This book reminded me of "Yellowface," which I loved, and I devoured the first half. Then, it changed suddenly and dramatically into cult horror, which was a bit too much for me, in particular the part with the mice. Still, it is a strong read and I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys influencers, social media and dark suspense/horror. I will interested to read what Liann Zhang writes next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Pub Date: April 29, 2025.

#JulieChanIsDead

Well this one was coo-coo-ka-kooky- choo!
First half book: 5 stars
Second half book: 3 stars

I don't want to say a lot about the 2nd half because I love to keep my reviews spoiler free.

Julie Chan is a supermarket employee who is living paycheck to paycheck and not much going on in her life. Typically, her workplace puts her in a position to have no choice but to steal from them and then threaten to fire her. She is a pitiable individual. Julie is an identical twin, she and Chloe were separated at the age of 4. After a car accident killed their parents, Julie is taken in by their greedy, rude aunt. Chloe is adopted by racist white people who are rich and will use her as an exploitation device.

Still, Julie has it worse. Due to Chloe's privilege- and also likely her extroversion- she is a successful and rich influencer. When she is found dead, Julie takes her phone (Face ID works!) and completely takes over her identity. Will she be found out? Can she infiltrate into the influencer world by studying the people Chloe is following and her DMs? Some of this is easy, and others, not so much.

This book is making a point to compare social media and influencing to being in a cult like mentality. That the collective internet thinks they know you and they don't. That all of us, to some extent, curate our identities into an online brand. In a way, I am doing it right now, by writing this review. It gives you a lot to think about. The second half will tell you how Chloe died and will unite the social media Chloe with the real world Julie. The reader will find themselves rooting for her.

Again, the second half takes a turn. It is much darker and more disturbing. If you like the themes and exploring how celebrity and wealth change people, and you like a roller coaster dark thriller, you will probably love this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for recommending this ARC to me. I am grateful that I got to be one of the first people to read this talented new debut author. Book to be published April 29, 2025

Julie’s twin sister Chloe is dead. The two women were not close, having been separated at the age of four when their parents died. Chloe was adopted by wealthy parents and raised in an upper class lifestyle while Julie went to her aunt in a lower middle class household. Her aunt didn’t really care for her. When Chloe dies unexpectedly, Julie takes over her influencer career living as her twin. Will she be able to pass herself off? Was Chloe’s death under natural circumstances or something much more sinister?

Author Liann Zhao delivers a sly, well crafted skewering of influencer culture in this clever novel. The plot is well crafted and brimming with tongue-in-cheek satire. It’s completely wild in the best way. I found the first 25% a little slow, but then the twists started and kept coming until the explosive finale. Four stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Julie Chan is Dead is an inside look into your favorite influencers and how their lives may not be as perfect as they portray on social media. Fans of Yellowface and Nine Perfect Strangers will love this mystery about Julie and Chloe, twins separated at a young age and lived two very different lives. When Chloe dies under mysterious circumstances, Julie takes the opportunity to step into Chloe's life and live the lavish life she has always dreamed of. While Chloe's life seems perfect from the outside, what Julie doesn't expect is that it is much darker than she realizes.

I could not put this book down! If you love psychological thrillers, this one is a must read and will keep you laughing as well. I can already tell this one will be a 2025 favorite. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Total wild ride. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Basically, this woman decides to take over her dead twin sister’s influencer life, and trust me, things go from zero to crazy real quick. At first, it’s all glitz, glam, and designer clothes, but like, oh boy, the dark secrets hidden under all that sparkle? Chilling.

I loved how it totally messes with the whole influencer world we see online. It’s like, you think you know someone’s life based on social media? Well, guess again, babe. The twists were soooo good, and I was like, on the edge of my seat the whole time. The vibe is a little Black Mirror, a little White Lotus, and all kinds of twisted, so if that’s your jam, you’ll be hooked.

A few moments felt a little uneven, but honestly, the suspense was enough to keep me totally into it. Definitely worth the read if you love psychological thrillers!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I liked the first part of the book pretty much. Julie, a damaged, abused young woman slips into her famous sisters life after she finds her twin dead. Some interesting commentary on social media , influencers and racism and classism. then it goes more into horror and a type of spiritality and it became not interesting or believable to me

unexpected, incisive, and engaging—a thrilling debut exploring social media, privilege, and family. although a little heavy-handed at times, the plot was captivating, full of twists and turns, and i did not want to put the book down!
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thank you to netgalley and atria books for this ARC<3

Wow! This was such a refreshingly delicious new book that I just ate right up. I couldn’t stop sneaking peaks of it because I couldn’t wait to find out what crazy trip this story would take me on.

I really liked this book a lot, twins, mysterious deaths, taking people lives, influencers aren’t quite what they seem to be… Lots of themes explored here that are unpacked in a delectable little treat that I promise you will devour the first chance you may get.

This book was okay, I think it played off of Yellowface too much, it just had way too many similarities to it, so it felt like a copycat. I think the story was decent if it was original. Other than that the characters were good, I think the integration of social media and influencers was a good added perspective

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

A really stunning debut. I hope this book gets a few content warnings before going to print, as it gets extremely dark. It felt a bit more like horror than thriller to me, but damn can Liann Zhang write. I'll be eagerly following her career, this is a truly fantastic debut.

I just finished Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang. I thought this was a great book.It gets five stars from me.

Influencers cult’s social media Julie Chan is Dead nails them perfectly.I had so much fun reading this gem of a book.I will be recommending this perfect way to start my 2025 list.#netgalley #atria

JULIE CHAN IS DEAD
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GENRE: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

We are all caught in the world of social media and influencers these days, but what if one day, you took over the life of a successful influencer who happened to be your dead twin? Julie Chan is Dead is the debut novel by Liann Zhang and it takes us on a wild ride on an inside look at what it means to be “a social media influencer”. However, our narrator, Julie falls into the trap of the glitz and glam of the world of rich and famous.

Initially I was captured by the idea of the commentary on how society views influencers and allow us to be part of this para-social relationship where they’re letting us look inside their glamorous lives as a “friend”. The book takes a dark turn though as Julie delves deeper into the elite influencer group, the Belladonas. How did Julie’s twin, Chloe, end up dead? And are these people so superficial that they did not notice ‘Chloe’ is now different as Julie takes on her life?

I won’t reveal too much on the twists and turns this book takes you through but it was such a fun and enjoyable read. I literally had no idea where it would end when certain events occurred. Read to find out for yourself if you enjoy twisted thrillers like Pretty Little Liars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this e-ARC of Julie Chan is Dead. Pick up your copy releasing 4/29/25! I can definitely seeing this becoming a Netflix series.

Julie Chan Is Dead is a riveting and fast-paced thriller that plunges deep into the dark underbelly of social media and influencer culture. The story centers around Julie Chan, who has led a life filled with struggles as she makes ends meet as a supermarket checkout person. What is unusual about her life is that she has an estranged identical twin sister, Chloe—a wildly successful social media influencer living the perfect life.

When Julie is contacted out of the blue by her sister and discovers that Chloe has died under mysterious circumstances, she makes an impulsive decision to assume her sister's identity. What begins as an escape from her own hardships quickly transforms into a twisted journey through the deceptive world of online fame. As Julie steps into Chloe's designer shoes, she uncovers unsettling secrets and realizes that her sister's glamorous life was anything but perfect.

Liann Zhang masterfully crafts a narrative that is both a thrilling page-turner and a sharp social commentary on the illusions of the digital age. The novel delves into themes of identity, ambition, and the high price of fame. The portrayal of influencer culture is both captivating and unsettling, highlighting how curated personas can mask disturbing realities. The characters are complex and well-developed, particularly Julie, whose transformation and internal conflicts drive the story forward.

Julie Chan Is Dead is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and contemporary fiction that explores the intersection of technology, identity, and morality. It's a thought-provoking novel that will leave you questioning the true cost of living behind a filtered lens. #atria #juliechanisdead #liannzhang

The easiest 5 stars. This book was perfect from the first page to the last. I gobbled it down. The definition of a compulsive read. A unicorn of a book. The kind that you come across once per year IF you're lucky. And indeed this might just be the best book I've read this year, which is ironic since it actually comes out next year. It made my December better. I laughed out loud. The niche internet culture was delicious. I was on the edge of my seat. Eyes glued to the screen. Absolutely incredible.

Thank you Atria Books for the copy of Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang. Julie is thrown into the life of an influencer, and if you’re as interested in reading about influencers as I am, this is the book for you. Even if you have read lots of influencer books, this one might surprise you. It started out as a light-hearted story of Julie’s impulsive choice to escape her terrible life and then turned into a dark tale of the abuse of power and privilege. This is certainly a book that will keep you glued to the pages to find out what happens and because the writing style is so engaging. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I found this book to be a fun and interesting twist on the influencer book trend. Wholly unique and enjoyable. Read in two days.

The best thing about satire is when the satire is GOOD, and biting, but not over so the top. This book nails the balance. Along with propulsive language, emotional moments and genuinely eye-rolling characters (which I mean in a good way; looking at Chloe’s aunt), the cocktail is a heady one. The dialogue and narrative and characters are all snappy and I devoured it over a couple nights in bed. It’s the exact sort of thing I can see being adapted alongside books such as YOU, and though the comparisons to YELLOWFACE are apt, Liann’s novel is its own different animal, with its own sharp set of teeth 💃

Julie Chan is Dead is an excellent debut. I look forward to reading more novels by Liann Zhang. The premise is that Julie and her twin sister were separated after the deaths of their biological parents. The 4-year old twins did not end up being placed together. Fast forward to the present and one of the sisters has died. From that point this story spins a yarn about influencers. It is fast paced and has some twists and turns. Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

I was good with this until we got to the big event about halfway through. At that point, it got way too weird and frankly disgusting. There was one event that almost made me DNF but I forced myself to finish because I was almost done by the time it occurs. Definitely not for me.