Is Netflix’s You based on a book? Who is author, how many books, how to read in order, is TV series different

Penn Badgley has returned for season 4 of Netflix’s dark thriller You, but this time Joe Goldberg has swapped the US for London, where he’s pretending to be professor Jonathan Moore.

Books play a pivital role in the series, with Goldberg being manager of a bookshop in season 1 and working in a library in season 3. They will also feature heavily in season 4 as Goldberg poses as a literary professor at a prestigious London university.

So why do books play such an important role? Is You based on a book, who is the author and how many books are there? Here’s everything you need to know.

Is You based on a book?

You is based on the books by bestselling author Caroline Kepnes. The first novel named You, was written in 2014 and introduced us to the character of Joe Goldberg, who manages a book shop in New York and quickly becomes obsessed with an aspiring author, Guinevere Beck.

Who is the You author?

Caroline Kepnes is the author of the books that inspired the Netflix series You. Born and raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her completed works include: You, Hidden Bodies, Providence and You Love Me. The 46-year-old started her writing career as a culture journalist for Entertainment Weekly, she also worked as a TV writer on 7th Heaven, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and on the Netflix adaptation of her novel, You.

How many You books are there?

Currently, there are three books in the You series: You, Hidden Bodies, and You Love Me.. Kepnes has also written a fourth novel, For You and Only You, which is due to hit the shelves in April 2023 and will follow a different storyline than that of Netflix season 4.

Here’s how to read the You books in order:

You

The book to which the Netflix series owes its name, You, is the first novel in Kepnes’ trilogy. Here we are first introduced to New York bookstore manager Joe Goldberg who becomes obsessed with an aspiring writer called Guinevere Beck, with disastrous consequences.

Hidden Bones

The second book in the series, we follow Goldberg as he relocates to the West Coast to escape what happened in New York. However, when he starts to find himself interested in a new love in Los Angeles, could history repeat itself?

You Love Me

The third edition finds Goldberg making a home for himself in the Californian suburbs and trying to live an everyday life. However, when he starts to fall for librarian Mary Kay DiMarco, will his obsessions begin all over again?

For You and Only You - due to be released in April 2023

The synopsis for the upcoming fourth book in the series according to Good Reads is: “Joe Goldberg is ready for a change. Instead of selling books, he’s writing them. And he’s off to a good start. Glenn Shoddy, an acclaimed literary author, recognizes Joe’s genius and invites him to join a tight-knit writing fellowship at Harvard. Finally, Joe will be in a place where talent matters more than pedigree, where intellect is the great equaliser and anything is possible--even happy endings. Or so he thinks, until he meets his already-published, already-distinguished peers, who all seem to be cut from the same privileged cloth.”

Is the Netflix TV series different?

Season 1 to 2 of the Netflix series loosely follows the same storyline as the book, with some exceptions including name changes, plot twists and finale endings. However, the third season was different, with Love Quinn barely being included in the novel and not being a homicidal murderer and Goldberg never meeting his son Henry because he is in prison.

The fourth book will be released after season 4 has aired on Netflix and will also follow a completely different theme. In the TV series, Goldberg has swapped the States for London, where he’s pretending to be literary professor Jonathan Moore. However, in the synopsis for the upcoming novel, he instead relocates to Massachusetts to study at Harvard University, a position he seems to have gained due to his own merit. The only similarities fans can expect is that both the fourth season and novel will be set at prestigious universities, with Goldberg challenged by his wealthy privileged peers.