I would describe this book as Pretty Little Liars meets The Most Dangerous Game meets something totally new and different! Although some aspects might’ve seemed far fetched, I don’t care; this one was FUN! Pub date is 10/31/23, and I will definitely be getting a physical copy for my classroom to recommend to my students. Fast paced, binge-able, and all the characters have very distinct personalities which makes the multiple POV storyline easy to follow. Bravo to Olivia Worley for this debut novel!

People to Follow is a classic locked room mystery. Very modern take on the classic Agatha Christie And Then There Were None. I adore locked room mysteries and anything set on an island. This version is focused on a group of young adults who are influencers: fitness guru, gamer, designer, etc.. Unfortunately this didn’t really have anything that set it apart from the other recent versions of this classic. This is at least the 5th book like this I’ve read in the past two years that has used a bunch of influencers trapped on an island. If this had been random people and not influencers or a group of coworkers or friends it might have felt different. The focus on influencer culture in books is starting to wear very thin. Very much a trend I am losing interest in. All of these books including this one try to make the point that influencers are “lying” and make people feel bad when they can’t achieve the perfect life they have. I think we’ve lived with social media long enough, most of us know that influencer life and most things on social media are glamorized perfection.
The way the POV shifted mid-scene also threw me off. I would have to pause and get back into the scene in the new character’s mind. I did like the use of technology to keep the group on their toes. The ‘contestants” in the reality “show” wore watches that the Sponsor communicated with them through. We also got transcripts from the watches. Overall felt like something I had already read. Wanted a different spin on the classic tale.

Many others are enjoying this book! If you like locked room stories and influencer culture, you might love this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m going to go ahead and give it 4’stars because I’m not a YA and this is a YA book, so I’m trying to think like a younger person. That audience would probably appreciate the story more than an older person.

The story did keep me engaged because I wanted to see who was behind it all, and I am a little ashamed that I didn’t figure it out. I usually can figure out the mystery and thriller books pretty early on.

I enjoyed the influencer and realty show premise, as well as the mystery/thriller theme, of course.

There were quite a few characters to have to keep up with and I found myself getting confused sometimes throughout trying to keep everyone straight.

Sometimes there wasn’t quite enough difference between the characters voices for me to realize that a point of view had changed. I’d have to go back and check and see that I missed the character change.

It did keep me turning the pages though. It never really got slow and it was a pretty quick read.

I could see this as a tv show for teens on Hulu the same channel Pretty Little Liars was on.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this arc!

Pub date: 10/31/23
Genre: YA thriller
Quick summary: Ten influencers are excited to create content on a remote island, until one dead body turns into two, and it's looking like no one will be getting back to real life.

Influencer island thrillers seem to be a new subgenre, and, yes, I am usually up to read one! This is one of the better ones I've read - there was a good group of characters, and their secrets were compelling. Worley included some nice twists, and the ending kept me guessing! I'm kind of surprised this one is coming out in October because it would be a fun beach read (as long as you know no one you're vacationing with will try to murder you). I read it quickly over two days.

If you enjoy YA thrillers, this is a good one to pick up!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this one! I read a review that said this was YA leaning and I disagree. This was a solid 4 stars for me, I didn’t want to put the book down and it was not at all predictable. A very fresh take on the influencers get taken out trope!

A whodunnit in the vein of the iconic 'And Then There Were None' with a social media twist. Multiple first person POVs help keep the mystery alive, but at the cost of suspending our disbelief. Unreliable narrators galore, as to be expected, with mostly positive results

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

🎧Song Pairing: Kill Bill - SZN

💭What I thought would happen:

I really expected this to be a 5. Plus loved the cover and figured it had to do with influencers sooo drama out the bahama

📖What actually happens:

Several influencers are brought to a luxury island to shoot a reality show and to promote their brands as each individual has had an issue with their audience as of late.

When one of the obnoxious members ends up dead after night one…they start realizing this isn’t about promoting their instas and tik toks…they’ve been gathered to be cancelled…maybe a little too literally.

🗯Thoughts:

I got a bit of a Bodies Bodies Bodies vibe. Most because it’s Gen Zs in a lavish place then next thing you know it gets a little…bloody 😏 oh and Pete Davidson would be cast in the movie…for promotional sake (obviously)

This was very much a modern day And Then There Were None concept and I was digging it until the characters with the best drama lost their screen time. Ugh. I just grew sooo bored and over the story by the end but at least I was able to predict it down to a T…

The problem with the central group of douches was that their influence fame came from something called the Bounce House. Honestly can’t convince me otherwise that their channel isn’t for kids with that stupid name yet they’re a social media sensation?! But also after writing this i hear there is something called the Hype House…I am old and out of touch. Forgive me 👵🏻

So it seems like a regular cover but there was something about it that made me really want to read it. I’m glad I did because even though it felt like way too many characters that still somehow all seemed the same I could not stop reading it. I didn’t think it would go down the way it did but the pressure in the house about who was up next kept me glued to this one. The beginning and end was just sort of meh but I loved that middle so much it was worth it. A definite must read.

My students will greatly enjoy reading a book they can relate to in regards to social media. I was a bit concerned about the idioms and various phrases used because they’re already outdated in teenage standards. It’s constantly changing! The author seemed to have a great grasp on influencers and the added addition of mystery was great! Reminded me a lot of And Then There Were None.

I love closed door murder mysteries but this one was hard to get in to. None of the numerous characters are particularly likable and the amount of Gen Z lingo was over kill. The characters were kind of hard to tell apart and could use some more fleshing out.

WOW- this was such a clever read, it was fresh, fast and a perfect summer read. Olivia knocked it out of the park, the right kept me guessing vibes! 4 star

Twists and turns surprise you through this YA mystery novel about teen influencers, a remote island, and murders. Who will survive? Don't discount this one because it is YA. It has details and twists to keep the mystery reader in you entertained. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook to review.

Murdering social media influencers on an island had me all in from the beginning.

What a great debut from a new author. Hit all the right beats and kept me in suspense until the end.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

People to Follow is a fantastic YA thriller novel! I can not believe this is a debut! If you live closed door type thrillers with a vacation gone wrong mystery, this book is for you!

4.5 stars!

Unfortunately I think this* and then there was one* style book missed tomorrow, there were way too many characters, which sometimes will work in a book but in this book it was hard to keep track of everybody.. and basically it was just nothing new, a group of people all put on an island together and people keep getting killed off one by one, paranoia is high and no one knows who to trust, not an absolutely horrible book, just a little stale.. two out of four stars

This book definitely needs a character list. I could barely keep up which made it very difficult to stay interested. This book is not for me.

This was just eh and wasn't for me. The beginning had my interest but as it went on maybe 20% in, I was bored, and it was so predictable and just wasn't for me. The cover gives it two stars, Love all the colors! The story is nothing too new. A group of people in a secluded place, a mysterious sponsor and they are killed off one by one. A lot of suspicion and doubting each other. The setting here is a luxurious island and a group of social media influencers. I don’t exactly mind the influencer trope. I even enjoy it at times. But here, I was not really sold. Mainly because I think it would have been wiser to focus on only two different POV’s. I missed the reality tv part. I think this is a fine novel for a younger crowd, not too much for me. Too much drama entirely, too less mystery and suspense just not my cup of tea.

This book is part suspense, part satire, tearing apart our “follow me” social media culture. Most of the characters are annoying, but that fits in with the premise of a reality tv show that is meant to take ten influencers out of the spotlight. This was a fun read and laughed out loud many times. It’s labeled as young adult, but anyone would enjoy this if you like books will that tackle our current social media environment. Huge five stars for this one!

Read if you like:
🔪 YA Thrillers
🏝️ Island Setting
☠️ Murder Mysteries
📱 Social Media Influencers

This book would be a perfect read for teens or those in their early 20’s based on the topics, writing style, age of characters, and word/language choices made by the author. However, I will say to that that if you are up on slang and common terms of those in that age group you will still enjoy this one too!

I really enjoyed the beachy Caribbean setting for this book and the suspense as it kept me on the edge of my toes and flipping pages.

I also loved the aspect of pulling in social media influencers to be on a show as it felt very much like a Netflix show that I was indulgently reading.

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC and I hope others enjoy this YA thriller as much as I did!

This was an easy and entertaining suspense novel to read but the story has been done before so many times. The spin on this type of story was using influencers on the island which I thought I’d enjoy but most of the characters were just annoying.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review.