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book0logy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Suicide, Grief, and Toxic friendship
emolas99's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
hyperunfocus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I was not expecting to love this as much as i did. But this is what i want from dark academia! I loved how it expanded on The Picture of Dorian Gray, the way that themes of societal expectations and beauty and control and privilege were explored. Plot was gripping. Loved the way the mystery was wrapped up.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
britt_zonnebloempit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The only really likeable character in this was Catalina which made it hard for me to really care about what happened to the others, unfortunately. I did like the idea of the story, but Penny and Davina are so horribly superficial and flat throughout most of the book.... I would definitely have given a higher rating had these two been more interesting! Maisie is just a flat out bitch too.... I understand why they were all portrayed like this, though!
The plot itself was really good and I loved reading it, still!
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Addiction, and Vomit
astralbooks's review
4.0
Graphic: Eating disorder and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
not_asha01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Addiction, Blood, Animal death, and Death
atlastheninth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"He said he'd been born with this impossible gift, and he wanted to use it to shape the world. To make gods of mortals."
When I heard sapphic Dorian Gray retelling I was sold. And I did have a nice time.
"Empowerment was just a pretty lie we'd been sold to keep us feeling good about the sacrifices we made day after day. Life after Life."
Graphic: Animal death, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Would you sell your soul for beauty, youth and fame... for a chance to make your hard-to-please mother finally see you and say she's proud? Would you care for the cost of such a deal, for the consequences or would you take the opportunity by any means, yelling a reckless 'damn to the risks'?
This is exactly what Penny Paxton does, in this richly gothic, YA retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, set against the back drop of an elite drama school.
The details of this tale honored the original classic so beautifully, paying homage to the themes of beauty and esteem, classism and power, whilst entirely dripping its on unique seduction of temptation and desire to excell in this highly acclaimed acting school that all the greats studied at.
Penny is pushed reluctantly into this world via her high profile, famous mother, but beneath the attraction of riches and fame, something darker and rotten lingers beneath the halls of the Dorian Drama School.
I loved this book so much so that due to my gumption to savour every morsel of its decedant writing, I completely ran over Amy McCaw's YA Book Club time, but I will definitely watch the recorded live discussion soon.
The story telling was rich and alluring, the characters intriguing and multifaceted and the pressures of the school were just all too real.
There were very nuanced parts of this that truly reminded me of Coraline, and those chapters were incredibly fascinating because that's truly when the uniqueness of the plot shined even more, detaching itself from the classic and becoming more of itself. I loved this exploration of the power of the paintings because that is something I was constantly curious about when reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. The fleshing out of the history of the school in relation to the success of the students connected with the portraits was such a rich display of creativity and storytelling, which leads me to want to consume everything this author writes.
The conversations also explored sexuality, disordered eating, depression and addiction, to name but a few and they were all handled to raw and real. These themes weren't tip tooed around, but the way they were woven into these characters lives was so well done and felt genuine.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this wholeheartedly deserves all the stars. I loved this book.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Slavery, and Toxic friendship
amyejones's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Addiction
Minor: Abandonment
neencohen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book touched on so many themes that made the characters (and this reader) raw and unravelled.
The mystery of the story was pieced together so well that I found I became suspicious of just about every character and that tension pulled me through this book so quickly, it was deliciously dark.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Death