the concept of julie chan is dead compared to what I read didn’t really match up. I was expecting a social media type mystery with a princess switch situation. I wasn’t expecting the fast paced and unputdownable thriller.

I find cults quite interesting, and the way this was woven into julie chan is dead was really well done. I didn’t even realise that until much later into the book, and it was an “ooooh” moment.

everything leads to the climax at the end. the twists were quite the shock and unexpected. I couldn’t believe what I was reading!

I found my relationships with the characters a little complicated. I really hated most of them (which we’re kinda supposed to). besides the FMC, I had one character I was rooting for.

a fast paced and engaging read, perfect for those who want something they can’t put down.

A thrilling dip into the world of influencing, and its dark, troubling underbelly. While things take a zany twist around the midway point, Zhang does a great job of accurately capturing the addictive and spirally nature of social media, and the world of influencers and influencing. Though it might have been interesting to see Zhang explore the cult-ish nature of social media less literally, it was still a thrilling read that kept me on my toes - every time I thought I knew where the story was going, Zhang took things in a totally different direction, making for a gripping reading experience.

This darkly funny and satirical debut novel follows Julie Chan, a morally grey character who discovers the body of her estranged identical twin Chloe under suspicious circumstances. Julie has always been envious of Chloe’s success on the social media scene and seizes the opportunity to steal her identity and adopt all the trappings of being a superstar influencer. However all is not as it seems and soon Julie’s new life begins to spiral out of control as she uncovers dark secrets that may threaten both her new identity and her life.
Liann Zhang delves deep into the toxic culture of social media and delivers a very powerful depiction of how the line between reality and performance can often blur beyond recognition. The writing is fast paced and compelling but this really is a book of two halves. The first half is an entertaining and engaging critical narrative about the superficiality of influencer culture while the second half delves into darker themes and becomes a more horror/thriller type story. I personally enjoyed both parts but I can see that the shift in tone could have been a little more subtle. Overall I recommend this book for anyone interested in a darkly comedic story about how identity can be lost within the social media/influencer scene with a surreal twist.
Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t believe how much I love this book, I am not a thriller reader but this one had me hooked and I’d love to read similar.

I was intrigued at every aspect of this book and loved all of the twists and turns.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of Julie Chan Is Dead in exchange of my opinion.

I LOVED this book from beginning to end! I read the synopsis and I knew straight away that it was my cup of tea but I never expected it to be this wild ride of emotions!

Julie Chan has made me realize how dark the social media industry can become. I know this is a work of fiction, but I am sure, in some cases, this isn't too far from reality.

I really liked the narrative, the plot, the characters, the pace, the twists... I highly recommend it to everyone!

3 stars. I struggle to form an opinion about this book. On one hand - fast pace writing, moraly grey protagonist, cultish world of beauty influencers, on another hand - book that tries to be a combination of Yellowface and Bunny, but not quite delivering on either the thriller nor the horror elements.
What I enjoyed:
- writing style was captivating with fast-paced and short chapters
- witty protagonist who we were rooting for despite all her flaws
- the Belladona gang and their out-of-touch universe
What I didn't:
- identity crisis this book is having. I feel like the first half was way more captivating that the cultish trip in the second
- the character of Viktor

Maybe if I was more of a thriller girl I could be more decisive whether I enjoyed this experience or not. I will check out Zhang's next novels though!

I had so much fun reading this ARC! I was a bit late getting round to reading it, so it’s already been published (oops!), but it was such a fun book that starts off as one thing and then turned into another. I love books that descend into absolute chaos. If you like Yellowface by RF Kuang and Bunny by Mona Awad, this one’s for you: a twin sister takes over her late sister’s influencer career with increasingly bonkers repurcussions.

This book has been marketed as a recommendation for fans of ´Bunny´, so of course I picked it up right away. And in some ways, it does capture a similar vibe, though that doesn't really come through until much later in the story.
I’d say this book starts off fairly normal, but who am I kidding? The premise isn’t exactly normal to begin with: taking over your dead twin’s life to step into her world of privilege and influencer fame.

Considering how unhinged and twisty things eventually get, this could’ve easily been a five-star read for me. But both the beginning and the end felt a bit underwhelming, despite Julie’s sharp voice and how easily the story reads. I just wish we had spent more time in the ‘surreal’ part of the book and seen that developed further. Even if those elements were meant to serve as a metaphor for the satire, I felt like there was still so much more that could’ve been explored.

That said, the book does a beautiful job with its social commentary and satire of the influencer space, especially its darker side involving performative culture, the blurred lines of online authenticity, and the lengths people go to for external validation and approval. It also explores themes of fame, identity, grief, race, beauty standards, and systemic bias within the industry, with real depth and reflection.

Overall, ´Julie Chan Is Dead´ is dark, weird, unhinged, and definitely left an impression. It blends dark humour, horror, and sharp commentary on internet culture and identity. A solid 3.5 stars, but honestly leaning toward 4, just for how much it made me think after I finished it.

I must admit I need up skim reading this unusual tale. It’s not a thriller which I was expecting for some reason and I really cannot put a genre to it unless I make a new category of Books I am definitely not the target audience of.

the cover does not do justice to the level of unhingedness of this book! at ALL!

this desperately needs to be marketed as an unhinged girl book because I might not 100% be the target audience since I was expecting an actual thriller, but this would be a HIT in the weird girl book community

the writing is addicting and this was a very promising debut novel. while this was not entirely my cup of tea — even though I was ADDICTED to it and could not put it down — but I will closely follow what Liann Zhang writes next because I am highly intrigued and impressed by the overall quality of the writing, the pacing and the originality of it all.

I liked Julie and found her to be a really compelling protagonist in the first half of the book. she really brought us into the story with ease, but I felt like we completely lost her after the first plot twist that completely transported the book from being a gossip girl/yellowface fun time into full on midsommar territory. I know that Julie lost herself in this influencer life, but I unfortunately felt like it was too quick to make it anything other than a stretch. it felt like a little too caricatural for the timeline. I feel like Julie adapted far too easily, considering that she was an entirely different person at the beginning.

I was not a fan of the direction the story took. I feel like Julie was rendered completely irrelevant. the pacing was thrown off since the first half of the novel was so fast-paced and quick and the second half dragged on. I was waiting for them to leave -that- place and it just never really happened.

I was left a bit underwhelmed by the ending. I wish the legal aspect (staying vague on purpose here) would’ve been more than 5% of the novel. at that point (and contrary to the rest of the book), things were entirely told and not shown.

I still enjoyed the book and 3 stars is not a bad rating at all. I liked the book and I was lowkey obsessed with it even though I did not like the direction it was taking. that says a lot about Zhang as an author!

however, I think that Liann Zhang has a very promising career ahead of her. and I do not say this about a lot of debut authors

This was one to park all sense of reality at the door and enjoy the takedown and ridiculousness of influencer culture.
Julie is a supermarket worked, estranged from her identical twin Chloe, a popular influencer looking to the world to lead a charmed life. When Julie comes across her dead body in her luxury apartment, a split second decision leads to her deciding to become Chloe and leave Julie behind.
However, she soon discovers Chloe's life wasn't as picture perfect as it looked and soon finds herself trying to unravel the mystery of her death.
Sharp, funny, ridiculous, I was entertained.
Perfect beach reading.

3.5- 4 stars.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I really, really tried to like this one—or at least read it with an open mind—but it started disappointing me pretty early on. It just didn’t work for me.

This book is absolutely bonkers and I loved it! Twins, Julie and Chloe, are separated when young. Julie was looked after by her callous aunt while Chloe was adopted by a rich couple who enabled her to live a life of luxury and then becomes a top internet influencer.
When Julie receives a message from Chloe saying she is sorry, Julie decides to hunt her down. Finding she is dead, and amongst all of the confusion at the scene of death, Julie decides to take on the life of her twin, which is a lot odder than she had imagined.
Such a funny, bizarre book. Highly recommended.

thank you so much i’m SO sorry for the delay xxxxx

i devoured this, start to finish i was hyper engaged. completely unhinged is my most favourite thing. every character was made so realistic and being in julie’s head was i n s a n e. influencers and islands and crime and cults the DRAMA i could not get enough. definitely going to look for more work by this author ASAP

This book left me slightly conflicted - though it's a fun read, the comparison to Yellowface is unfair on it and I wish publishers would stop stating new books are the 'new ...' comparing them to previous bestsellers. It's a wildly mad, interesting read with a host of unlikeable characters and a modern setting - a good weekend delight.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Estranged twins lead different lives after their parents death. Chloe was adopted by an affluent, white family, whilst Julie was taken into care by her absentee aunt. Chloe becomes an influencer, accepting sponsorships, brand deals and living luxuriously, whilst Julie works in a convenience store on a passable income.

When Julie receives an impromptu call from her sister, who sounds frantic and terrified, Julie goes to visit her at her apartment to find her dead. Instead of telling the police about her sister's death, she steals her identity, becoming Chloe, leading people to believe that Julie Chan Is Dead.

This book was so wild! It begins with a critical analysis of high society, identity and social media . It exposes the hypocrisy and superficiality of influencer culture, playing on the public's insecurities to sell products. It was unnerving to witness Julie's transformation into another artificial social media star, posing in selfies mid-breakdown to post to the internet for "authenticity".

The book also explores the barriers in the industry towards people of colour and the unequal balance between the success of white creators and POCs. The Belladonnas - an elite group of influencers (all white) accept Julie and Iz into their group. Their interactions bring to light the inequalities within the industry.

The second half of the novel when the Belladonna's go for their annual vacation to Bella Marie's island, things start to get creepy and Julie's luck begins to run out.

I really enjoyed this one! I love books with unlikeable but interesting characters and this one definitely delivered. Parts were very uncomfortable to read yet they gripped my attention and the final moments, although left open (SPOILER: i really want to know what happened to julie), were satisfying.

When a tragic accident kills their parents, twin sisters Chloe and Julie are separated – Julie sent to live with their poor aunt whilst Chloe is adopted. Years later, Julie stumbles across her twin’s social media channel and is stunned to see her own face staring back at her.

Chloe is now a successful and wealthy influencer. Julie, struggling, is fascinated – and jealous. Then she receives a cryptic voicemail. She heads to Chloe’s swanky NYC apartment, only to find her twin dead. When the police arrive, they assume the body is Julie’s. Realising the opportunity at hand, Julie is no rush to correct them. Taking over Chloe’s identity seems like the perfect escape.

What follows is a sharp, cynical and dark satire of influencer culture. Julie rationalises her deception and new-found career by stating: “𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰-𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘪𝘬𝘛𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘻.” And it's absolutely awful that all of these things have happened. Truth is stranger than fiction, right?

Soon, “Chloe” is swept into the elite world of the Belladonnas, a select group of female influencers led by queen bee Bella Marie. But a clandestine luxury getaway reveals darker and weirder undercurrents behind the curated perfection.

Although the book begins with a body and ends with secrets, this isn’t your standard crime novel. There’s no central mystery that Julie is trying to solve – just a biting, brilliant commentary on internet fame, identity and the strange culture of the influencer era.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC.

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

This book blindsided me a little. I went in expecting a cutesy look at social media with a slightly tainted edge (death is in the title), but I got so much more.

From the middle of this book we take an unexpected dark turn which I ate up. It was a hard one to put down which is always a good sign. I also definitely gasped out loud!

Get ready for a wild ride!

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC. This book was published in the UK on 01/05/2025

This was a different, interesting read! Almost one of a kind i'd say.
At times i didnt want to put it down as I was so into it!
Great for a debut!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!
It had such a good balance of humour and darkness, whilst leaving you with a lot to think about.
The character of Julie was believable, complex and I found myself rooting for her even when she was doing wrong. There were so many times when I wondered what I would do in her situation.
The part of the book set on the island was fantastic, darkly funny with an excellent sinister undertone.
I can’t wait to read more from this author.