Sourcebooks Fire
June 06, 2017
368 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon
Tessa Hart’s world feels very small. Confined to her bedroom with agoraphobia, her one escape is the online fandom for pop sensation Eric Thorn. When he tweets to his fans, it’s like his speaking directly to her…
Eric Thorn is frightened by his obsessive fans. They take their devotion way too far. It doesn’t help that his PR team keeps posting to encourage their fantasies.
When a fellow pop star is murdered at the hands of a fan, Eric knows he has to do something to shatter his online image fast—like take down one of his top Twitter followers. But Eric’s plan to troll @TessaHeartsEric unexpectedly evolves into an online relationship deeper than either could have imagined. And when the two arrange to meet IRL, what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish takes a deadly turn…
Told through tweets, direct messages, and police transcripts.
Follow Me Back does a great job pulling readers in from the very beginning. The inclusion of police interview transcripts that are from interviews taking place after the narrative's present tell us that something has happened, something bad - but not what. That glimpse into the future really increases the tension as Eric Thorn stresses over his safety, and hates his fame and (it seems) his fans.
There is a bit of unknown in Tessa's story, as well. Her severe agoraphobia is due to something that happened to her but readers don't know just what that was. Even as you're drawn into the character's present, the transcripts and Tessa's mentions of New Orleans have you wanting to know their past and future, at least equally as much.
Using tweets and DMs not only fits the story of Follow Me Back - with the celebrity, anonymity, isolation, focus on social media - but help readers connect with the characters more quickly. It gives us an unfiltered look at who they are (or who they're supposed to be).
Some of the secondary characters - Tessa's mother, in particular - were disappointing. They didn't feel like real, full characters and it was hard both to get a handle on who they were and, then, to really see how they impacted the main characters.
I am still conflicted as to how I feel about the novel's ending, or what I think happened. Part of me thinks one thing happened, which would have left some things unresolved. Another part of me thinks something else happened, which I would make me need a bunch of sad face emojis. There is going to be a sequel (or at least a Follow Me Back #2) so I am holding out hope that there will be more answers then.
Follow Me Back is a book that keeps you reading from the very beginning until the very end. Tessa and Eric are unique and compelling main characters and their story had me ready for whatever's to come in Book 2!
Follow Me Back started on Wattpad, preview it there and the go buy it.
Follow Me Back on Wattpad
digital copy received for review, from publisher, via NetGalley
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