Review--You by Caroline Kepnes

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.

I've finally, finally read Caroline Kepnes' You! It's been on my TBR pile for awhile now and I only bought it probably a year or two ago with the sequel! What with the TV show starting up this weekend, I decided NOW was the time to read it and oh boy, it was a doozie!

I remember reading that this book was kind of dark and creepy in the sense that we are basically in the mind of a serious stalker for the entire book! Joe is pretty much your average joe--lol--who works in a bookstore. He's just going about his day and life when the girl of his dreams walks in. He's never met her until that day, but there's just something about her that calls to him. He's obsessed. He's in love. He's determined to have her.

Beck, as he learns her name, isn't Susie Homecoming though. She's a complicated girl with complex problems of her own. Since this book is all about Joe though, we don't really get to know her that well. We just see what he sees when he...follows her. Yeah, it's gets creepy. And this is most definitely an adult book due to all the adult situations, just fyi. And that's ignoring the whole stalker bit.

What I found to be really unique with this story is that it's basically Joe telling a story to Beck. The entire book seems like it's a conversation or letter that he's written to her. He says "you" a lot, as if the title didn't already clue you into that one! 

I can already tell you that this book isn't for everyone. It definitely has a slower pace to it, yet it's the creepiness that kept me reading. Joe is a pretty serious stalker. He goes to great lengths to get to know Beck and yet, a relationship doesn't form right away like he expected. Beck has plenty of different relationships going as it is. But then Joe starts to see that the people in her life aren't treating her right and let's just say you do not want to make Joe angry.

This book was its own kind of horror story, one that didn't involve otherworldly monsters or demonic ghosts that are out to kill you. Instead, you have a man who's out to love you to death. Like truly, love you until you die. He envisions his whole life with Beck and he's willing to do anything to make that dream a reality.

The ending to this book was both surprising and yet somewhat predictable. I mean, at some point, you just start to guess where things might be headed, but of course the journey was nothing like I thought it would be. That's part of the fun in thinking you know the ending, you do and yet, you don't know it all to some extent. 

You was definitely a most chilling read! One that shook me to my core a bit and has me rethinking the whole "people-ing" scene because it really goes to show that sometimes you don't really know people. Everyone has their secrets and sometimes it can be dangerous! This is definitely a must read if you enjoy a good psychological trip! It's edgy and dark and just a bit seductive in some ways. It's a read that kept me turning the pages in each sitting! I am definitely curious to read the sequel now and so glad that I have that one at the ready!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars