You

You.  You.  You.

Where do I start?!  Joe Goldberg has got to be one of the most fascinating characters I have read.  I watched the Netflix series and absolutely loved it.  It was creepy and binge worthy.  Normally, I read the book version before watching the screen version, but I had a hard time not watching the series.  The book did not disappoint.  And, like always, was better than the screen version.

You is written from the perspective of Joe Goldberg.  He lives in New York and works at a book store.  One day, Guinevere Beck, walks through the store doors and entrances Joe.  Thus starts his downward spiral, as he starts to stalk "Beck" and secretly and obsessively take over her life.  Joe's thoughts are so twisted and his obsession with Beck brings him to do things you cannot imagine.   Joe is depraved, yet somehow charismatic.  He falls for Beck, who is also damaged in her own way.  She craves attention from men and is pursing a writing career, but has no direction on where her life will go.  The chances of these two meeting is pure fate.  They are both damaged enough for each other, but Joe's twisted mind creates a relationship more intense and co-dependent than it actually appears to be.

The first half of the book follows pretty closely with the series, but the second half varies, but in good ways.  Joe is such a complex character and I have a hard time figuring out if I love or hate him.  It seems weird to say that when the book is focused around the fact that he was a psycho stalker, but I swear, if you read this book, you will know what I am talking about.  I love a good thriller, and this one is up there on my list of favorites.  I cannot recommend it enough.  If you loved the show, you will love the book even more.  It was one of those books where when you read it, you think, who thinks of this stuff?!  I am so glad I added this one to my March reading list. 

I gave You a solid ★★★★ review.  This was a face paced, twisted thriller.  I loved the writing perspective from Joe's point of view.  I went back and forth between being completely disgusted by him and utterly entranced.

***SPOILERS! Stop reading if you are wanting to read this book, but continue if you want to hear my honest thoughts.***********************************************

The book varied from the series in several ways, but I enjoyed the book version of events more.  One of the big differences is that in the series, they allude to Joe's ex-girlfriend, Candance, but they do not show her until the end.  The entire series, it seems as though something happened to her and she was possibly dead.  During the last scene, Candance walks through the bookstore doors and confronts Joe.  This leads the viewer to speculate a second season could be on the way, picking up where the first let off.  In the book, Candance is dead.  Joe murdered her in a fit of rage.  The reader discovers this around the time that Joe is about to murder Peach.  Another difference, is he suffocates Peach, as opposed to shooting her in the series.  The book ends with Joe meeting Amy Adams and the reader can already tell that Joe is starting to obsess over her, exactly like he did with Beck.  Beck also does not write when she is in captivity.  The book that is mentioned in the series, is just a book that Joe compiled of Beck's stories that he keeps for himself.  It is never published.  I thought the series spin on this was better though.  It tied in more of her storyline of her ambitions of being a writer, but never being good enough to be published, until after her death.

Overall, I enjoyed the book more just because it went into more details and the differences were more realistic, as opposed to theatrical for the shows sake.  It was fun to read after watching the series because I imagined the characters in the book as the actors who played them on the show.  I think the casting was completely spot on for Joe and Beck.

I gave You a solid ★★★★ review.  This was a face paced, twisted thriller.  I loved the writing perspective from Joe's point of view.  I went back and forth between being completely disgusted by him and utterly entranced.