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itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Medical trauma, Body horror, Grief, Racism, Animal cruelty, Death, Medical content, and Bullying
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Ableism, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Classism, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Abandonment, and Pedophilia
_serena_'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
I really liked the art and musical descriptions through this book. Music was such an integral part of our narrator’s life, it’s only right that it continues to follow her. As someone who also uses music as an escape and a passion, it was very relatable.
This isn’t traditional horror - it’s very much body horror. Body modification, medical experimentation, unethical human trials.
If you want something not too long, a little wacky, a little creepy and very intriguing I think you’ll enjoy this. I would check out the content warnings before diving in.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Car accident, Medical content, Racism, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Bullying
rice_cooker's review
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Gore, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Racism, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Grief, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, Violence, and Car accident
Minor: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
danimacuk'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
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit, Pregnancy, Classism, Medical trauma, Animal death, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, and Grief
punk_flower_child's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Grief, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gore, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Cannibalism
caroisreading'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
5.0
Our narrator is a Chinese-American daughter of immigrants, two pianists who escaped the Cultural Revolution. She's absorbed their passion for the instrument and art, and rises as a talented young prodigy, enduring bullying for being praised, different, and poor. After tragedy, she has to give up piano for odd jobs to survive, and finds herself working in retail at Holistik, a beauty shop that feels surreal with its elite clientele, innovative services and beautiful staff of women. As she literally drinks the Kool-aid, she mentally and physically becomes the same brand of beauty, at a huge cost.
This is a disturbing story, a little too real in its descriptions of an unrelenting capitalist society, with beauty and youth reserved only for the 1%, and a dismissive eye toward the basic healthcare and wellness of the lower and middle class. It sarcastically mimics the marketing extremes of what it means to be "organic" and "zero waste" to the point of nauseating realism. It serves up, very simply, the erasure of ethnic beauty and backgrounds in favor of a homogenous Nordic-type everygirl. It shows us nature's brutality and retaliation when man tries to bend it to his will. It explores the relationship between art and pain, and the sacrifice of self for something to be considered beautiful.
This is a must-read, for a reality check on many of the rights we see ourselves being stripped of, and issues our society are grappling with today. Definitely check the content warnings.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexism, Vomit, Fatphobia, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gore, Racism, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Animal death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
emilywemily6's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Alcohol, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Bullying, Death, Cursing, Medical content, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Drug use, Gore, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Animal cruelty
farrahwho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Holistik has changed everything. Natural beauty doesn’t exist here—it’s created.
i really wanted to be more invested in this story, but i just couldn't bring myself to care more. the pacing is all over the place, the chapters are broken up in a way that ruins the flow of certain scenes, and the mc is so frustratingly passive at times making this whole reading experience more arduous than it should have been. the "action" towards the end felt shoehorned due to a lack of sufficient build-up and the ending wasn't satisfying
i will say, the body horror in this was well done (i.e., managed to actually gross me out)
Graphic: Grief, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual assault
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Bullying
bluejayreads's review
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Bullying
Unreality Narrator is on several cases drugged without her knowledge and/or agreementpeteypatchy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content and Animal cruelty
Minor: Bullying and Body shaming