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maziodynes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed Ms. Awad's writing style paired with her unreliable narrator. This was a surreal story centering around a mixed race woman and her relationship to her white mother and the beauty industry. Over the course of the book, it spirals down into a warning of a metaphor about grief and owning our traumas to heal (rather than escape)
Belle has this ritualistic obsession with skincare and a society that fetishizes differences while trying to sell a fantasy of being perfect and uniform (young, beautiful, white) even though this is impossible. The cult in this book preys on people like her by GIVING them the fantasy - however, to do this, they
My biggest complain was the pacing. Her writing style is so good, so readable, there were just too many words for the story she wanted to tell. It could have been more concise.
Graphic: Death of parent and Body shaming
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Body horror
abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Toxic friendship, Classism, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Gore
caroisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"Rouge" is much more than horror, or magical realism, even absurdism. This is a reflective, heartbreaking story about a daughter and mother, a metaphorical lens on grief and childhood trauma. It's wrapped in something familiar to us, borrowing every reference from Grimms fairytales, and is just as disturbing as the originals.
For me, this book has an exciting start, a more dense and repetitive middle, and the most perfect ending chapters I've ever read. Chapter 30, specifically, is creative and emotional genius, and I'll never forget about it.
Without giving too much away, the Tom Cruise reference is incredible in giving the exact visual we didn't know we needed, the smiling mask covering something else.
Please give this a read if you need another mother-daughter story to heal from, like dark twisting plots, unreliable narrators, and have survived the YouTube Beauty world.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
minamouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don't know what to say about this book. I was so confused, but drawn in. I think I actually ended up finishing the book with more questions than answers. I think I might actually need to reread this book, because I just felt like I missed something.
Even in all that confusion I still think this book deserves a 4 out of 5 ⭐.
Moderate: Body horror and Body shaming
Minor: Mental illness, Bullying, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
makeintoall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Racism, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Violence, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Death, Cursing, Cannibalism, Murder, and Blood
applejuiceinabox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
ariep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Grief, Dysphoria, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Death, and Body shaming
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
kittkat'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? Yes
4.25
Marva tells us self-care is telling yourself you matter every morning in the mirror. You should talk to it. Become friends with what you see there.
Belle ist süchtig nach Skincare, weil sie schon seit ihrer Kindheit sehr unsicher war und eifersüchtig auf alle die schöner waren. Ihr größter Komplex war ihre wunderschöne Mutter, mit der sie seit eines Unfalls keinen Kontakt mehr hatte und die nun tot aufgefunden wurde. Wie ihre Mutter vor ihrem Tod wird jetzt auch Belle in eine unheimliche Spa-Sekte hineingezogen. Sie bieten ihr eine kostenlose Behandlung an, aber sie nehmen mehr von ihr als sie geben 🫣.
I envy 🌹.
Wie bei Bunny ging es in dieser Geschichte um so viel mehr als im Blurb angeteasert wurde.
- Die toxische aber vielfältige Mutter-Tochter-Beziehung.
- Erwachsenwerden.
- Erwachsenwerden ohne Vater und als Minderheit sogar im eigenen Haus.
- Der Schaden, den Neid alleine anrichten kann.
- Whitewashing und internalisierter Rassismus.
Dazu hat die Autorin noch so einen hypnotisierenden, humorvollen Schreibstil, der einen komplett in die Welt des Geschehens zieht. Auch wenn die Geschichte etwas zu lang gezogen wurde und man zwischendurch den roten Faden verliert, sehe ich das Buch irgendwie als ein Kunstwerk, das reine Interpretationssache ist.
Bonus: Mona Awad hat es wirklich geschafft so viele klassische Märchen (und sogar bisschen ägyptische Mythologie) auf die eine oder andere Art einzubauen: Dornröschen, Schneewittchen, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Der Zauberer von Oz, Ariel, … + sehr überraschend Tom Cruise,
„Oh my god, is it really you?“ - „It is really me,“ Tom Cruise whispers. Tom Cruise. Standing in Mother‘s mirror. Tom Cruise, in the flesh.
Graphic: Racism, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Gore, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Confinement, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Body shaming and Gore
acorny'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent and Mental illness
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, and Suicide
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, Body shaming, and Body horror