Editorial Content for Julie Chan Is Dead
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Identical twins Julie Chan and Chloe Van Huusen have grown up in separate families. After their parents died in a car accident, Julie was raised by her aunt. Chloe was adopted by a wealthy, childless white couple and took their last name. But that's not the only way their lives have diverged.
As a young adult, Julie works as a grocery store cashier, barely making ends meet and doing the odd shoplifting here and there to get by. Meanwhile, Chloe --- after humble beginnings making YouTube videos in her childhood bedroom --- has rocketed to the highest echelons of online influencers. She has millions of followers, dozens of sponsor deals, and seemingly more money than she knows what to do with.
Julie hasn't seen her twin in years, not since one odd incident when Chloe showed up at her doorstep and announced out of the blue that she had bought Julie a house. As Julie later discovers, even that seemingly selfless act was motivated by potential profit. Like everyone else, Julie has watched Chloe's skyrocketing career from afar, in her case with a mixture of jealousy and resentment. It's hard not to feel this way when she's constantly being mistaken for her infinitely more famous twin.
"Those who enjoyed tearing apart the toxic potential of women's friendships in novels like Mona Awad's BUNNY will find much to enjoy in JULIE CHAN IS DEAD. Zhang keeps us guessing about Julie's fate right up until the last page."
So when Julie gets a garbled call from Chloe, followed by radio silence, and especially when Chloe fails to post new content for two days running, Julie grows alarmed. Convinced that she finally might need her, Julie heads to Chloe’s apartment building in New York City --- only to find Chloe dead on the floor of an apparent overdose. Everything moves quickly after that, and Julie is certainly in shock. So can you really blame her for not correcting the emergency personnel when they --- like countless others before them --- mistake Julie for Chloe? Soon enough, Julie Chan, not Chloe Van Huusen, is officially declared dead, and Julie takes on the persona of her deceased twin.
Fortunately for Julie, Chloe has left behind countless hours of video footage that Julie can study in order to pick up on Chloe's mannerisms, familiarize herself with Chloe's brand, and identify Chloe's besties by sight. Chief among them is Bella Marie, one of the most famous lifestyle and beauty influencers of all. In recent years, Chloe has been selected to join Bella Marie's inner circle of influencers, dubbed the Belladonnas. In Chloe's place, Julie finds it nearly impossible not to be drawn under the Belladonnas' spell, and soon she is addicted to the constant stream of validation and outright love she receives online.
But almost despite her best efforts, Julie starts to realize that there's a dark underside to Chloe's picture-perfect life. She stumbles onto several unanswered but clearly disturbing questions, which only grow more insistent when she's invited to the Belladonnas' annual summer retreat on a private island. What will she find there…and will she make it back alive?
What starts out as a fairly frothy satire of online culture takes a dark and gothic turn midway through Liann Zhang's debut novel. Julie is a maddening character in many ways, consistently bungling her way into danger and making bad decisions. However, her moral lapses leave open plenty of room for reader discussion and self-reflection. Who among us would actually turn down a seamless opportunity for fame and fortune if it landed in our lap? Later chapters grow increasingly dark and even bloody, as Julie's island trip takes on elements of gothic horror.
Those who enjoyed tearing apart the toxic potential of women's friendships in novels like Mona Awad's BUNNY will find much to enjoy in JULIE CHAN IS DEAD. Zhang keeps us guessing about Julie's fate right up until the last page.
Teaser
Julie Chan finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe Van Huusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke. When Julie discovers Chloe’s body, she doesn’t call the police. Instead, she slips into her dead sister’s meticulously curated life: luxury fashion, high-end skincare and a devoted online following who never noticed they weren’t quite the same. Now, trapped on a private island retreat with Chloe’s inner circle --- an elite clique of influencers obsessed with status and secrecy --- Julie is forced to keep up the act while being haunted by her sister’s untimely death. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.
Promo
Julie Chan finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe Van Huusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke. When Julie discovers Chloe’s body, she doesn’t call the police. Instead, she slips into her dead sister’s meticulously curated life: luxury fashion, high-end skincare and a devoted online following who never noticed they weren’t quite the same. Now, trapped on a private island retreat with Chloe’s inner circle --- an elite clique of influencers obsessed with status and secrecy --- Julie is forced to keep up the act while being haunted by her sister’s untimely death. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.
About the Book
For fans of "Bunny" and "Yellowface," this razor-sharp debut thriller blends biting satire with chilling suspense, as a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life --- only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.
Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything --- except a pulse.
Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier barely scraping by, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL).
When Julie discovers Chloe’s body, she doesn’t call the police. Instead, she slips into her dead sister’s meticulously curated life: luxury fashion, high-end skincare and a devoted online following who never noticed they weren’t quite the same.
At first, the transformation is seamless. Julie relishes the perks of influencer fame but quickly learns that behind Chloe’s flawless feed lay secrets far darker than she imagined. Her sister’s final days were shadowed by paranoia, manipulation and something far more sinister.
Now, trapped on a private island retreat with Chloe’s inner circle --- an elite clique of influencers obsessed with status and secrecy --- Julie is forced to keep up the act while being haunted by her sister’s untimely death. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.
Darkly funny, fiercely paced, and full of sharp commentary on identity, fame and the cost of visibility, JULIE CHAN IS DEAD is a twisted thrill ride where fitting in could be fatal --- and the people behind the posts are the real danger.
Audiobook available, read by Yu-Li Alice Shen
