Tell Your Friends

by Lauren Wilson

A former child star and an envious fan collide in this cat-and-mouse psychological thriller about obsession, self-invention, and the dark side of internet fame.

University was meant to be Crystal’s way out. Growing up, there was nothing in her life that couldn’t be turned into content for her mother’s popular (and profitable) family vlog channel, At Home with the Shaws—including the tragic death of her older sister when they were kids. When she arrives on campus, her mother demands she keep filming her every experience for her subscribers—but Crystal has just one story in mind, one that will blow them all away.

At Home with the Shaws is Crystal’s prison, but it is Alyssa’s escape. An aspiring journalist from a deeply troubled family, she jumps at the chance to help Crystal with an exciting project. When she realizes her new friend’s goal is to expose her family and put an end to the channel, Alyssa becomes desperate to find a way to stop the Shaws’ carefully curated image from shattering.

As the two girls discover unsettling truths about themselves and each other, and shocking new information about the Shaws comes to light, Crystal realizes what’s really at stake. If she doesn’t figure out whom she can trust, her freedom will cost her much more than just her fame.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Audiobook, Young Adult

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2026

About the author

Lauren Wilson has a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism and an MA in Creative Writing. She lives in North East England with her fiancé and their snuggly spaniels. Her acclaimed debut novel, The Goldens, was selected as a Waterstones Book of the Month in July 2025.

Reviews

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense story from start to finish, Lauren Wilson does a fantastic job of showcasing the pervasive, darker elements of influencer culture and the parasocial relationships that can form from it. Each and every one of the characters was fully fleshed out; their unhinged nature laid completely bare. In fact, weeks later, they still cross my mind from time to time.

While I had an idea where the story was ultimately headed, that didn’t lessen my shock value when I reached the end. There was a little bit of an over-the-top nature that so many thrillers have begun to incorporate, but I think the social commentary around the how far people are willing to go to go for clicks, and the toxicity that surrounds that, is important and can lend to some great post-read discussions.

🎧 I enjoyed this book on audio. I am not as familiar with narrator Lily Lefkow-Green, but appreciated her vocal dexterity and her ability to set each character apart.

CW: this story features very heavy topics. Please check triggers prior to reading if you are sensitive to any.

Read if you like:
▪️domestic suspense
▪️coming-of-age stories
▪️social media/influencer component
▪️toxic relationships
▪️dual POV

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson. Thanks to @pineandcedar for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crystal is excited to begin university and be independent from her family, the famous family from the family blog, At Home with the Shaws. Her mother wants her to document her time at university, but Crystal has a completely different narrative in mind. When she befriends fellow journalist student, Alyssa Hayes, she’s unaware of Alyssa’s obsession with her family.

After loving The Goldens, this was one of my highly anticipated reads of 2026 and it did not disappoint! While on the shorter side, and a fast paced read, it doesn’t feel rushed and it leaves you missing nothing. The story flies by and a lot is placed into the pages. There’s a sense of dread throughout and then a lot of action at the end. It sheds light on the dangers and addictions of family influencer blogs as well.

Read if you like:
-Influencer stories
-Families not what they seem
-Social media tropes

Tell Your Friends comes out 6/2.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good influencer drama thriller story and this delivered. A super fast read, one sitting for me! I thought the characters were unique and I enjoyed their POVs. It kept me hooked! Definitely recommend if the story appeals to you.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crystal is a former child star and famous influencer. She meets Alyssa, who is an obsessed fan with some inappropriate social behaviors. Crystal is determined to expose her family's dark past. When Alyssa finds out, she is determined to save the family's carefully curated image.

I had high hopes for this. What should have been propulsive and tense came across as boring and "high school". This leans more YA in my opinion. It didn't feel like a thriller. More like a dysfunctional friendship.

The audiobook performance is excellent but the narrator can't make the story better.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted advance listening copy. All opinions are my own. 🎧

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐✨ 3.75 Stars
I think this one was a case of wrong expectations on my part. I went in expecting a darker, more adult psychological thriller, but it leaned much more YA than I anticipated.

The story kept me interested, and I liked the themes surrounding family vlogging, internet fame, and obsession. It just felt a little slow in places for me, and I never fully connected with it the way I hoped I would.

Overall, it was a solid read. If you enjoy YA psychological suspense and slow-burn character-driven stories, this one may work better for you than it did for me.

🎧 Narrated by: Lily Lefkow-Green
⏱️ Runtime: 7 hours 16 minutes
📚🖤🎧

Thank you @Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

[Chloe Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved listening to Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson. This book completely blew me away. It’s such a smart, sharply written thriller. And the story feels incredibly relevant right now with its focus on internet fame, obsession, and the dark side of social media. I was truly obsessed from start to finish and couldn’t stop listening. If you’re someone who loves stories about online culture and the messy, dangerous ways it shapes people, this one will absolutely hook you. And the audiobook experience made it even better because Lily Lefkow-Green’s narration is completely intoxicating. Her voice pulled me in right away and kept me glued to every second. This was easily one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a very long time, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[misfantasyfiction ☆ﾟ.*･ · Rating 5 out of 5]

°❀⋆ Tell Your Friends .ೃ࿔*:･

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

'It should have been her...'

For Crystal, university is her chance to get out from under the thumb of her controlling parents and begin living a life off camera. When she meets Alyssa, another student with a suspiciously murky past and a habit of alienating everyone she grows close to, the two form a friendship and Crystal recruits Alyssa's help in exposing the truth behind her family's picture-perfect online persona.

Unbeknownst to Crystal, Alyssa is an avid watcher of At Home with the Shaws, and vows to thwart her expose at every turn. But as Crystal gets closer to unearthing the lies hidden in her past, it could bring revelations that will change her life forever - and Alyssa will go to any lengths to make sure the truth never gets out...

Tell Your Friends has a boatload of current social commentary around the dark side of family vlogging and kid influencing, while retaining the compulsive and addictive pace typical of thrillers. Seriously, I'd recommend picking this up when you have a good couple of hours free, because once you start, you're not going to want to stop! The themes dissected hit far too close to home - the sad reality of a childhood lived in front of cameras and put on display for public consumption, and I think it's one that a lot of us recognise from our FYPs or news articles.

I also loved how Wilson put female friendship at the forefront of the story. I thought it was really interesting how Wilson explored the parasocial relationship that Alyssa developed and detrimental it was to her own life - from her family to the furthering of her own insecurities. As for Crystal, her internal battle between exposing her family and potentially perpetuating the cycle of abuse felt like a realistic portrayal of a grown-up kidfluencer. The guilt, anger and resentment she oscillates between felt true to life.

Overall, a stunning follow-up to Wilson's debut last year The Goldens. If you loved Yesteryear or Julie Chan is Dead and their somewhat satirical, razor-sharp commentary on influencing, I think you'd similarly love Tell Your Friends. Tell Your Friends is out today!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Goldens was one of my favourite reads of 2025 and Tell Your Friends has solidified Lauren Wilson as an auto-buy author for me! Much like her debut, I devoured most of this in a single day! NO ONE writes toxic female friendship like Lauren Wilson! This is a must-read for anyone with an internet presence.

Reluctant child star Crystal hopes university is her chance to escape her controlling vlogger family. Sick of her mother's demands, Crystal is secretly planning to expose her parents and destroy their social media empire. She befriends fellow journalism student Alyssa, who seems kind and supportive. But Alyssa has her own secrets, and she'll do anything to get what she wants…

This was sharp, insightful, and unsettling - it’s a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time. I was hooked from the shocking first page! What an opening! I thought I knew where this story was going - I did not! This was such a thought-provoking read, and will open a lot of discussion around child influencers and family vlogs. I was so angry for Crystal right from the start - her parents really treated her as a commodity and were uninterested in anything but her earning potential. Alyssa was so well-written, with scattered clues hinting that she was troubled and maybe even dangerous, and a slow burn build to reveal her motives and machinations. I was totally gripped and couldn’t put this down! It really made me think about the idea of what you see on the Internet and how much is real versus an image that is being curated. What I found really clever was the snippets throughout the book of certain events contrasting between the picture perfect vlogs and Crystal’s actual memories. I also loved how the family home was constructed as a metaphor for their online presence. Lauren Wilson is so genius at weaving in details and clues! It was a perfect read for a long weekend!

I highly recommend Tell Your Friends to fans of books like The Escape Game, Yesteryear, and The Favourites! A huge thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance copy.

[Lu thrillskillsandchills · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

If you enjoyed Yesteryear and its satirical look at influencer culture, I’d recommend adding Tell Your Friends to your TBR.

I flew through this one. At under 300 pages, it’s a quick read and one I found very easy to consume over a couple of sittings.

The influencer culture aspect was easily my favourite part of the story. Family vloggers, parasocial relationships, curated online personas - Lauren Wilson leans into all of it, and it made for a really interesting backdrop to the thriller elements.

Having recently read Yesteryear, I found myself drawing comparisons between the two. Whilst they’re very different stories, both explore what happens when children become part of a public brand and the impact that can have as they grow older. Crystal’s desire to step away from the spotlight and live a normal, private life reminded me of some of the themes explored in Yesteryear, which made this an especially interesting read.

Whilst I enjoyed the premise and flew through the pages, I did find myself wanting a little more from the ending. That said, I was entertained throughout and would happily pick up another book by Lauren Wilson.

[Pav S. (pav_sanborn_bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the cover, so I knew I had to dive into this book! What a wild ride it turned out to be, combining elements of young adult fiction with a secluded, atmospheric campus setting.

Crystal grapples with the constraints of her mother's family vlog, "At Home with the Shaws," while attempting to navigate her university life. When aspiring journalist Alyssa offers to assist Crystal, their partnership reveals darker truths and obsessions. As their secrets collide and the Shaws' facade threatens to collapse, Crystal must discern whom to trust, or risk losing her freedom along with her fame.

The story unfolds through multiple perspectives, primarily those of Crystal and Alyssa. We also get a glimpse of Crystal's past through online article flashbacks woven into the narrative, which really enriches the character development. The touch of YA is evident in the characters' ages and behaviors, but the story flows steadily. Since I approach every book without prior knowledge, it all revealed itself like a tale of college girls searching for their places in the world, making mistakes, and facing tough choices along the way. You could really feel the pressure Crystal was under, even if it wasn’t overtly discussed. The pressure was just a palpable expectation in the air.

Alyssa, a newcomer to Crystal's world and hailing from a completely different background, struggles to relate to it all. I recognize people like Alyssa. These individuals often feel lost and unsure of their identities, trying to blend in like chameleons by mimicking behavior, styles, and lifestyles to feel more relatable and accepted.

The pacing of the story is moderate, and the themes resonate with current discussions, especially in light of how things have shifted since the pandemic. Many individuals are now seeking to monetize their lives online, aiming to become influencers who overshare their daily experiences. You can really sense the pressure Crystal felt from a young age, having grown up in a family of vloggers—dealing with the demands of being popular, whether offline or online, can be overwhelming. It's completely understandable why she yearned to break away from her family’s brand and carve out her own identity.

I had an inkling of where the story was heading, but I was still surprised! I guessed some of the twists, but the author did an excellent job of tying everything together by the end. It was truly an emotional rollercoaster, loaded with toxicity!

The darker side of vlogging, with the constant need to keep up with trends and share everything, is vividly portrayed. This book is definitely for anyone interested in the latest tales about high-stakes influencers, life documentation channels, and peeking behind the curtain of both sides of online life. These days, many people seem to prioritize likes, shares, and shallow online relationships over genuine face-to-face connections. If you’re okay with the social pressures, toxic friendships, and unhinged characters, this book is right up your alley!

In this instance, I think an audiobook is the way to go. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing the story to life, and I found myself speeding it up a bit to inject some energy, as serious stories like this can sometimes drag on. Great choice of narrator!

Thank you, MacMillan Audio and FlatIron Books, for the DRC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 range rounded up

What a fun, obsession-fueled, envy-driven, influencer suspense!

I had a good time following Crystal and Alyssa as the two FMCs, and I think the dual POV was the right choice for this story because you really get into each of their heads. Both of them are really well fleshed out and are foils of one another, yet also overlap in a few ways.

On the one hand, Crystal is full of resentment, worry, exhaustion, and desperation after growing up as a child influencer against her will. She's tired of being an 'act,' a performance, and she's worried about her younger siblings growing up the same way. She's desperate to escape and to help the twins escape, too. You can really feel everything tumultuously wrestling inside her head and heart as she tries to figure out how to finally put an end to things after getting away and moving to the city for uni. She loves her family, but she's done with the influencer lifestyle and all it requires. Her interactions with her mother are really reflective of what Crystal describes; everything is transactional, superficial, and void of genuine warmth and love.

On the flip side, Alyssa grew up with parents who were absent, and she lost herself in stories and influencers to live vicariously. She's desperate to be loved, to feel cared for, to have a true family and sense of belonging. It's hard to like her because she's so obsessed with trying to be other people and thwart Crystal, but it's also reasonable to see why she is envious and frustrated with Crystal. Alyssa sees Crystal as ungrateful, which, given Alyssa's upbringing, is understandable for her to feel, even if (as a reader and outsider) I don't agree with Alyssa.

Both of them are desperate for real connections and want to be one another's best friend, but there's the tension between them that is unspoken as Alyssa becomes more and more obsessed and tries to hinder Crystal's plot to bring the Shaw empire down. I found it really interesting how, given their differences, they were both drawn to journalism. Crystal figures she can use journalism to make a difference for her siblings and the influencer lifestyle as a whole, drawing on the skills she's had to acquire over the years to bring light to the problematic nature of it. Alyssa, though, was always drawn to stories because they offered her that connection to people, and she also wants to make some kind of difference and name for herself through reporting on big stories.

I really enjoyed following the story because, since we get into both of their heads, it's compelling to analyze their interactions knowing each of their *actual* inner thoughts and feelings. Watching them grow closer helped build up tension for the events near the end. I will say the pacing dragged a bit for me in the middle, and I found the major reveal predictable (I guessed it at the prologue). That said, I still enjoyed it and the events at the very end as things unfold was fantastic! I loved how Alyssa wasn't JUST obsessed with the Shaw family and trying to keep it going - there's SO much more to her character and an enigmatic past that we get bits of throughout the story that tied into the end in such a gripping way.

The end, again, was great, and it actually left me with more questions in a good way. It left me wanting to know what happens to the characters 5, 10, even 15 years in the future!

I'd definitely recommend this one if you like obsession and/or influencer-based suspense stories!

Audio notes: The audio is fantastic! The narrator does a great job conveying the emotion and bringing the characters to life. You can hear the characters' desperation, obsession, and feelings throughout the story, and I felt immersed in the different POVs every time I listened.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eALC to listen to and review. All opinions are my own.

[Kendra Chura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahh, family vloggers. Always a great subject because you know things are never as perfect as they seem, but are they actually up to something sketchy?

After growing up as part of a famous influencer family, Crystal is excited to finally get away when she heads off to university, where she quickly becomes friends with Alyssa.

I listened to the audiobook, and while the narrator did a good job and fit both characters well, it really could’ve used a second narrator. With two first-person perspectives, it got a little hard to follow at times when both characters had the same voice. I found myself regularly forgetting whose chapter we were in until something specific reminded me.

Early on, we get hints that Alyssa has some strange behavioral patterns, which made her interesting, but I think the book could’ve leaned more into the mystery surrounding her character. She also wasn’t exactly subtle, considering she clearly had never gotten away with anything in her life.

I also wish the book had explored the investigative side a bit more. It felt like every time we learned something new about the family, the answers were revealed almost immediately, so there wasn’t much left that genuinely surprised me.

Overall, this one was okay. It was easy to listen to and entertaining enough, but it was a bit predictable, and the ending wasn’t all that shocking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy.

[Amy (amyrose.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the MacMillan Early Listeners Program for this ALC!

Typically, I steer clear of anything thriller-adjacent. The premise of this book just intrigued me though: girl who wants to escape her vlogger family and the girl who is obsessed with the channel (and then met meet). So, I decided to take the leap into a new genre with this title.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this book! Crystal and Alyssa were interesting characters to follow, especially because at first everything seems normal. Crystal wants to get away from the family business and Alyssa is just trying to make her way through university. As you uncover more about Crystal’s family and more about Alyssa’s past, the story twists into something sinister. I really enjoyed how readers were able to uncover bits and pieces of information all throughout the story. The dual perspectives in this novel work phenomenally well.

For the audiobook, I really wish we would’ve had two different narrators for each perspective. I think that would’ve added to the listening experience. However, I believe the narrator did a good job in showing the different feelings behind each character in their performance.

Overall, this book possibly has opened me up to the possibility of trying more thriller-type titles. Excited to potentially explore the genre more.

[deannaturnsthepage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was amazing! It was like watching good reality tv, I just needed some popcorn to go along with it.
Crystal has grown up under the spotlight as one of the Shaw children of the popular At Home with the Shaws vlog channel. But what people don’t see behind the perfectly curated image, is the reality of living life under her mom Marjorie’s thumb. The countless retakes, letting food grow cold for the perfect shot, having your every moment be someone’s entertainment. Alyssa doesn’t see that. This family’s channel has been a lifeline for her. Watching their videos is a balm for her soul, a place of comfort when she feels so adrift in life. So when she befriends Crystal and finds out that she wants to expose her family’s vlog, Alyssa needs to come up with a plan. She can’t believe how spoiled and entitled Crystal is. Alyssa would give anything to be a part of that family, to have such attention from her parents, to have siblings that adore her. She can’t live without this family & knows what she must do.

I highly recommend the audiobook as it brings this story to life. Great narration!

Dual pov
Psych thriller
Family vlog

[Courtney Whalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Out June 2, 2026.

This was a super slow burn for me. While it was entertaining enough to keep me listening, it just felt like it was missing something the entire time. The story took a long while to really get going, a lot of the themes and conversations felt repetitive, and most of the twists were pretty predictable for me.

I also went into this expecting more of an adult psychological thriller, but it read very YA to me. I was honestly surprised to see it wasn’t categorized that way. That being said, I actually think this could work really well for younger readers who want to dip their toes into thrillers and can handle some darker themes and chaotic behavior.

The strongest part for me was definitely the premise. The whole family-vlogger/internet fame angle is unsettling in a very modern way, and I liked the commentary on exploitation, obsession, and curated online personas. I just wish the tension had been pushed further.

And I have to mention the cover because WOW—I absolutely love it. The colors and design immediately caught my attention and honestly were a huge reason I picked this one up in the first place.

Overall, this one didn’t fully work for me, but I can definitely see it finding an audience, especially with readers who enjoy slower, character-focused suspense with social media drama mixed in.

[Jennica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author of The Goldens is back, and I enjoyed this book more than her last. Read this if you enjoy fast thrillers, dark academia, and crazy social media obsessions. The obsession and addiction of social media is a dangerous thing. This book did a great job highlighting the lies and facades of social media.

Crystal has made it to university out of the grip of her parents and the eye of her mom’s social media channel. She quickly finds friendship with classmate, Alyssa. Alyssa seems like the perfect friend and confidant but does she have other motives for befriending Crystal?

I really enjoyed this audiobook with alternating chapters and POVs. Narration done by Lily Lefkow-Green and she did a superb job. I flew through this one. Thanks Macmillan Audio for the ALC! Tell Your Friends will be available to public on Tuesday 6/2.

[Lauren Self · Rating 4 out of 5]

TELL YOUR FRIENDS by Lauren Wilson
🎧 audiobook review • out now!
Narrated by Lily Lefkow-Green
Length: 7h 16m
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

thank you @macmillan.audio for my ALC!

for fans of books involving influencers/social media, this one is for you. Crystal’s family has been in the spotlight for years, navigating their life after the tragedy of losing her sister at a young age. As crystal gets older, she despises the attention she gets. She goes to college, where she starts working as a journalist, and makes friends with Alyssa- who she confides in to call out her family, and hopefully bring an end to the channel.

I think this audio could have absolutely benefited from two narrators, it’s told in dual POV between Crystal and Alyssa- I was actually a few chapters in and totally confused, until I realized it was two different POV 😵‍💫 aside from that, the story was fast paced and pretty interesting, and I listened to it fairly quickly because it was a solid story.

[Rebecca :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored the journey this book took me on. I was initially drawn in by the story of a child from a family vlogging empire heading off to college. Finally getting the chance to discover herself outside of the carefully curated image her family built online. What completely caught me off guard, though, was the twist in the last half of the book. I genuinely did not see it coming at all. Just when I thought I understood where the story was headed, it completely pulled the rug out from under me in the best way possible. It added so much depth and tension to the story and made me fly through the final chapters. The emotional impact of that reveal stayed with me long after I finished the book.

Thank you for the advance readers copy!
#TellYourFriends #NetGalley

[CasuallyGle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tell your friends
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Family drama, social media influencers and a stalker? Always a big yes for me. However, I have mixed feeling with this book. I think that in many ways the writing style is just as good than it was in The Goldens, which I really liked, but at the same time, it lacked the wow factor of the latter, both in terms of setting and execution.
I started it excited, the premise was good and I was curious about both POVs and tho it was entertaining enough for me to keep reading, I also got uninvested from time to time.

Lets start with Crystal, out of the 2 she was my least favorite. Her character was a bit plane and I wish I could connect with her much more. I needed to see, I don’t know, a desire for actual revenge and also, a lot more depth to the conflict, cause yes, for the most part of the book the family wasn’t great but the bad parts were shallow so the final plot twist was like too much, too soon? Kinda out of nowhere? Its hard to explain.

As for Alyssa, she was more interesting to read, villainous characters would do that to you I guess, but she felt victim of the pace of the book. I wanted to see more of her at work, I wanted more mystery surrounding her, more obsession. What you read in the synopsis is exactly what you get, nothing beyond that, and again, it got superficial.

The build up of the book was intense yet too slow. i think it was definitely handle better in The goldens where the vibes got even claustrophobic but within Tell your friends, I was constantly waiting for something that didn’t arrive.
The setting also, lacked magic and appeal, it was just so normal, and that is not what I want to read once you put an influencers lifestyle in the mix, this could just have been about 2 random teenagers and that’s it.

That being said, I liked the ending. Both here and in The goldens is clear that no matter how much you run, sometimes you cannot escape from that very thing your are trying too and I loved that aspect.

Overall, the book was fine, just not as good as I expected after loving so much the authors debut. I kinda still recommend tho!

[Kayda Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
This was definitely a wild listen. Crystal is off to college, which is a vast reprieve from her home life, where her family has done the whole family influencer vlogs her whole life. Looking to forge her own path, she tries to adjust to college life, and make new friends that don’t know who she is. Turns out her new best friend secretly knows everything about her, and will do anything to have the life she is desperate to leave behind 👀

Like I said, this was a wild listen. I was definitely entertained, but it was a bit anticlimactic towards the end.Not bad by any means, but wanted just a bit more shock factor!

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the early listen.

[DalyReads✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Tell Your Friends was such a fun, fast read. The thriller/drama mix worked really well for me, and the social media angle didn’t feel forced at all,it actually made the story feel current. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators alone are worth 5 stars. They made everything hit harder. If you’re looking for something propulsive and entertaining that doesn’t ask too much of you, this one delivers. Genuinely had a great time with this one and I’d pick up whatever Lauren Wilson writes next.

[Footnotes and Footfalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this author’s last book and thought it deserved more attention, so I when the publisher sent me this one I gave it a go. While the influencer thriller premise was just entertaining enough to keep me reading, it felt a bit too YA for my taste and never fully delivered on its potential. Not a bad read, but ultimately just an okay one for me.

[Maria Vickers - MysteryLFL · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded down. This book was unhinged, but somehow not as fun as I’d expect for such a trope. While still entertaining, it was wildly unbelievable and very predictable. Not the worst read, but not the best.

[Brooke | bookswithbabs · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

This was an entertaining, albeit fairly predictable story! This book was easy to devour and, believe me, I did. I could see the main plot points coming from a mile away, but that doesn't mean it wasn't still fun to listen to as they came up.

Overall, this was a fairly twisted psychological thriller about obsession and a strong desire to change the circumstances you're in. It was easy to tear through and I didn't want to put it down. It wasn't, however, totally groundbreaking and I do wonder how much of this I'll remember in the months to come.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tell Your Friends really said what if The Truman Show was run by a mommy vlogger with a brand partnership addiction and absolutely zero respect for human dignity, and unfortunately? That premise hits immediately because every time I see a family influencer online making their sobbing child do a thumbnail face, I already feel like I’m watching evidence for a future lawsuit.

Crystal Shaw heads off to university hoping to finally escape her life as one of the unwilling stars of At Home with the Shaws, which is basically if your childhood memories were owned by YouTube commenters named things like MamaBear1978. Her mother has spent years turning every private family moment into monetized content, including the death of Crystal’s older sister, which is the kind of detail that makes you stare into the middle distance for a second thinking, wow, maybe we should’ve bullied people off the internet a little more.

Crystal worked for me because she’s angry in that exhausted, hollowed-out way where you can tell she’s spent years performing gratitude while internally dissociating. She doesn’t even know how to exist without imagining herself through a camera lens. Every interaction feels filtered through “would this play well online?” and honestly that made me sadder than the actual thriller elements. There’s something genuinely bleak about realizing this girl has never had a single ugly private moment that wasn’t potentially content. Meanwhile her mom is out here treating emotional trauma like bonus Patreon material.

And then we meet Alyssa, who immediately arrives with the energy of someone who says “we’re basically the same person” after one group project and then starts copying your haircut three business days later. I love a toxic female friendship. Inject it directly into my bloodstream. Alyssa has this deeply uncomfortable parasocial obsession with Crystal and her family that somehow feels both dramatic and incredibly realistic because the internet has absolutely produced people who think watching your vlogs for ten years means they spiritually helped raise you. There’s a specific kind of horror in realizing somebody knows intimate details about your life before you even know their last name.

The thing this book nails is how creepy internet fame actually is when you remove the ring lights and ukulele apologies. Crystal’s entire identity has been flattened into consumable content. Even her grief belongs to strangers now. And Alyssa, coming from her own deeply lonely and unstable background, latches onto the Shaws like she’s trying to crawl inside their lives and wear them as a skin suit from H&M. Their friendship gets increasingly sweaty and weird in a way that reminded me of being nineteen and making emotionally catastrophic decisions because someone validated you exactly once.

Now listen...the pacing in the middle absolutely wanders around the block a few times before getting to the murdery chaos. There were stretches where I wanted to shake everyone gently by the shoulders and say “you are all one bad dorm party away from an HBO documentary.” Some twists are predictable too, but honestly, once you hear “family vloggers,” your brain immediately assumes tax fraud, emotional abuse, at least one hidden crime, and a Notes app apology. The real tension comes less from guessing what happens and more from waiting to see exactly how bad these people are willing to get.

Also this audiobook absolutely benefited from Lily Lefkow-Green committing fully to the emotional instability of these girls. Alyssa especially starts sounding more and more tightly wound as the story goes on, like someone trying to keep a smile glued onto their face while actively unraveling inside. The narration really helps sell the obsessive friendship angle because half the tension is just hearing these girls emotionally imprint on each other in real time. Universities in thrillers continue to be the least educational institutions on earth though. Nobody attends class. Every student is either investigating secrets, trauma bonding, or one awkward conversation away from committing a felony.

What really stayed with me underneath all the messy thriller drama is how badly both Crystal and Alyssa want to be loved in a way that feels real. Crystal wants someone to see her outside the brand. Alyssa wants to belong to something so badly she starts reshaping herself around other people’s lives. The internet just magnifies all of it. This book gets that loneliness and obsession are basically steroids for bad decisions, especially when you’re young enough to think reinvention is the same thing as healing.

Overall, this was a 3.5 star read for me. Slightly predictable, occasionally meandering, but deeply entertaining in that “oh no these girls are making choices” kind of way. It’s messy, uncomfortable, weirdly sad, and just self-aware enough about influencer culture to make you want to delete TikTok and call your therapist.

Whodunity Award: For Making Every Family Vlog Intro Sound Like The Beginning Of A True Crime Podcast

And huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC, because nothing pairs better with folding laundry than listening to emotionally damaged internet children slowly implode while I mutter “absolutely not” at my ceiling.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crystal Shaw was so excited to go to university in London. Growing up on a tiny island as a member of the Shaw family, as in the popular family channel At Home with the Shaws, Crystal is looking forward to a break from the constant content creation. She wants to study journalism, to take what she’s learned from all her mother’s social media channels and do something different. But she does still have to post for her personal channel and the family channel, as part of her arrangement to move away.

Alyssa is also at university studying journalism. She’s been a longtime fan of the Shaws, and she’s hoping to get in with Crystal. She has some dark secrets, but she just wants to find a safe place, a warm family where she would be appreciated. She thinks the Shaws are that family, especially since her family doesn’t seem to care about her.

The women become friends, going to classes together, talking about starting a radio show about local news together, going out clubbing together. Crystal even invites Alyssa home with her for Christmas. Alyssa agrees, hoping to become a part of the Shaw family, even if just briefly. Crystal wants Alyssa to come home with her to direct some of her mother’s endless demand for content, because Crystal just wants a break.

But when they get there, Crystal finds more than just the usual family content-production push. Her younger sister Opal is looking pale and isn’t eating much. She is run down and weak, and Crystal is worried. Years before, she had another sister who had died. She had showed similar symptoms to Opal’s. The family is worried that Opal has the same illness, that it’s genetic. But what Crystal finds out about her sister’s illness is far more damaging, and could potentially bring the entire family business down.

When Crystal and Alyssa get back to London, Crystal wants to find a reporter to help her learn more about what happened to her sister. But Alyssa wants to be a part of the family, so while she tells Crystal she’ll help her, she is working behind Crystal’s back to sabotage her efforts. Both women come to a point where they have to decide who they are going to protect and who they are going to burn to the ground, and only one will be left standing in the end.

Tell Your Friends is a crazy thriller with ups and downs and twists. On the one hand is the insanity of influencer culture and how addictive it can be to get those clicks and sponsors. On the other hand is a single white female who doesn’t seem to understand boundaries. And throughout are secrets and lies and personal agendas that can cause great harm. I loved this dark look at influencers and toxic friendships, as I got pulled along on this journey.

I listened to the audio book, narrated by the talented Lily Lefkow-Green. The book is written in alternating chapters, one chapter by Crystal and one by Alyssa, and Green had slightly different voices for both women, using vocal cues to show more about their personalities. That was clever and engaging. The one thing that threw me a little is the speed at which she read. The audio book is a little over 7 hours, which struck me as short for a book of this length. And she did read it quickly. I kept checking my audio book app to make sure I hadn’t inadvertently set the speed faster. I had not. She just reads it quickly. Incidentally, this is not a complaint on my part. I liked it. It was just a surprise. I really enjoyed listening to Tell Your Friends, and that made me want to, umm, tell my friends.

An early copy of the audio book for Tell Your Friends was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

[Brittany Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when the children of family vloggers grow up?

That question is what immediately hooked me into Tell Your Friends. The story follows Crystal, who spent her childhood growing up in the spotlight as part of the wildly popular Shaw Family vlogs, and Alyssa, a freshman she meets during her first year at university. The two quickly become friends, but it doesn’t take long to realize that Alyssa’s interest in Crystal may not be entirely innocent.

The strongest part of this book was easily its exploration of family vlogging culture and the long-term impact of growing up online. Crystal’s perspective was fascinating. Watching her navigate college while realizing that strangers know intimate details about her life created some of the book’s most compelling moments. The loss of privacy, the sheltered upbringing, and the complicated feelings she has toward her parents all felt realistic and thoughtfully explored.

As a thriller, though, I had mixed feelings.

Early on, Alyssa’s chapters were incredibly effective. The author slowly reveals pieces of her obsession, and that gradual unraveling created a strong sense of tension and unease. Unfortunately, the suspense peaked a little too early for me. Once Alyssa’s motivations became clear, she felt less like an unpredictable threat and more like an obvious villain, which took away some of the mystery that initially had me hooked.

I also found myself wanting more development around some of the book’s biggest reveals. Crystal uncovers information about her family that should completely reshape how she views her childhood, but the discovery happens so quickly that it felt like the story skipped over some of the investigation and emotional processing I was hoping to see. The same issue popped up later when Alyssa makes a major decision near the end of the book that felt more shocking than earned.

I listened to the audiobook and overall enjoyed the experience, but I do think this would have benefited from a dual narration format. With both POVs performed by the same narrator, I occasionally found myself having to reorient to whose perspective I was listening to, particularly early in the story.

Overall, this was a fun, bingeable thriller with a unique premise and timely themes. While I wanted a bit more nuance in the character development and a stronger build-up to some of the major twists, I was completely invested in the conversations around family vlogging, online privacy, and what happens when your entire childhood becomes content.

🎥 What to expect:
📱 Family vlogging culture
🎓 College setting
😳 Obsession and parasocial relationships
🎭 Dual POV
🔍 Psychological suspense
👀 Social media commentary
🎧 Audiobook available

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after the cameras stop rolling for child influencers, this one offers a fascinating (and unsettling) look at that question.

[A Pixie Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge thank you to HarperCollins for giving me the opportunity to read this one early - The Goldens was one of my top reads of last year, so this was a huge anticipated release for me....
That being said, I didn't love this one as much as The Goldens.
This book has a lot going for it; it's a quick read, and I enjoyed its timeliness in an era obsessed with social media, but still not quite aware of the consequences of its darker side. I do find celebrity/influencer kids interesting in regards of how does it affect them as they grow up, and I think the author explored that well in this book. The book was well written in itself and I do still love the writer's writing style

I think the characters were intriguing - I loved Crystal, and there was a charm to her trying to find independence from her family when she went to university. Oddly, I would have liked to see her friendships develop more with the other cast of characters following the aftermath of the book... I understand why we didn't see much of that considering a huge element of this story is the toxicity of the obsessive friendship between Crystal and Alyssa, however the other characters are important, from Rowan pointing out Alyssa's copy-cat style, and the other friend ... I think their name was Joseph? But I can't remember as they weren't a huge part of the book, but anyway, they play a huge part in one of the ending scenes... so I would have liked a bit more there. But again, I understand why the author didn't develop that more, and Wilson is very good at writing toxic female friendships.
I found Alyssa to be insufferable and there were times I genuinely hated her chapters - I would have liked her character to be developed a little more but then at the same time, I think she was; I like that she was a menace for the thrill of it rather than specific reasoning. I would definitely be interested in a prequel short story about Alyssa at her previous school.

Style wise, this ended similarly to The Goldens in a way that I feel there's a lot of room for a book 2 for example from the twins perspective in a few years, especially with that ending and if such a book is ever written, I would buy and read it.

Overall, I would rank this as a 3.5 stars, but have rounded down as it didn't do enough for me to round it up. I can't really see myself rereading this one again unless there was a followup.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very frightening book/experience.

Imagine you have grown up with a family who 'posts' everything that happens to them... from birthdays, to vacations, to school experiences, to deaths... EVERYTHING.

This is Crystal Shaw's life. Her parents are Vloggers that share ALL kinds of content!
But, Crystal is Finally off to college... and, she is hoping for an escape from her life with her parents and all their content. But, she is sad to leave her little twins, a brother and sister at home. :(

At the same time, her Mom EXPECTS her to broadcast many moments while she is at college... therefore sharing all of her experiences away from home.
Crystal really has no intentions of doing that though.

When she arrives, late, she is greeted by many college kids who are happy to accept her into their realm... One more than the others. And her name is Alyssa.

Alyssa is from a broken home where she was not shown love or affection. She CRAVES what the Shaw's have and actually chose this school BECAUSE Crystal said she was going there! She knows every episode of their broadcasts...
And so, the two form a friendship! One completely in the know. The other completely blinded to what is going on...

And as they team up together to do both school work, and, supposedly to help Crystal get to the bottom of what is actually going on with her family, things start to shake out. And, not in a good way. And the more we learn about Alyssa, well, the less and less I liked her! And the ending…. 😳😮😳😮😳

This one was eye opening and scary, and just wow! Does this kind of stuff really happen out in the world??!! =0

4 creepy, stalker-like, crazed, psychologically-challenged stars for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TellYourFriends by @LaurenWilson and narrated nicely by @LilyLefkowGreen.

This one has not been released yet, please look for it on 6/2/26!

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio for an ALC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

You can also find my reviews on: Goodreads,
Instagram: @BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine

Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!!

And as always, thanks for reading along with me! 📚⭐️📖🩷

[Julie Maleski (juliereads_alot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Pine & Cedar Books for this physical ARC...this is my honest review.

📖 Tell Your Friends 📖
Author: Lauren Wilson
Pub Date: June 2, 2026
Publisher: Flatiron Books | Pine & Cedar Books

MY RATING: 4.25/5⭐
(Rounded Down To 4⭐)

Tell Your Friends, the upcoming psychological thriller from Lauren Wilson, provides a glimpse into the potentially unhinged consequences of the influencer culture and vlogging. It was a wildly captivating cat-and-mouse thriller that had me hooked as I waited to see what craziness was coming on the next page!

Told in the dual POVs of Crystal, the young adult daughter of a famous influencer family, and Alyssa, who is secretly obsessed with Crystal's influencer family's vlog. Crystal is just beginning University in London, and she's looking forward to getting out from under the brand-obsessed and watchful persona of her mom, the online matriarch of the family's vlog. Alyssa has a tendency to emulate new friends in a way that is borderline obsessive & creepy, and she immediately befriends Crystal at University - pretending she's never heard of Crystal's very famous family. As their friendship continues, Alyssa becomes more and more obsessed with Crystal's family, while Crystal wants to do everything possible to distance herself from them. Alyssa doesn't think Crystal even deserves her family anymore -- and she starts to wonder if maybe SHE would be a better fit in their family instead.

This was a fast-paced read, with the dual POVs of the female main characters really playing well into the cat-and-mouse vibes of this thriller. This is such a timely thriller, with its look into the potential toxicity and unintended outcomes of influencer culture and sharing everything about your lives on social media.

If you're a fan of influencer thrillers, unhinged main characters, crazy obsessions, and cat-and-mouse plotlines -- you will absolutely love Tell Your Friends. Be sure you grab a copy when it comes out on June 2nd! (And it's available to request on Netgalley NOW!)

#TellYourFriends #LaurenWilson #FlatironBooks #PineandCedarBooks #thrillerreads #thrillerlover #psychologicalthriller #influencerthriller #unhingedthriller #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations