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irenemarie'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: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Drug use, Infertility, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria
Minor: Eating disorder, Blood, Vomit, and Car accident
claraandthesun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
HOLY SHIT WHAT DID I JUST READ?! I am still processing and I am completely creeped out😭
Our nameless Chinese American main character/first-person narrator takes a new job at Holistik, a wellness and beauty store (and infamous empire!) to make more money, after her parents get into a horrible accident and she is months late on their care facilities rent. She was once a promising classical music ingenue, but gave it up because of her parents’ tragedy. From the beginning, Holistik emits a bit of a cult-like aura, and it only gets darker and darker as the novel goes on! She starts to “drink the Kool Aid,” as one would say, as she gets more and more procedures done and implements hours-long nighttime skincare routines.
Our narrator (who takes on the name Anna to appease customers/her employers) takes on a second night job within a different branch of Holistik, but she never remembers what happens during those sessions and typically just wakes up in her bed a bit woozy. She begins to uncover darker and darker secrets about the company, at dire consequences for herself and those she loves dear. I had such a dreadful feeling reading this, just knowing something more sinister was waiting for her around the corner (not an *actual* monster, but moreso the monster of beauty standards, the wellness industry & the constant sell of achieving eternal youth & beauty!
Huang's writing of the narrative voice was searing, unimpressed and straightforward. She posited our narrator as deeply caring towards her parents, but once their accident happens, she is clearly deep in the wells of her grief. I can’t say too much else without spoiling this, but I will say that I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book, and for some reason, the scene with “Anna” having to tell an unhoused man who looked like her Ba to move from the Holistik storefront has stayed with me. She became so pulled to what Holistik wanted her to be, that she strayed so far from being the kind of person that her parents would be proud of. It’s an all too familiar push and pull of being a first-generation child of immigrants who is cautiously towing the line between wanting to assimilate and feel as if they belong in predominantly white spaces, like at Holistik, or be a child that your parents are proud of, and to prove that their sacrifice paid off in you. That moment really pained me.
Anyway, I will absolutely read more of LLH’s work, and am so impressed with this piece of dark, haunting horror!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cheyison'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Medical content
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Cannibalism
ciarabeth99's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Body horror
Moderate: Gore and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault and Cannibalism
embringaling's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
gracie_goose'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? It's complicated
3.75
However, I did find it intriguing. It's difficult to say you "enjoy" a book like this. It's more like when you drive past an accident and can't look away. The commentary made makes sense, but some things are kind of confusing, perhaps intentionally so. Beauty here is commented on with a particular focus on the exploitation women--especially women of colour--face.
Good for:
If you want to be horrified
If you love skin care but also are outraged by capitalism
Bad for:
People who get queasy
People who like answers at the end
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
arayo'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Miscarriage, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Alcohol
Various levels of questionable/lack of consent, including outside of a solely sexual context. General exploitation and manipulation. Lots of themes around beauty standards and "healthy" lifestyles, including unhealthy levels of adherence thereto.livlamentloathe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a grotesque dissection of beauty, marginalization, and the dangers of the male gaze. It was more than that too, I can’t exactly summarize this book into a sentence. The ending felt akin to Carrie Narby’s “Indescribable,” in It Came From the Closet. The nonexistence of beauty, of perception, grants a form of freedom. There is a queerness to ugliness.
Natural Beauty captured the dangers of beauty well. It spoke to the “feminism” of beauty and the cage that surrounds conformity. Reading this was an experience I can’t truly describe in words. But I enjoyed this a great deal. Another example of how the greatest horror stems from reality.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder