3.75* 
 This second person narrative is the story of Joe Goldberg who runs a book shop. His world is turned upside down when a girl walks into the store and Joe feels an instant attraction and chemistry with this girl (Beck). He immediately begins to creep on her through social networks which then turns into a much more serious creeping on - let's be real its stalking - her around NYC. 
 I'm just going to start out by saying that this book was weird! I have never read a full length novel written in the second person, and I'm not sure I ever want to again. Kudos to Kepnes for being able to keep in this perspective the entire time! While I didn't ever really feel like the main character Joe was actually talking to me, I can see how some people would have adopted that perspective from reading this second person narrative. Instead, I felt like I was reading Joe's diary and was following him around and being able to fully get inside his head. Which was totally effed up... because the way Joe perceives and understands the world and people in it does not jive with how I perceive and understand the world and people in it. Don't get me wrong, Joe seems like a nice person on the surface, but I think what freaked me out (or maybe grossed me out) the most, was that there are probably some people like him out this world and you literally cannot tell based on the surface view of that person. Once again, Kudos to Kepnes for being able to paint a horrifyingly disgusting character who I won't easily be able to forget. 
 Something I didn't like - and I'm not sure if it is because the narrative is through Joe or if it was just the author's supposed outlook - this book makes all relationships feel so wrong and jaded. Gillian Flynn gives me a similar feeling in her books, but the feeling I get from her is that people are not to be liked since very few of her characters are likeable. Kepnes though, has made all relationships appear inappropriate or wrong. Beck and her friends, Lynn and Channa, make friend relationships seem like they are simply there to put up with each other and that there is SO MUCH talking behind the other friend's back. The relationship between Beck and Benji made romantic relationships feel like people are just out to use each other for sex and/or money. The relationship between Beck and her friend Peach made it seem like it is wrong to have strong feelings for a friend and that that kind of relationship is only going to turn into a controlling relationship. Then there is obviously the relationship between Beck and Joe which is a relationship based upon lies. We do have a moment towards the end where some of Beck's underlying mental issues are brought to the table (you find out relatively toward the beginning of the book that she sees a psychologist) (view spoiler)[there is a little light shown about her early quote from the novel: "I like new things." I found that I had a little 'aha' moment after she explained that a bit further toward the end but I definitely wasn't able to put two and two together on my own at the beginning when the quote was stated. Beck wasn't only referring to physical items within her possession. She saw people as "new" and once their glitter and glamour wore off, she would cast them aside looking for the next best thing until it too wore out. (hide spoiler)] I found this a quite interesting spin on things! It made Joe seem a little less effed up and Beck a little more of the problem (which is also effed up, because you shouldn't feel sympathy for a person who stalks another person and who clearly has some obsessive issues. 
 It was so weird to read Joe's justifications to the way that he acted. He would blame society or other specific people who appeared to act at all interested (obsessed) or following (stalking) Beck. He would make the case that those other people were stalkers and lunatics. These people were more often than not Beck's friends and family members and it was so bizarre to see how he could not deal with sharing and so blames them for acting literally the same way he acts - but he is not able to see the connection between the two actions thus making for some pretty serious irony. What's really screwy is that sometimes it worked! I at times felt a little sympathy for Joe - even though I didn't want to! 
 One thing that did drive me absolutely crazy was the amount of swearing and inappropriate language. I appreciate a well placed swear word and definitely do so myself in my everyday friendly and informal conversation. There were so many f-bombs, c-words, p-words (and I don't just mean the male organ) and every other crude word used to describe people and their genitals that at times I was left feeling a little uncomfortable about the language - and it takes A LOT to make me uncomfortable. Granted it could have been that I was reading it at times in the high school I work at and this book would not make for a very good option for high schoolers to read. I just didn't think that much derogatory language was necessary to the story and if the author did think it was needed, was she trying to show just how screwed up some people can be? Or was she trying to show that all men have this capacity? Or was it simply that all men are like that? At times the language throughout this story made me feel like it was painting a picture in which all men have perverted and crude thoughts running through their minds at pretty much all times of the day, which I don't think is at all true. Due to the language, I felt the need to dock a full star off my rating (maybe excessive I know), but at the end of the day, that's just how I feel. 
 Overall, the story didn't completely intrigue me - I felt like I needed a little more action (yes I know this was a character driven book since we pretty much lived in the mind of a stalked for about a year of his life following around a girl). It took me a little while to get into it, but once it picked up and things started to "happen", I was a lot more into it and I ended up reading about 55% of it in one sitting. While I wouldn't necessarily call this a thrilling novel, it had me at the edge of my seat towards the end and this psychological thriller was definitely one of the strangest points of view I have ever read.