Julie Chan Is Dead is about a down on her luck supermarket cashier named Julie. When she finds her famous twin sister Chloe dead, Julie pretends to be Chloe and takes over her career as an influencer. Being an influncer and living in luxury is everything Julie wanted. When she's invited on an island retreat, things take a turn and Julie realizes that her sisters death may not have been an accident and she may be next.

The first half is following Julie becoming acclimated with being an influencer. It explores the dark side of social media, vanity, and superficial friendships. The second half is when the island retreat starts and it goes off the rails. The pacing picks up and there is a feeling of dread. Nothing is as it seems and it morphs into a cult like nightmare.

This definitely felt more YA than adult. Julie's character isn't consistent and flip flops a lot. Sometimes it felt like I was reading two different characters. I wish more themes had been explored and other characters needed to be a bit fleshed out. Overall it was fun read.

Julie Chan is Dead is definitely a roller coaster ride. I felt like as soon as I started reading I didn't know where the "influencer" of it all was taking me. There was a lot of entertainment to hold my attention. Sometimes I did feel like Ok I dont really care in a sense of "this can't be real" but I need to see where this is going. I guess that's the life of influences you don't know what's real or not but we still watch. I really did enjoy this book.

I really liked this book and jt grabbed my attention from the beginning. I liked the commentary on “influencers” and how ridiculous they all are and how “hard” their jobs are and how “others just don’t get it” and to be accepted into this world, how far are you willing to go and give up?

Received ARC through NetGalleyJulie Chan is Dead is the debut novel by Canadian author Liann Zhang
3 STAR

When Julie’s twin sister Chloe dies , Julie takes over Chloe’s life and social media and steps into he influencer lifestyle

I think YA audience may like this book.
I really wanted to like this more than I did. The premise sounded great but I found it a bit repetitive with the numbers of views everyone was getting on Instagram , TikTok ,& YouTube.

The 2nd half of the book was better

“One thing needs to be made clear: I did not kill my twin sister.” From this intriguing first sentence, I was hooked! I devoured this thriller in less than 5 hours; I’ve been in a reading slump all month, and this cured it.

This is a fast-paced thriller about a woman who takes on the identity of her deceased twin sister. There are so many great pokes at influencer culture— in one memorable scene, Julie (pretending to be Chloe) shoots a video mourning her dead sister “Julie” and then includes a paid sponsorship for therapy.

I can definitely see why this book was compared to Yellowface, another thriller about identity theft that I also enjoyed, but I liked this one even more. The ending especially was amazing— however you think it will end, I promise it won’t. Hint: human sacrifice, cult, Instagram Live.

I look forward to reading more by this promising debut writer! Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc.

This book was a surprisingly wild ride and unexpectedly funny. I don’t know what I thought this book would be like, but I could not have dreamed it up in a hundred years. The first half was suspenseful and the second half was completely unhinged. Chapter 50 in particular was so completely off the rails that it left me squirming.

If you love horror and hashtag content, this is for you. Everyone else, I am begging you to stay away for your own mental health 😅

Julie Chan is struggling to make ends meet. Her parents were killed at a young age and she was taken in by her aunt while her twin sister, Chloe, was adopted by the extremely rich VanHuusen family. Despite the two reconnecting as adults, the two are not close and haven't spoken since their first meeting where Chloe bought her a house, filmed an influencer video, and then disappeared. When Julie find Chloe's dead body, she wonders if she can take Chloe's place and live the life she's always wanted.
This was so dark and so twisty. I never knew where the story was going and I could not put it down.

3.5 stars. Julie Chan is Dead was a solid read, but it didn’t completely hook me. The premise was intriguing, and I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, but as it went on, I found my engagement waning. The pacing dragged toward the end, and I caught myself skimming rather than savoring the final chapters. That said, there were still some strong moments, and I appreciated the writing and themes. Good, but not great.

Julie Chan is Dead is just pure crazy town. A witty, biting commentary on social media and the influencer phenomenon, this book pulled me in and didn’t let go. I felt as though this book is separated into two halves and while the first half was fun, the second half is where we dive into the crazy head first. The cult like setting added a darkness that I appreciated. This is a very strong debut by Liann Zhang.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC—this was a ride. Julie Chan is Dead is a slick, smart, and slightly unhinged thriller that had me hooked from page one. Liann Zhang nails the absurdity of influencer culture, from the perfectly curated personas to the way the internet decides who deserves praise or destruction.

The setup is instantly addictive: Julie, a broke supermarket cashier, takes over the life of her ultra-famous, newly dead twin. The influencer world welcomes her with open arms (and suspiciously white teeth), but something is clearly off. The first half is tight, compelling, and full of eerie little details that made my brain buzz. The second half? Darker, twistier, and while some of the reveals were predictable, I was still fully entertained.

Some side characters felt more like plot devices than real people, and I think the ending could’ve hit harder, but honestly, I had a great time. If you love messy thrillers with sharp social commentary and a little bit of camp, this one’s worth checking out. Can’t wait to see what Zhang writes next.

This was a fun book from beginning to end - a biting social commentary that took a Yellowjackets-esque turn about midway through. Was it weird? Oh yes. Was it enjoyable enough to recommend and to continue following this author, gosh yes!

I really enjoyed this tale of the dark side of influencers. Part identity theft, part horror story. Be careful what you wish for. You may not be prepared for the cost.

Julie Chan Is Dead is a wild ride that earns a solid 4 stars. The story follows Julie, a supermarket cashier, who seizes the opportunity to impersonate her deceased twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a successful influencer. Zhang’s writing is sharp and witty, making it hard to put the book down.
The book delves into themes of identity, envy, and the dark side of social media. Julie’s transformation into Chloe is seamless, but she soon discovers that Chloe’s life was not as perfect as it looks online. The internet isn't real life, and we see that as the book explores the shallow friendships and the ridiculousness of influencer culture, with Julie being the only one aware of how ridiculous and contrived it all is.

The second half came with an unexpected turn creating a bizarre, cult-like experience. Julie is a fascinating character. Overall, I found Julie Chan is Dead to be a fast-paced and climatic thriller that keeps you hooked until the end. It’s a thought-provoking commentary on how we are a society are obsessed with social media.

This book is pretty firmly divided into 2 distinct halves that feel quite different.

The first half involves unremarkable Julie taking over the life of her influencer twin sister Chloe. There’s a bit of social commentary as she falls into this new internet persona life (I can see why people compare it to Yellowface), but I find the character development to be just a bit lacking. Julie goes from being angry and skeptical about the whole influencer thing to accepting to entitled very quickly. The first half technically takes place over a few months, but the way it’s written you almost miss that time passing. You get a few scenes - spin class, fancy dinner, etc., but that could all just as easily have happened in two weeks.

The second half takes place on a private island vacation curtesy of queen bee influencer Bella Marie. The pace definitely speeds up and Zhang’s ability to create a sense of unease growing into dread in the reader is great, as is her detail writing horror elements. I will say that I suspected the twist before I started the book and was sure of my prediction halfway through, but hey, it was still a good time.

The story wraps up nicely. The book does take aim at a few big topics like privilege and nepotism, but it doesn’t quite get to a meaningful discussion imo. The real-life callouts to influencer culture (the influencer who returned her adopted child, spon-con mental health companies) were so interesting - like that’s something that you’d think would be made up but it actually happens. And I loved the depiction of the toxic positivity bubble!

this was crazy?? i was kinda confused at parts but it was good. like genuinely would not have thought it would end like that. very very insane and twisted. pretty good though

Thank you to Atria and Net Galley for this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait for everyone to follow Julie Chan's story when this novel is published on April 29th, 2025!

Julie and her twin Chloe were adopted by two different families following an accident that took both their parent's lives. Julie works at a local grocery store while her sister gains fame and popularity as an influencer living in New York. Their interactions have been limited to one visit from Chloe where she gifting Julie a house and filmed the entire thing in an exploitive way.

Julie yearns for a relationship with Chloe and one day Julie gets a strange call from Chloe that leads her to travel to New York to find out what is up. In a quick turn of events Julie finds Chloe's body in her apartment in New York and makes the decision to take over her life as an influencer and give up her life as Julie Chan. Then it turns out that Chloe's life had some dark secrets and as Julie gets further and further into the influencer lifestyle she makes some decisions she might not be able to take back.

The first and second half of this book are wildly different, with the second half taking more of a turn toward the supernatural. It kept my attention the whole time but I wouldn't say I particularly loved any of the characters. That being said overall I enjoyed this novel and the writing style, a great debut for Liann Zhang!

A debut with an intriguing premise—Julie Chan, a struggling supermarket cashier takes on the life of her influencer twin—that starts out strong but hits several bumps along the way. By exploring the impact of race, wealth, and privilege through the premise on false identity, this novel will likely invite comparisons to Yellowface.

Twins separated at birth, Julie Chan and Chloe VanHuusen were raised in drastically different environments. When Julie finds Chloe dead in her apartment, she takes on her twin's identity and the life she's always envied—parties, sponsorships, a coterie of adoring followers. As she falls deeper into the Belladonnas—a cultlike group of influencers tied together by a surreal, obsessive, all-consuming connection—she soon learns about the darkness and secrets that hid behind Chloe's picture-perfect life.

The first half of the novel, where Julie unapologetically seizes the opportunities that she believe she's been deprived of, was incredibly compelling and diabolical in the best way. The descent into surreal fever dream à la Bunny ("'We are family,' the Belladonnas coo.") was also deliciously addictive—I love toxic, codependent, unhinged female friendships, and these women have it in spades.

However, momentum flags in the second half when Julie becomes increasingly aware of the cracks in the veneer of influencer culture, and in turn, begins to doubt herself. The refrain, "women's rights and women's wrongs", almost feels halfhearted when our protagonist herself is hedging on the callousness, the flippancy, the depravity that it takes to succeed. I wanted Julie to be all in, and the tonal shift didn't do it for me. There are also some plot elements that felt underdeveloped and under-utilized, like Julie's aunt blackmailing her.

Overall, despite my reservations, this was a fast-paced and engaging read, a promising debut, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next from Liann Zhang.

A really fun ride, with true moments of horror in the climax. It won't blow anyone's mind with its commentary on social media/influencerdom, but it's well written and Julie's perspective is written with such a strong and vicious voice. The Bunny comparisons are apt and it would pair very well with Ling Ling Huang's Natural Beauty. Loved the ending.

Julie Chan’s life is a struggle, working a dead-end supermarket job and barely scraping by. After her twin sister, Chloe, is tragically killed, Julie steals her identity, using Chloe’s wealth and influencer status to escape her own dismal reality. As Julie dives into the world of social media, she uncovers dark truths about her sister's life—and her own.

This book critiques the cult-like nature of online personas, showing how we all present curated versions of ourselves. It’s a thrilling, disturbing dive into identity, privilege, and the consequences of fame. If you like dark, twisty stories about how wealth changes people, this one’s for you.

This is a really impressive debut! The story was pretty creative, and the commentary was sharp and relevant. I just wish it had been like 50% creepier. Like the Bella Marie party at the beginning with the models and music - we needed to dial that stuff up to 11 and include more of it. I can see this working really well as like a Netflix series (with the horror elements dialed up, natch). Anyway, it was fun! I'd recommend it to someone who likes a light phsychological thriller with a twist.