What a wild ride! This book was really engaging. I kept wanting to go back to reading and when I would I'd read large chunks at a time. So the author is doing something right! The plot felt really familiar like A Special Place For Women meets more gore and Yellowface. It was more gore and nightmare than I expected. The second half of the book was fast and loose and I felt like it was easy to get swept up but also lost. Maybe too fast, maybe just too many things happening. And man, the ending was wild but also maybe unsatisfying?

Julie and her twin sister, Chloe, were separated at birth and lead very different lives. Julie works in a supermarket and is struggling to make ends meet. Chloe is a popular influencer, living a very glamorous life. When Julie discovers Chloe's lifeless body, she makes a life changing decision - why not just trade lives with Chloe? As Julie steps into her sister's life, she realizes that it wasn't as perfect as she thought. It seems Chloe was hiding some dark secrets....

I actually really enjoyed this one! Even though it was quite dark at times, Liann Zhang managed to weave in funny bits and keep an overall fun vibe for the novel. I found the writing style clever and the plot was well thought out. I get why some people only gave this book a 2 or 3 star rating, as art is a bit unconventional, but I do not find that a bad thing. The "strange" / "weird" - ness of the novel made it unique! Looking forward to more reads by Liann Zhang!

Thank you Atria Books an NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang
.
When Julie finds her twin dead she opts to step into her twin’s life and BECOME Chloe. But it soon becomes clear that the influencer world Chloe is a part of is much darker than Julie expected.
.
What I liked:
-Another twin story!! Love me some twin stories.
-This book was unhinged. From the minute we met Julie it was like watching a train wreck, it’s shocking but you just can’t look away.
-Ah the influencer storyline. I really liked the ominous vibe the author gave to the influencer world. It really set the scene and kept me reading.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wild and unhinged, this book is a debut and I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

VERY unhinged… not sure I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would :(

i will say tho, this was VERY successful at making us see how julie turns into the one thing she hates: a vapid influencer.

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang is a strange, little book. I don’t even know how to review its wackiness. Ultimately, Julie steps into the life of her estranged identical twin, Chloe, after her untimely death. Chloe was an influencer with millions of followers and a group of like-minded friends. After seamlessly masquerading as Chloe, Julie travels with her friends and this wacky story turns unhinged. Think Nine Perfect Stranger vibes with a touch of Stephen King.

While Julie Chan is Dead is not my typical type of read, I did appreciate the underlining commentary on today’s influencer world and their quest for followers. However, this book certainly isn’t for everyone.

3.25/5

This was really fun and refreshing until it wasn't—especially the end.

I went into this mostly blind and was having fun with the idea of the less privileged twin taking over the life of the rich influence one. It was a nice glimpse into how influencers and wealthy individuals live. I still didn't mind in the second half when things got a bit cultish. But then Julie started getting very weird herself.

You don't want the only sane man in the novel acting crazy too. That's when you know things are going south and you lose me.

But still a largely fun novel about what we're willing to do for fame. Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for the e-copy.

This was wild satire about the lives of influencers. It was a bit over-the-top and honestly, major chunks of the narrative structure and plot points reminded me so clearly of Yellowface that gave me vertigo or deja vu or… something.

This was a book of two halves. Julie was a great character and very witty, although with a dark side and more than a little cutthroat. The description of the influencers and their lives was tongue in cheek at times and very witty, I enjoyed that. The second half of the book goes along a very different tangent, and is a WILD ride. Enjoyable too but I did prefer the first half. It was very well written, an entertaining dark comedy.

I really enjoyed this razor-sharp debut thriller novel! Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything—except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier barely scraping by, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL).

When Julie discovers Chloe’s body, she doesn’t call the police. Instead, she slips into her dead sister’s meticulously curated life: luxury fashion, high-end skincare, and a devoted online following who never noticed they weren’t quite the same.

At first, the transformation is seamless. Julie relishes the perks of influencer fame, but quickly learns that behind Chloe’s flawless feed lay secrets far darker than she imagined. Her sister’s final days were shadowed by paranoia, manipulation, and something far more sinister.

Now, trapped on a private island retreat with Chloe’s inner circle—an elite clique of influencers obsessed with status and secrecy—Julie is forced to keep up the act while being haunted by her sister’s untimely death. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.

Darkly funny, fiercely paced, and full of sharp commentary on identity, fame, and the cost of visibility, Julie Chan Is Dead is a twisted thrill ride where fitting in could be fatal—and the people behind the posts are the real danger.

This was a really fun read. "Julie Chan Is Dead" is your ticket for entry to the glamorous, superficial and often funny life of high-dollar influencers as told by Liann Zhang. Julie Chan, an unassuming supermarket clerk, has a twin, Chloe, who is a successful influencer (and not a very nice person). When she goes to visit her long lost twin and finds her dead. Julie has the opportunity to switch identities with her sister and take over her glamorous and profitable life. Will she pull it off? And how did her sister really die?

I very much enjoyed the author's humorous voice and her potshots at the influencer culture. The writing drew me in from the start and the dishy plot and fun pop culture references kept me hooked. Liann Zhang is a writer to watch!

This book was a lot of fun for me and I enjoyed the narrator. I think the book teeters right in the middle, wanting to say something about influencers, their impact, and the inequity surrounding the influencer industry, but it also wants to have fun and focus on the glamorous aspects of influencing. I think that the biting commentary got lost when the book took a wild turn towards the end. And while I enjoyed the narrator, Julie, made a lot of decisions that made me raise my eyebrows. Overall, I flew through this book and am looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for sending the advanced readers copy to me. I loved this book and the way the author so eloquently delivered the truth of social media. Though I did expect what happened pretty early on, I loved how this story unfolded. This is the perfect summer read. It feels like you’re gossiping with everyone else.

Imagine you and your twin sister were separated as children and raised in completely different environments: you, in relative poverty, by a neglectful and resentful relative; your twin, in complete luxury. She becomes a rich, famous influencer; you are working shifts at a grocery store. If you had the opportunity to step into her life, would you do it? What if doing so involved an actual dead body?

This is a pretty enticing hook for a story, so I was surprised when I had a hard time getting into the story and kind of had to force my way through it. Part of it is likely that the character of Julie felt inconsistent; cutthroat but hesitant, furious but passive, disaffected but righteous. The book's setup is obviously outlandish, but the plot goes WAY beyond outlandish into crazypantstown as the story progresses. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had stayed a little more grounded in reality. If you're looking for a sendup of influencer culture, this book would probably feel very satisfying. I'm not that online so the whole thing honestly felt a little insane? But in a readable way, at least!

(My ARC was provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

It took almost half of the book to figure out if I was having a good time or not and I think it was because of the satirical nature of it all and I couldn’t tell how seriously the book was taking itself. We’ve seen this set of archetypal characters before in stories like Nine Perfect Strangers, Bunny, and Yellowface. Until Yellowface it was frequently a story of rich white women hurting other rich white women, but what does it look like when well meaning liberal presenting rich white women start to pull in minorities they see as tokens? Chaos, negativity, and a few hundred years of we’ve been here before. I still found myself really enjoying the story Zhang was weaving and I’m excited to read more from her.

Julie Chan is Dead started out really strong for me. I loved the first half of the book which offers a glimpse into the life of influencers. The book takes a dark turn in the second half and becomes more cult focused, which I found to be extremely over the top and didn't work for me at all. There's also a scene involving a mouse that I found to be absolutely disgusting and almost caused me to not finish the book.

Liann Zhang takes you into the world of influencers in her debut novel. It is a thriller that is filled with humor, but there is also a darker side that will have you rooting for Julie Chan’s success. Julie and Chloe were identical twins. When they are orphaned, Chloe is adopted by the wealthy Van Huusens while Julie is sent to live with their aunt. Chloe grows up with all of the advantaged afforded by wealth. Julie’s aunt is resentful, letting her know at every opportunity that she is not wanted. As a supermarket cashier, Julie is thrilled when Chloe reaches out to her. Elation turns to disappointment when she discovers that Chloe, as an influencer, is only there to make a video of her generosity to her loser sister. When Julie later gets a call from Chloe, she is in trouble. With the last of her savings, Julie travels to New York, only to find her sister dead in her apartment. She calls the police, but when they arrive she identifies the body as her sister Julie and assumes Chloe’s identity. While waiting for the police to arrive, she discovered Chloe’s closet of designer clothes and the money that she receives for being an influencer. They are identical twins, so why shouldn’t she step into her sister’s shoes. That is when the trouble begins. She can fool some people by blaming subtle changes on the grief she feels from losing her sister, but she can not fool her aunt. Now she is being blackmailed for a huge monthly payment and facing exposure if she doesn’t pay up.

Invited to a launch party by Bella Marie Melniburg, a woman who came from old money and can make or break an influencer, Julie is asked to join her inner circle. Every year there is a retreat for the group on the Melniburg’s private island. Julie begins to feel like the group is a family and it is a time to relax together and wind down. However, after meals she begins to feel a strange euphoria and begins parroting the words of Bella Marie and the group. When Iz, the newest member, begins to question the group dynamic she suddenly disappears. The introduction of bizarre rituals and Bella Marie’s controlling actions alert Julie to how dangerous this island is. Zhang’s writing is often witty, putting Julie in some humorous situations. She builds tension on the island, leading to an explosive conclusion and its’ repercussions. This is a commentary on social media that is not to be missed. I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Publishing for providing this book.

Julie and Chloe are polar opposites. Chloe was adopted by a wealthy white couple and spirited away to a life of luxury. Julie was raised by a stingy aunt, a mean cousin, having to find her own way through poverty. When Julie finds her estranged, influencer twin sister dead, she steals Chloe’s brand, her identity, her name and becomes Chloe. But in doing so, she becomes infatuated with the Belladonnas— seven rich women following Bella Marie, an extremely wealthy nepobaby. This book started as thriller and then delved into a fucked up horror culty book, I was obsessed. The only way to describe this is Yellowface x the scene in Midsommer where all the women cry together in a chant.

Julie Chan Is Dead was a fun and fast read, and I found myself easily swept up in the story.

What I enjoyed:
- From the very first chapter, Julie Chan Is Dead is a page-turner. The drama is present from the beginning, and it sucked me right in.
- I generally enjoy stories that expose the "other side" of social media--the not-so-perfect lives of influencers--and Liann Zhang puts a fun twist on this plot.

What I wish had been different:
- Zhang's writing shines when she leans into the dark, weird, Mona Awad-esque aspects of the story, and I wish she had done more of this. The second half of the book starts to push the boundaries of reality, and I wish she'd just really gone for it and pushed harder. Instead, her authorial voice never felt fully established. It felt a lot like Yellowface meets Bunny (both of which have been mentioned repeatedly in the marketing campaign for this book), but in a way that didn't fully work.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

4 stars for this debut!!! JULIE CHAN IS DEAD was such a fun, engaging, witty, hilarious read and honestly such a fun spin on the "influencer" world!!! The chapters are short, which are also GREAT on audio! I really loved how different this story was, although the book felt like 2 parts to me! Once it became unhinged, it felt like a totally different read, but no necessarily in a bad way! I enjoyed it, and thought it was a solid debut! I will absolutely read more by Liann!!!

What a wild ride this one was! 😱 I could see this book getting mixed reviews but I thought it was very fun, hilarious at times, and quite unhinged!

It’s hard to talk about the book without spoilers, but the story follows Julie, who grew up separated from her twin sister, Chloe, after their parents died when they were young. Chloe has gone on to become a successful influencer, and has even used Julie to increase her following. One day, Julie gets a concerning call from Chloe which sets her on a path of unearthing the inner workings of the influencer world that Chloe has been involved in.

I read some reviews before getting into this and was prepared for some messed up plot twists. I was 75% in and wondering when things would get weird. But then the story took a turn and I completely understood where these reviewers were coming from 😅

This was a fun, satirical look at the cult of influencing (iykyk). I enjoyed it in the same way that I enjoyed watching The Substance - I was simultaneously grossed out and very entertained. An impressive debut, but one that would be hard to universally recommend.

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