Book Review: YOU by Caroline Kepnes

YOU by Caroline Kepnes (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, September 2014) Hardcover, 424 pages.  ISBN #1476785597 / 9781476785592 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .  

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.  

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     After several chapters, this was a hard one to put down. I kept sneaking in quick chapter reads in-between tasks and activities. 

     Most writers know how difficult it is to write a lengthy piece in second-person narration, directly addressing the reader and making them a character of the story. It's hard to maintain that balance on a consistent basis, and Caroline Kepnes pulls it off. Anyone considering utilizing this seldom-used style to write a novel will benefit from studying how it is accomplished here.

     However, this really isn't a novel written in second person. It just feels like it is. It's a first person narrative with the main character (Joe) addressing the secondary (but no less important) character (Beck) as "you". That's why this doesn't read as awkward when Beck is not present for a scene or a chapter. Nice touch, and I admire the way that Kepnes attained this. Of course, if Kepnes wanted readers to assume the persona of Beck while reading this - - then it would be a second-person narration. But, the scenes without Beck would actually be awkward and spoil the effect. None of this spoiled my enjoyment of the novel.

     I enjoyed this story even thought there were not any likable characters, in my opinion. But, their points-of-view are presented so well that readers can empathize for both Joe and Beck and even worry about them. Joe is a highly-developed creation of Kepnes and a dangerous and twisted person with a strong case of narcissism. The reason he's so attracted to Beck is because she is equally narcissistic in her own way. 

     YOU is one hell of a stalker novel and a subtle commentary on how social media enables and accommodates creeps.