What a wild ride... 🤯

Julie Chan is Dead starts as an entertaining story of stolen identity and influencer culture, then takes a sharp turn into a bloody cult nightmare... and I enjoyed every minute of it. An impressive debut!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Julie Chen Is Dead started of VERY strong. The introduction to the twins and their respective lives was quick and the taking over of Chloe’s influencer role was actually believable and interesting. The book so accurately portrayed the high of social media likes and interactions, it quickly became a culty, creepy ride. Then, when the “retreat” started, the story took a turn into almost horror territory with animal abuse and sexual misconduct and super weird stuff.
It’s engrossing and interesting but goes completely off the rails and the initial believability completely fell off. So it’s hard to describe how I feel overall because it’s kind of like two different books in one. I think it’s a good read- twisty and turny, but definitely suspend the disbelief to really fall into the story.
3.5 rounded down

I downloaded this book as I was looking for a light fun read, and on most points it delivered. Julie Chan's twin sister is a famous social media influencer. The twins were separated at the age of four and raised by different families, until they reconnect in their adult years. When Julie's twin Chloe is found dead Julie makes a snap decision to become her much wealthier and successful sister. What could go wrong?

This was a fast read -- I finished in a day. It was light at parts, but also became a little unhinged as well, as Julie is learning more about Chloe's social media best friends and being brought into their world. I found that the characters lacked depth (which is perhaps to be expected in a book about people shilling themselves on social media?) but the lack of depth makes this book a quick wild ride that I don't think will make it super memorable (for me).

I don't regret reading it -- it delivered on entertaining me which is what I wanted -- but I don't think it is the most well developed book with strong characters. But if you're up for a quick book with a sort of crazy plot, this could be the book for you!

I received Julie Chan is Dead as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. The novel was a dark comedy that explored the concept of a stolen identity in the social media world. Julie Chan is a twin whose parents died when she was younger in a tragic accident. She was raised by her aunt while her twin sister was raised by a wealthy family. Fast forward to modern day and Julie gets a mysterious call from her twin (who she did not have a relationship with) and decides to fly to NYC to see if she was ok.

What ensues is a quick paced story that did make me laugh. However, it seemed like there were too many storylines and hot topics that the author tried to shove into one novel- influencer lifestyle, racism, murder, drug abuse, stolen identity, mysterious injuries, cults, wealth disparities, and more. Many of the characters were unlikable and it was hard to find someone to root for. By the end, it felt like many of the storylines were in the book for purely shock value.

what in the bat shit crazy ass story did i just read…

thank you to netgalley & atria for this arc! this was such an interesting and mind blowing read… the beginning starts out pretty regular degular but still gave me the heeby jeebies. you can’t help but feel bad for julie and the way her life has turned out, but also want to smack her in the head. it was very entertaining and scary to see how much fame and fortune can get to someone’s head. you can feel how twisted julie becomes and the way she transforms herself into the monster she was criticizing in the beginning. the mystery behind chloe’s life added another tension to the story i really enjoyed!

when i tell you that after the 60% mark, it felt like i was in an a24 film, i’m not kidding. it was quite literally a fever dream that hit me like a truck. like what the fuck was that???? i deadass was in another dimension.. cringing, scoffing, and physically repulsed by what was happening.

such an eerie and disturbing plot - need to really think about this and break down more deeply!

4.5 rounded up to 5
This was a great thriller/horror. I love the social commentary on the influencer world. The book's second half goes a little off the rails, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Julie Chan Is Dead is reminiscent of Yellowface, but still stands on its own despite shared setting, plot similarity and character ethnicity.
The first half is witty, well paced and engaging... the second have takes a bit of a turn into the unbelievable, the mystery of the island trip taking the story in an unexpected direction.
Overall, I enjoyed the book though I wish it would have ended or explained the Belladonnas in a completely different way. Definitely a good book for book club discussions with plenty of fodder and issues to unpack.

Laugh out loud funny and utterly gripping! I couldn't put it down. This would make a great book club read.

This book started out great. I enjoyed the premise of a twin sister taking over the life of her dead twin. The second half was a little far fetched and out there. I give it 3 1/2 stars

Julie Chan Is Dead is about a down on her luck supermarket cashier named Julie. When she finds her famous twin sister Chloe dead, Julie pretends to be Chloe and takes over her career as an influencer. Being an influncer and living in luxury is everything Julie wanted. When she's invited on an island retreat, things take a turn and Julie realizes that her sisters death may not have been an accident and she may be next.

The first half is following Julie becoming acclimated with being an influencer. It explores the dark side of social media, vanity, and superficial friendships. The second half is when the island retreat starts and it goes off the rails. The pacing picks up and there is a feeling of dread. Nothing is as it seems and it morphs into a cult like nightmare.

This definitely felt more YA than adult. Julie's character isn't consistent and flip flops a lot. Sometimes it felt like I was reading two different characters. I wish more themes had been explored and other characters needed to be a bit fleshed out. Overall it was fun read.

Julie Chan is Dead is definitely a roller coaster ride. I felt like as soon as I started reading I didn't know where the "influencer" of it all was taking me. There was a lot of entertainment to hold my attention. Sometimes I did feel like Ok I dont really care in a sense of "this can't be real" but I need to see where this is going. I guess that's the life of influences you don't know what's real or not but we still watch. I really did enjoy this book.

I really liked this book and jt grabbed my attention from the beginning. I liked the commentary on “influencers” and how ridiculous they all are and how “hard” their jobs are and how “others just don’t get it” and to be accepted into this world, how far are you willing to go and give up?

Received ARC through NetGalleyJulie Chan is Dead is the debut novel by Canadian author Liann Zhang
3 STAR

When Julie’s twin sister Chloe dies , Julie takes over Chloe’s life and social media and steps into he influencer lifestyle

I think YA audience may like this book.
I really wanted to like this more than I did. The premise sounded great but I found it a bit repetitive with the numbers of views everyone was getting on Instagram , TikTok ,& YouTube.

The 2nd half of the book was better

“One thing needs to be made clear: I did not kill my twin sister.” From this intriguing first sentence, I was hooked! I devoured this thriller in less than 5 hours; I’ve been in a reading slump all month, and this cured it.

This is a fast-paced thriller about a woman who takes on the identity of her deceased twin sister. There are so many great pokes at influencer culture— in one memorable scene, Julie (pretending to be Chloe) shoots a video mourning her dead sister “Julie” and then includes a paid sponsorship for therapy.

I can definitely see why this book was compared to Yellowface, another thriller about identity theft that I also enjoyed, but I liked this one even more. The ending especially was amazing— however you think it will end, I promise it won’t. Hint: human sacrifice, cult, Instagram Live.

I look forward to reading more by this promising debut writer! Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc.

This book was a surprisingly wild ride and unexpectedly funny. I don’t know what I thought this book would be like, but I could not have dreamed it up in a hundred years. The first half was suspenseful and the second half was completely unhinged. Chapter 50 in particular was so completely off the rails that it left me squirming.

If you love horror and hashtag content, this is for you. Everyone else, I am begging you to stay away for your own mental health 😅

Julie Chan is struggling to make ends meet. Her parents were killed at a young age and she was taken in by her aunt while her twin sister, Chloe, was adopted by the extremely rich VanHuusen family. Despite the two reconnecting as adults, the two are not close and haven't spoken since their first meeting where Chloe bought her a house, filmed an influencer video, and then disappeared. When Julie find Chloe's dead body, she wonders if she can take Chloe's place and live the life she's always wanted.
This was so dark and so twisty. I never knew where the story was going and I could not put it down.

3.5 stars. Julie Chan is Dead was a solid read, but it didn’t completely hook me. The premise was intriguing, and I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, but as it went on, I found my engagement waning. The pacing dragged toward the end, and I caught myself skimming rather than savoring the final chapters. That said, there were still some strong moments, and I appreciated the writing and themes. Good, but not great.

Julie Chan is Dead is just pure crazy town. A witty, biting commentary on social media and the influencer phenomenon, this book pulled me in and didn’t let go. I felt as though this book is separated into two halves and while the first half was fun, the second half is where we dive into the crazy head first. The cult like setting added a darkness that I appreciated. This is a very strong debut by Liann Zhang.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC—this was a ride. Julie Chan is Dead is a slick, smart, and slightly unhinged thriller that had me hooked from page one. Liann Zhang nails the absurdity of influencer culture, from the perfectly curated personas to the way the internet decides who deserves praise or destruction.

The setup is instantly addictive: Julie, a broke supermarket cashier, takes over the life of her ultra-famous, newly dead twin. The influencer world welcomes her with open arms (and suspiciously white teeth), but something is clearly off. The first half is tight, compelling, and full of eerie little details that made my brain buzz. The second half? Darker, twistier, and while some of the reveals were predictable, I was still fully entertained.

Some side characters felt more like plot devices than real people, and I think the ending could’ve hit harder, but honestly, I had a great time. If you love messy thrillers with sharp social commentary and a little bit of camp, this one’s worth checking out. Can’t wait to see what Zhang writes next.

This was a fun book from beginning to end - a biting social commentary that took a Yellowjackets-esque turn about midway through. Was it weird? Oh yes. Was it enjoyable enough to recommend and to continue following this author, gosh yes!