Saturday, May 3, 2025

Seven books that turn social media into a plot twist

Liann Zhang is a second-generation Chinese Canadian who splits her time between Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. After a short stint as a skincare content creator, she graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in psychology and criminology.

Julie Chan Is Dead is her first novel.

At Electric Lit Zhang tagged seven books that "discuss the realities of being online, and how social media impacts our lives." One title on the list:
Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida

Mia has short term amnesia after an accident, and she can’t remember anything about herself–even her own name. Thank goodness her phone is on her. With one question to Siri, her phone provides her basic information, and also spills that many people seem to have a vengeance against her. Enough for Mia to question if her accident was really an accident at all. With the help of her Instagram posts, Mia starts to piece her life together, one photo of a time, in order to find the truth of what happened.

Most people have likely gone onto another person’s social feeds and tried to diagnose who they were from a few pictures and posts. This book poses an interesting question of how much of ourselves we can really learn from what we present online through a fluffy escapist novel.
Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue