the group becomes stranded on the island, cut off from civilization.

Worley masterfully weaves together a suspenseful narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. As the body count rises and tensions escalate, the remaining influencers are confronted with a chilling reality: they are trapped in a deadly game orchestrated by a mysterious Sponsor. Threatening messages and the revelation of their darkest secrets force the group to question not only each other's motives but also their own vulnerabilities.

The characters in "People to Follow" are skillfully crafted, each with their own secrets and complexities. From Elody, the impulsive Instagram model, to Max, the YouTuber known for his exposés, and Kira, the former child star turned fitness influencer, their struggles, fears, and flaws are laid bare as they grapple with the escalating danger around them.

The remote island setting adds to the novel's atmosphere of isolation and suspense, as the characters are left to fend for themselves without any means of communication or escape. The constant surveillance from hidden cameras serves as a stark reminder of the invasive nature of social media and the ways in which their lives are constantly under scrutiny.

This book delves into the dark underbelly of fame, the impact of social media on our lives, and the lengths people will go to protect their secrets. Olivia Worley delivers a thought-provoking and intense story that will leave readers questioning the consequences of seeking validation in a digital world where the pursuit of likes and followers can have deadly consequences.

The premise is PERFECT - we needed a book like this one.

This was one of my most anticipated fall reads - and with a cover like that, how could you not pick it up?

Synopsis:
Welcome to “In Real Life,” the hot new reality show that forces social media’s reigning kings and queens to unplug for three weeks and “go live” without any filters. IRL is supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime, watched closely by legions of loyal followers. But for these rising stars--including Elody, an Instagram model with an impulsive streak; Kira, a child star turned fitness influencer; Logan, a disgraced TikTok celeb with a secret; and Max, a YouTuber famous for exposés on his fellow creators—it’s about to turn into a nightmare.
When the production crew fails to show up and one of their own meets a violent end, these nine little influencers find themselves stranded with a dead body and no way to reach the outside world. When they start receiving messages from a mysterious Sponsor threatening to expose their darkest secrets, they realize that they’ve been lured into a deadly game…and one of them might be pulling the strings.
With the body count rising and cameras tracking their every move, the creators must figure out who is trying to get them canceled—like, literally—before their #1 follower strikes again.

Thoughts:
Overall I thought this one started out strong, but near the middle through to the end, I quickly grew bored. This book had a great premise, especially in the age of influencers. I was really intrigued by it, but unfortunately fell short of expectations. It was a fun read and definitely more of a guilty pleasure read, but ultimately predictable.