I absolutely adored this book. I read a lot of books about women doing awful things, and because of that I can be picky, however this book was the best of that genre I've read in a long time. I loved the snarky envious-but-still-hateful critique of influencer culture. This is an amazing book, highly highly recommend!!!
Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC!!

Yellowface meets Blink Twice. I found our MC to be so imperfectly endearing and so deeply realistic that it makes some of the less realistic plot elements easy to overlook. Some of the racial critiques are a little on the heavy handed side but they still landed well. The integration of all of the social media aspects is spot on and doesn't feel forced. Great escalation to the ending.

Book 218 of 350 ~ 2025

🌟🌟🌟💫

I felt a sense of Déjà vu through most of the book...

however that was until I got to the last few intense chapters.

Loved the twist at the end.... did not see that coming

I received a complimentary copy of the ebook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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This is genuinely one of my favorite thrillers of all year; it's perfect for anyone who loves a two-hour video essay on internet drama gone wrong. I wasn't expecting all the cult stuff, but wow.

This was a wildly fun read! I absolutely love the concept of an influencer’s twin taking over for them when they meet their demise (secretly, of course). Especially when there are influencer besties, a scheming “parent” and all the pressures of being an influencer in the mix! I couldn’t put this down and know I’m late to the party on this one. Don’t sleep on this!

What I liked: A mystery/thriller that exposes the dark side of the life of an internet influencer

What I disliked: The island cult eating live mice was too gross 🤮

I really enjoy reading and often find myself quickly diving into books, which can make it challenging to keep up with my NetGalley reviews. Honestly, I sometimes struggle to find the right words to express my thoughts.

This book was not what I expected. I initially thought it would be similar to recently published works like "Yellowface." While it shares some similarities, the story takes an unexpected turn when it shifts to the island, leading to a plot twist I never saw coming. This twist kept me engaged the entire time. It truly disturbed me regarding social media and made me want to delete everything and withdraw from it completely. Overall, it’s a fantastic novel and definitely a read worth your time.

This book started off really really good for me! I was captivated and wanted to keep reading. But then it just got really strange!

If you are into cults or social media I would definitely suggest this book.

It's not that I didn't enjoy the book, but it just wasn't what I was expecting and not in a good way.

Julia Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang was my first read by this author, and it’s a razor-sharp debut that blends psychological suspense with biting social commentary. The novel follows Julie Chan, a young Chinese American woman living a quiet, unremarkable life until she discovers the lifeless body of her identical twin sister, Chloe, a glamorous social media influencer. In a moment of shock and desperation, Julie assumes Chloe’s identity, stepping into a world of curated perfection, wealth, and online adoration. What begins as a coping mechanism quickly spirals into a dangerous game of deception, envy, and self-erasure.

The plot is driven by Julie’s internal conflict and her increasingly unstable grasp on reality. As she navigates Chloe’s influencer empire, Julie is haunted by guilt, paranoia, and the fear of being exposed. Her interactions with Chloe’s circle especially Bella Marie and the Belladonnas, a clique of elite influencers reveal the toxic underbelly of digital fame. Julie craves their approval even as she resents their superficiality, and her longing to belong becomes both her motivation and her undoing. The tension builds as Julie’s aunt, the only person who knows the truth, begins extorting her, threatening to unravel the illusion she’s so carefully constructed.

The twist isn’t just that Julie successfully impersonates Chloe it’s how deeply she loses herself in the process. The conclusion is haunting: Julie reclaims her narrative, but at a cost that leaves readers questioning whether survival is the same as salvation. Zhang’s portrayal of identity, grief, and the commodification of personal tragedy is both chilling and poignant. Julia Chan Is Dead is a bold, unsettling exploration of what happens when the desire to be seen eclipses the truth of who we are. I’ll definitely be watching for Zhang’s next work.

This was fun! It does get a bit confusing and UNHINGED in the second half but I enjoyed it. I think someone would have to be chronically online to REALLY appreciate it but I definitely recommend it for a fast fun read!

Whoa this had me hooked! Couldn't stop reading--what a ride! Glad I got to read this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Liann Zhang!

Separated at a young age after their parents’ deaths, twins Julie and Chloe grow up worlds apart. Chloe is adopted by an affluent white couple and eventually becomes a glamorous, if shallow, social media influencer. Julie, left in the care of a callous aunt more interested in the monthly check than in her niece, works as a grocery store cashier. Their lives collide when Julie receives a mysterious phone call and rushes to New York to find Chloe, despite their estrangement (the last time they saw each other, Chloe tried to “help” by buying Julie a house that felt more like a photo-op than an act of love). When Julie arrives at Chloe’s apartment, she things don't look good—and when others mistake her for Chloe, she doesn’t correct them. Suddenly, Julie steps into her sister’s life, with millions of followers and famous friends. But what will become of Julie Chan?

Zhang delivers a razor-sharp satire of influencer culture, blending humor with something much darker. The novel expertly portrays the hollow branding, curated friendships, and desperation for more attention. The story reaches fever pitch when Julie joins a private-island influencer retreat, where absurdity escalates into a delirious, unsettling finale. This is funny, disturbing, and disturbingly funny. It's a delightful skewering of the performance of identity in the digital age.

I don't even know where to start....
This book started off very promising with a nice mystery/thriller vibe but toward the end the tone shifted (not in a bad way) but I found myself skimming more. I could not take anymore "influencer speak" and all the girls repeating each other's sentiments over and over. I did like the "Yellowjackets"-style retreat but overall this book felt too long, repetitive and bouncing between too many genres to be a five-star read for me.
Thank you to Atria Books, Liann Zhang and Netgalley for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Chan and her identical twin sister are separated as small children after their parents die. Julie goes to live with their aunt who does not provide a stable and loving home. Chloe is adopted by a well to do family and grows up with everything handed to her. After years of being estranged, something brings the girls together and Julie has the opportunity to take on Chloe’s life.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. However, at about the half way mark a big event happens and that is where the book went downhill for me. I felt like this book could have been two different stories.

Read this if you’re fascinated by influencer culture, love sharp social satire, and don’t mind your realism bending into something stranger.

Julie Chan is Dead is a whip-smart, fast-paced dive into the glossy yet hollow world of social media fame. At first, the story feels grounded—wealth, curated lives, and the behind-the-scenes mess of influencers all ring uncomfortably true. But about three-quarters in, the novel takes a sharp left turn into the supernatural, making it more unpredictable and, honestly, more fun.

The writing is quick, biting, and unapologetic in its critique of influencer culture. It peels back the curtain on the perfect feeds and manicured brands to expose the messier realities beneath. The supernatural element doesn’t feel tacked on—it amplifies the sense that this world is already surreal, distorted, and maybe even dangerous.

It’s a wild ride, and while the tonal shift might not work for everyone, I enjoyed it. The supernatural twist kept me on my toes and elevated what could have been a straightforward satire into something more memorable.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a wacky, wild ride! honestly it had my jaw on the floor and i had to look at the wall multiple times to process from how crazy it was. I got hooked from the beginning and i absolutely could not put it down. the first half of the book really sucked me in, i was so curious to see where it was going but towards the second half of the book it was a bit unsettling.

I really tried to like this book but given that I started it at the beginning of the year and haven't finished, let alone looked at it, in months, I think it is safe to say that it just isn't right for me. Julie Chan and her twin sister Chloe couldn't be any more different. Separated after the death of their parents, Julie is raised by a controlling aunt while Chloe is adopted by a wealthy couple. Chloe becomes a social media influencer and the two never speak. When Julie finds Chloe dead in her apartment, she make the snap decision to take over her sister's life, despite not knowing how to navigate the world of social media. Many reviews call the storyline "unhinged" which is a fairly accurate assessment. It is like watching a disaster unfold although I didn't really care to see how it ended. It is probably a fairly decent description of the dark side of putting your whole life on the internet and living for the reviews/likes. I think the book will appeal to people who find that type of fakeness and backstabbing fascinating but I couldn't finish it.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to lie. That one-line hook of "Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse." had me HOOKED. It did its job. On the other hand, that line should've been enough to warn me about how unhinged and insane the story would be. Obviously biased, but we support women's rights AND wrongs. To write a satire(?!) on the world of influencers and female relationships and twist it into a thriller was a risk for Zhang, but it paid off. From start to end, I was dragged into Julie's perspective of her twin sister, Chloe's world. Every betrayal, every absurd decision, every toxic relation/friendship. We love a corruption arc for main characters, and Julie's gradual descent into the very thing she scorned and mocked was *chef's kiss.*

I absolutely adored this book. Julie Chan is a successful social media influencer, and her estranged twin sister is the absolute opposite. When she finds Julie dead in her own apartment, she makes the snap decision to become Julie Chan and inhabit her lifestyle. Of course this is not nearly as simple as it seems, and problems immediately ensue. This book offers a look into the world of influencers, and just how much of their time is spent trying to figure out how to get more. More followers, more engagement, more money, more stuff. It is a bit of a social satire, but the truth glimpses through enough that the reader can see just how messed up that life can be. Fascinating, propulsive, and appropriately quirky, this is a great book.

Julie Chan is dead is not your average influencer thriller. After taking over her dead estranged twin sister’s seemingly fabulous life as an influencer, Julie finds herself thrust into a world of sponsored posts, spin classes, and elite events. But during a retreat with fellow influencers begins to take a turn for the weird, she begins to wonder what is the true price for social media fame.

This was a fun read! I love novels about rich people, I love behind the scenes looks at influencer lives, and I love thrillers. It was a match made in heaven. I thought Julie was a really fun main character, even if she wasn’t the most likable. She was a survivor, a strong character with lots of background that made you understand the decisions she was making, even if they’re a little insane. I thought it was well-paced, even if it felt like there was a lot of story to tell, it was told quickly. While it wasn’t what I was expecting - especially towards the end - it was a solid thriller, with a unique premise. A new lens from which to consider the perspective of fictional influencer narrators. I’d give it 3.75 stars!