Reviews

Everybody (Else) Is Perfect: How I Survived Hypocrisy, Beauty, Clicks, and Likes by Gabrielle Korn

ophiliae's review

I bet if I tried to write a memoir it would be equally nothing but man this was nothinggg

vir_abelasan's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

4.0

joygoesandreads's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

This book is truly a reckoning of what we think of as beauty and the industry that surrounds it. For anyone who’s ever been told that liking fashion means betraying the feminist cause, this book is what you should suggest those naysayers read. Gabrielle Korn is truly an amazing person period and you can see that with his bare she lays herself on the page and you feel like you want reach into the book and comfort the author. For someone who’s all time favourite movie is The Devil Wears Prada this book makes me soo happy as you get an inside look into the world of fashion, journalism, print/digital media and what it means to be a woman in an industry that thrives on unrealistic standards for the same group.

whatshawnareads's review

4.0

As someone who has never read Nylon and doesn't know Korn from her previous magazine work, I was surprised by how relatable and enjoyable I found these essays. Korn does a good job of acknowledging her privilege, even when she's not always able to see past it. This collection started off strong, but ended up a bit too repetitive where it felt like each essay was discussing the same points.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for my copy to review.

medusa1015's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.0

maralyons's review against another edition

4.0

I’ve been vaguely aware of Nylon magazine for years, but hadn’t previously heard of Gabrielle Korn and her meteoric rise to Editor in Chief at only 28. The description for this memoir/essay collection was appealing and it did not disappoint. Korn writes in an incredibly readable and enticing manner that drew me in immediately. Korn is incredibly smart and ambitious, but was admittedly in the right time and place to become editor in chief of a major publication due to amassing key skills, catapulting her image/brand, and layoffs of other departments. Korn was also admittedly very privileged in terms of her education and not requiring much income to survive in New York due to having a free place to live, which gave her freedom to accept low-paying jobs in writing, which she was able to use as stepping stones in her career. Korn writes about her struggles with the massive hypocrisies ever-present in the fashion world and personal struggles with anorexia. She illuminates the ways in which feminism and body positivity becoming mainstream have been monetized, while the beauty industry continues to profit largely off of insecurity. This theme was a bit redundant and I wanted more variety or distance. I appreciated how Korn was so candid about her personal struggles and growth in her twenties. I really enjoyed this memoir, but maybe it’s just me, I have a hard time with memoirs written by those who are so young and not entirely separated from what they are writing about. Korn is still figuring things out, as we all are, and I really liked her push in broadening the scope of Nylon and emphasizing how we shouldn’t have to sacrifice ourselves and our health for successful careers.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC.

maralyons's review

4.0

I’ve been vaguely aware of Nylon magazine for years, but hadn’t previously heard of Gabrielle Korn and her meteoric rise to Editor in Chief at only 28. The description for this memoir/essay collection was appealing and it did not disappoint. Korn writes in an incredibly readable and enticing manner that drew me in immediately. Korn is incredibly smart and ambitious, but was admittedly in the right time and place to become editor in chief of a major publication due to amassing key skills, catapulting her image/brand, and layoffs of other departments. Korn was also admittedly very privileged in terms of her education and not requiring much income to survive in New York due to having a free place to live, which gave her freedom to accept low-paying jobs in writing, which she was able to use as stepping stones in her career. Korn writes about her struggles with the massive hypocrisies ever-present in the fashion world and personal struggles with anorexia. She illuminates the ways in which feminism and body positivity becoming mainstream have been monetized, while the beauty industry continues to profit largely off of insecurity. This theme was a bit redundant and I wanted more variety or distance. I appreciated how Korn was so candid about her personal struggles and growth in her twenties. I really enjoyed this memoir, but maybe it’s just me, I have a hard time with memoirs written by those who are so young and not entirely separated from what they are writing about. Korn is still figuring things out, as we all are, and I really liked her push in broadening the scope of Nylon and emphasizing how we shouldn’t have to sacrifice ourselves and our health for successful careers.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC.

glindaaa's review against another edition

3.0

Her writing style is fine. The audiobook was fine.

suzcorso's review against another edition

4.0

This memoir seemed very thoughtful and self-aware. It highlights a lot of the great things that Gabrielle did for Nylon while she was editor-in-chief, like pushing for diversity everywhere she could (in terms of race, body sizes, LGBTQ representation, and more). This book covers a lot of important issues that I think people ignore within the fashion industry. I really liked how much of an honest self-reflection this book was and it was a very empowering yet low-key read.

giulay's review against another edition

4.0

"I was exhausted on an existential level from a lifetime of trying to survive in a world that seemed hell-bent on keeping women small, figuratively and literally. I felt like I’d been paying a toll to be successful, and that toll was taken from my body, draining me under the pretense of making me more powerful. And I was ready to take my power back."

TW: homophobia, queer-phobia, anorexia, sexual harassment, fatphobia, skinny-shaming, depression, mentions of slut-shaming, mentions of transphobia, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, starvation, Tr*mp, mentions of racism, misogyny


Louder