Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Julie Chan is Dead: 'An absolute masterpiece' Stylist by Liann Zhang, Liann Zhang

128 reviews

max666's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny fast-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

millie's review against another edition

4.5

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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this book was b o n k e r s. julie's prefrontal cortex needed to be fired because it definitely WAS NOT doing its job properly. what a ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy

honey_bee_reads's review against another edition

5.0

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death

Moderate: Miscarriage

libraryofavirgo's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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 What happens when you find your estranged twin dead in her apartment? Well, if she’s a famous influencer, you obviously take over her life. Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier no more; but now Chloe Van Hussen, a lifestyle influencer with millions of followers. That is, if Julie can keep up the ruse of Chloe. 

 

I truly do not think I can find the right words to express just how much I love this book—immediate favorite, 5 stars, no criticism. I wish I could read this again for the first time. I love weird books; it is my niche, and this delivered on a magnitude that I have not been able to find for a very long time. I will be chasing the high of this for the foreseeable future. Normally, the modern-day setting in books is off-putting for me, but Zhang executed this perfectly. The influencer culture and what social media has become over the years was so eloquently displayed and laid bare; the act of being swept up in personas designed specifically for the public, the game of numbers, and the push for content at any cost. This is something that all of us who have grown up in the age of the internet can relate to, especially those of us active in the (book) influencer community. Satirical commentary and callouts aside, this is a wild and breathtaking horror thriller. I am a sucker for a good twist, and by god did this surpass all of my expectations. I have so many hyper-specific thoughts and opinions I am dying to share, but alas, I strive to remain spoiler-free in all my reviews and thus will refrain. 

 

I akin the feeling of reading this to exactly how I felt while reading Bunny by Mona Awad, an all-time favorite of mine, of which this book has found itself a permanent place among. I cannot recommend this book enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Medical trauma, Car accident, Colonisation

kmartucci's review against another edition

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

meburk's review against another edition

2.75

dark fast-paced

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder

Moderate: Child death

purely_nancy's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Just one word :- SPECTACULAR. 

It was a great read. Liann Zhang did a great job here. I can't believe it's her debut book. It was perfect, perfect down to the last minute details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

yayas_reading's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

it details them eating mice alive. Gross

grumpyreading's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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📱 Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang 📱

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything— except a pulse. 

When Chloe, a famous influencer, dies mysteriously, her estranged twin Julie steps into her glamorous life. But as Julie navigates Chloe’s world of curated perfection, she discovers everything is not as it seems. During a week long island retreat with a group of influencers, she learns about some of the dark forces that led to Chloe’s demise - and learns she might be their next target.

I was so excited for this book and it didn’t disappoint. The first 200 pages were 5 stars, and I was slightly surprised by the last part of this book. While it turned into something that isn’t my favourite trope in thrillers, I still enjoyed how it was done. This was satirical, had sharp observations about the culture of social media and influencing, an examination of status and media, and insight into the online age. The characters were unhinged and cringy, and this talked about positives and negatives of influencing culture. Overall, it was sharp and definitely a page turner. 

Read this if you like: 

• Midsommar 
• Yellowface
• fast paced plot 
• Inventing Anna 

Vibes: 📱🏝️💸🥂👗🏙️

Song that matches the vibe: Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism

madampince85's review against another edition

3.5

funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death