I wasn’t expecting the entire book energy to go from lighthearted and fun to weird and unhinged since I hadn’t seen much on the book but I enjoyed the way it turned that’s my favorite kind of stories when they flip what you think to another thing completely

When people described this book as wild and unpredictable, they were right. This book is unhinged in all the correct ways. I personally feel that many would love or hate this. There is little middle ground left when it comes to these books. Julie is not very likable but oh gods, her thoughts are super entertaining. Loved the talks about the toxicity of the influencer life. I thought it was gonna be a 4-5 star book until the very end. I did not like it at all. It was way too cheesy for me and felt super unreal. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this one for the most part. People like Yellowface will love this one. Liann Zhang is an author to keep a lookout for in the future.

I recently read Julie Chan is Dead by @theliannz and loved it! The story follows Julie, a woman in her early 20s who became an orphan at a young age and was separated from her twin sister through adoption. While Julie's life was challenging and she finds herself stuck in a dead end retail job, her twin Chloe lived a privileged life and went on to become an influencer. The twins have not really reconnected, but Julie is often mistaken for her twin, which just highlights the annoying fact that Chloe has things so much better than Julie ... or does she? When Julie gets a strange phone call from Chloe, she decides to go check on her twin only to find that she is dead! When the authorities mistake Julie for Chloe, she must quickly decide: correct them, or assume the life of her twin?

I thought this was a really interesting premise and the author did a great job carrying it through. The character development was great and Julie's arc was really neat to watch unfold. This would be a great book to unpack in a book club as there are definitely some great themes such as diversity/discrimination, ethics, problems with social media, cult followings and the perceptions we have of other peoples' lives. While I will say the last 1/3 of the book did quickly go from a little weird to quite strange, I didn't mind the ending or the story overall. I think this one would be great for fans of Yellowface or other suspense/thrillers with slightly more out there storylines. Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @atriabooks for giving me the chance to read and review this one!

This wasn’t as good as I thought it would be and found myself to almost be making myself try to finish it.

Wickedly funny, smart, and totally unhinged in the best way—this debut absolutely delivers. Julie never meant to steal her twin sister’s life, but when she finds Chloe dead and a phone full of influencer perks unlocked in her hand… she hesitates. One swipe later, she’s living Chloe’s life: her followers, her brand deals, her flawless digital existence.

But keeping up with the Belladonnas—a toxic inner circle of elite influencers—is no easy task. Julie tries to keep her head down: detox, curate, unbox, repeat. But someone knows the truth. And even identical twins have their tells.

This book is fast-paced and razor sharp, a juicy blend of satire and suspense. It’s a brilliant look at the cult-like world of social media, where curated perfection hides the ugliest secrets. I laughed, I cringed, I gasped. One twist had my stomach flipping. The kind of plot turn that makes you sit straight up and say, did that really just happen?!

Julie is a messy, complicated character you’ll love to hate—and maybe even understand. Her decisions are often morally gray, but Zhang makes you feel every moment of her desperation, envy, and hunger for more.

If you’re into books like Yellowface, The Other Black Girl, or Gone Girl, you’ll tear through this. A fantastic book club pick with plenty to unpack about identity, influence, ambition, and how far someone will go when no one is watching.

Julie and Chloe, twin sisters separated in early childhood - one has built a glossy world of fame and influence online, while the other scrapes by in a life she never chose. The sisters are unexpectedly reunited as adults when social-famous Chloe makes a viral video starring her struggling sister Julie. After this tense and emotional reunion, tragedy strikes—leaving one twin dead and the other facing a haunting decision: continue her own struggling life or step into her sister’s carefully curated, glamorous world. What follows is a twisty exploration of identity, envy, and the truth behind the filtered facade of social media.

This novel starts with a killer premise and plenty of promise, but ultimately falls short of its potential. What could have been a gripping psychological thriller fizzles as the plot goes completely sideways into a story so far fetched it becomes a fantasy novel instead of a mystery-thriller. It may be worth a read—just don’t expect it to stick the landing.

Julie Chan has a twin who was adopted and raised by a wealthy white family separately from her. Julie, on the other hand, was raised by her abusive aunt, works as a supermarket cashier, and has no prospects, no hope, and no money.

Then she gets a weird phone call from her successful influencer sister Chloe Van Huusen, and arrives in Chloe's New York City apartment to find the young woman dead from an overdose. When paramedics and police arrive, Julie slips, at first inadvertently, into being Chloe, but then, feeling even more resentful of her sister's glowing life, decides she'll become Chloe.

This proves to be remarkable easy, despite some initial guilt. Soon, Julie is swanning about fancy places with Chloe's influencer peers, and Julie finds herself accepted, and suddenly having money. Then Julie gets a call from her aunt, who blackmails her, so Julie must now really be Chloe, and find ways to keep a constant stream of income coming in so she can pay off her aunt and cousin each month.

At the same time, Julie is pulled deeper into the lives of the seriously privileged influencers who Chloe used to hang out with. When Julie is invited to an exclusive retreat with them, she jumps a the chance, no matter how much harder it is to keep up the pretense of being someone she's not, and no matter what weird and unsettling things she learns about Chloe's life and relationships, and about these influencers.

This fast-moving darkly comedic and often frankly bonkers story was enjoyable, gripping and sometimes disturbing. Julie is full of resentment and jealousy, then does a bad thing, and has to follow that up with countless lies, which she proves remarkably adept at doing.

The influencers range from believable, to outright bizarre, and even a little frightening, in terms of what they're willing to do to maintain their fame and lifestyles.

The story occasionally veered into melodrama, and even caricature, but it's still a lot of fun, with Julie's sarcastic narration and unrepentant behaviour. Then there's the whole way the time on the island is resolved, rather horrifically, which was not what I was expecting, but remember what I said about melodrama, etc.?

Anyway, I liked this story, and look forward to reading more by this author.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Julie Chan is dead wasn't what I expected it to be. I'm not sure what exactly I expected, but the mindf*ck that it is wasn't it. This isn't a bad thing though. It's just a book you need to pay close attention to or you'll miss something big.
Think Mona Awad's Bunny if you've read it or A Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. There's a story there, and a damn good one. But you need to sit a whole day for it. Mostly because if you let yourself be pulled out of the story, it may be hard to dig your way back in.

Chloe is the twin who has it all... Money, a following, a cult, a group of freakishly similar friends who take drugs to prove their loyalty. You know? everything a girl could want.
Julie Chan is the twin raised by the blackmailing family members who hate her existence.
So if you got the chance to trade places with your twin because she accidentally died (or not accidentally, who knows?), who wouldn't?

overall, I think this book was done really well. I do think the author does the whole "Bizarre" thing well, as she's able to keep a tidy storyline through the oddities. I think that's always a difficult thing to do, and I've only found two authors thus far who could pull that off (mentioned above). After reading Julie Chan is Dead, I would put Liann Zhang there too.

- round up to 3.5 stars
- enjoy the concept of the novel and did not expect it to get so dark at the end!
- the character of julie has me questioning her motives and true morals, which i was throughout the book
- different book that is refreshing in a sense that it’s quite unique
- quick read if you want to get out of a slump

** thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

What a crazy book!!! Completely different from everything I read, even though it had so many popular topics. I’m not usually into influencer stories, but this one surprised me in the complexity of the plot and also on the depth of the story.
This is a book that requires you to suspend your disbelief, but after you get past it and accepts a crazy ride, you’ll be well served with a cohesive plot, a nicely written story, and charismatic characters.

Thanks a lot to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange of my personal opinion.

This book was all over the place. I finished it but still at this point I'm not sure how I feel about it.

This was super entertaining though it didn't make a lot of sense. I didn't love the "twist" and felt more confused by the end. I still overall enjoyed it.

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang might be the most bizarre and captivating book I’ve picked up in a while. The whole influencer angle sucked me in right away. Julie, who's stuck working in a supermarket, stumbles onto her glamorous twin sister Chloe's death and, before she knows it, is suddenly living Chloe’s high profile life online.

The writing is super sharp and often very funny in a dark way. I actually found myself laughing at some of the pointed digs at internet fame and how fake everything can seem, but there’s a lot of empathy in how Zhang handles Julie. She's a mess in the best possible sense. Sometimes I rooted for her, sometimes I wanted to yell at her, but I was always interested in what she’d do next. The first part of the book is a real page turner, juggling tension and biting social commentary that hits close to home.

Where things lost me a little was in the back half. The plot suddenly swerves into absolute chaos, and what started out as a very grounded thriller veers straight into cult territory with some pretty out-there twists. It almost feels like two different stories stitched together, and I’m not sure how well the pieces fit, though I will say the weirdness kept me reading late into the night.

Still, there’s something so gutsy about what Zhang does here. She’s not afraid to lean into absurdity to make a point about the dangers of chasing likes and online validation. Yeah, the pacing stumbles and some of the plot turns are wild, but I kind of loved how unexpected it all was.

If you like your thrillers messy, bold, and full of biting social commentary, I’d definitely recommend giving this a shot. Fans of Bunny or Yellowface will probably get a real kick out of it. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy! All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5
Perfect for readers who enjoy dark humor, twisty thrillers, and stories about the messiness of identity in the social media age.

I’m giving this a 4.5 star rating. This was a really strong book! Following the story through Julie’s POV was interesting, fun, and stressful. I wish that there had been more of a connection between the first half of the book and the second half. Once Julie heads on “the trip,” the story takes a complete turn. I loved the turn, I thought it was very fun (it was very much giving Bunny by Mona Awad) but it felt a bit disjointed.

Social media will be the death of us all.

Whew this book is a wild wild ride!! It was taking over twins identity plus stepford wives plus a cult? I never knew where the book was going. Some major content warnings but a clever satire on influencer life

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang is the messy influencer thriller I didn’t know I needed. It’s got a twin swap, a dead body, a private island, and a whole cast of terrifyingly curated influencer friends. Sign me up.

Julie works at a grocery store, barely getting by, when she finds her estranged, very famous influencer twin Chloe...dead. Does she call the cops? No. She logs into Chloe’s account. And honestly? I get it.

At first Julie is living it up with designer clothes, viral fame, and skincare that costs more than rent, but then she ends up on a creepy influencer retreat where everyone is suspicious, everything feels staged, and her sister’s death starts looking less accidental.

It’s dark, sharp, and surprisingly funny. Zhang skewers influencer culture with a perfect mix of horror and humor. I was fully entertained.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC. 4 stars.

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

I picked this up on a whim after hearing many great reviews, and I didn't know if it was what I was in the mood for. Within 12 hours, I had read the entirety of "Julie Chan is Dead" and was completely obsessed with this book. Liann Zhang tells the story of two separated identical twins who end up in very different worlds. The twin we follow is Julie Chan, who is a broke grocery store worker, who longs for a connection with her twin, Chloe. Chloe on the other hand is an influencer who has millions of followers and only uses Julie for content. Out of nowhere, Chloe calls Julie with a cryptic message, which inspires Julie to go to New York to see what's up. From there, the book is nonstop twists and turns through the dark corridors of influencer culture and social media. Everything came together in such a satisfying way, and I already can't wait for the inevitable A24 adaptation. This book is dark, fully, and culty in the best way. A must read!

The more I let this one sit, the more I did not enjoy it.

I felt very meh throughout the entire time I was reading it (more than a month!!!) and the ending sealed the deal for me as this one not being for me.

I think the story lines were not drawn together well enough to make the thriller aspect of this work.

Deal breakers:
- there was nothing that made me want to pick it back up
- the character building just did not work for me
- the thriller aspect was not built out enough for me

Julie Chan and her twin sister were separated at birth, but sister Chloe VanHussen ( a very Gossip Girl name) drew the lucky straw. Chloe is beautiful and a successful influencer. Julie's life is mundane and riddled with money worries, in comparison. She has a contentious relationship with her sister Chloe but is still shocked when she finds her dead.

What follows as Julie disposes of her sister's body and assumes her identity is crazy madness which I enjoyed reading, even if I didn't totally get onboard. I enjoyed the zaniness of Julie's difficulty trying to fill her uber-cool twin's shoes, but once the story veered to Influencer Island it kind of lost the plot for me. I don't think I'm the demographic this book is geared toward, so that may be some of the reason for the disconnect. In any case, I had to admire the author's inventiveness and sharp writing. I liked it enough that I would be interested to see what author Zhang comes up with next.

This was a 3.4 read for me. I enjoyed it, but rushed through the last third of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Liann Zhang, and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

the last 25% was a fun ride but unfortunately everything leading up to it was just kind of mid

julie was incredibly unlikable and never really got any better, i could only read like 30 pages at a time before i had to put it down to take a break from her. i think the influencer aspect didn't help because i am not an influencer and aside from booktube i don't watch them so i just didn't care for any of that.

but that being said i didn't hate the book, it was intriguing enough that i wanted to keep reading, even if everything happening was super obvious. i enjoyed the writing style and i hope liann zhang writes a horror one day because there were some scenes that made my skin crawl.

all in all it was a fun cult thriller and i will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future