REVIEW: Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang

Julie Chan didn’t mean to steal her identical twin’s life. She meant to call the police when she found the body. She meant to dial 911. Except when she unlocked Chloe’s phone to make that call, she also gained access to her estranged sister’s sponsorship deals, her followers, her wealth, her whole life.

And Julie’s not prepared to give it back. Not yet. So it's goodbye Julie, love Chloe x

Now all Julie has to do is keep her head down and blend in with the beautiful Belladonnas, the tribe of influencers who had welcomed Chloe in to their inner circle before she died. Julie's going to breathe, detox, workout. Curate each post. Filter each picture. Spend whole days filming unboxing videos. But someone out there knows that even identical twins have their differences...

Review:

A sharp cocktail of danger, power and excitement, Julie Chan is Dead is a compulsive journey into the dizzying, addictive allure of fame, power and status.

Before she “dies” Julie Chan is stressed out. Sick of working in a supermarket and being mistaken for her successful sister, used as content and sympathy clicks. She was flawed and disillusioned, honestly just done but I couldn’t help but like her and her no-nonsense storytelling style.

With quick chapters and a jump right into the action, the story is fast-paced and chaotic, larger than life with the absurd situation Julie/Chloe finds herself in and a deliciously uncomfortably tension building from the moment the lie is told.

Spiralling deeper into the cult-like world of influencers, deals and shady power plays, we get up close and personal with the almost delusional ego and fantasy that can come with fame and its horrifying in its own way, with the later pages feeling like something pulled right from an actual horror movie which I’ll admit at first felt entirely strange and stylistically mismatched …. But I ate it up.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Julie Chan is Dead will be available from May 1st with Bloomsbury Publishing. I received a reviewers copy of this title.
This title includes content such as death, dead bodies, drugs and animal cruelty.

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