Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Nyuszika

This a story of art-school unlike any I have read. It is set at Warren, a campus that has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of conceptual art while also having an underground reputation as not being a safe place to be alone at night.

The writing is poetic, weird, fanciful, evocative, and conveys a sense of claustrophobic, existential dread that could easily be described as paranoid schizophrenic. Cthulhu is mentioned more than once; whether the narrator is reliable or not, is your call.

A lot of the discomforting tone of the book is tapping deep into common stressors. Our main character Samantha is forced into group work (the horror!) with a clique of rich and sheltered young women who are completely self-involved, and codependent. She nicknames them "the Bunnies" because they use the term Bunny as an affectionate pet term for each other. This stifling environment is ruled over by an abusive tutor (treated as a mentor and carer) who is continually encouraging them to get uncomfortable and use their pain in their art.

I haven't read a story set in a school with a more real feeling of loneliness, insecurity, and anxiety.. and I have read a lot of YA authors. The girls derive their strength from subjugating their individuality, becoming a hive mind that is as oppressive as it is inclusive. To be accepted one must pay a great price, and even those on the inside are continually being torn down by the narcissistic cycle of love-bombing, gas-lighting, and passive/aggressive negativity. Every interaction feels invasively vulnerable. Every interaction feels like a trap.

The town around the campus feels barren. Although there are opulent houses, there are certain parts of town that are derelict. Samantha finds herself moving out of her stifling p*ss-yellow apartment, in a building full of people with mental illnesses, into a derelict building. She lives with an aloof gothic-punk girl who she attends tango class with, and who carries a hip-flask labelled "drink me". The Alice In Wonderland theme is riffed on, quite a bit. Their relationship is almost homo-erotic, but asexually so.

The Othering in this story is next level. Girls moon over fantasy boys who are often dead superstars like James Dean, or characters from Greek myth. They are made fantasy by being utterly unreal, un-attainable, and fetishised through being exotic or not even speaking English. I only realise this after noticing the sexualisation of the tutor who speaks with a Scottish accent. It's like they are so starved for stimulation, and yet so terrified of reality that they need to create abstracted lust. There is no vulnerability with a partner who isn't really a person, bunny.

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sinaprst's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wtf did I just read?

I have seen many people either loving this book or completely hating it, there seems to be close to no middle ground here, and I am definitely on the side of the people who loved it.
This was a train wreck for sure and while reading it I felt like I was driving through a forest with at least 200 km/h and you're wondering like "why am I doing this" and "what's going on" and there are branches hitting you and suddenly you almost hit a deer and it's scary and out of control but in the best way.
At no point did I ever expect this to go where it went in the end and I'm still somewhat in shock. But I loved every second of it.

I guess this is probably not for everyone but it was definitely for me.

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hannahbailey's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Unsure how to review this tbh, it's pretty mind-boggling. Enjoyed the setting and the MC, did get a bit unnerved towards the end which I suppose is the intent! I think this genre is just not for me, it's hard for me to fully appreciate or grasp lol. I can see why people love it but I finished it thinking wow! That was unpleasant. Not great for a gal who reads for escapism. Very very cleverly written though!

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense

4.0

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