This started off pretty solid; slow, but promising. The first 40% half was all about messy identity stuff, influencer culture, internet fame. It was believable and cringy in a “rich people are the worst” kind of way.
And then they got to the island. OOOOOFTA. The second half spiraled hard. I’m talking animal sacrifices, miscarriage trauma, full-blown cult horror. It felt like a completely different book. The tone shift was wild, and not in a good way. It just didn’t land for me. Also, that cute little cover? Lies.
From other reviews, I probably just don’t get it - so check out what others have to say before you decide not to pick it up!

3.75. This was not particularly great, but slightly better than OK.

I have always been interested in the twin trope, but I’ve also always been wary of trying it out knowing that it has a potential to be quite far-fetched and/or even ridiculous. In this case things certainly veered off into the far-fetched department but it was also bizarrely interesting & unique, the direction Zhang chose to go with this was a surprise, & I actually enjoy being surprised, especially considering that the thriller genre in particular has a tendency of being derivative & it’s not often that an author can figure out a way of doing a popular trope in any half way unique way..

I didn’t find our MC to be particularly likable, but she wasn’t the worst either. She was devoid of personality except for what felt a very typical insecure/jealous type qualities, but those things at least are very relatable.

Thank you for the advanced copy of Julie Chan is Dead. Unfortunately, I had to DNF at around 75%. The story got a little too unhinged for my taste. I did enjoy the premise and the first half of the book.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy.

I really enjoyed this book. Julie Chan is a struggling grocery store worker who is shocked to find her identical, twin sister dead. Chloe is a wealthy, social media influencer. Julie assumes Chloe's identity (and income) and is swept into the world of online social media.

Readers should not go into this book expecting a popcorn thriller. It's more literary fiction which speaks about social media, competition amongst women in the influencer world and body image.

The mid-point of the book goes a bit off the rails and readers will need to abandon a bit of skepticism and just roll with it. The ending was fast paced and propelling. The ending had elements of horror with on-page violence. It was satisfying.

How much time on social media is too much? How high should society hold the opinions of online influencers. How honest are their reviews? Overall, this landed at 4.25 stars for me.

I’m a sucker for a good social media influencer novel and so I was excited for Julie Chan is Dead. Influencer dies mysteriously and her twin sister takes over her life?! Yes, please!

However, this one got a little weird. The mystery and influencer aspect were on point and I was totally invested. But suddenly I was getting cult vibes and I didn’t want or need the shift. It complicated a perfectly great storyline and took it from a little far fetched to straight up out there.

I also thought the change of direction took away from the strong cultural points the first part of the novel raised. The twins were separated at a very young age - one raised in a privileged white household and the other raised by a family member in a more impoverished and neglectful situation. I loved the racial and class inequities that were addressed and how that impacted the women and their futures.

Overall this was entertaining but fell a little more flat than I expected.

Thank you to Atria books for the copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of Julie Chan Is Dead in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded to up 3.

I was hooked by the premise right away—a down-on-her-luck woman finds her influencer twin sister dead and decides to steal her life. (The Yellowface comparisons kind of make sense… to a point.)

The writing was easy to get into, and I enjoyed the satirical mystery about influencer culture. But about halfway through, the book takes a HARD left turn. It honestly felt like two different books mashed together, and the pacing never really recovered. The second half is absurd, and that’s where it lost me.

The characters are intentionally grating, which I understand, but the group of influencers Julie falls in with all blur together. I had trouble keeping track of who was who, so I stopped trying. I wanted more depth from both the plot and the people in it.

I stuck with it just to see how it ended, but I can’t say I really enjoyed it or felt satisfied by the payoff.

3.75 Stars
Wow. While I expected this novel to have some darkness after reading the description, I was totally unprepared for the places it went. Julie, an identical twin, receives a bizarre call from her estranged sister Chloe. She decides to visit her sister to find out more about this call, only to arrive at Chloe’s apartment and find her dead on the kitchen floor. In a moment of weakness, Julie assumes Chloe’s identity and takes on her sister’s life to try and find out what occurred. Chloe was a well-known influencer, Julie was a grocery store clerk, so this takes a bit of maneuvering both on social media and in person. It is when Julie (as Chloe) meets her sister’s influencer friends that things begin to take a dark turn. Oh what a twisted little path we are led down. I ended up reading as fast as I could, caught in the sticky fibers of the macabre little web Liann Zhang wove. I will go no further in description so as not to spoil it for anyone else, but recommend that you pick this up if you are into social media and thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley for the Advance Copy.

what a debut!!! i devoured this—it pulled me in right away and was such a quick, enjoyable read.

🎧 highly recommend the audiobook! the narrator was great and it was super easy to follow.

this one is getting early buzz and it’s definitely worth the hype! it has a ton of interesting pieces—it was giving YELLOWFACE meets SUCH A BAD INFLUENCE?! but yet very unique and like so many books / none at all? i was digging it!

the premise is so interesting: a girl’s identical twin (who is a famous influencer) is found dead. no one knows she’s dead yet. can she take over her famous sister’s glamourous life and leave her own behind?

i will say the first half the book felt v different than the second half which isn’t necessarily bad but i was not expecting it to go there. it almost turned kind of… cultish? the ending left me with some question marks, but overall this was just really fun.

also if you like books that poke fun at influencer culture, you will definitely like this book 🤣 i’d actually love to see a famous influencer read this and review it lol!

i have a feeling this one will get some 🎬 news too. it’s so timely to today’s culture and eerily realistic!

if you’re in a reading slump or looking for a fun, unique read to grab you right away, this will do the trick!

thanks to Atria for the gifted copy and Libro FM for the ALC :)

Julie Chan is Dead is brilliantly bizarre dark comedy-thriller that blends camp and satire to sharply critique influencer culture.

Liann Zhang has crafted a cast of delightfully zany characters and wildly imaginative plots.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for letting me read this ARC.

What a chaotic, twisty, fabulously unhinged thrill ride!

I devoured this book in one sitting. Julie stepping into her twin’s influencer life? ICONIC. It’s dark, sharp, and hilariously on point about social media culture. Every chapter had me gasping or laughing and often a mix of both!

If you're into mess, murder, and influencer drama with bite then this one's totally for you. Absolute blast.

ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!!

Misleading Marketing, Jarring Shift

This book felt like two entirely different stories stitched together — the first half promised a mystery, but the second took a sharp turn into a different genre altogether. I didn’t enjoy the direction it took, and the shift felt abrupt and misaligned with how the book was marketed.

I’m deliberately avoiding comparisons to similar titles, as even naming them would spoil the twist. But had this been labeled as horror rather than mystery, I might have been better prepared — or skipped it entirely. The mismatch between expectation and reality really impacted my enjoyment.

Trigger warning - animal death

I really enjoyed this book! As someone going through the struggle of life, Julie is immediately someone people can resonate with. The plot thickens, there’s some cool twists, and bam I ended up at the end of the book in one day. It is a fast paced book that has you turning page after page. The humor is so up my alley, and the commentary on parasocial relations, the media, and influencing hit me. A super interesting read!

Loved this so much! The second half of this book is absolutely unhinged and I ate it up. Happy this book actually went there!

What did I just read?! This book is WEIRD.
I had to sleep on this one...

Was I entertained? Yes.
Was I nauseous at some points? Yes.
Did I binge read the last 3/4 of the book? Yes

The first hundred pages of this book was reading almost YA and very GenZ. Then about half way through the book things started getting interesting, but weird. I was entertained with the social media/influencer aspect of the story and how easily we become addicted to the social world and our phones.

Julie Chan's twin sister that she was separated from as a child, Chloe VanHuusen, is one of the top social media influencers. When Chloe suddenly dies, Julie chooses to leave her mundane and impoverished life behind by taking over Chloe's identity. Julie is quickly enthralled by the luxurious influencer life... social media fans, the money, lavish events, free products, but what she doesn't realize is what she has to do to maintain her ranks with her social media friends and keep her new identity undercover. Will she fool everyone and keep Chloe's identity? Is fame and fortune worth the cost?

Julie Chan is dead. But so is her twin sister Chloe. In fact, Julie is dead because Chloe is dead. It's complicated.

Julie Chan and her sister Chloe VanHuusen weren't separated at birth, but they were raised apart after their parents were killed in a car accident. Julie was taken in by their sour-faced aunt, and Chloe, well, Chloe was adopted by a wealthy couple who gave Chloe the kind of life the twins could have only dreamed of before their parents' passing.

Now Chloe is a famous influencer, raking in millions, while Julie is working a dead-end job at a grocery store. But everything changes one day when Julie receives a mysterious call from her estranged sister that abruptly cuts off. Julie treks it to Chloe's apartment to check on her, only to discover she is dead. Through a case of mistaken identity while reporting Chloe's death, Julie suddenly finds herself stepping into her sister's influencer shoes and glamorous lifestyle.

Chloe wanted for nothing, and Julie quickly discovers how easy it is to succumb to wealth and privilege. As Julie tries to get a hang on being a believable influencer without blowing her cover as Chloe, she also learns that Chloe was a member of a super exclusive circle of influencers called the Bella Donnas. But when Julie joins the Bella Donnas on a weeklong retreat to a private island, she soon learns the dark and deadly side of her sister's fame and fortune ...

Liann Zhang's Julie Chan is Dead is such a compelling and unsettling book. Absorbing right from the start, the novel brings readers into the world of influencers and their inner circle, showing not only all of the sweat and toll that goes into turning your entire life and persona into a brand, but also all of the perks that come along with being "aspirational." As someone who despises influencers and everything they represent (I prefer to keep it real), Julie Chan is Dead could almost be described a hate read for me - a hate read that I could not look away from.

When the narrative takes us to the island retreat with the Bella Donnas, things get positively weird and cult-like. Naturally, I don't want to spoil the story, but if this is what goes on when influencers get together, I want none of it!

Anyone interested in the dark side of influencing who has an obsession with twins and switching places, should pick this up - especially if you want to come out of it despising influencers even more than you already do.

Julie Chan is dead was such a compulsive and fun read!
The premise itself was super intriguing, and on top of that, the character building, writing style and plot were very well executed.
I love when books combine a fun reading experience with social commentary without being too obvious, and this book delivered!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and aml opinions expressed are mine.

This book gave me twitches vibes and I love it. It follows twin sisters Julie and Chloe -one successful and another working an ordinary job. When Julie finds her sister’s body instead of notifying the police she takes on the role of Chloe. Interesting premise ,a twist you font see coming and definitely a page turner.

“Julie Chan Is Dead”, by Liann Zhang, reveals the extreme lengths that people will go to in order to protect their own self-interests and investments. Going into this book, I knew very little about influencers (thankfully), and although this is obviously fictional, at least some of the influencers in the book are loosely based on real people (although, legally, Zhang claimed in a recent author talk, they are all completely made up). On top of the whole influencer aspect, this book features twins, cults, creepy family legacies, island-owning levels of rich people (poor them, being so ostracized by society for owning islands, they can’t even tell people about their islands anymore without getting cancelled), and more. Even though this is a thriller novel, the book delves beyond the superficial into issues such as racism in the social media world and the spread of misinformation, and how hard it is to resist being swept up in certain cultural forces that may seem benign at the time, but in fact are completely insidious. “Julie Chan Is Dead” also excavates how beguiling capitalism can be to young women, who attempt to find fulfillment by filling up their homes with useless items that have been peddled to them by influencers whose value is derived from getting free stuff and convincing others to buy their own versions of that stuff so they can be just as happy and fulfilled. In addition, the book probes into female relationships, and the false comfort that superficial relationships with other influencers or social media stars can bring. I would definitely recommend this as a surface-level engaging and easy read that also has greater depths.

Julie Chan is Dead was perhaps one of the most interesting premises of a book that I’ve read in a LONG time—essentially, one twin decides to assume the identity of her deceased influencer sister, and discovers that influencer life has a much darker side than she expected.

At no point did I anticipate exactly where this book was going. It had a behind the scenes look at influencer life. It had a luxury vacation. It had blackmail. It had murder. It had drug use and other criminal activity. It had a secret rich-person cult. It had ritualistic sacrifices. It truly bordered on outlandish absurdity, but in the same way that your favorite reality tv show is so unbelievable that it becomes unbelievably entertaining. And yet, at the same time it also touched on a surprising number of deep themes such as identity, sisterhood, family dynamics, friendships, money, and our obsession with influencer culture.

This book was quite graphic at times and definitely veered towards dark humor, but if that’s your jam, this is a great fit. I’d absolutely recommend for readers who enjoyed books like My Sister, the Serial Killer and/or You’d Look Better as a Ghost.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the ARC! It sure was a WILD ride, but I enjoyed it immensely!

Rating: 3.5

I liked this book overall, but I didn't have any strong feelings about it. I wasn't exactly rooting for the main character, she was insane, but I also didnt want her to go to prison.