Today I’m sharing my review of Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson. The Goldens showed me that Wilson is a fierce talent so I was very excited to sink my teeth into her sophomore novel.
Thank you to HarperFire for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This review originally appeared on The Nerd Daily.
Reluctant online sensation Crystal Shaw sees university as her chance to escape the clutches of her controlling vlogger family. While outwardly agreeing to her mother’s demands to create a spin-off channel about her university experience, Crystal is secretly looking for someone who can help her expose some damning evidence about her parents – which she hopes will destroy their social media empire, giving her and her younger siblings freedom.
Crystal opens up to Alyssa, a fellow journalism student, and the two begin to form a friendship. But Alyssa is a secret superfan of Crystal’s family’s vlog – and has her own dark plans. Alyssa isn’t ready to say goodbye to her perfect surrogate family just yet … and she’ll do anything to be welcomed into the fold.
CW: murder, death, violence, death of a child, grief, abusive relationships
My Thoughts:
Tell Your Friends is a stellar sophomore thriller that delves into child stardom in the modern age, influencer culture and parasocial relationships.
The Goldens was the type of book that pulls you into its depths and refuses to let you go. It was a brilliant thriller that utterly captivated me with its twisted tale of influence, power and glamour. With that spectacular debut, the bar was set high for any future works. Here Lauren Wilson proves again that she can take a captivating concept and turn it into an intriguing story. This hits the same giddy heights as The Goldens, proving Wilson as an author to watch within YA.
Wilson continues to explore influencer culture as in The Goldens but through a fresh and fascinating new lens here. I really enjoyed how Wilson chooses to explore the dark side of fame through this book, in particular around family influencer channels. It asks difficult questions about the involvement of children, their consent and exploitation. Wilson takes it to some extreme places but the parallels with real life are all too easy to draw. This is uncharted territory and full of ethical dilemmas. These children are growing up with every detail of their lives captured and shared to millions of people, forever memorialised and available for anyone to witness. What effect would that have on a child?
It is a question we are starting to explore within our world as these children grow up and start to speak out. Wilson offers some thought-provoking insights here through the Shaw family. They were catapulted to fame with a tragedy that rocked their foundation but built a brand that has become known around the world. Crystal is trying to break free of this with her studies abroad and wanting to find a trustworthy outlet for the story she has hidden for all these years. All of this clashes with her deep love for her family and the control they still exert over her. The scenes with her and her mother made my skin crawl at times. Wilson portrays that manipulation wonderfully and it feels deeply unsettling. The scenes of their previous video content makes you question just what was happening behind the scenes and Wilson expertly shows this through switching timelines and revealing key details as the pages fly by.
This book has one of my favourite uses of a dual POV narrative I’ve read for a little while. It is such a great portrait of both of these complicated characters as the layers peel back with each chapter. Little details add up into a much more sinister picture. The dynamic between Crystal and Alyssa is intoxicating and I loved the way it shifts and changes throughout the book. You flip between their two perspectives, which reveals more about who they are and how they navigate the world. Alyssa wants to be a journalist and blaze a trail that will make it so people never forget her. She feels mistreated and sidelined by those she loves, so the magnetic pull of Crystal’s friendship is irresistible. What happens next is a surprise but you will not be able to pull yourself away.
This is such a well-paced YA thriller where the stakes feel like they are always increasing and the tension getting thicker with each new chapter. Wilson has plenty of twists in store and you will reconsider what you thought you knew about this story. Everything builds to an explosive conclusion, but Wilson still has a few tricks up her sleeve. You are left gripped right up until the final sentence and that to me is the testament of a great thriller.
Tell Your Friends is addictive reading, as bingeable as your favourite social media star’s new content.
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