You

You is a 2014 thriller novel written by New York Times bestselling author Caroline Kepnes. The story is narrated by Joe Goldberg, a bookstore employee who develops an obsession with an aspiring writer named Beck. The title, You, alludes to the narrator’s obsession; the entire narrative is addressed to Beck in the second person. The novel and its sequels were adapted into a television series of the same name. This guide uses the 2014 Atria Books eBook.

Other work by this author includes the novel, Hidden Bodies.

Plot Summary

Joe Goldberg works in a bookstore in New York City. One day, a young woman named Beck enters the store. She immediately attracts Joe’s attention. After their short interaction, he develops an obsession with Beck. He learns her name and researches everything he can about Beck on the Internet. She is an aspiring writer at college in New York. Joe follows Beck to a bar and lingers nearby, listening to her friends. He lurks outside her apartment and watches her through her open curtains. When her boyfriend, Benji, visits her apartment, Joe develops an intense dislike for him. Joe breaks into Beck’s apartment and is nearly caught, exiting quickly through a window when she returns home.