You (You, #1)

by Caroline Kepnes

Gone Girl meetsFatal Attractionin Caroline Kepnes' You, a chilling account of the twisted psychology behind unrelenting passion.

When aspiring writer Guinevere Beck strides into the bookstore where Joe works he is instantly smitten. Beck is everything Joe has ever wanted: tough, razor-smart and sexier than his wildest dreams. He'd kill to have her.

Soon Beck can't resist her feelings for a guy who seems custom made for her. When a string of macabre incidents tears her world apart there is only one person she can turn to. But there's more to Joe than Beck realises and much more to Beck than her perfect facade. The obsessive relationship quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences...

A chilling account of unrelenting, terrifying deceit, Caroline Kepnes' You is a thriller more perversely clever and dangerously twisted than any YOU have ever read.

• ISBN10: 1476785600
• ISBN13: 9781476785608
• Publish Date: 16 June 2015 (first published 25 September 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

You by Caroline Kepnes offers a twisted thriller that will sink its hooks in you. Christy @ Love of Books, demanded suggested  that I read this. It went on sale and I snagged it. Loupe @ Hot Listens said the narration was out of this world so I grabbed the audio version. They were both right. You was brilliant, twisted and combined with Santino Fontana narration I was completely trapped inside Joe’s mind and I friggin' loved it.

Joe Goldberg’s works at a bookshop in the East Village when Guinevere Beck enters and makes a purchase. As Joe checks her out they chat for a few minutes and Joe feels a connection. What transpires next exposes our vulnerability in the digital age. Joe manipulates his way into Beck’s life and she unknowingly welcomes him.

Kepnes delivers the tale completely from Joe’s point of view allowing us to ride along as he manipulates and creates. He is the composer and Beck’s life his masterpiece. This is not a romance, yet there IS a romance and it is brilliant. What impressed me the most was the author’s ability to make me like this anti-hero. Joe is so wrong and I should run, but I could not. He made me laugh, terrified me and yet I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I was impressed by how cleverly Kepnes exposed his inner workings. The dark humor woven into the tale, especially when Joe finds himself in trouble made me giggle even if it was twisted and wrong. *grins*

If you have ever watched or read Dexter than you know what it is like seeing Joe interact with others. He is a little odd, but does not seem to be a threat, heck he is even shall we say sweet. Kepnes captured this brilliantly. Have I said brilliantly too much? I am at a loss for words. Fans of movies, books and pop culture will love the references Joe makes. All of them take place in the commentary that is constantly running in his mind.

The entire time you are reading/listening to this the outside world will slip away and as you begin making a checklist of the stupid, seemly innocent things Beck did. Kepnes will  have you questioning your tweets, and Facebook status. You will expose your own vulnerabilities and the realism makes it all the more suspenseful and chilling.

Santino Fontana the narrator brought Joe to life. His narration was superb and notched up the chills. He nailed the dark humor, Joe’s frustration,  and his seductive awkwardness. It added a level of brilliance to the story providing a perfect marriage of voice and story.

You is the type of story that you become caught up in, and yes the premise behind it is a scary one. Perhaps you will walk away a little wiser about social media. Perhaps you will take a second glance at a stranger and wonder…but is that such a bad thing? This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

A smile and a rant about books and Dan Brown from a beautiful woman is all it took. Joe Goldberg has a new obsession. Guinevere Beck is everything he ever wanted; she is smart, witty, and sexy but there is only one problem, she is not his. Beck doesn’t know it yet but Joe is going to do whatever it takes to make this relationship work.

You is a chilling psychological thriller about obsession and relationships. You starts off with a second person perceptive but it becomes apparent that the reader in never intended to be the ‘you’ Joe obsesses over. This unique viewpoint offers a weird and creepy insight into Joe’s obsession and slowly the novel morphs back into a more comfortable first person perspective. This really worked for me; I thought it was a great way to kick off the novel but I suspect this may cause real problems for other readers.

I am hesitant in reviewing this book because I really don’t want to give too much away. For me, this is much more than a thriller, this is much more than a book about obsession. This was a novel about relationships; the way we treat and try to possess others, manipulate others, as well as how much we really reveal to our partners. Sure, this is cranked up to eleven but the concepts are there, just explored in an extreme way.

What I loved about You was the way Caroline Kepnes takes normal relationship behaviours and just push them to their extremes. This allows the reader to look at relationships in a whole new way and explore how we treat others. Joe isn’t the only problem, every person in this novel explores a different behavioural trait and they all work together. While the overall feel for this novel is a psychological thriller, this relationship element is what made it work. The synopsis on the back of You calls it a “perversely romantic thriller” and that is the perfect way to describe this novel.

I know this book won’t be for everyone, there is a lot here that could put people off, however for me it was a perfect combination of thriller and relationship critique. The psychological element worked effectively to drive home some themes throughout the novel. You is one of the best thrillers I have read in a long time, it did something different with the genre and it was executed well. Caroline Kepnes pulled off a difficult task, I am looking forward to see what she comes up with next.

This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/10/22/you-by-caroline-kepnes/

[Lianne]

I received an ARC of this novel courtesy of the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/09/17/review-you/

You was downright creepy; the author did a good job in conveying the creepiness of Joe's actions and freaking me out in the process. There’s nothing romantic about this romantic thriller (save for whatever warped notions Joe has about his connection with Beck), but also for a thriller I felt there wasn’t anything particularly pressing about the story beyond Joe’s slow drift towards Beck’s inner sanctum and life. Additionally, the second-person narrative, which it makes sense why it was utilised (heightening Joe's perspective), can be a little confusing and frustrating to read at times. Ultimately I felt the story itself wasn’t for me.