This book was so captivating and kept me invested from start to finish. There were some grotesque scenes that I had a bit of a hard time with, but overall I really loved this book. I will be keeping an eye out for future work by Liann Zhang! Thank you NetGalley, Liann Zhang, and Atria Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you #NetGalley for the eARC of #JulieChanisDead by Liann Zhang

Well... that was a wild ride. I can't say I've ever read anything like Julie Chan is Dead, and I don't know if I ever want to again, but it was the easiest five stars I've given this year. In fact, it is my first official 6 star read.

Julie Chan Is Dead is what happens when social satire, psychological suspense, influencer culture, and mice get tossed in a blender—and the result is somehow addictive, disturbing, funny, and completely unhinged. Liann Zhang doesn’t just push the envelope—she rips that shit wide open, and lights it on fire (just wait...).

If you think you know where it’s going—spoiler alert: you don’t. I had to sit in stunned silence after finishing. Would I recommend this to everyone? Absolutely. Will I lose friends over it? Absolutely. But sometimes you have to read a book that pushes the boundaries.

Influencer culture gone haywire.
Do you like tornados? This is a tornado.
It starts out wild, everything’s crazy and you think to yourself “no wayyyyy it can’t possibly be heading in the direction I think it’s going?!”
CRASHHHHHHHH

oh wait … it’s kinda normal again, kinda wholesome… or not??

WHOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHH

JUST KIDDING!!!!!! it’s a total shit storm 🌀

BANG BANG BANG BANG ‼️
End Scene.

This book is bat shit crazy. And I can’t help, but think it could come out to be closer to reality than we know.

Terrifying.
God, I hate social media.

This was good though, if you like tornadoes.
🌪️

3.5 🌟

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc

Twins separated when they were young when their parents were killed. One was adopted into a wealthy family, the other went to their aunt and lived a rougher life. Now that they are adults, 1 is an influencer and the other, cast aside after 1 video for influencer views.

Julie misses her sister Chloe. She watches her through her social media influencer videos and updates. In equal parts she's jealous and envious of Chloe's success. She wonders, as she works at a grocery store with horrible hours and pay, would she have turned out the same if she'd been raised surrounded by wealth. Even though she knows Chloe used her once for a video for views and money, Julie still wishes they could be friends - even in the midst of her anger at her. So when Chloe calls her randomly, mumbling and apologizing, Julie takes a few days off and jumps on a plane to see if she's okay. When she arrives though, she finds Chloe already gone - and when the police arrive and assume she's Chloe and the body is Julie (not Chloe), Julie decides to go with it. As twins, can she doe it? Can she live Chloe's influencer life?

This one was so fun. It was a fast read, quick and easy to roll with Julie as she finds Chloe and then is rushed into this confusing life of influencers, brands, videos & photos - noting everything, trying to keep it authentic while also lying, hiding and trying to keep this life. As the world slowly starts to tip, you can feel the moment things are going to change. I loved the shocking story as the twists and turns started! I even guessed some of the parts but I never guessed where the story was going. A dark, wild ride - I love when mysteries completely surprise me and this one did!

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

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I LOVED this book! Such a fun concept with storylines drawing you in from left and right. The relatability of this new age of influencers and the lengths they're willing to go for content makes this all the better.

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. while this book was focused on exploring the life of an influencer, this was done really well and not at all cheesy. i liked the depiction of julie/chloe and how she had to be careful to separate the two personalities until she no longer could. i thought the drama was a little over the top but understood why, and the addition of the cult-like group added to the suspense.

Julie Chan and Chloe VanHuusen are twin sisters who were separated at a young age by the death of their parents and were raised by different people in very different circumstances. While Chloe was adopted and brought up by white, affluent parents, Julie was left in the care of her cold and resentful aunt, barely making ends meet. When Julie reconnects with her twin sister, she finds her dead in Chloe's apartment and makes a decision to take the life that she's always wanted. Chloe lives an enviable life of an influencer and Julie quickly learns that alot of the things you see online are mostly smoke and mirrors.
This was one of those stories where you HATE every single one of the characters and you LOVE it! What a ride this story turned out to be! Perfect beach read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one sitting. I loved all the characters and the storyline. I loved following along with the characters and their growth. I would definitely recommend this book.

As a chronically online girlie who spends way too much time on YouTube, TikTok, and Tumblr, this book is hilarious.

More of a dark comedy/thriller about a twin who takes the identity of her estranged influencer socialite sister after discovering her corpse. In her new role as Chloe Van Huusen, Julie starts to learn about her sister's life and learns that not everything is as picture perfect as it seems.

To me this feels like Yellowface meets Bunny. Conversations about how identity and race are presented in social media spaces and fame, and critiques about the two-faced clique-y nature of social media personalities. It was laugh out funny at times (the amount of references I understood was kind of concerning but they made me laugh) and the mystery element, albeit a little predictable, was engaging enough to keep me going through the whole story.

3.75/5 stars - Welcome to the world of social media influencers, readers, a world for which you are just not ready!

Julie Chan is a twin, separated at 4 years old when her parents die in a car accident. At first it appears Julie got the worst deal, living with her mean, selfish aunt and cousin while her twin Chloe was adopted by a wealthy white family and is a social media beauty and fashion influencer with a growing following and connections with iconic influencers.

Out of the blue, Julie gets a mysterious, nonsensical phone call from Chloe, but when Julie shows up to check on her sister, she finds her lifeless body. In minutes, Julie makes a decision that changes everything. She becomes Chloe. From that moment, Liann Zhang leads readers through an increasingly bizarre series of events, including brazen blackmailing, an exclusive weekend on a private island where a group of influencers more resemble a coven of witches with a brainwashed staff, and the question of whether Chloe’s murder will be the only crime committed.

Zhang’s debut is a good one and a poignant commentary on the lengths influencers go to for likes and follows with hashtags galore and sponsorship mentions throughout. I generally like quirky, slightly unhinged stories, but this one had a few issues I struggled to get past early on. I assumed the twins were identical since they appeared interchangeable, but being raised apart surely meant there were significant tells to the closest people in Chloe’s life that Chloe was not Chloe – mannerisms, way of speaking, reactions, sayings, artistic differences in posts and videos, and history. It is a far stretch that a personal assistant, stylists, a million viewers, colleagues, and mentors wouldn’t raise more flags to Julie’s behavior as Chloe. (“Remind me what my parents’ address is” is just one awkward example.) This early disconnect made believing in the arc of this story difficult. It also made relating to or empathizing with the characters difficult.

The story was too muddied to have a distinct personality. Is it a commentary of the self-absorbed, pandering influencers? Is it a statement on how interchangeable all influencers are in general? Is it meant to be an absurdist murder mystery while educating readers on those working in social media professionally? I just can’t make the jump to four whole stars but want its rating also to reflect the enjoyment I got out of seeing where this whole trippy journey was going to end up. Julie Chan is Dead did not lack in originality.

Thank you to Atria Books for the e-ARC of this book through NetGalley, which I received for my honest review. This book will be available to the public on April 29, 2025.

#JulieChanisDead #NetGalley #LiannZhang #books #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookstagram #nerdventureswithbooks

If you like family drama, influencer drama and taking over of ones life, then this book is for you. This book is overall a messy ride but oh so much fun. It's like living in a real life soap opera but much more fun. This had a few twists and turns and was a really fast read. I highly enjoyed this and will recommend to other when its published. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

What the heck did I just read?! Ha! That was for sure one of the must bizarre rides I have taken on a book...but I didn't hate it? In a twisted turn of events, Julie Chan switches lives with her twin who is a well-known social media influencer while everyone else assumes that she, Julie, is dead. The story builds off of Julies desire for acceptance and approval and explores those themes of the good and evil of social media culture and how easily we can get swept away in it. I don't want to spoil anything, but the second half of the book is dealing with psycho characters, cults, and murder. If you are in to thrillers and love influencer tropes, this one is for you. It. Is. Wild.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for this ARC!

I… am not sure what I just read. What a weird and wild ride. I’m still wrapping my head around it but here’s what I’ve got so far while trying to be as spoiler-free as possible.

The strengths: I enjoy having characters that are sort of just generally unlikable. It makes the dynamics so much more interesting and is a nice change from stories where I’m rooting for everyone. I like a weird cult story and influencer culture is fascinating so this checked a lot of boxes for me. It was also surprisingly funny for an otherwise dark story.

The challenges: The island retreat felt like it was a completely different book by a completely different author which I think was the point but the transition in writing style was jarring. Much of the novel felt unbelievable but again that’s probably the point so I don’t know that that was even a negative. I did feel like the ending was too abrupt and I wanted a clearer resolution.

The weird: the entire island retreat. Just all of it. Didn’t absolutely hate it, was effectively creeped out by it, will have nightmares for sure.

All in all, this was not what I was expecting and I’m still not entirely sure what I thought of it but I’d definitely read this author again because she kept me guessing the whole time. I think I’d recommend it mostly just so I have other people to talk to about it but also if you read it and hate it, you’re probably just more well-adjusted than I am so sorry about that (or maybe congrats?). Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

One sister, Julie is impersonating her deceased sister, Chloe who was a rich influencer. This will lead to some issues for sure. It’s Luann Zhang’s debut novel, and so far this is Really Good….like staying up way too late, good.

Creepy Vibes. Bella Marie and her Belladonna’s are on a Super Exclusive Island Vacation. It’s all About Love and Hugs and Kindness, until of course it isn’t. This is definitely a Wild Story, but I just got so into it. I kept reading until I finished in the middle of the night.

———👇🏼
👩🏼👩🏼👩🏼👩🏻👩🏼👩🏼👩🏼

You are Beautiful, You are Worthy, You are Special, You are Loved 💕 🥰 🤗 unless of course You are Dead ☠️!

Think this will be a Book that’s Talked About. Whether you Love it or are a Hater 😥

I liked the Look at Influencing and Social Media and All the Discussions that can Bring Up. This book did it in a way that was Funny and Also Completely Over the Top. I Loved It 💖

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this. I always leave reviews of books I read.

I’ve been chewing on how to rate & review this book since I finished it two weeks ago. I absolutely loved the first half, but the second half was truly unhinged with some disturbing parts. On one hand, I think it certainly provides some commentary on current social media culture and would make for some interesting book club conversations - but mostly it felt like I was asked to suspend more disbelief than I found possible. This was 3.5 stars for me but I think there are going to be a lot of differing opinions on this one!

I would give this one three stars, honestly possibly as a rounded-up even number from 2.5...

I loved the premise of this book! Uncool, working class twin sister takes the place of dead, cool, wealthy influencer twin sister from whom she has been estranged. I was really hoping this would feel like something in the vein of Yellowface, but instead it got....weird. A little bit occult-y? Not directly, but if you don't like books that get a little bit occult-y or paranormal, this might not be one for you.

⭐️ 3.5/5

Thank you to Atria Books (@atriabooks) for the ARC and Simon Audio (@simon.audio) for the ALC!

One word to describe this thriller: UNHINGED! All I have to say is get ready for a wild story from start to finish!

I have so many thoughts about this book, but none of them are eloquent by any means! 🤪 This was a story about obsession. Absolute and utter obsession in the worst kind of way. It showed the highs and lows of social media influencing and all that comes with it, but throw in a dash of murder. And stolen identities. And some good old-fashioned cult vibes. This book was absolutely insane!!

The narration totally sucked me in. I was hanging on her every word she spoke and needed to know what happened next!

Would I recommend this book? If you have a queasy stomach, no, based on one scene in particular. If you’re up for a wild ride from start to finish, GO FOR IT, my friend! There’s definitely never a dull moment!

This was certainly a unique story, going from intriguing to downright DARK! I’m still kind of torn on how I feel about this one, but I will say it is certainly memorable!

Thank you again to Atria Books for the ARC and Simon Audio for the ALC!

An unfortunate byproduct of the "BookTok" boom is a lot more books with the sole purpose of going viral on Booktok. Julie Chan is Dead is one of those books. The chapters are short, its fast paced, and almost every chapter ends on a cliff hanger. However, this book just doesnt work for me. It is extremely plot driven to the point where the characters felt like nothing more than empty vessels to drive the plot forward. Not even Julie, who is the main character, had any defining characteristics besides her hating her sister Chloe. We never get a sense for who Julie really is before, or after for that matter, she gets sucked into the Belladonna of it all. The book itself also read a little bit young. It felt more like I was reading a YA thriller rather than an adult one. The writing was very simple in a way that felt catered towards a younger audience. The multiple pop culture references (as well as references to actual real life influencers) did not help. Overall it just wasn't for me.

I feel very sad to give this book only 2 stars. I really liked the first half, but the second half spiraled into something I wasn’t expecting and had some very disturbing moments. Would have loved more focus on the mystery and Julie’s quest to solve it.

thank you to netgalley, atria books & liann zhang for the e arc!!!

wow - this was SOOO good & better than i could’ve imagined???? i was hooked from the beginning & ate it tf up !! it was full of such interesting + real commentary on top of it being a funny/ unserious & unhinged story all in one. it was also so interesting to see all the nuances to the characters. i enjoyed the way it was told, simply would recommend for anyone looking for a fast paced, funny & interesting read. would loveeee to read more of liann zhang , can’t believe this is her debut novel!!