Book: You by Caroline KepnesPublished: 25/September/2014
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Synopsis:Joe Goldberg is working in a bookstore in New York when Guinevere Beck walks in. Joe becomes fixated with the beautiful girl he has just met and proceeds to Google her name to find out more about her. When he finds only one person by this name, he checks her social media accounts and orchestrates a 'chance' meeting. As Joe becomes more fixated with Beck, he does everything he can to ensure that they end up together, eliminating the obstacles that stand in his way.
I'll start this review by repeating what many others have said before me. This book will not be for everyone. I picked this up as I was intrigued after reading a comment by Sophie Hannah on the front cover. As she's a favourite author of mine, well, I felt like I needed to check this out! I was definitely not left disappointed, although I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this book.
This is unlike any book I've ever read before and I think it will be a long time before I read another book like this. The plot is quite disturbing and definitely makes you think twice about how much information we share on social media and how easy it would be for someone to learn about you. I felt uncomfortable through certain parts of the book, particularly as Joe could make some quite crude comments, however, I don't think this was necessarily a bad thing. I don't believe that this should make you feel comfortable and you should disagree with some of the things going on through the pages. I'm really glad that this was written so honestly, with Joe's points being stated so matter-of-fact that I had to do a double take several times before I realised that his thought process wasn't exactly normal.
I wasn't sure how I felt about the book being written in second person at first as I've never read a book from this perspective. However, after reading a few chapters, I really adapted to the narrative and I think that really added to the book. This narrative, along with the fact it was all in present tense, really made me feel like I was experiencing the events and this definitely increased how I felt throughout.
Coming to the characters, well, this is what I find most interesting. I didn't fall in love with a single one. I didn't even particularly like any of them. I couldn't believe how quickly Joe became fixated with Beck and some of the extremes he went to were beyond my comprehension. However, as I read further, I began to feel a bit sorry for him and I can't pinpoint the moment that happened. He doesn't seem to understand that the things he think/do are not classed as normal, making several references to how other people would see his actions as extreme, but then justifying them to himself. I could see that the things he was doing were wrong, but I couldn't help myself having a little bit of sympathy towards him nearer the end. As for Beck? I hated her. I had a bit of sympathy towards her at the beginning of the book, especially as she was the one experiencing Joe's behaviours. However, she seems completely unaware of the extent of Joe's behaviours throughout 75% of the book and this is what led to me being frustrated by her: she was just horrible to Joe. She called him when it suited her, when she wanted something and nobody else would help, but then she'd lie and blow him off for weeks on end. I do understand why she acted the way she did with men, but I just found myself being completely frustrated by her actions.
Overall, I have to say I've never read anything like this and never did I think I would have enjoyed it so much. To say I loved it would be wrong, but I found it fascinating reading from Joe's perspective and I can't wait to pick up Hidden Bodies when it comes out next year.
For my first review, I know this was long and rambly and probably doesn't even make sense, but I'm writing this just before I go to bed and I was desperate to get it up! If you've read You, let me know what you thought!
Until next time!
