A review by jbrianna51
Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang

challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The first half of the book had me hooked. Julie was not the most likable to me (personality wise + her choices) but I could understand her reasoning given her background and what was brought onto her. The plot and storytelling were good. However, a little past the halfway point is when things started to go downhill. When I saw the direction the book was headed I was like “okay???? Weird but cool, let’s keep going” but it just kept going downhill until the end quite frankly pissed me off. There was absolutely ZERO character development. Nothing about her previous actions would indicate to me that the ending would be the conclusion she reached
except for maybe when she was doubting Eto being real, but she was literally on a path to clarity where she was increasingly able to distinguish between reason/rationality and her emotions/needs for validation. It’s as if she immediately forgot all her experiences on that island and immediately relapsed.
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