In one word: WOW. This story was captivating! Wishing for Part 2 because WHAT HAPPENS TO JULIE?! And Eto?!! Thank you so much for putting this on my radar, I’d give it more than 5⭐️ if I could,

A novel that toys with the lines of mystery and horror delving into the world of social media influencers and what they will do for views and followers!

This book started as a mystery but then started to turn into a cult horror novel and back to mystery over and over. I was uncomfortable, didn't know what was going to happen, and I loved it!

Thank you to Atria books for the eARC

Online review will be posted in April (closer to release day)
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Julie Chan is Dead is such a fun, fast-paced ride—I couldn’t put it down! It had major Get Out vibes, with sharp social commentary wrapped in a gripping, twisty plot. The story moves at lightning speed and keeps you totally hooked the whole way through. It’s clever, engaging, and just the right amount of creepy. If you’re looking for a book that’ll pull you in and not let go, this one’s a must-read!

One of the worst books I've ever read. Wow. How can this even be published? The ending is... INSANE. Not in a good way. Who approved this book????

This is a high concept thriller in which identical twins separated in childhood lead different lives, one taken in by a cruel and greedy aunt, the other adopted by a wealthy white couple. Predictably, they change places. The downtrodden twin takes the place of the wealthy one, who has become a popular influencer, learning that life isn’t so great after all. Plus, she’s sucked into a weird, murderous cult. I did like the fact that the protagonist was morally ambiguous, but I found it hard to like her enough to really feel for her situation.

This could have leaned into its critique of influencer culture, but it went the route of becoming more or less horror. The critique is there but takes a back seat to action and high drama. Subtle it is not. It will probably be a huge hit even though it was decidedly not for me.

I loved this!

It starts off innocuously enough. You have the dynamic between ordinary girl and her super-famous influencer sister, but it seriously unravels into absolute bonkers craziness!

Think your pretty-people teen angst filled drama turns into Bunny or Rouge by Mona Awad and you've got the picture. It all starts so innocently lol!

The book is a lot of fun, but does get very surreal about halfway through. Suddenly, you have no idea what's really happening, but you're munching your popcorn and rooting for our MC.

I enjoyed every page of this one!

*ARC via Publisher

Super fast paced. Just the right amount of funny mixed in with my thriller. Seeing the “inside” of influencers even just in this telling was crazy. The lengths they go too. The mean girl antics and just the diabolical way Julie jumped into her sisters “skin” .. SO GOOD. This book had me from the beginning I absolutely loved it!

Thank you to Atria Books for the advance digital copy of JULIE CHAN IS DEAD in exchange for my honest feedback. There is a lot to like about Liann Zhang’s buzzy, debut novel. There’s hilarious, insightful (and unfortunately spot-on) observations about social media and influencers, as well as crazy cult vibes that I think readers will eat right up #YoullSeeWhatIDidThere.

Ahem. There’s also a highly disturbing scene with a baby rodent that I won’t get into. I was grossed out, but I know others will be genuinely upset by it, so check trigger warnings before reading that section!

Julie Chan is an identical twin who was separated from her sister when they were young. Chloe was adopted by an affluent family while Julie was brought up by her wicked aunt. Chloe goes on to be an ultra-famous influencer with millions of followers; Julie works at a dead-end job and struggles to find contentment. When Julie receives an alarming and cryptic phone call from her estranged twin, she goes to Chloe’s apartment, only to find her dead. Julie, a quick thinker, takes advantage of the situation and “becomes” Chloe, only to find that her sibling’s life wasn’t as picture perfect as it looked on Instagram (or YouTube or TikTok).

While I enjoyed JULIE CHAN IS DEAD, I had a difficult time connecting with the characters. The “Belladonnas” all blended together for me, and this limited my enjoyment of the second half of the book because I didn’t really care what happened to them. I wish there would have been more background and more substance to their characters and their relationships with Chloe/Julie. Even the wicked aunt could have been fleshed out more.

JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is giving Yellowface/Nine Perfect Strangers vibes. I predict it will be popular - how could it not, with such relevant subject matter? - and I can’t wait to see what Liann Zhang comes up with next.

I've seen this compared to Yellowface, but this book is WAY more disturbing, half thriller and half horror novel. A mix of White Lotus (actually referenced in the book), Blink Twice and a bit of Yellowjackets.

This is a really solid debut, a story about terrible people who do terrible things and to whom terrible things happen. It's an unhinged story with a crazy plot, better enjoyed if you just relax and let the author take you wherever she wants (but do beware of the trigger warnings, there's some truly messed up stuff).

When Julie Chan and her twin sister Chloe were just 4 years old their parents were killed in a car accident. Chloe was adopted right away to a wealthy family that only wanted one child leaving Julie to live with her bitter and miserable aunt.

Over the years Julie has kept track of her sister through social media. Chloe has become a wellness influencer so her days and nights are always recorded for the public to view.

Then one day, out of the blue, Chloe reaches out to Julie. She's out of breath and she keeps saying she's sorry. When the call disconnects and Julie can't get ahold of her again she decides to head to NYC to do a wellness check only to discover her sister's lifeless body.

Then Julie has an idea. What if she becomes Chloe?

It doesn't take Julie long before she realizes her sisters enviable life was anything but enviable.

If this book has taught me anything it's that wellness influencers are insufferable and full of shit. I was enjoying this for the first 50% but then Zhang decided to flip the script and this went completely off the rails. So very strange. There isn't much I can say without giving away the goods but if I could compare this book to another one it would be Bunny. IYKYK.

Enjoyed the beginning but the ending ruined it all. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my complimentary copy.

Addictive spiral of social media proportions. My jaw was the floor for most of this book. The plot twists made my head spin.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a complimentary early release copy of Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang.

Julie Chan Is Dead had me hooked from the beginning all the way until the end. All the characters in here are fascinating to read about. They all had their own dramas, sad/dark backstories, and quirks that made them intriguing influencers/characters to follow. I didn’t find there to be any dull moments in this book at all, with all the mystery around characters actions and dramas in general plus the fun little references to in real life dramas, brands, and video games like the BetterTherapy. (That one made me chuckle a little) and Genshin Impact it never felt like the story was dragging on. I also really enjoyed some of the commentary about social media in this book, I highlighted plenty of quotes that stuck out to me while reading.

The mystery and thrilling atmosphere in Julie Chan Is Dead kept me interested the whole time. I found the story to be enjoyable in plenty of ways. The characters, plot, mystery, and just the writing in general had me hooked! The ending of the book was also really great and I’m pleased with how everything wrapped up.

his thriller/dark comedy is absolutely riveting an undeniably intriguing mystery I simply couldn't put down! I can confidently say that a brilliant new thriller author has arrived with an impactful debut that explores the addiction of voyeurism and the dark side of social media pushing people to extreme lengths, from stealing the identity of an influencer to impersonating a very dead sister, and even more than you could ever imagine all to stay at the top.

I absolutely loved the first half of this book—the mystery surrounding Chloe was gripping and deeply immersive. The second half, set on the exotic island, took a wilder, more mind-bending turn that was slightly over the top for my taste, but I still enjoyed the dark humor woven throughout. If you’re looking for something fresh, sharp, entertaining, thought-provoking, and completely unputdownable, I highly recommend this book!

Wow, this book was so fun. I loved it, the premise was great and it had so many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down. It reminded me a little bit of Little Fires Everywhere and also Nine Perfect Strangers. Would definitely watch a movie or TV show. And now I will keep an eye out for Liann Zhang! Really fun book.

Wow. I very much enjoyed this book. I stayed up way too late to finish it. The first half was good, but the second half had me really wanting to know what exactly was going on. I think the author did a great job at dropping hints and had decent character development. I think the author excelled at highlighting the complexities of feelings we all have (especially in the Julie character) as well as how social media changes us. I very much appreciated the social commentary that the character Isa provided; her comments were spot on. This is a great, easy, fun read that is quick, fast paced, and enjoyable. It reminds me of a mix of Yellowface, Get Out, The Craft, and a touch of Grady Hendrix all mixed together into one delightful package.

I am excited to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. My review is honest and my own thoughts without payment or influence.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang is a first person-POV thriller centered on social media and how it changes people. Julie Chan and her twin, Chloe Van Huusen, have been separated ever since their parents died and Chloe was adopted by a wealthy white couple and Julie was sent to live with their aunt. Their lives have diverged massively and they haven’t spoken in years. When Chloe calls Julie out of the blue, Julie heads to New York and finds Chloe dead…and takes Chloe’s identity.

The voice is vivid and compelling. I loved the voice so much and wanted to read a hundred more pages of Julie’s asides as she is resentful of her sister and then obsessed with being an influencer as well as her judgements of others. There is so much mess in Julie’s POV and this mess creates a strong character study for how having power changes how you think and why those who are affluent might not understand what people who are not affluent are saying. It’s one of my favorite voices so far this year.

Liann Zhang examines racism in social media through Julie and Iz, a Black rising star creator, but in very different ways. Iz is painfully aware of how social media works and how racism impacts the algorithm and Julie is also aware but kind of runs away from it. It’s a very important conversation that we have to have as well as holding people accountable for their discrimination and what exactly that means. We don’t get clear cut answers for how to take accountability, but we do see how white fragility doesn’t fix the issue and creates a barrier to actually taking in the call-in/call-out and acceptance.

The complex relationship with Chloe and Julie is fairly one-sided from Julie’s POV with only bits and pieces from Chloe’s side. Did Chloe actually want a relationship with Julie or did she instead wonder what it would have been like to have had Julie’s place? Julie, and the reader, will never get an actual answer and will instead need to interpret the information how they will. For my part, I read it as Julie missing the connection to her parents and maybe having some jealousy towards Julie for having that connection by living with their aunt and growing up in a Cantonese-speaking house, but I cannot imagine her really wanting to switch places until later in life when she gets deeper into the influencer sphere.

Content warning for racism, alcoholism, addiction, suicidal ideation, pregnancy, and mentions of miscarriage

I would recommend this to fans of books about social media and readers looking for a thriller exploring themes of identity in the modern age

This is a short book that takes you on a wild ride. I love Julie's descent into the morally grey area. Despite it being a thriller, it didn't super compel me to pick it up, so it took a few days to finish. Something about the writing just didn't grip me. But it was a great story and I loved the characters.

Liked the premise & writing right away. Definitely a page turner.
But this book felt like two books for me. The first part I loved and couldn’t put down.
The second part took a sharp turn into a really weird place. Not bad but definitely very weird.

Still a debut thriller/dark comedy with a lot of highs for me, loved the dark humour I will be looking for more from this author.

Thank You to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author Liann Zhang for the advanced reading copy, all my opinions are my own.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

Julie Chan is a supermarket cashier, while her identical twin sister, Chloe, is a social media influencer and sensation. The two sisters were separated at a young age following the death of their parents. So the sisters were never close. One video of Chloe’s reunion with her sister goes viral, and Julie Chan comes into the picture and her sister’s life. But she discovers that all the kindness that her sister shows her is just a way to get more views!

One day Julie Chan finds her sister dead at her place, so the idea comes to her to become Chloe and claim that Julie Chan is dead instead. The glamorous lifestyle that Chloe lived encourages Julie to do that, unaware of the dark secrets that her sister had.

I’m a big fan of stories that involve twins, so this checked one big box for me. For a debut novel, the book was very entertaining. It is nicely written, and the story has constant tension and twists. The more secrets came out, the more the protagonist realized that her decision was a very foolish one.

The story concentrates on themes like distant sibling relationships, manipulation, the influencer culture, and one’s identity. The pace is fast and steady. However, there are no likable characters in this book. Both the twins were not decent human beings. They both were selfish and manipulative.

If you read this book and enjoy it, try to watch Bette Davis’ Dead Ringer (1963). I love that movie, and it has a very similar theme to this book, where the poor sister kills her rich twin sister and impersonates her. Like this book, that film has lots of tension and stressful events.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

4.5 - this book sucked me in from the first moment - I finished it within a day. If you're a fan of books like Yellowface by R. F. Kuang and Bunny by Mona Awad, I'd definitely recommend giving this one a try. It feels like watching a car crash in slow motion or being a frog sitting in a cauldron that slowly heats up. Like if you had a daydream (nightmare?) about following through with all your intrusive thoughts.

The characters are deeply unlikeable, and yet you can't look away. I'm not quite sure what I expected when I received this book, but I know for sure I was entertained through to the last moment. The writing was sharp and funny - it managed to balance a lot of serious topics (privilege, racism, misogyny, para-social relationships) with dark humor. It's clearly influenced by the books I mentioned, but ran with the concepts in a creative and unique way. My only complaint was that the pacing was a bit jarring - it dragged a bit in the middle and then goes 0-100 within a pretty short span. That and a few instances of commentary were very on the nose. Overall neither of those things took away from my enjoyment of the book and I'd definitely recommend it.