As always, writing a review for a mystery/thriller is difficult, as you don’t want to give anything away. Therefore today’s review will be short and sweet, as this is the type of book where you want to go in blind.

I received an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, stalking, harassment 

Synopsis:

When sixteen-year-old Chloe replies to a DM from a gorgeous stranger, she has no idea what she’s inviting into her life. As her online fan becomes increasingly obsessive, her real life starts to come apart at the seams and Chloe realizes she needs to find a way to stop him before things spiral out of control.

Misfit Amber’s online obsession with her personal trainer begins to creep into the real world. But when she hears a terrible rumor about him, she drops everything to try and prove his innocence – even if it means compromising her own.

In Follow Me, Like Me by Charlotte Seager, Amber and Chloe might find that the truth is much harder to swallow than the lies.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this twisty, dual narrative YA mystery. At its core, this book questions whether we ever truly know someone online and I enjoyed this timely discussion, especially as it also discussed sequel assault, harassment and stalking. These are all sadly relevant topics for today’s society and need to be talked about, in order to remind YA readers of the dangers of social media, but also the positives.

Chloe was probably the more interesting character for me, with the stereotypical popular girl trope being stripped back, as she falls into a nightmare. In particular, I really liked how Seager destroyed the ‘nice guy’ concept and gave Chloe more nuance, allowing her to grow over the course of the story.

Amber was similarly complex, though more unlikeable. She exhibits stalker-esque behaviour and lies throughout the book, but is again more complex than that. It showed how easy and normalised internet stalking can be, in the pursuit of a crush for example, but it’s still wrong and I do wish there had been some sort of consequence for her.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable, thought-provoking YA mystery that I really hope people pick up!