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sydneysreading's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
peytondani's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the slice of life style that this took and how well we got to know the characters, but I just wish the happenings of the book were more extensive. I didn’t much need anything dramatic to happen, but I wish more time was spent in certain moments. These characters seemed super well developed though, and I liked how many aspects of femininity and societal misogyny were woven into this in a way that was real instead of pandering.
rendezvousrei's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mariahistryingtoread's review
1.0
This had an interesting premise that was supremely lacking in any real substance.
Only one girl, Kyuri, had any kind of motivation, progression or real commentary on the high, often dangerous standards set forth by their pursuit of beauty. The rest were simply plodding along in their individual journeys subjected to the same rigorous metrics, but mostly incidentally. The synopsis makes a point of emphasizing how their lives are affected by their friendships to one another implying some level of intertwining yet there is so little actual overlap that in the end this is no more than a character study of four different Korean women.
And that would have been perfectly fine if I was not led to believe that there would be some kind of impact due to their relationships. These women are barely acquaintances let alone friends. Certain pockets within it are more familiar than others - for instance Miho and Ara were in the same orphanage as kids - but overall the four are not particularly close. Wonna does not even meet the other three until 88% of the way into the novel and when she does it’s not even in her POV chapter, it’s in Ara's. Wonna is the biggest example of this, however, it is not only limited to her. Every girl operates as not much other than background characters a majority of the time. They will have little conversations here and there except these interactions influence nothing.
Part of alternate perspectives is having more pieces than the characters and watching as those pieces that you, as the reader, know inform their actions and shape the trajectory of the story. In this case I didn’t care because my insider knowledge was useless. The girls never talked about why they did things. They never grew closer. They never comforted one another. They didn’t even argue despite the conflicting personalities. It felt like they were all running parallel, able to see each other and wave, but not able to stop.
For example, Ara is obsessed with a K-Pop star to the point that the news of him having a girlfriend sends her into a days-long depression. Her unhealthy fixation goes nowhere. She doesn’t ever come to recognize why this is bad. She doesn’t get worse so you don’t even witness a breakdown which could have been entertaining to read, if nothing else. Not one of the girls ever questions her fixation even indirectly. There is never any discussion about it even amongst themselves. It’s just a facet of a character that, as the reader, we have insight into, but has no effect on other events because the other characters just can’t seem to be bothered.
And when it just ends abruptly after one bad experience, Ara’s POV chapters are all used up so we have no idea of what the emotional fallout was. We only get a passing reference in someone else’s chapter.
I would have read an entire book just about Kyuri. Her cynical, detached exterior was a facade for a woman who had been deeply hurt and was scared to try because all her worst fears had been proven right ten times over. I also felt the only times I was learning anything about Korean culture and how their mindset about beauty extended globally, only in different ways, was in her chapters. Her arc was the only one that was emblematic of the point Cha was trying to get across.
This book honestly was just four separate short stories or novellas haphazardly sewn together. It would have been a lot better if it abandoned the interconnected idea or at the very least didn’t so prominently market it.
Only one girl, Kyuri, had any kind of motivation, progression or real commentary on the high, often dangerous standards set forth by their pursuit of beauty. The rest were simply plodding along in their individual journeys subjected to the same rigorous metrics, but mostly incidentally. The synopsis makes a point of emphasizing how their lives are affected by their friendships to one another implying some level of intertwining yet there is so little actual overlap that in the end this is no more than a character study of four different Korean women.
And that would have been perfectly fine if I was not led to believe that there would be some kind of impact due to their relationships. These women are barely acquaintances let alone friends. Certain pockets within it are more familiar than others - for instance Miho and Ara were in the same orphanage as kids - but overall the four are not particularly close. Wonna does not even meet the other three until 88% of the way into the novel and when she does it’s not even in her POV chapter, it’s in Ara's. Wonna is the biggest example of this, however, it is not only limited to her. Every girl operates as not much other than background characters a majority of the time. They will have little conversations here and there except these interactions influence nothing.
Part of alternate perspectives is having more pieces than the characters and watching as those pieces that you, as the reader, know inform their actions and shape the trajectory of the story. In this case I didn’t care because my insider knowledge was useless. The girls never talked about why they did things. They never grew closer. They never comforted one another. They didn’t even argue despite the conflicting personalities. It felt like they were all running parallel, able to see each other and wave, but not able to stop.
For example, Ara is obsessed with a K-Pop star to the point that the news of him having a girlfriend sends her into a days-long depression. Her unhealthy fixation goes nowhere. She doesn’t ever come to recognize why this is bad. She doesn’t get worse so you don’t even witness a breakdown which could have been entertaining to read, if nothing else. Not one of the girls ever questions her fixation even indirectly. There is never any discussion about it even amongst themselves. It’s just a facet of a character that, as the reader, we have insight into, but has no effect on other events because the other characters just can’t seem to be bothered.
And when it just ends abruptly after one bad experience, Ara’s POV chapters are all used up so we have no idea of what the emotional fallout was. We only get a passing reference in someone else’s chapter.
I would have read an entire book just about Kyuri. Her cynical, detached exterior was a facade for a woman who had been deeply hurt and was scared to try because all her worst fears had been proven right ten times over. I also felt the only times I was learning anything about Korean culture and how their mindset about beauty extended globally, only in different ways, was in her chapters. Her arc was the only one that was emblematic of the point Cha was trying to get across.
This book honestly was just four separate short stories or novellas haphazardly sewn together. It would have been a lot better if it abandoned the interconnected idea or at the very least didn’t so prominently market it.
superkreativername's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
heidinam's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
sannesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.5