Caroline Kepnes - You (You #1)

Caroline Kepnes - You (You #1) 

5⭐

Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Contemporary 

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK

Date Published: 25th September 2014 

 

Book Blurb: 

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 Review: 

Joe Goldberg is so toxic...We all agree on that..but this book is so good and creepy and just draws you in and doesn’t let go until the very last page. It is also not for everyone. Some hate it and some love it, and I weirdly loved it (as much as the TV show). Honestly, this book messes with your mind so much, from the very beginning. Also, the writing is so good, so suspenseful and so much tension. Love it!

The book follows Joe Goldberg who is a lonely bookshop owner in the Lower East Side in New York. One day he sees a beautiful female walking into his shop and he is fixated on her. He becomes obsessed with her and well.. slowly makes himself present in her life. Joe knows that Beck will be his, one way or another, even if it means killing her friends and boyfriend…

Honestly, I don’t think Kepnes intended for any of the characters to be likeable in this book. None of the characters were likeable, but I wanted to know more about them, and they were so fascinating to me.  Joe is complex and creepy and although I was supposed to hate him, there were moments when I forgot that and actually felt sympathy for him. Beck and her friends are also super unlikable, but once you get to know them, they have their own reasons why they are the way they are, and I had to also sympathise with them. I loved character development and progression throughout the book too, even though we see them from Joe’s POV only.

I loved the writing even though it is written from Joe’s POV in the present tense. It make me feel that I was seeing everything that Joe is and that I was a part of the story there with him. Also, the scene setting and plot were quite suspenseful and full of tension as you never know what will happen next or what Joe will do next. I read this book after seeing the first season of You, but it felt like I was experiencing everything from the first time.

Overall: Love this book so much! The writing, the scene setting, the plot and the complex and complicated bunch of unlikable characters just grew into me. Truly recommend this book to everyone who wants to experience something in between contemporary literature and thriller. 

About the Author:

Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of You, Hidden Bodies, Providence and You Love Me. 

Her work has been translated into a multitude of languages and inspired a television series adaptation of You, currently on Netflix. Kepnes graduated from Brown University and then worked as a pop culture journalist for Entertainment Weekly and a TV writer for 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She grew up on Cape Cod, and now lives in Los Angeles.

http://www.carolinekepnes.com/