How Caroline Kepnes has you rooting for a sociopath

I had heard about You from the moment I stepped into the world of bookstagramming. I'm ashamed to say, though, that I didn't pick it up before watching the first season of the chilling yet hilarious (in my humble opinion) show, despite my friends raving about it.

With the third season of the Netflix special officially out, I thought it was high time I shared my thoughts on the first book. Fair warning, though: this might feel like a book versus screen breakdown, but I promise there will be no spoilers.

You (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 2014), by Caroline Kepnes, is a thriller following a charming stalker, Joe Goldberg, as he lies, manipulates, and charms his way into Guinevere Beck's heart. An unreliable narrator that is obvious from the very first chapters, it's difficult to stay unfazed by Joe's ramblings as he obsesses over Beck.

Interestingly, it is written from a second-person point of view, as hinted by the title. Though not the first of its kind, it is certainly one of the rare ones to become such a hit on mainstream media. The show did decide to bring that in, but it came nowhere close to making me feel as involved as it did in the book.

The first major difference between the show and the book is the tone. Without Penn Badgley's stunning face and sharp jawline distracting me from Joe Goldberg's creepiness, I realized just how unnerving his thoughts are. His charms aren't as easy to pick up off-screen and the mood is far darker than in the show. His jibes at modernisation and his frequent anger towards Beck feel far less amusing and it gives us a glimpse of Joe's instability and borderline misanthropic mindset.

What I hadn't expected, however, was to find out just how flawed a character Beck was, too, and how cleverly Kepnes conveyed that detail to the readers, despite Joe's incessant affirmations of her perfect persona. The subtext was so subtle, in fact, that I don't think I would have been able to pick it up on my first read of the book if I hadn't watched the show first.

That, of course, is not to say that she deserved being stalked and manipulated, but it definitely added more depth to a character who could have easily been left bland and uninteresting, so loud was Joe's presence in the story.

To put it frankly, You, the book, is a thriller and You, the show is a drama. What you experience with one will not be the same with the other, though both are absolutely brilliant in their own rights—where the book gives us an exclusive look into the layers of Joe's insanity, the show adapts it with a dark, humorous tone to keep the audience hooked throughout the episodes.

I did find it quite unsettling that viewers and/or readers were fangirling over the protagonist, be it the one from the show or the book. I mean, I did too, but for very different reasons. Kepnes captured the essence of a narcissistic egomaniac who could make up scenarios in an instant to justify their actions. His personality is so vivid with his flaws and hatred, and I love a morally grey character. If you are fooled into unwittingly rooting for Joe Goldberg, then Caroline Kepnes deserves all the awards.

So, for those of you who are unsure of whether to give the book a try, I suggest that you do. In the meantime, I will be cozying up in bed and binge-watching season 3, swooning over Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti's beautiful faces.

Sharfin Islam, alias A Tiny Reader, is an admirer of art and a devourer of fiction. A feminist and an ambivert, she loves to share her little world on her little blog on Instagram.