Julie Chan is Dead - Liann Zhang // Book Review

Julie Chan is Dead

Liann Zhang || Publication Date - 29.04.2025

"I want to begin by saying, I did not kill my sister..."

Fiction | Thriller

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9781668067895

Julie Chan is living her worst life. She's a cashier at a supermarket that she hates, her aunty is abusive and all she's trying to do is make ends meet, and not keep tabs on her twin sister Chloe Van Huusen. It's very easy to do, to cyberstalk her twin sister however, considering Chloe's an incredibly popular influencer. Garnering hundreds of thousands of views on social media. One day Chloe randomly appears at her workplace and surprises her by buying her a house as the subject of an #emotional YouTube video.

This leads to a phone call which viscerally changes Julie's life forever. After discovering Chloe dead in her high rise apartment in New York, Julie has a choice to make: go on with her boring, and uneventful existence as Julie Chan? Or take over the life of her twin sister Chloe and live in the luxury she's always dreamed.

The Review (may contain spoilers)

Okay... so I have a lot of thoughts about this book. Firstly the premise was wild, like a good time through a really weird dream type of wild. It went from morally apprehensible decisions, to a fever dream of luxury and indulgence fuelled by the likes and comments of strangers, to discovering and wiping out a generational cult.

If all of the above sounds like a good time to you, well you're in luck! This book is available and on shelves for you to experience yourself.

This book made me question a lot about my own life, honestly. I work what a lot of people would call a standard job, nothing fancy, but it pays the bills. If you were to see my house, it's definitely not extravagant. And I'm grateful enough to be living within my means that I don't need to steal supermarket sandwiches. All that being said, if I did have an estranged twin sister that lived the life of luxury I'd always dreamed and found her dead... would I take her place should the outrageous opportunity arose?

The other aspect which poked in my brain a little was also the social media facet. I'm not millions of followers deep to be fair, but the life which can be made just by being lucky, or even knowing the right people, can be luxurious. The way that Liann portrays this lifestyle is sickeningly positive, and I love how this contradicts Julie's previously negative and depressing life prior. It's giving drug addiction, and I'm living for it.

I also have to praise the writing. It was conversational in a way, while also being completely unhinged. Please see below, probably one of my favourite quotes to come from literature...

I love my girls so much I can identify each of them by their teeth, their Cupid's bow, and how many cc's of lip filler accentuate their perfect pouts.

Like hello? What the fuck!? 😂 

Overall Thoughts

My first thought when I'd finished this book was 'What the fuck did I just read?'. I've seen this novel compared to 'Bunny' which is another on my TBR - and if the comparison is accurate, I'm sure I will devour that book too. I had such a good time, it went as deranged as I had thought it would and for that, Liann, I thank you. She's definitely been put on my author watch list, and considering this was her debut, what a banger to kick off your career.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants a good time, especially unhinged existential chaos. I had such a great time with it, and reading as a part of a book club had the benefits of enjoying everything the book had to offer with others.