This book feels like two stories smashed together. The first half is more of a mystery, where we follow our flawed main character. We get a peek behind the shiny facade of influencer culture, and though she goes through loneliness, grief and guilt, she doesn't shy away from taking everything this new life offers her.

The second half goes off the rails into darker thriller (or even horror-ish) territory with huge "Bunny" vibes. If you enjoy unhinged "wtf, how did we get here?" type of books - this one is for you.

The core mystery isn't exactly mind-blowing, but the story moves fast and keeps you hooked with its take on influencers and how outsiders see them.

And the ending? It felt very on point. We live in a world where con artists become famous and land Netflix deals, and sometimes it seems they get more then they lose at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-ARC of this book.

I 👏🏻 Love 👏🏻 Influencer 👏🏻 Tropes

This debut was so fun! A combination of thriller and horror - you’ve got cults, you got influencers, you’ve got murder, you’ve got a twin who took the place of her dead twin… wait what?

This book has it all and I could not put it down. Getting a behind the scenes look at influencer culture was so entertaining, but boy did it take a dark turn! I think this book is going to be the talk of the summer, so mark your calendars!

🙍🏻‍♀️↔️🙍🏻‍♀️ Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
Genre: Thriller
Length: 320 pages
Expected Pub Date: April 29, 2025
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Synopsis:
Julie Chan is living a very underwhelming and miserable life as a cashier with her horrible aunt, who adopted her around age 3 after her parents tragically died in an accident. Her identical twin sister, Chloe Van Huusen, was adopted by a very wealthy white family and she lives a lavish life as a social media influencer.
The twins were not in each other's lives until one day when Julie recieved a strange call from Chloe saying, 'I'm sorry'. Julie rushes to Chloe's fancy apartment only to find her dead, possibly of an overdose. The police arrive and in the scuffle, Julie decides to take over her twin's fabulous life.
Now, within millions of followers and the life Julie could have only dreamed of, she navigates a new path for herself. Her fellow social media 'sisters' take her (as a grieving Chloe) under their wing. When Bella Marie, the head of their influencer friend group, invites Julie and the other girls to her own private island for the week to 'unplug', Julie starts to wonder just what really happened to Chloe and whether or not she her secret are truly safe...

Opinion:
Whoa... this book was quite disturbing in many ways. It takes you into the world of influencers and how obsessive it can be. Also, there was so much gaslighting and controlling going on here. I started to really feel for Julie and by the end of the book, I wondered who really was the guilty party (you do find out) and just how far people are willing to go to find fame through their social media platforms. I think I'll stick to my book posts and stay out of the rest of that - thank you very much! Give this book a read if you are looking for some creepy cult vibes and a very shocking look behind the scenes of Internet fame! 😳 Also, I love a good twin switch trope!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Julie Chan is Dead and it was fast paced!
I did feel as though it lacked a bit of emotional depth and I never felt connected to any of the characters. I wanted to care more about the main character Julie, but I simply didn’t.

Overall, I did have a fun time reading this book and I’m glad I picked it up, I did not have a connection like I typically like to have with the characters of the book I am reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an extremely unique story that kept me engaged throughout. Julie Chan has a twin sister, Chloe, who is a famous social media influencer. They live completely different lives except they are identical and in a bizarre twist, Julie assumes her identity in the social media world. Julie falls into the "cool" crowd of "Belladonnas" and everything may not be as wonderful as it seems.

I loved the complex characters and mix of the social media influencers with horror and cults. There were several “gasp-inducing” moments that had me jaw-dropped and covering my mouth in utter horror. I chuckled at the absurdity at times and was disgusted by other moments. I found this novel so relevant to our world on social media.

I’m not one to pick up a horror novel on the regular but I enjoyed this one. I can’t believe this is Liana Zhang’s first novel. So impressive!

One of the best debuts ever! It hooks you early with multiple unexpected twists and turns. I’m so happy she wrote this “secret project”.

Thank you Atria for granting me an ARC!

What a crazy read. I felt sure I knew where it was going and then, well, it was a crazy read.

Julie Chan is poor and lonely, but when she receives a cryptic call from her social media famous estranged identical twin she goes to New York to check on her, only to find her dead of an apparent overdose in her apartment. When the emt’s and other emergency personnel think she’s her twin, she doesn’t correct them because here is her escape. She, Julie, can die so that her twin, Chloe, can live. And so into the crazy world of social media and influencers she goes, and she finds that this world is way more than what she bargained for.

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I liked this book. I think the story and exploration of the influencer era that took away and warped her reality was interesting and helped to really flesh out the character. It was an interesting and complex relationship with her sister that as a reader you got to explore and overall I think it was a well pace and developed story.

When twin sisters Julie and Chloe were separated at a young age because of a tragic car accident. There lives turn out nothing alike One sister finds herself in a dead end job with not really much going on in her life the other has become a high profile influencer with a lot going on.

But when Julie finds her high profile sister dead she does the unthinkable and takes on her life.
The first half of the story was full of Julie acting like she was her dead sister Chloe and playing the role of her life she enjoyed all the glamour and all the free stuff that came with that life.
Then things go from good to bad at first it was a little confusing at times I felt things were added just because and really could have been felt out.
But all in all it was a fun different read. I really thought the plot was a great idea for a book
Thanks netgalley

This is a book that easily could (and should) have been chopped in half. The story is too repetitive and meandering to warrant a 300 page count. I really enjoyed the first 100 pages but slowly lost interest. The plot veered into ridiculous territory but didn't seem intentional. The ending left me with more questions than answers and I don't believe that was an intentional choice.

Big TW for anyone with sensitive to content harming animals. Came out of nowhere and I almost dropped the book after that

Julie and Chloe are twins who lost their parents at the age of four. Julie was taken in by an aunt, while Chloe was
adopted by a wealthy couple. Julie is stuck in a dead end job and Chloe is a high profile influencer. When
Julie discovers Chloe dead in her apartment, Julie decides to assume Chloe's identity. Things seem to be going.
well until she attends a getaway with other influencers. Events take on a darker tone as secrets are revealed.
The story depicts the lenghth people will go to keep their positions as high profile influencers in society.
The change in Julie is interesting to follow.
#JulieChanisDead #AtriaBooks #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!
⭐⭐⭐ (3.5/5)

Brief Summary
Julie Chan is a down on her luck grocery cashier who just happens to have an identical twin sister who is a fabulous influencer. Separated after a devastating car crash, these two have lived almost completely separate lives. That is, until Julie stumbles upon her dead sister's body and decides to seize the opportunity to explore the life that could have been hers.

What I Liked
- the first half of the book had me hooked! It was fun, imaginative, and I loved hearing Julie's inner monologue about the shallow world of influencing
- the glitz! the glamour! all the PR hauls!

What I Didn’t Like
- the second half of the book felt complete disparate from the first
- without spoiling too much, the second half turns into a campy horror book that did not mesh with the first half
- the twists and turns in the book left me feeling less shocked and more confused at how we ended up with such a drastic turn of events. The pacing in the second half felt at times too rushed (like please explain why Julie had to make such drastic decisions IYKYK) and at other times way too long (I do not need to spend pages reading about what outfits you are packing)

Final Thoughts
Overall, 3.5 stars because I enjoyed the first half of the book, and the second half was still WTF enough to keep me entertained. I absolutely breezed through this book, and thought it was a fun read. My biggest negative complaint was that what started out as a fun, glamorous case of mistaken identity quickly devolved into a campy horror novel that at times felt far too rushed.

This was a very interesting debut novel from Liann Zhang. The first half felt a lot like a standard thriller, but the second half evolved into a culty, Bunny-like acid trip. The reveal of what actually happened to Chloe and the secret of these influencers did shock me, but I appreciated how the craziness of it played into the satirical commentary of modern social media influencers. While I did feel like this book was a bit too long and slower-paced, it has a lot of merit for its content and commentary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the arc

Fast paced and utterly addictive I couldn't put this down, loved the commentry on influencer culture, the twists and turns, i honestly loved this it's everything I look for in a thriller!

Thank you to Atria Books, Netgallery, and Liann Zhang for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis: Separated from her twin following the death of their biological parents, Chloe and Julie lived very different lives. While Julie grew up with her aunt, Chloe was adopted to an affluent couple. Chloe reenters Julie's life briefly for what appears to be a ploy to gain followers and just as quickly disappears from her life again. When Julie receives a distressing call from Chloe and finds her dead in her apartment, Julie does the unthinkable and assumes her dead twins' identity. Because who could turn down the fame and the money? Assuming Chloe's identity is more complicated than Julie anticipates and soon she finds herself in moral and physical peril.

What I liked: I really appreciated that ambiguity surrounding Julie's assumption of Chloe's identity and was not surprised to learn that Zhang has a background in psychology. This book is an unflinching look at the influencer lifestyle and the lengths people could (it's fiction, after all) go to in order to achieve their deepest desires. The narrative around society's obsession with social media is what drew me in and the moral complexity is what kept me reading on.

Themes: Morality, Interpersonal Relationships, Trauma, Culture, Modern Society

Gripes: None.

Overall: This book is so good.
So good.
So good.
So good. (You'll get it when you read the book)
I really liked this book and would recommend to anyone who has likes caustic, psychological thrillers!

Rating: 4/5

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First thing’s first, Julie Chan absolutely did not kill her twin sister.

Julie and her identical twin Chloe live very different lives. After they were separated following their parents’ deaths, Chloe was adopted by an affluent white couple in NYC and Julie was left with her callus and calculating aunt. Julie is now the cashier at the local supermarket swiping sandwiches for her meals and Chloe is one of the hottest influencers around rolling in big sponsorship money. The two girls haven’t spoken to each other in years when suddenly Julie receives a mysterious call from her sister. When Julie goes to NY suspecting something might be wrong she finds Chloe dead in her apartment. Before she can fully think, the police have assumed she is Chloe and the dead girl is actually Julie, the sister. As Julie steps into Chloe’s life she soon discovers that internet fame comes with a hefty price tag.

Wow this book was something else. I quite literally could not put it down. Each chapter got wilder and wilder. This story is a mix of Yellowface and The Other Black Girl, possibly even more disturbing. If you enjoyed those books then I absolutely recommend this one. There were a couple of loose ends for me at the end and it felt a little rushed to tie it all up which is why I am giving it 4/5 stars.

Julie Chan is Dead comes out April 29th so add it to your TBR list now.

This book was super fun!! Julie Chan takes over her estranged twin’s life when she finds her dead in her apartment. I loved all the elements in this book and loved how crazy it got!

Thank you, NetGalley, for this awesome ARC!

3.75 ⭐️ whew what a wild ride 🤣 this book is pretty insane (esp the ending), but it was an addictive and very fun read. It really reminded me of Yellowface - the highly unlikeable main character & the constant worry and stress that she’ll get found out (in this case, for taking over her twins influencer life). Also reminded me a lot of Bunny & the creepy cult vibes with beautiful women. Overall very entertaining, but I think the ending was a tad ridiculous. Also H A T E D the mouse scene.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Julie Chan is Dead is a fast-paced, addictive read that pulls you into the chaotic world of influencer culture, internet obsession, and the search for validation. Julie and Chloe, identical twins separated at birth, grew up in vastly different circumstances—Julie with a manipulative aunt, Chloe in an affluent family. While Julie struggled in isolation, Chloe built a massive online presence. But after Chloe’s sudden death, Julie is thrust into her sister’s world, navigating the highs and lows of influencer fame, cult-like followings, and the lengths people will go to for relevance.

This book is an absolute page-turner. I found myself completely absorbed in Julie’s downward spiral, even when her choices made me cringe. The satire on influencer culture is spot-on—both ridiculous and unsettlingly real. The book doesn’t just explore the glamorous side of internet fame but also its toxicity, the relentless need for validation, and the blurred lines between performance and reality.

While the pacing kept me hooked, I did find myself wanting more emotional depth. Julie’s character is fascinating but hard to connect with, which made certain moments feel distant rather than gut-wrenching. That said, I still had a great time reading it. It’s the kind of book that keeps you thinking even when you’re not reading, with twists that left me genuinely shocked. If you’re looking for a gripping, dramatic read—especially one to snap you out of a reading slump—this is it. I’ll definitely be picking up whatever Liann Zhang writes next.

Wow wow wow!!! This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It started as a Yellowface meets Ingrid Goes West and shifted into a very unnerving Midsommar. As I was reading this, I recommended it to many friends and they have it on their lists to purchase when it comes out. Thank you so much for this incredibly fun and wild ARC!!