BOOK REVIEW: YOU BY CAROLINE KEPNES

About

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.

My Thoughts

Finally finished this title. Great psychological thriller. This was my October book club pick and while I know most people including myself watched the series on Netflix, I was actually curious about the book. One thing I should have read the book before watching the series because in my opinion the book was very different. I wonder if anyone else thinks so.

Joe, a bookstore clerk, meets aspiring author Guinevere Beck and becomes obsessed. He wants to control her life using any means necessary even if it means eliminating anyone who gets in his way. 

The most interesting character for me was Beck. I think while Joe was clearly disturbed, she had a lot of issues too. In fact, there was a point in the story that I became really confused as to what her deal was. While she was for the most part painted as Joe's victim (which she was), somehow I think that she in a way put herself in a lot of crazy situations. And what's with these men she had affairs with? Dr. Nicky, Benji?? Her friends were not real friends either. 

But Joe was hands down a well written character. I kept hearing the guy from the series talking in my mind while I was reading though Lol. That's what you get for watching the series before reading the book. 

All in all this was a great book and I hope to read Hidden Bodies next.