An unhinged influencer story with wild twists. I was NOT expecting that- the pages practically turn themselves. Would make a great beach or pool read.

3.75⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Chan thought her boring lowlife would never improve, until she took a chance and became her twin. Because how convenient does it get when your influencer of a twin sister passes away and no one suspects a thing when you brazenly take over? Julie becomes Chloe Van Huusen in a blink of an eye and nothing is what it seems. She seamlessly gets absorbed into the digital creator world, loving this new life she thinks she deserves. But the cost to social media fame is heavy, and there's so much that Julie has yet to discover from what Chloe left behind.

This one was a wild, wild ride. A riveting, dark comedy that was equal parts cuckoo and compelling at the same time. I don't know if I liked any of the characters but I did enjoy this glimpse into the digital creator world gone rogue. Everything about this story had me hooked, from the allure of the plot itself and the writing. I did find the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly but also spun well to give readers a satisfying ending. Overall, this debut will be sure to grab readers attention and become an easily favourite. A perfect vacation read for those that need some fun shenanigans in this reading palette.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a digital reading copy, in exchange for my honest opinions.

Amazing captivating and keeps you entire way through! When Julie Chan’s rich influencer identical sister ( whom she is not in contact with) gives her a call that gets dropped Julie takes off work to see what’s going on. She manages to get into her sisters’ apartment and finds her dead. She decides to take over her life and is in way over her head.

This book was so twisted and entertaining! I also found it veer thought provoking as well.

Honestly such an interesting concept and story... I'm glad I came across it! I'm excited to see what's next for this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC!

This is for all the influencer snark Redditors!!

A dark, twisted thriller I couldn't put down.

This was defiantly a book for this generation. While I loved the social media aspect of this book, the twists and turns almost gave me whiplash. Such a fun read.

Thank you @atriabooks for the gifted ARC!

📱 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 📱
This book was WILD! The premise pulled me in and the story was a rollercoaster! And this is the authors debut! And a Dateline cameo?! Cherry on top!

This book was unhinged and I was here for it! Julie Chan is leading a blah life. After their parents died, Julie and her twin sister Chloe were separated when they were young. Chloe was adopted into a wealthy family and is currently a famous influencer. Julie was adopted by her aunt and is barely getting by. When Julie finds Chloe dead in her home, she assumes her identity and tries to blend into her crazy influencer lifestyle!

Julie quickly sees things aren’t as they seem. Something dark is lurking under Chloe’s seemingly perfect life. I was surprised at how quickly Julie took to Chloe’s lifestyle that she once seemed to hate, and how she quickly fell into superficial ideals.

The influencer cult vibes took me by surprise and at one point had me cringing and thinking WTH ! It was crazy. Very entertaining though, but so off the wall and unhinged!

If you are looking for a story that is completely out of left field, fun, slightly dark, but humorous, pick this up! It will surprise you!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
📱 Hidden Identity/Twins
📱 Social Media Influencers
📱 Cult Vibes
📱 Dark Humor
📱 Thriller/Horror
📱 Secluded Island

This was WILD and I loved it! My jaw was literally dropped for the majority of this book.
I feel like this is a book that is hard to explain without spoiling it. Julie Chan steps into her deceased sister's influencer life and everything is not as it seems. This book was part horror, part thriller, part savage takedown of influencer culture. Liann Zhang's writing was sharp, thought provoking and very bingeable. The writing was very easy to fly through but the content was deep. It felt like there were layers to this book and someone should be writing a paper on it. She is an author to watch!
Thank you Atria Books for the copy through NetGalley!

Thank you to Atria Books for the eARC via Netgalley!

This book was so weird, and while people may love that, it wasn’t for me.

The first half was intriguing enough, Julie discovers her twin died and accidentally (on purpose) steals her identity and the influencer life it comes with. Liann Zhang perfectly captures the social media and influencer-obsessed zeitgeist of today’s world, and how much someone from the outside would do for a chance in.

The second half took a turn for the weird that I found hard to follow. It got pretty dark and should’ve come with some trigger warners.

I don’t think I’m the right audience for this one. I think people who enjoy dark mysteries would gravitate to it more.

A solid story that got really weird at the end. I could have done without the weird ritual on the island. Before that it was very believable, then that happened and I dropped a star.

I started reading this one with a lot of expectations, since it has been listed as an anticipated release this year (that should’ve been my first red flag…). The story was engaging for about 50%, but then it took a whole different turn (not for the better, IMO).

It became predictable, which in turn made it boring for me.

This being the author’s first novel makes it a great effort and I will read her future work.

This was quite an interesting book. It reminded me of Yellowjackets a bit. It’s definitely appropriate for our current social media culture, as the story focuses on a group of influencers doing some rather questionable things. Julie Chan is the main character and would give anything to be famous, but at what cost? This one is for people of various ages, teen or adult; and, though it gets a bit weird, it is not too scary or horrifying. Overall, a solid choice to recommend to others! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this title.

This is an updated version of the twins separated and raised in wildly differing environments trope. Julie Chan explored the depths the human soul is willing to plunge to in order to get what it wants, and to get revenge on those who wronged them. From the desperate scrabble to carve out a life all the way to the glittering fairy tale of social media influencing Zhang provided us with a tale of two sisters who must decide what price they are willing to pay for fame, while exposing the rot at the heart of the vapid influencer phenomenon.

This book was more dark and twisted than I expected and I think that’s why I loved reading it so much. It had all of the elements that I look for in a bingeable book and I can’t wait to see what this author does next.

I cannot believe this is a debut! This book was so good! I was hooked right from the beginning. The story is part thriller, part horror with some dark humor mixed in. The pacing was perfect. I couldn’t put this book down. The storyline is unique, and I thought the author did a great job with the social media aspect of the story. I’m really looking forward to more from this author.
Thank you to Atria for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Julie Chan Is Dead is a weirdly addictive debut that features what it is like to live the life of a social media influencer. Liann Zhang is an intriguing new author, and her writing throughout this book flowed so smoothly that it was easy to start and finish this book in one sitting.
The beginning really hooked me, and I enjoyed the introduction of the characters, the setting, and especially the social media aspect—a unique factor that sets this book apart from similar stories with a stolen identity theme.
However, the plot really took a twist in the middle of the book, and it was honestly very weird. Maybe it was because I did not expect the book to have what happened because there was no mention of it in the book description, but I was surprised to say the least. From this point in the book onwards, the plot just becomes increasingly more unrealistic.
One thing I did like about this book, however, is the eerie atmosphere that Liann Zhang created. While not outright scary, this book carries an almost haunting essence that made me enjoy it that much more.
Despite the fact that this book was very weird, it was still a really fun and thrilling read. Like I said before, this debut has an addictive quality that makes it easy to keep turning the page and read on even when the plot becomes as bizarre as it does.
The book also really picked up at the end, so I am glad I finished the book. For me, the ending was so good—shockingly satisfying—and it perfectly wrapped up what Liann Zhang has to say about influencers and social media.
Sometimes weird books are good, and for me, Julie Chan Is Dead is good. Although the middle of the book had me questioning if I was going to enjoy the story overall, this debut really hit the mark for me. I am excited to see what Liann Zhang puts out next!

3.75/5⭐️

When you decide to switch places with your dead influencer twin, what could go wrong?! 👀🫣

Cults, murder, lies.

For me it was a bit too much of the influencer/ culty world so this didn’t hit 4 stars for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Every once in a while, I have a tough time rating a book. There are elements I loved (the first half of the book fell into this category), and elements I despised. I really don’t like where the author took the story in the second half of the book. It wrapped up nicely, I just wish the plot would have developed in a completely different way.

NetGalley Read

This was a weird book. It started strong, and I enjoyed seeing how Julie and Chloe's lives diverged. The themes around social media influencing, authenticity, and priorities were solid. I didn't find it too unbelievable when Julie took over Chloe's life - it did seem like her friends were pretty superficial. But then the second half of the book just got... well, weird. This one fully jumped the shark for me, and I think the second half kind of ruined the first half. I think this is a book that people will find a bit polarizing.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Unhinged is the best way to describe it. I didn’t enjoy it that much.

1) the first half felt like a knock off Yellowface (I’m sorry but I loved that book & it was more well done with the stealing identity plot line)
2) this book legit made me want to throw up, congrats for that being the first time it’s ever happened while reading. I skipped multiple pages completely.

Slogged through to finish it thinking there would be some kind of crazy twist but there was not. Idk I think people will love it but 10% of the book was explaining how many followers these characters had across their social medias