Name: You
Author: Caroline Kepnes

Author: Caroline Kepnes

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Series: You

Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Published: 2015-06-16

*Now a Lifetime series* “Hypnotic and scary.” —Stephen King “I am RIVETED, AGHAST, AROUSED, you name it. The rare instance when prose and plot are equally delicious.” —Lena Dunham From debut author Caroline Kepnes comes You, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, and a brilliant and terrifying novel for the social media age. When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card. There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting. As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder. A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone Girl, American Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery.

Ready for a twisted tale of love, obsession, and the dangers of oversharing on social media? Let’s dive into “You” by Caroline Kepnes – a book that’ll make you think twice about your public Facebook profile!

Let’s get this out of the way: in a rare plot twist that would make Joe Goldberg proud, I actually preferred the Netflix adaptation over the book! I know, I know – usually I’m the first person to wave the “book was better” flag, but here we are.

Meet Joe Goldberg, your not-so-average bookstore employee who takes customer service to a whole new level of YIKES. When the lovely Beck walks into his store, Joe does what any totally normal person would do: stalks her entire online presence and orchestrates “accidental” meetings. Just your typical boy-meets-girl story… if the boy were a complete psychopath!

Kepnes crafts a disturbing narrative that feels uncomfortably relevant in our social media-obsessed world. The story is like watching a train wreck in slow motion – you want to look away, but you just can’t. Joe’s inner monologue is equal parts witty, creepy, and completely bonkers, making for an… interesting reading experience.

While the book isn’t bad by any means (it’s actually quite clever in its execution), something about the Netflix adaptation just hits different. Maybe it’s Penn Badgley’s eerily perfect portrayal of Joe, or perhaps it’s the visual medium that makes the stalking even more spine-chilling.

Will I continue reading the series? Sure, eventually. It’s like that slightly weird acquaintance you keep meaning to catch up with but never quite make time for. The books are sitting on my TBR list, giving me judgmental looks, but they’re not exactly screaming “DROP EVERYTHING AND READ ME NOW!”

So if you’re curious about where the hit show began, or if you enjoy psychological thrillers that’ll make you paranoid about your social media privacy settings, give “You” a shot. Just maybe don’t read it alone at night… and definitely double-check those privacy settings when you’re done!

Remember folks: if someone seems too good to be true, they might be hiding a basement full of secrets. Just saying!