Audrey's Reviews > You Will Never Be Me

I’m obsessed with every part of JESSE Q. SUTANTO’S newest thriller YOU WILL NEVER BE ME.

This is so square in my dark and messed up happy place. I was living for all the bad behavior and also cheering on the characters. The snark, the deception, the lies, the relentless drive for likes and followers. And one of the best mic drop moments I’ve read in a long time. Bravo!

While a totally bingeable thriller, the book also raised so many questions about the supposed authenticity of online life. Can we blame them for getting addicted to the attention? Did ambition drive their choices? Or are these two women who are desperate to do whatever is necessary to rise to the top because they rely on it to survive?

I’m continually fascinated by stories about toxic female friendships and by influencer life, so it’s no surprise I devoured this book. SUTANTO tears back the curtain on living your life online and this book read like an insider’s view. I gobbled up every betrayal and vicious word and absolutely loved these characters.

SUTANTO has such a gift for creating intriguing, complicated characters. There were so many moments where I was smiling along, despite being at times horrified. And there were plenty of laugh out loud moments. I feel like words don’t do justice for how much I loved this book.

My advice is to go into this knowing just a smidge:

Meredith Lee pays it forward by helping Aspen Palmer navigate that influencer life. Aspen only has 5,000 subscribers when they meet so Mer happily teachers her all her tricks on how to grow online. The two became the fastest and closest of friends. But online life is competitive and a series of events starts to drive a wedge between them.

Now Meredith is spends her days doing some low-key stalking of Aspen fixated on exacting a little revenge on her former best friend. But Aspen’s rise wasn’t just dumb luck. She’s built a life for herself that she will do anything to protect.

Massive thanks again to Berkley and NetGalley for gifting me an early copy. This will be out on 8/20 so get your preorder on now!