Reviews with content warning for Violence - You

well that was certainly....a book.

let's be real, of course i read this to see how different/similar it was from the netflix series. my hope was that this would stand on its own and be interesting enough that i could dive into the series and find what's creepy-captivating about the tv show in book form, which is typically better.

BUT....i gotta say, the show creators certainly took the material, cleaned up the plot holes and weird digs at taylor swift, and made a season that makes WAY more sense plot-logically than the source material. suffice to say I don't need to keep reading this series, i'll just pretend whatever netflix says is canon

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tyronedcj's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve had You and Hidden Bodies sitting on my shelf for years after watching the first season. Now with the show coming to an end and knowing that the following three books go their own way from the tv adaptation I’ve decided to dive into the books. Let me just say, I don’t like a single character in this book. But that’s what I love most about it. They are flawed and difficult to like. Primarily Joe and his delusional perception of love. But the more you get to know Beck, the more you see how flawed she is. Maybe not as flawed as Joe, but in some odd ways they are mirrors. Joe is desperate and obsessive while Beck is desperate for attention. I won’t spend my entire review on screen to page comparisons but I must say that Joe is so much harder to wrap your head around in the book. You are going on a journey with him since this book is told through first person (or the odd second person format I guess). There are no B-Plots to focus on, just Joe. And spending that much time in the head of a deranged stalker can be… a lot. However, I like the way he’s written. If Joe had been written by a man I would not say this. Kepnes gives us a dark and twisted peak inside the mind of the self-proclaim “Nice Guy” and while as dark and twisted as it is, there is so much commentary on the dangers of living in a digital age, self indulgence, feminism, misogyny and the upper class. I loved every minute of this book while also being so uneasy by Joe’s thoughts and behavior. I do believe there are books in which the protagonist is not meant to be liked and there are parts where Ken’s almost makes you forget who Joe is as he and Beck seemingly fall in love, but then you are very quickly reminded. I could go on about this book and it’s beautiful complexity.

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