Did not finish
Too many characters to keep track of and struggled to develop relationships with any of the characters

I really enjoyed this book, it was so well written and is a great book for both the young adult and adult market, I didn’t feel like this had to be exclusively marketed at young adults. The writing was great and I really liked the setting and the story idea.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

People to Follow is a fun, fast paced thriller in which influencers are dropping dead left and right on a remote island. I had so much fun trying to figure out who was behind the murders, and this reminded me a lot of the vibe of Bodies Bodies Bodies (although less sarcastic and on the nose) with young people running around a mansion on a private island.

There are multiple points of view in this book, which I feel was the only downside. I would have preferred to have focused on just one or two characters, but there were four POVs in total and it all got a bit much because they all sounded the same. I don’t think thrillers generally need more than two POVs.

I read this book in pretty much one sitting and that’s how you can tell it’s a decent thriller book! I’ll be adding this one to my list of recommendations.

This book was so good. It had a very "And then there were none" vibe with a group of people trapped on an island while an unknown assailant is apparently picking them off. Everyone has secrets and noone knows who they can trust. As all the characters are influencers, they are all very focused on their social media face but on their own on an island where their lives are at risk, we start to see the darker side of each of them. It is an interesting look at how what you see on the screen isn't what is actually happening in real life (which is actually the name of the show the influencers think they're on the island to participate in). I feel that there would be a lot to discuss with the right group of children. One of the points I found most interesting was one character's reaction towards one of the other influencers who was known for their wholesome content. It definitely made me reflect on the pressure some young people may feel today to present themselves as perfect. As this is a YA book, it's too mature for me to recommend for my pupils (although I think some of them would enjoy it). If you like a mystery with a bit of an unexpected ending, I think you'd really enjoy this book.

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me. I hated all the characters, they're privilege and whining and being obvious stereotypes, and therefore I just didn't really care when they all start dying. It was a quick read, the pacing is really fast and engaging, and the overall plot is quite fun too - take a load of influencer and kill them off, while also threatening to expose their darkest secrets. Very And There There Were None - but the use of modern social media names quite often threw me out of the story.

Quick, fun read but it quite obviously is not really meant for me.

Fun, thrilling and relevant: a fun frolicking island jaunt turns murderous, keep your wits about you as everyone is a suspect.

Don’t believe your eyes - your favourite Influencers aren’t what they seem.
10 Influencers are given an amazing promotional opportunity in the form of a reality TV show on a private luxury island. 3 weeks, 0 phones, keeping it real, but when they start dying, reality starts becoming a whole lot more real.

This book is really fun, perfect escapist and holiday reading which I mean as the biggest compliment, it was a pleasure to take a break from reality here. The story is written from multiple view points which I liked and found the voices individual and not blurring. It’s a locked room mystery with a Gen Z twist and it’s done well. The story is immensely readable and visual, I could see it making a really great TV series adaptation.

I really really liked the relevance of this story and its appeal to a YA and Millennial audience. The characters are a mix of mousy to genuinely awful, and Worley really leans in to stereotypes but she needed to for this to work. It lends it a satirical edge which I think really works and for a murdery book gives welcome shots of fun and humour - there are some excellent one liners. It’s the kind of story where it’s ok to dislike the characters, this adds to the story in my opinion, it gives the whole thing a pleasing sense of schadenfreude.

On a serious note, I think it’s good in whatever way we can to remind ourselves that the internet is not reality and that we shouldn’t use it as a measuring tool for our own lives, especially younger people, and Worley could not get this message across any more clearly. Thank you.

The social media theme will resonate with teens & the Christie-style murders will certainly engage. The multiple character viewpoints at each chapter is confusing trying to remember who is who! It errs on the side of samey at times and the big reveal at the end feels like a tired streaming plot device. But this is a tense, decent debut with strong crossover/ new adult appeal

People to Follow really is Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ for the TikTok generation. Ten influencers arrive at a private island, ready to film a reality TV show about unplugging from their online worlds. But then the production team never arrives and mysterious messages from an unknown ‘sponsor’ keep appearing, threatening to expose each person’s secrets and get them cancelled. Which, for a group of people whose whole career hangs in the balance, would be bad enough, but then it becomes clear that this sponsor takes ‘cancelling’ very literally. With the bodies stacking up, will the group be able to work out which among them is the murderer? Or, by the time anyone on the mainland has worked out that something is awry, will it be too late for them all?


It’s been a long time since a book has made me stay up until the early hours of the morning because I just HAD to know what happened next, but People to Follow definitely managed that.

I was hooked.


I will admit that I didn’t particularly love the ending and I do think the tension in Act Two could have benefited from a little more of a slow build of intrigue (I personally found the idea that there was someone on the island/in the house that they weren’t aware of far scarier than the idea that it was one of them doing the killing, but they all leapt to that conclusion very quickly). However, that all being said, I loved all the twists and turns, I thought it was a really fun, interesting premise with some great insights into the hypocrisy of influencer culture, and I know it’s one that my thriller, murder-mystery obsessed students will absolutely LOVE. I will definitely be ordering a couple of copies of the book for my library.

Ten privileged teen influencers arrive on an isolated island to take part in a reality show based on the idea that they are cut off from technology and from their audience of fans. Each has a reason to be there, several are hoping it will spark a revival in their flagging number of followers.
Very quickly, there are signs that all is not as it seems; the film crew don’t show up, in fact they appear to be the only people on the island as a storm is brewing. The story is told from the point of view of four of the teens (Max, Elody, Logan and Kira). The multiple POVs made getting into the book a bit confusing as we learn a bit about all ten characters who are similar in many ways whilst not really bonding with any of them.
As the body count rises, the influencers try to work out if they are really alone and who is the mysterious “sponsor” who is sending them messages. For several chapters, we don’t know if they are being stalked by an outsider or if one or more of the influencers is guilty of murder and whilst the characters don’t know who to trust, neither does the reader, helping to build the tension. Each has a dark secret revealed by the mysterious “sponsor” and it seems that everyone has a motive ranging from hyper-competitiveness to revenge.
There are some wonderful red herrings, unexpected twists and a satisfying grand reveal at the end. Overall, this is a very readable debut novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for the ARC.

Ten teen influencers travel to a remote island to discover what life is like when lived without their phones constantly glued to their hands. They encounter more than they bargained for when challenges begin and the consequences for the losers mean getting cancelled... permanently!

I adore thrillers with social media stars at the centre of them. There is something about discovering who the real individual - behind the filtered, online presence - really is that is endlessly alluring to me. This one allowed me this voyeuristic insight to all of the teens here and it was a wild ride to the truth!

Every last one of them had a secret to hide which meant my mind was swarming with possibilities on what they could be and how all gathered here became connected, as it dually sought to discover who the menace behind the cancelling and murdering of them truly was. I was forever a few steps behind the plotting and thought Worley crafted a very clever plotline - fast-paced, twisted, and full of depth.

Book Review 📚
People To Follow by Olivia Worley - 4/5 ⭐

In a world full of influencers, this book seems rather ideal doesn't it? After reading the blurb I was intrigued to see where Worley would take it. I wasn't disappointed.

Characters - I'll warn you, there are a tonne of characters and character descriptions, so make sure you have your wits about you as your gonna need to remember names with personalities. It does get a little confusing, but once you've got if sussed it's a brilliant read. I loved how detailed Worley made the characters and their developments, it was fantastic.

The plot to this story was spot on. I can't fault it at all. It grabbed my attention instantly and kept throwing twists at me from every direction. Nothing was as straight forward as you think, there's always some sort of shocking revelation coming. It was written amazingly and I loved every second of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

The rating is on behalf of my students who are going to absolutely love this. For me, I did find it confusing at times due to the volume of characters, but an enjoyable read overall.

This book took me a while to get into but once I was in, I was in. I think the initial resistance was due to getting know a lot of characters names and personalities immediately which wasn't helped by the perspective changes but I soon found my way around the ten influencers. I think it's difficult to include meme references without them feeling historic two weeks later, some of them felt years old but I understand there's not much to do about that. I was kept guessing right up to the end of the book and really enjoyed reading it, thank you!

This has been a popular plot lately. Some have been good; some not as much. I thought I would give it a try. It got a little confusing for me with all of the characters. Overall it was slow in the middle so I jumped around. It was ok. Not my favorite.

Ten teen influencers are invited to spend three weeks "unplugged" on a luxurious island getaway. But although they will not have access to the internet - and therefore, by extension, their followers in the outside world - during this time, every moment of their stay will be recorded by the ever-present cameras that have been set up for the reality TV show in which they are participating, titled In Real Life (IRL). With a setup like that, what could possibly go wrong...?

As it turns out, quite a bit! The production crew due to arrive the following day fails to show up, the person who settles them in is recalled on urgent business, they start receiving creepy messages from someone identified only as "the Sponsor" on their watches, and there is some creative mannequin abuse.

And then, inevitably, someone gets murdered. Perhaps not surprisingly, it's the influencer everyone loves to hate who gets offed first. Though in fairness, several of the characters are obnoxious or vapid, and remarkably easy to hate!

The story has an isolated location, and an Agatha Christie feel about it, albeit with a very contemporary influencer element. Obviously, with ten teens participating, not all the characters are given equal time/voice in the story.

For me, Kira the fitness influencer and Max the documentary maker were characters that were easiest to keep track of. The Southern girl Mc Kayleigh and outcast Logan were also somewhat memorable.

But multiple POV is used in the story, and with regard to that, it felt like there was insufficient differentiation between various characters. The voices sometimes blurred into a chorus of entitled, immature teenagers, making it hard to tell who was who.

Still, on the whole, the story was entertaining. And the ending was definitely well-handled and deftly delivered.

I’m not really one for mysteries/thrillers, but this looked too good to pass up. I’ll be posting a full review very soon, but I’m seeing influencers everywhere these days even more than celebrities so this will be a fun one to share with not only our YA section, but adults that remember those glorious days of youth as well! Would make a great tv series, or teen book club selection