“Julie Chan Is Dead”, by Liann Zhang, reveals the extreme lengths that people will go to in order to protect their own self-interests and investments. Going into this book, I knew very little about influencers (thankfully), and although this is obviously fictional, at least some of the influencers in the book are loosely based on real people (although, legally, Zhang claimed in a recent author talk, they are all completely made up). On top of the whole influencer aspect, this book features twins, cults, creepy family legacies, island-owning levels of rich people (poor them, being so ostracized by society for owning islands, they can’t even tell people about their islands anymore without getting cancelled), and more. Even though this is a thriller novel, the book delves beyond the superficial into issues such as racism in the social media world and the spread of misinformation, and how hard it is to resist being swept up in certain cultural forces that may seem benign at the time, but in fact are completely insidious. “Julie Chan Is Dead” also excavates how beguiling capitalism can be to young women, who attempt to find fulfillment by filling up their homes with useless items that have been peddled to them by influencers whose value is derived from getting free stuff and convincing others to buy their own versions of that stuff so they can be just as happy and fulfilled. In addition, the book probes into female relationships, and the false comfort that superficial relationships with other influencers or social media stars can bring. I would definitely recommend this as a surface-level engaging and easy read that also has greater depths.

Julie Chan is Dead was perhaps one of the most interesting premises of a book that I’ve read in a LONG time—essentially, one twin decides to assume the identity of her deceased influencer sister, and discovers that influencer life has a much darker side than she expected.

At no point did I anticipate exactly where this book was going. It had a behind the scenes look at influencer life. It had a luxury vacation. It had blackmail. It had murder. It had drug use and other criminal activity. It had a secret rich-person cult. It had ritualistic sacrifices. It truly bordered on outlandish absurdity, but in the same way that your favorite reality tv show is so unbelievable that it becomes unbelievably entertaining. And yet, at the same time it also touched on a surprising number of deep themes such as identity, sisterhood, family dynamics, friendships, money, and our obsession with influencer culture.

This book was quite graphic at times and definitely veered towards dark humor, but if that’s your jam, this is a great fit. I’d absolutely recommend for readers who enjoyed books like My Sister, the Serial Killer and/or You’d Look Better as a Ghost.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the ARC! It sure was a WILD ride, but I enjoyed it immensely!

Rating: 3.5

I liked this book overall, but I didn't have any strong feelings about it. I wasn't exactly rooting for the main character, she was insane, but I also didnt want her to go to prison.

OMG WHAT IN THE HECKIE DID I JUST READ?? The second half of the book just totally went in a totally different direction and gave me straight up horror vibes! I even grimaced while reading! Went from cutesy to messed up but I can't complain?? The unexpectedness of it all actually made me like the crazy turn it took. Definitely not everyone will appreciate that though so reader beware. I personally haven't read Bunny but see this book being compared to that a lot so take that with a grain of salt.

Julie Chan Is Dead lures you in with a killer premise (pun fully intended) and then tosses you into the chaotic, unfiltered world of social media influencers, sibling secrets, and, eventually, horror. If you've ever wondered what would happen if your long-lost twin sister turned out to be a famous influencer—and then mysteriously dropped dead—well, Liann Zhang has you covered.

The story begins with Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier, who discovers that her estranged, successful twin, Chloe, has died. Instead of calling the cops like a normal person, Julie does what any self-respecting anti-hero might do—she steals her sister's identity, claiming the influencer life she's always wanted.

I'll be honest: there were parts of this book I really liked. The premise is absolutely bonkers in the best way, and there were moments when I was desperate to see how Julie would manage to keep the charade going. The shift in tone when the horror elements kicked in was jarring but not unwelcome. It just took a while to get there. You're deep into the story before the genre pivots, and when it does, it's like, "Ohhhh okay, now we're doing the creepy thing."

But let's talk about the characters. I get it—they were written to be grating. That whole vapid, curated, influencer vibe was the point. But still... it was a struggle to even want to read about most of them.

The plot is a bit of a mess. There were threads that felt scattered and pacing that sometimes wandered, but somehow, Zhang ties it all together in the final chapters. I didn't expect to like the ending as much as I did, but it stuck the landing—and that saved the book for me.

Julie Chan Is Dead is a wild, uneven ride through influencer culture, identity, and the dark side of curated perfection. If you can handle some seriously annoying characters and a late-stage horror pivot, you might enjoy the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book had so much hype around it so i wanted to see what it was all about. This was such a good read--I hadn't read this author before so excited to see what else is out there.

Thanks for the gifted copy!

This book was very entertaining. It kept me engaged and wanting more. The story follows twins sisters Julie and Chloe who are unfortunately estranged due to be separated at a very early age. Julie, under much better circumstances becomes an successful influence, while Chloe works at a grocery store as a cashier. While Julie reaches out to Chloe, Chloe is excited but unaware of what awaits her. She finds her sister deceased and through her grief decides that she is going to fill Julies shoes. This is where the story takes off. It touches on on the negativity and heaviness of influencing and social media. Funny and well written. I would definitely recommend. Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest reveiw.

Because the persona of an erstwhile supermarket cashier who happens to be strikingly articulate and extraordinarily well-rounded proved so very irresistible, I was unable to put Julie Chan Is Dead down, and was as or more interested in a sequel as I was in how the novel would ultimately conclude. I will add that these feelings about the book were reinforced by the reality which that I am a longtime fan of Gore Vidal and Martin Amis (as being rather old in the here and now!).

Thank you to @atria for the gifted ARC! Thank you to @simon.audio for the gifted audiobook!

Julie Chan Is Dead is such a unique thriller. I found myself sucked into this novel as it was so intensely intriguing. Each turn the story took had me nearly on bated breath anticipating what would happen next. I was anxious and utterly fascinated 😂

I finished this in essentially one sitting and went in knowing little outside of the twin trope. This original and darkly funny at times novel was a fantastic read! I cannot wait for more from this author and I highly recommend this to any thriller lovers - so well done!

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhan, Julie Chan and Chloe Van Huusen are twins when they were 12 their parents died and where Chloe was adopted by Rich white people Julie went to live with her abusive thieving aunt and her cousin. Julie‘s only seen Chloe one time in the past 10 years and that was when she showed up to tape something for her influencer account giving her poor twin sister a new home. When the filming was over the cameras went off and Chloe left. it’s three years later Julie is still working at the same old grocery store living the same old life when she gets a call from New York and it’s her sister Chloe telling her she’s sorry and that it was a mistake and then the line goes dead. This is how Julie finds herself and her sisters condo in Manhattan assuming her twin sister’s life. when she finds herself on a retreat with an influencer group called the Bella’s with her all-time favorite influencer she can’t believe it but at the same time she is nervous because she doesn’t feel so confident at this point she’s pulling it off. The influencers don’t act like normal people well except for Izzy a black influencer who they made part of the group due to racist comments one of the influencers said. despite Julie has never been around such rich and influential people before it doesn’t stop her from noticing how absolutely odd they are. unfortunately Julie hasn’t seen anything yet. she’s nervous they’ll find out who she really is but it’s When they do and except that she’s not Chloe when things really get scary. This is a great book and I haven’t even got into the whole mystery with Chloe‘s adopted parents Bella‘s family’s origin story there’s just so much to this book and I love all of it. It was darkly funny And totally went in a direction I didn’t see it going I really love this authors books and will probably read anything she writes. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #LiannZhan,#JulieChanIsDead,

I knew I'd love this book just from the cover! Julie Chan Is Dead is a satirical take on the influencer life. Julie and Chloe are twins who have been estranged since being orphaned--Chloe adopted by a Wealthy family, and Julie sent to live with her aunt. But when Chloe, a famous influencer reaches out, Julie is THRILLED--until she learns Chloe just wants to profit off filming her. When Julie gets a call from her later, she learns Chloe is in trouble, but when she goes to check on her, finds her dead. She decides to fill her influencer sister's shoes... but of course, nothing goes as planned. A fun and funny book!

The ultimate what happens when twins are separated story. Chloe and Julie were twins separated when their parents died in a car crash- one going with a nice affluent couple, one going with a family relative. Growing up living very different lives. Julie getting the short end of the stick.

Chloe goes viral after surprising Julie with her experience and buying her a house. The only problem? Chloe used her to go viral, and then didn’t even share a phone number or attempt to contact her afterwards.

Julie gets a weird call from Chloe 3 years later that leads to an opportunity of a lifetime, to change her fate and take over as Chloe. Sounds simple right ? Of course not!

This was intriguing from the starts and I loved reading how Julie got through all of the close calls and trying to stay hidden. I will say it took an unexpected turn at like 70%, not terrible but very out of left field and it just didn’t match the whole first part of the book, strange… Audio narration was great !

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review- catching up, this one was out on 4/29/25!

What a wild ride! This book was really engaging. I kept wanting to go back to reading and when I would I'd read large chunks at a time. So the author is doing something right! The plot felt really familiar like A Special Place For Women meets more gore and Yellowface. It was more gore and nightmare than I expected. The second half of the book was fast and loose and I felt like it was easy to get swept up but also lost. Maybe too fast, maybe just too many things happening. And man, the ending was wild but also maybe unsatisfying?

Julie and her twin sister, Chloe, were separated at birth and lead very different lives. Julie works in a supermarket and is struggling to make ends meet. Chloe is a popular influencer, living a very glamorous life. When Julie discovers Chloe's lifeless body, she makes a life changing decision - why not just trade lives with Chloe? As Julie steps into her sister's life, she realizes that it wasn't as perfect as she thought. It seems Chloe was hiding some dark secrets....

I actually really enjoyed this one! Even though it was quite dark at times, Liann Zhang managed to weave in funny bits and keep an overall fun vibe for the novel. I found the writing style clever and the plot was well thought out. I get why some people only gave this book a 2 or 3 star rating, as art is a bit unconventional, but I do not find that a bad thing. The "strange" / "weird" - ness of the novel made it unique! Looking forward to more reads by Liann Zhang!

Thank you Atria Books an NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang
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When Julie finds her twin dead she opts to step into her twin’s life and BECOME Chloe. But it soon becomes clear that the influencer world Chloe is a part of is much darker than Julie expected.
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What I liked:
-Another twin story!! Love me some twin stories.
-This book was unhinged. From the minute we met Julie it was like watching a train wreck, it’s shocking but you just can’t look away.
-Ah the influencer storyline. I really liked the ominous vibe the author gave to the influencer world. It really set the scene and kept me reading.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wild and unhinged, this book is a debut and I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

VERY unhinged… not sure I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would :(

i will say tho, this was VERY successful at making us see how julie turns into the one thing she hates: a vapid influencer.

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang is a strange, little book. I don’t even know how to review its wackiness. Ultimately, Julie steps into the life of her estranged identical twin, Chloe, after her untimely death. Chloe was an influencer with millions of followers and a group of like-minded friends. After seamlessly masquerading as Chloe, Julie travels with her friends and this wacky story turns unhinged. Think Nine Perfect Stranger vibes with a touch of Stephen King.

While Julie Chan is Dead is not my typical type of read, I did appreciate the underlining commentary on today’s influencer world and their quest for followers. However, this book certainly isn’t for everyone.

3.25/5

This was really fun and refreshing until it wasn't—especially the end.

I went into this mostly blind and was having fun with the idea of the less privileged twin taking over the life of the rich influence one. It was a nice glimpse into how influencers and wealthy individuals live. I still didn't mind in the second half when things got a bit cultish. But then Julie started getting very weird herself.

You don't want the only sane man in the novel acting crazy too. That's when you know things are going south and you lose me.

But still a largely fun novel about what we're willing to do for fame. Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for the e-copy.

This was wild satire about the lives of influencers. It was a bit over-the-top and honestly, major chunks of the narrative structure and plot points reminded me so clearly of Yellowface that gave me vertigo or deja vu or… something.

This was a book of two halves. Julie was a great character and very witty, although with a dark side and more than a little cutthroat. The description of the influencers and their lives was tongue in cheek at times and very witty, I enjoyed that. The second half of the book goes along a very different tangent, and is a WILD ride. Enjoyable too but I did prefer the first half. It was very well written, an entertaining dark comedy.