Buchtipp: «Julie Chan Is Dead»
Julie Chan isn’t famous. She bags groceries and doomscrolls Instagram, where her identical twin sister Chloe VanHuusen lives a filtered fantasy life as a rich-girl influencer. They were separated at birth – Julie got the fluorescent-lit aisles of a supermarket, and Chloe got the soft glow of sponsored skincare hauls.
Liann Zhang: «Julie Chan Is Dead». Atria Books 2025
When Julie discovers Chloe's lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she's always envied. Suddenly, she’s in the penthouse suite of internet fame – faking Chloe’s perfect life with skincare routines, stylized selfies, and a lot of Googling «what is my sister famous for?»
But influencer culture is a different beast when you’re inside it. The likes and sponsorships come easy – but so do the cracks.
Julie is barely holding it together when she’s swept off to a luxury island retreat with Chloe’s influencer coven, each more curated and hollow than the last. The retreat, intended as a networking and wellness getaway, becomes a setting for psychological manipulation and unveils the sinister dynamics within the group. Julie uncovers unsettling truths about Chloe’s relationships and the circumstances leading to her death. The retreat serves as a microcosm of the influencer industry’s darker aspects, including exploitation, competition, and the erasure of authenticity.
Liann Zhang: «Julie Chan Is Dead». Atria Books 2025
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