I never flip pages so fast like when I was devouring this book! Julie Chan is Dead is one of my most anticipated books to read in 2025 and it did not disappoint.

Julie and Chloe were once lived together as twin sisters, but a tragedy separated them when they were only 4-years-old. Years later, Chloe became a popular influencer and Julie... well she was poor and worked as a grocery store cashier lady. Julie felt exploited when Chloe bought a house for her and used her for one of her viral videos to show that Chloe genuinely cared about her and really wanting to connect after being separated for years. When in reality, Chloe abandoned her after that event.

One day Julie received a weird call from Chloe, and when the line cuts off, Julie went to New York to check up on Chloe only to find that Chloe is dead. Thinking how wasteful Chloe's wealth would be, Julie decided to switch identity and became Chloe. That's when she gets rope into this influencer circle of girls who's also famous and wealthy. They were all planning and are excited for a weeklong retreat on an island the leader of this circle owns.

And when they were at this island, a lot of freakish events unravel. This is the part where "unhinge" is the word other reviewers use to describe the book, and I agree with them - in a good way. As I read through the last 40%-ish of the book, my mouth kept gaping because the truths revealed are insane. I keep on reading to find out what the resolution is and it was totally insane, crazy, nuts - you named it!

I'm so happy I get to read this book early and I highly recommend this book! If you're someone who grow up with Youtube and are aware at some of the drama of real-life influencers, this book actually touch on those things. It's kinda fun to read as I was trying to remember who the characters in the book are based of.

I hope Liann Zhang write more books and I'm looking forward to read more of the work in the future.

3.5⭐️ Julie Chan is Dead took me for a wild ride and never let up. It took me at least the first 10% of the book to really become invested in the main character,Julie. While I felt sympathy for her, she was also quite unhinged. But I couldn’t put this one down once I got to the heart of the story. I see why this book is being compared to Bunny and Yellowface. I did like what it had to say about class, POC, social media influencers, and more. But I don’t think the book said as much as it thought it was. The way these themes were presented felt rushed and pretty surface level. Also the ending lost me. But I did enjoy reading it and look forward to whatever else this author writes.

This book was unhinged and I absolutely could not put it down. I loved the first half of the book - the second half was... wild. There were parts I couldn't help but laugh out loud (literally) at the ridiculousness of it. But somehow, it all worked? It's funny I started this book almost immediately after I had decided to step away from my Bookstagram account. If anything, this book further showed me that a life in social media is not my story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

This darkly comic suspense story is one part Yellowface (the skewering of the influencer industry and white privilege) and one part unhinged twin swap mystery (I was such a fan of The Parent Trap and The Lying Game back in the day). When a tired checkout girl is found by her secret twin, she's elated. When she realizes her twin was just using her for YouTube content, she's upset. When she arrives at her twin's lavish NYC apartment and finds her dead, she sees an opportunity. This book gets a little out there, but was so much fun to read!

My review on JenRyland.com goes live on April 28

This was a crazy book. I felt like I was on an acid trip but in the best way. I laughed and said “wtf” a bunch of times. These girls would do anything to be famous and they did… do… crazy things. Social media is addicting and in many ways, is like a cult. In the end, Julie became what she was trying to get away from. All in all, all these characters are crazy and I loved every second of it!



Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity of reading this as an E-arc <3

Thank you NetGalley for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm very stressed right now. The economy and politics are ripped straight from a dystopian novel so I really really needed a tight immersive novel about a topic that doesn't directly affect my life, yet exists constantly at its periphery. And I have to admit "Julie Chan Is Dead" was mostly that novel. The first three quarters of the book were tight, engaging, the chapters followed each other in perfect logical order, the character motivations and needs were clear. Our story follows Julie Chan, a young woman whose parents were killed in a car crash when she was only 4 years old. Her sister Chloe was adopted by a rich white family who only wanted one Chinese child, while Julie was raised by a bitter and toxic aunt. Chloe became a famous influencer, who only contacted Julie once to film a tear-jerking video of their reunion, bestow a home on Julie, and ghost her sister. So now Julie, stuck in a dead-end job as a clerk, and part time kleptomaniac, wants nothing to do with Chloe. That is until Chloe calls her in distress in the middle of the night, leading Julie to travel to New York where she discovers Chloe, dead in her luxury apartment from an apparent overdose. A series of small misunderstandings and small lies lead people to believe Julie is the one who died; and Julie feels like she's gone to far to extricate herself from this lie. A bewildered Julie attempts to become the famous Chloe Van Hussen, and slowly 'return' to normal influencer life in the presence of Chloe's famous friends--the Belladonas, a group of women as toxic as the eponymous flower. As the Belladona's yearly secretive retreat approaches, and a new influencer (the only other woman of color) is about to be initiated into the group Julie learns to despise, mimic, and ultimately become addicted to the glamorous and superficial life we all love to hate or hate to love from our screens. What fallows is an extravagant retreat on an isolated tropical island that slowly turns into a cultish nightmare.

I loved many of the conversations on overconsumption, the intrinsic racism of influencer spaces, and privilege that the author managed to perfectly fold into the story. As the story progressed further and further into the unreal, I couldn't help but admit that...it feels legit considering our current online environment. It was all campy and great until the 75% mark for me, when things started to happen without making sense. Characters who shouldn't have been fooled were all of a sudden incapacitated so that the story could progress. I still flew through those last chapters, but my enjoyment decreased drastically. Sadly, there were easy solutions for fixing the plot holes created, and we really didn't need to have the big villain exposit their master plan at the end to wrap everything up. I also wished the author would have explored in more depth Julie's descent from a person still anchored in reality to one converted to the God of the Belladonas. As it was though, we sped ran trough the ending and I think the story (up until that point a 5 star for me), suffered. Overall I did really enjoy this over-the-top drama and got lost in this world of both low and high stakes. I just wish the ending was as tight as the beginning and that it made more sense. 3.5 stars overall.

I really enjoyed this thriller. Julie and Chloe are identical twins, but they were separated at birth after the death of their parents. Chloe goes to live with rich, white parents and Julie goes to live with her belittling, and manipulative aunt. They never cross paths again aside from when Chloe, even wealthier from her lucrative influencer role, buys a run down home for Julie as a social media ploy. When Chloe dies as a result of a suspected overdose, Julie decides she will step into her sister's role. This book is BONKERS! It was a fun read and very twisted in the end. Solid 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Julie Chen is Dead by Liann Zhang is a bold, genre bending novel that starts with a razor sharp premise and then takes a wild left turn you won’t see coming. The first half delivers exactly what the synopsis promises: an intriguing, unsettling exploration of identity, media culture, and social expectation, packed with biting commentary and unlikable (but fascinating) characters.

Then comes part two, and it feels like stepping into an entirely different book. The narrative veers off the rails in a way that’s both jarring and disorienting. While the themes remain thought provoking and the social critique stays sharp, the sudden shift in tone and storyline might leave some readers wondering what exactly they just read.

That said, Zhang’s voice is fresh and fearless. The chaos of the second half, while unexpected, adds a layer of unpredictability that some will find exhilarating and others frustrating. It’s not a tidy or conventional read, but it is an ambitious and memorable one. If you’re into stories that challenge expectations and blur boundaries, this one will definitely leave a mark.

This book is YELLOWFACE meets A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN. A super interesting premise and one that I was excited to dive into. I think that it took on a bit too much and left me wishing we dove more deeply into one issue. Super entertaining and easy to read!

WHOA, what a debut! My head is still spinning!

When we first meet Julie Chan, she’s alive. But she’s going nowhere fast, a dead end job in a grocery store, no friends, nothing to look forward to. She’d gotten the short end of the stick when she and her identical twin Chloe were separated as young girls, getting stuck with a mean aunt while Chloe got adopted by the wealthy VanHuusen family. Now Chloe is an uber-popular social media influencer with millions of followers and a fancy lifestyle. Well… she was, anyway. Until she wound up dead on her kitchen floor.

When Julie finds her dead twin, does she do the right thing and call the police? She does! But when emergency responders mistake her for Chloe, does she correct them? NO she does not! She lets everyone think that Julie Chan is the dead twin and just like that, slips right into Chloe’s glamorous shoes and completely takes over her identity. But she soon finds out that something far darker was lurking under the glittering façade of Chloe’s seemingly perfect life.

This book is absolutely BONKERS and I loved every minute of it! Julie goes from morally questionable to completely unhinged, and it was fascinating to watch her assimilate into Chloe’s life and spiral into being exactly what she had previously disdained. The cult vibes of the influencer retreat are spot on, and the social media satire is scorching. The plot is a deliciously bizarre roller coaster ride, and I binged the entire audiobook in a single day. Narrator Yu-Li Alice Shen does a phenomenal job bringing Julie to life with dark humor, and I could NOT stop listening!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Simon Audio for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This book was hilarious and exactly what I needed to pick up my April mood. Its a fresh and clever take on the idea of people will do what it takes to get what they want. It makes you ponder what your own limits would be in the same situation. I cant wait to read more by Liann Zhang. Thank you Net Galley for this early copy to read!

Twisted, dark, gripping, and thought provoking. Julie Chan Is Dead is an interesting book that not only looks at the quest for fame and likes, but also sibling relationships, jealousy, and acceptance. In the digital age, being an influencer equals BIG bucks if you capture the right audience and create the best content. This book also shows how fickle fans of influencers can be and how you are only as good as your last post/podcast/photo/endorsement, etc.

Julie Chan works in a supermarket and in the shadow of her twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, who is a popular social media influencer. Julie was also on her sister's stream one time when Chloe gifted her a house for likes. When Julie goes to her Chloe's luxury apartment, she finds her twin sister dead! Julie decides to take her sister's place and assumes Chloe's identity and luxurious lifestyle! How hard can it be? They are twins after all! When Julie is invited and shows up for a weeklong island retreat with a group of top influencers, she will begin to see that all that glitters is not gold!

This was a dark commentary(ish) book that takes being a social media influencer to a whole new level. As I mentioned this book tackles many things such as relationships, the need for acceptance, belonging, popularity, jealousy, secrets and backstabbing. I found this book to be an enjoyable fast read which kept me engaged and invested in the plot. This book took a turn that I did not see coming but I rode with it and enjoyed the ride.

This was a well thought out and captivating debut novel. I enjoyed the twists, turns and reveals in this book.

Very enjoyable read about the dangers of always wanting more, especially in the digital influencer space! At first glance this is an easy read but also really made me think about the influencers I follow and why I follow them. There were some sudden character changes that seemed abrupt but nothing like some craziness to snap someone to "reality".

I kind of predicted the twist part way through but I never saw it all playing out how it did. Would happily read another book by Liann Zhang again!

I absolutely devoured this! This was such a great read with heart, guts, wit, sarcasm, and a crippling look at the obsession of social media and its influencers. As entertaining of a thriller this was, there were so many layers to this that this deserves way more than 5 stars. I loved the trajectory of the well planned plot and I loved the writing style. The book moved for sure, and it was fantastic to say the least.

I didn't anticipate how deep and dark this story would get, and boy, did it get deep and dark. It also played with your emotions and I had no problem appreciating the main character Julie. I kept getting surprised at almost every turn of what happened to her and her struggle to absorb (or not absorb) herself in the social media addiction. Just right when I thought where the story was going, the author amped up the cult aspects even more and more. I really want to see this as a series!

Pub date: April 29, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this. All opinions are my own.

I really, really liked this one. After having been in something of a slump where it was taking me longer than usual to finish anything, I devoured this in less than three days, so it gets big points immediately just for that.

Even though Julie Chan was not a very good person, she was such a fun main character. Honestly, her being not a good person made her more fun, and I don't think anything in this book would have happened otherwise. I have a lot of thoughts about her development but I don't want to risk spoilers - but I will say, I too support women's wrongs sometimes. This book also had a lot to say about the influencer world and the racism and classism within it that I think was really well done.

Things really took a turn in the last like 30% that I was not anticipating, and honestly at first, wasn’t sure if I loved or not. And I'm still not sure if it's the direction I think it should have taken, but I can't deny that it was a fun time. It got so weird and disturbing and I couldn't put it down.

I also didn't even realize until after that this was a debut?! Liann Zhang is absolutely going on my must-read authors list after this one. Crushed it.

"Julie Chan is Dead" by Liann Zhang is a sensational debut that completely swept me off my feet! What an explosive start !
Zhang delivers a thrilling, twisty story with all the suspense, intrigue, and drama that had me hooked from page one. I couldn’t put this book down, and now I’m eager for more!
Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier, is thrust into the glamorous yet dangerous life of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a famous influencer. Julie’s transformation from an ordinary woman to someone living in a world of luxury, designer clothes, and millions of adoring followers was both exciting and chilling to watch. Liann Zhang does an incredible job of balancing the allure of fame with the dark secrets lurking underneath.
The mystery of Chloe’s untimely death is layered with tension and suspense, and the way Julie unravels the truth behind it kept me on the edge of my seat.
What makes this book even more engaging is Julie’s emotional journey. Struggling with living in her sister’s shadow and trying to maintain the illusion of being someone she’s not was both heartbreaking and captivating. The exploration of identity, the pressures of living in the influencer world, and the sinister forces at play made this story so much more than just a mystery. It was a deep, gripping tale of fame, betrayal, and the consequences of pretending to be someone you’re not.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this book, this opinion is my own.

SYNOPSIS
-Julie Chan’s life is going nowhere fast—she works at a grocery store and barely scrapes by.
-Her identical twin sister, Chloe, on the other hand? Mega-famous influencer, adopted into wealth, living that curated, camera-ready life.
-When Julie gets a weird call from Chloe and rushes to her apartment, she finds her dead.
-The police mistake Julie for Chloe… and she runs with it. But stepping into her sister’s world means more than skincare sponsorships and fan DMs. Chloe was hiding something dark.
-Cue a creepy influencer retreat on a private island, a lot of secrets, and some serious cult energy.
⸻
MY THOUGHTS
-This was such a sharp, twisty debut—part dark comedy, part thriller, all vibes.
-Short chapters = flew through it. Could not stop.
-Julie is the definition of morally gray and I loved that about her. You’re rooting for her even when you’re like, “girl, please don’t do that.”
-The influencer stuff was spot on. Shallow, addictive, performative, and low-key terrifying.
-Also loved the way the author explored identity and race—especially how that plays out online.
-The retreat section? Wow. Absolutely unhinged in the best way. Had serious Midsommar vibes, but make it rich girl aesthetic.
-The second half went totally off the rails (in a good way).
-I thought the ending stuck the landing—satisfying & worth the read.
-Side note for fellow animal lovers: there’s a brief scene involving fictional harm to a baby mouse that’s hard to read.
⸻
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Loved this. Sharp, bingeable, and just the right amount of creepy. Super quick read with a twisty plot, a main character who’s a mess, and a weird island retreat that got dark.
⸻
Thanks: Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on April 29, 2025.

WOW. Just—WOW. I’ve never read anything like this before! At first, I wasn’t sure—I felt a bit detached, surrounded by all these dull, Instagram-perfect, cookie-cutter characters. But if you’ve spent a questionable amount of time online (like me), you’ll recognize the vibes: think Dramageddon-level chaos, the Stauffer adoption controversy, and that weird magnetic pull of crime podcasts you can’t stop listening to. This book has all of that energy... and then goes completely nuclear.

This is the definition of a slow burn that rewards your patience. And when it finally takes off? OH. MY. GOD. At 72%, I was in full meltdown mode — gasping, shrieking, gagging (yes, gagging — and when you get there, you’ll know). From that moment on, I could not put it down.

This book scorched me in the best way possible. If you love twisty, pitch-black stories that sneak up on you and then explode, this is it. Stick with it — the payoff is absolutely worth every second. 🔥✨

I don’t even know where to begin. The book starts off showing Julie’s life before her twin, Chloe, dies. And when she does, Julie takes over her life. We see her develop her influencer life posing as Chloe which I thought was funny and the most enjoyable part of this book. But then things take a bizarre turn…

You get hints that something isn’t right and as the story progresses into the height, it felt like I was reading a completely different story. I was surprised by the direction it went in - I didn’t hate it but it felt like I was reading many different genres blended together and that was odd to me. The ending was unexpected and left me feeling conflicted and confused. Julie at the end as a character didn’t make sense to me and overall, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book. This book does give similar vibes to Yellowface in the beginning, but the story progression feels more strange.

Overall, this book was bizarre to me but definitely there were points that had my jaw dropped.


Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Oooh, this was a crazy one! I went in thinking it was a psychological thriller about a young woman who assumers her recently deceased, mega-influencer, twin sister’s identity. It IS that, but there are definitely some horror elements I was not expecting (if you’re squeamish about mice, be forewarned). And about mid-way through, the novel also switches settings from NYC to a private island. (Think like, the Tarte influencer trips but wayyyy higher and more murder-y stakes.) The ending did feel somewhat rushed and a little too implausible to me, but I went with it for the sake of enjoying the story.

Thanks so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy!

Release date: April 29, 2025 🗓️