Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang is a sharp, compelling thriller that blends dark humor with biting social commentary. The mystery kept me engaged, and the exploration of media, identity, and internet culture added depth beyond the central whodunit. Zhang’s writing is fast-paced and immersive, making it easy to get swept up in the twists. While the ending didn’t fully land for me, the journey was gripping and thought-provoking. A solid 4-star read that fans of twisty, modern thrillers will enjoy!

This was entertaining! The setup hooked me and I could have read a whole book just about that aspect of the story. The second half takes a dramatic turn and feels almost like a different genre. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t like it quite as much as the first half. I’d definitely read this author again because I thought it was well written. If you like influencer thrillers and cult horror, I recommend this one! If you don’t like social media and pop culture references in books then don’t read this.
Thanks to netgalley for the arc!

YELLOWFACE meets THE OTHER BLACK GIRL in this powerful, hilarious new thriller about the dark side of influencer culture.

To compare Liann Zhang's debut thriller to these bestselling modern classics is high praise, I know. But these comparisons are not just in plot. Because, yes, like Yellowface, JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is all about what happens when the jealous, lesser person takes over the life of the celebrated peer. And, yes, like THE OTHER BLACK GIRL, this is a book about what actually makes the people with all the power, money, and success really thrive. But comparisons with this one need not only be plot-based. Like these other books, JULIE CHAN IS DEAD delves deep into a highly public community (in this case, online personalities and content creators) and produces blistering satire while also giving us a book that is genuinely scary, and, in a great twist, just as funny.

I cannot understate how much this debut took me by surprise! Julie Chan, in taking over her sister's influencer life and discovering its good, bad, and ugly, is a sorry sack of a person, but, holy moly, does she have a strong comedic point of view. She's both complicit and so clearly at odds with the life she takes over, making her a deliciously complex protagonist to root both for and against. Add into the mix quite the nefarious backdrop (Belladonnas! The mice! Viktor! WTF!) and a propulsive whodunnit mystery, and you're left with a book you'll want to burn right through and have a blast with.

Identical twins Julie Chan and Chloe Van Huusen are separated at a young age after their parents die. Chloe is adopted by a wealthy family in the suburbs of New York, while Julie is sent to live with her aunt. Julie works in a grocery store. Chloe is a popular influencer whose only ties to Julie were to give her a house, but only for social media clout.

Then, Julie gets a mysterious message from Chloe that has her packing her bags and heading to NYC to find her. When she arrives at Chloe’s apartment, she finds an opportunity to step into her sister’s life. But is it as fabulous and glamorous as it appears?

This is a promising debut, and while I enjoyed the premise of the novel, I think I may be on the older end of the audience spectrum for this. I feel like it would resonate more with younger influencers. I enjoyed the commentary on the crazy world of social media that we live in, and found myself thinking more about how I consume content. Overall, this was a fun read.

Thank you to Liann Zhang, Atria Books and NetGalley for a gifted digital copy of the book for an honest review.

📖 Book Review 📖 Chloe and Julie are a whole other set of identical twins. Separated at a young age after their parents death, they are about as different as can be except for their DNA. But while they live in worlds as far apart as can be except for one guest visit from Julie on Chloe’s viral video, the twin connection still exists as Julie senses something is amiss with her sister. Shocked to find Chole dead in her apartment, Julie makes an impulsive, rash, and ultimately sinister decision to assume her sister’s identity. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the new Chloe takes us on a wildly uncomfortable, unputdownable ride! Life is never black and white and alas this story has so many beautifully complex layers waiting for us to unravel. Julie Chan is Dead is a delectable thriller not to be missed.

thank you so much to net galley for the arc!! i LOVED this, what a great debut novel. and an amazing addition to the good for her cinematic universe!!

i really like an unlikable narrator and julie really hit the spot. excited to see what the author does next!!

Julie Chan is dead and her twin sister would be devastated if they had any relationship at all. If that same twin hadn’t made a monetized YouTube video about buying Julie, her poor, downtrodden sister, a house with her influencer (and adopted white parents) money. If Julie actually was dead. But she’s not. Her twin, Chloe is. And once she overcomes the initial shock of finding a body identical to hers in a gorgeous New York apartment, taking over her famous twin sister’s life is a new beginning.

This is an incredible premise that Liann Zhang uses to set up her satire / social commentary novel on influence, whiteness, and social media. The A+ cover, fast-paced writing, and sharp voice pulled me in and kept me reading like I was scrolling a carefully curated Instagram feed. I subscribed fast.

This book is a little Gossip Girl, a little Yellowface, a little Blink Twice, and a whole lot of fun. Ironically, I could have lost a good chunk of the middle - when Julie is learning how to be Chloe - but once I hit act two, which was basically if Taylor Swift hosted an ultimate girls’ trip, I was talking myself into deferred bedtime to finish so I could keep reading about bonding bonfires and digital detox.

All in all a stunning debut that I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to more from Zhang.

This was so fun! I didn't know what to expect but I was hooked from the first page. Julie is such a complex character, as much as I wanted to scream at her, I couldn't really blame her. Her twin sister gets adopted into a wealthy family and she is stuck with her living with her aunt, who doesn't even seem to like her. Julie works at a supermarket while her twin sister is making a living as an influencer. Julie's resent but constant curiosity about her sister is warranted.

But when she finds her twin dead, she takes her identity, which leads her down a crazy road, diving into social media and the cult-like groups that form because of it.

I really had no idea how this was going to end but I'm glad to say it was a crazy journey with a good enough ending.

Wow! Julie Chan is Dead, a dazzling debut by Leann Zhang, is a biting commentary on societies addiction to social media and the need for “likes”. Perfect for fans of Yellowface! This would make an amazing Netflix series!

This book didn't totally connect for me, but I think there are readers out there for it! The premise is compelling, I just found it got a little too out there for my tastes, especially as the book goes on and the plot thickens. This felt suitable for younger readers, not quite YA, but maybe new adult. Some of the slang missed the mark for me, like when a character asks another if someone "unalived" themselves. I could see this book being a good TV show, though, as there were very vivid moments and some truly wild action sequences.

thank you for the ARC from Atria Books via NetGalley!

3.25⭐️
this is a wild story, i can see why people compare to yellowface as the FMC is absolutely crazy but you still kind of root for her lol
this story focuses on how social media can impact us & what can happen if we go a bit too far.. that ending though?? i have whiplash

read if you enjoy twin relationships/conflicts, cults, social media references

What a fun and wild ride! This had me glued to my kindle from page one. I will say, I thought the first half was way stronger than the second half. I thought the second half kind of betrayed the original concept. But still, a very fun and relevant read given that this generation is all about becoming influencers/youtubers/etc

Ah, but you see Julie Chan is not at all dead… her long estranged twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a social media influencer, is very dead, and Julie impulsively decides to take over Chloe’s career, condo, and life, and let the world think that Julie Chan is dead.

This smart fast paced novel starts off as an entertaining satire of over the top social media influencers, comparing them to superficial vain wannabes in a cult, then shifts into a thriller where it actually becomes about a cult.

Stepping into Chloe’s glamourous life is easier than expected, but Julie soon learns that life was less perfect than it seems, and pretty quickly everything goes off the rails.

I liked the first half of this book, a witty satire about self absorbed social media influencers competing with each other, more than the last half, where the cult metaphor becomes more literal in a twisty thriller, but zoomed through the whole thing; it is a fast paced fun read, if not emotionally deep (...so just like an influencer?).

This is a new Canadian writer to watch.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. It will be published April 29th.

5 stars!

Buddy read this with Maia in Cancun and I think that made this even more enjoyable!

I'm not sure if this book will be for everyone, but it was most definitely for me. It was the perfect mix of Yellowface and Bunny, and this book has me giggling so much! I loved the commentary and critique on influencer culture, as well as the foreboding knowledge that things were definitely going to go wrong. A very quick read that I enjoyed and I’m excited to see what Liann Zhang writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not my favorite but I love an unhinged female main character! I was enjoying it up until the last 20%. I think it got a little too far out there for me. However, it was very unique and engaging. Thanks again NetGalley and Atria Books!

This was so good, I feel like it’ll be huge once it’s released. Behind the screen and in the lives of your favorite influencers who aren’t what they seem. How did they get so lucky to make it big and what would you be willing to do to join them? Creepy cult like vibes and murder mystery combined. The second half of the book felt more like a horror novel and definitely had some gag moments but it worked well with the story line. 100% recommend!

Final rating: 4.5 ⭐️

Julie Chan and Chloe VanHuusen are twins who were separated at age four. They may look identical, but their lives couldn’t have been any more different. Chloe is an extremely popular influencer, and Julie is… not. When Julie finds Chloe dead, she finds herself with a chance to escape her old life and takes it. However, even though Chloe’s entire life has been posted online, assuming her identity is not as easy as expected. When Julie goes on a weeklong retreat with her influencer “friend” group, she starts to see just how far people have gone to make it as an influencer.


This book FAR exceeded my expectations! I could not put it down, and finished it in a couple hours. It’s a mix of a twisted twin-swap story with a dash of mean girls cliques and a cult like feel. Julie is in such a morally ambiguous position and it leads to some wild choices.

Overall, this was a fantastic debut album from Liann Zhang, and I cannot wait to see what she releases next!

Julie Chan discovers her estranged, influencer twin sister is dead, so she takes over her influencer life and reaps the benefits of being an influencer…until she realizes her influencer friends are not what or whom they appear to be. This seems to be a satire on social media and sheep mentality. The reader is left with a lot of unanswered questions and an unresolved ending, which is disappointing. If this isn’t a satire, then some of the actions of the characters were just out there, even for shock value.

This book felt like a mix between yellowface and bunny, and i really enjoyed it. Some of Julie’s lines were so out of pocket that I was fully laughing. Everybody in this book is crazy!! It was a very fun and quick read

Julie Chan is Dead is Liann Zhang debut thriller. The story centers around twin sisters who were separated at a young age after the death of their parents and have since led strikingly different lives.

Julie Chan’s journey begins with a cryptic phone call from her twin, Chloe, prompting her to impulsively travel to New York. Upon arrival, she discovers her sister dead in her apartment. Overwhelmed with shock, Julie makes the impulsive decision to step into the shoes of her identical twin, who was a popular influencer. While initially thrilling in the new lifestyle, Julie is able to make the transition believably. But when she has to travel to an annual influencer retreat, things spiral out of control. On this private island, Julie uncovers unsettling truths about Chloe’s life and the dark side of the influencer world.

The first half of the book lays the groundwork of Julie’s transition and the second half delves into much darker territory. The shift in tone is impactful, as Zhang weaves an intricate web connecting influencer culture, curated personas, and a group think dynamic. While the story takes a wild, dark turn during the island sequences, Zhang skillfully anchors it with a satisfying and believable conclusion.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria book for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.