Don't Let Her Stay

Content Warning: This novel contains descriptions of emotional abuse, death by suicide, and stigmatizing and potentially offensive language and stereotypes regarding people with mental health conditions. Its contents are reflected in this study guide.

As social media platforms like TikTok have made it easier than ever for people to connect over common interests and share recommendations, genre fiction—thriller, romance, and fantasy—is seeing a resurgence in popularity among Millennial and Gen Z readers. TikTok’s book community, known as BookTok, consists of a scroll of recommendation lists in short video form that allows reading enthusiasts to sift through dozens of recommendations in a few minutes. BookTok is also a popular place for readers to gush about their favorite books, endings, and characters, helping novels take off on BookTok by enticing a wider audience. This creates a feedback loop of marketing, as BookTok influencers who wish to stay relevant are more likely to base their own content around books that others are already talking about. Whether they are good or bad, BookTok book reviews generate conversation about titles. The more controversial a title is, the more conversation it generates. The most popular genres on BookTok are romance, horror/thriller, and fantasy; books that blend these genres are also often successful.

The thriller Don’t Let Her Stay premiered to near-instant success on BookTok. The novel tapped into the successful formula for maximum BookTok exposure, harnessing a powerful market of readers and the free advertising that can come from social media. Its popularity was bolstered by BookTok reviewers who discussed its pace, twists, and controversial characters. Don’t Let Her Stay’s social media success came in part from its narrative choices. Multiple BookTok reviewers praised its short, fast-paced chapters, suggesting that its digestibility was part of its appeal. BookTok readers also found Joanne a controversial protagonist because she allows her husband and stepdaughter to treat her poorly and undermine her intelligence. Readers’ frustration in following Joanne’s story sparked impassioned discourse about what readers would do in Joanne’s shoes, suggesting that debate and discourse also draw BookTok readers. Multiple reviewers also praised the book’s false ending, arousing would-be readers’ curiosity.

Don’t Let Her Stay is one of many recent novels aimed at the BookTok audience. As that audience accounts for an increasingly large portion of the book market, authors wishing for commercial success may be more inclined to try to appeal to the BookTok market. This is likely to lead to specific tropes popular with BookTokker audiences—including controversial protagonists, short chapters, and false endings—becoming more common, particularly in popular BookTok genres. While BookTok made up a fraction of the book market in 2024, its power in the industry was already a driving factor behind the work being published in the commercial fiction market.