I'll Be You

I'll Be You

Janelle Brown

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

Two identical twin sisters and former child actors have grown apart—until one disappears, in this “cleverly crafted and psychologically nuanced” ( Time ) suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things .   “An addictive thriller that will keep readers burning through pages . . . sneakily hypnotic.”—Los Angeles Times ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE The New York Public Library, PopSugar “You be me, and I’ll be you,” I whispered. As children, Sam and Elli were two halves of a perfect gorgeous identical twins whose parents sometimes couldn’t even tell them apart. They fell asleep to the sound of each other’s breath at night, holding hands in the dark. And once Hollywood discovered them, they became B-list child TV stars, often inhabiting the same role.  But as adults, their lives have splintered. After leaving acting, Elli reinvented herself as the perfect married to a real estate lawyer, living in a house just blocks from the beach. Meanwhile, Sam has never recovered from her failed Hollywood career, or from her addiction to the pills and booze that have propped her up for the last fifteen years.  Sam hasn't spoken to her sister since her destructive behavior finally drove a wedge between them. So when her father calls out of the blue, Sam is shocked to learn that Elli’s life has been in her husband moved out, and Elli just adopted a two-year-old girl. Now she’s stopped answering her phone and checked in to a mysterious spa in Ojai. Is her sister just decompressing, or is she in trouble? Could she have possibly joined a cult? As Sam works to connect the dots left by Elli’s baffling disappearance, she realizes that the bond between her and her sister is more complicated than she ever knew.  I’ll Be You shows Janelle Brown at the top of her a story packed with surprising revelations and sharp insights about the choices that define our families and our lives—and could just as easily destroy them.

Publication Year: 2023


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  • alexreadsit
    Mar 10, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

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  • aspacebunny
    Mar 18, 2025
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  • bookgang
    Mar 30, 2025
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     I'll Be You is what I had hoped This Might Hurt would be. 

    Janelle Brown is one of the most solid thriller writers, and I've read almost her entire catalog of work. This book isn't as strong as Pretty Things, but it delivered a fun summer thriller punch that made it a great escape. 

    Brown was inspired by the tv sitcom days of Mary Kate & Ashley but layered on a darker layer inspired by the NXIVM cult that had some recruitment within Hollywood. 

    Like the Full House glory days, these two sisters (Sam & Elli) play one role in a sitcom. The problem is that only one sister craves the spotlight, and child labor laws require them to split the role. So they decide to trade places, essentially allowing one sister the neverending spotlight and the other to escape. The title of the book, I'll Be You, perfectly explains what the twins rely upon to get by on set (and sometimes in their personal life).

     In a pivotal moment on set, Elli is offered her first energy pick-me-up thanks to an ADHD medication that is a gateway into her disastrous demise. 

    The sisters' lives are deeply intertwined but fractured under the weight of addiction. So it is such a surprise when Elli is called to return home to help with her sister's child after she suddenly disappears. 

    The mystery unfolds as Elli questions why Sam would leave behind her seemingly perfect life and her child. She uncovers a web of lies that force her to intervene, as her sister, to uncover the truth.

    I think this one is being marketed incorrectly as a thriller and might be why some reviewers were disappointed. 

    However, if you can go into reading this knowing it is a mystery, I think it sets the reader up for better expectations and a different type of entertainment. 

    This story is an engaging, quick mystery that would be great for a beach bag. 

     

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