Living With B

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
Published by Atira Books on April 29, 2025
Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Format: Kindle
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A friend of mine recommended this to me. We have very similar reading preferences, so when they said, “If you like this, I’ll read it,” I immediately said yes. It was already on my TBR, so why not?

Plot Details

Julie Chan is a nobody. She is just a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose. Her twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, is her complete opposite: a glamorous influencer drowning in fame, fortune, and millions of followers. The sisters barely speak, except for one viral video Chloe orchestrated at Julie’s expense.

When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body, she does something unthinkable – she steps into her sister’s life.

At first, it’s effortless. The luxury, the brand deals, the curated perfection – it’s everything Julie ever imagined. But behind the filters and sponsorships, Chloe’s world is far from flawless.

Haunted by her sister’s death and struggling to survive in a world of wealth and scrutiny, Julie joins Chloe’s inner circle on a weeklong island retreat. As paranoia builds and secrets unravel, Julie begins to suspect Chloe’s death wasn’t what it seemed. And the deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes:

Someone knows she doesn’t belong.

My Thoughts

Julie Chan Is Dead felt like Bunny (Mona Awad) x Yellowface (R.F. Kuang) x Rouge (Mona Awad) all rolled up into one book. It was suspenseful, trippy, and overall an intriguing read.

The first half of the book focuses on Julie adjusting to Chloe’s life and learning how to be an influencer. They all make it look easy, and as Mikayla Nogueira has previously said, “Try being an influencer for a day.” (Bombastic side eye, by the way.) Julie takes sponsorships, goes to parties, and earns an enormous amount of money endorsing overconsumption… Sounds difficult, right?

We also see how everything is turned into content for validation. Grief, loss, mental health, dignity, self-respect – it’s all for views and money. Julie takes it a step further by throwing Chloe’s ashes into a river in a sponsored video for BetterTherapy (aka BetterHelp in our real-world equivalent). It’s unnerving how she simply steps into Chloe’s life, does the things Chloe once did, and because it’s Julie doing it, and Julie making the money, it’s suddenly fine. Okay, Julie. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

One important thing to note is that all of these girls are entitled. They don’t understand that they are privileged to be in the position they’re in, especially in terms of race and ethnicity. This highlights how immature and self-involved they are despite their polished online appearances. I will say, this was written incredibly well and feels reflective of the number of influencers who naively choose not to recognize the privilege they have.

When we get to the second half, the story becomes very eerie and dark. This is where the Bunny and Rouge comparisons really come into play. Julie (aka Chloe at this point) is invited to a weeklong retreat on Bella Marie’s (head of the Belladonna) private island.

The retreat is supposed to disconnect the girls from their realities (fair enough) and give them time to relax. Julie quickly learns it is anything but that when chaos begins to unfold. Isla is separated from the group, some strange paranormal entity seems to be at the center of it all, and there is a man who was born and raised on the island who… just has sex with the girls? Very odd.

By the end, there is death. There are jail sentences. There are book deals. Somehow, everything ends up honky-dory for someone like Julie.

Final Verdict