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oceanelle 's review for:

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
3.75
dark mysterious 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

I think I enjoyed this? I mean, the inner look at the world of influencers was compelling, especially knowing the author was a skin care influencer at one point. When I wondered how Julie was going to get out of this mess,
exposing herself through a cult
wasn’t on my bingo sheet, so it was pretty twisty, if jarring. But as serious as the critique on social media and influencer culture felt,
the cult
itself felt so unserious. The villains, even
the aunt
, were comically one-dimensional in their evilness.

Anyway, definitely a book where I couldn’t necessarily predict what was about to happen next and the social critique was compelling, so. Someone else here said they expected more Yellowface and less Mona Awad, and that hits the nail on the head—which is really more a flaw in the book’s marketing than it is in the writing.