You, Book 1
Synopsis:
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.
Edition:
E-book, library loan
My Thoughts:
I read You as a buddy read with some folks over on Twitter. If you want to check out my chapter by chapter thread, it’s right here. Fair warning though, it’s not very interesting. It was my first time doing a buddy read. It was also my first time trying to discuss something I was reading via Twitter thread.
Having watched the first season of Netflix’s You, I had heard that the book was much more difficult to handle than the show. I only sort of agree with that statement. So, in the show, Joe is terrifying. In the book, I think he’s both more and less scary. He certainly comes off as even more psychotic. See, in the book you don’t get any POVs other than Joe’s. You have to live inside his head for the entire story. And that’s a lot to deal with. It’s fucking scary in there. So that is definitely more difficult than the show.
However, in Netflix’s adaptation of You, you get a break from Joe’s violent, obsessive personality by stepping out of his head once in a while. But now have to deal with Penn Badgley’s incredibly powerful portrayal of him. And he is TERRIFYING.
The thing that I find scariest about Joe is that he’s not at all unbelievable. The terror for me stems from his complete plausibility. He does terrible things, but he is so good at justifying them to himself. He doesn’t seem to anything wrong with his behavior. I know every single person who reads this has met at least one person with that particular “talent.”
He stalks women because he convinces himself that is what they want based on perceived signs. Joe believes each interaction with a female is a flirtation, and each flirtation an invitation. He has absolutely no boundaries. It’s disturbing.
“If you knew what I went through to get into your home, that I messed up my back trying to know you, inside and out, you’d judge me for it.”
Initially I felt a little angry with You. The way the story is told makes it seem like what happens is also Beck’s fault. Because she is too promiscuous, not honest enough, too this, not enough that. But the more I thought on that, the more I started to think I was only feeling that because that’s how Joe feels. I mean, so much of the story is devoted to Joe justifying the revolting things that he does, why would his relationship and actions with Beck be any different? Thinking about it that way took me from wanting to yeet this book directly into the sun, and wanting to read the follow-ups (2 is out now, 3 will be released later this year).
But I have to give my response to all the reviews I saw on Goodreads where readers said they “felt bad” for Joe: FUCK THAT.
Not allowed. Yes, it is alluded to that some mega-shitty stuff probably happened to Joe when he was younger. But there is NOTHING that would justify the way he behaves. No. Thing.
Also, I really need to know what the deal is with the typewriters. I know it’s not some cutesy Tom Hanks-type collecting. So, WHAT. THE. FUCK.
About the Author:
(from the author’s website)
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.
Rating:
This is one of those rare cases where a book has been adapted for tv, and I actually preferred the show. However, the book was interesting enough that I will be delving back into this series in the future.
You By Caroline Kepnes You #1 Atria/Emily Bestler Books Published: September 30, 2014 ISBN: 9781501195433 Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, E-book 433 Pages
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