Reviews with content warning for Rape - Natural Beauty

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

55 reviews

emilywemily6's review

mysterious medium-paced

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

In some ways, this book gave more than I expected, and in other ways, it didn’t quite fulfill what I was hoping for while I was reading. I really liked the conversations on the cosmetic industry, European standards of beauty, the privileges afforded to the privileged, etc. However, there is a lot jammed into this book, and by the end I felt a little unfulfilled in these discussions and plot points that could have gone farther than they did. Also, the main character’s lack of awareness/acceptance of the changes she went through was irksome. If I was suddenly 6 inches taller I would have been startled and run away from Holistik, for one thing, let alone all the other things that happened. She also felt so bad about her relationship with her parents but did nothing to truly fix it or come to terms with it. So I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character. I also felt like the book was over-sexualized. While this novel gave me a lot to think about, it won’t be quite a favorite.

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sheereads's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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aleesquer's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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eveningreverie's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Very interesting read, but felt a little too fast for the deluge of thematic content ripping through every part of this book. It’s either incredibly packed without a moment of unnecessary detail, or a bit floaty from point to point, and I haven’t had enough time to sit with it and go back to figure out which it really is.

Very Awad in many ways, but very unique in others. Disgustingly vile sections juxtaposed with sections that—as a pianist myself—made me feel extraordinarily validated. Breakneck blockbuster of a book.

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crispypages's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.5

Plunge into dark, toxic world of the ultra wealthy, beauty obsessed. Parallels with the toxic music conservatory scene. Contrasts with genuine love and pure enjoyment of music shared with family.

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mfrisk's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

3.5

This book is equal parts a reflection on living up to the standards of parents and navigating our relationships with family as it is a critique on predatory business practices and people in the beauty industry and spaces which prey on those with insecurities or areas of perceived weakness.

There were so many quotable moments related to beauty, grief, and art and we really get into the head of our unnamed narrator through her experience which with time becomes gradually more horrific. That aspect I liked but I do wish there had been less characters to keep track of besides our main narrator. That to me got confusing though I can understand why they may have made that choice. The book really goes off the rails with its ending which in some ways I enjoyed but in other ways left me feeling confused/wanting more.

A few things that made me unsure how I feel about this book. I genuinely may have missed this but the book alluded that our narrator had something to do with her parents’ car accident however I’m still confused about that part. I’m also a bit stumped by the implication of who is writing the weird letters at the end and wish more had been wrapped up about Connor and hers experiences at the conservatory. They didn’t need to spell everything out but I do feel like I needed slightly more spelled out for me to fully get all that was being alluded to.

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megansmith's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I....i'm kind of speechless. I have so many thoughts but this book was also a mindf*ck of a last 50 or so pages, and I don't know if it's in a good way or a bad way?

Pro for this book: I've read a lot of fiction and nonfiction in the "terrible workplace" category, and this definitely turns that concept on it's head. It's unique and surprising as you work your way towards the end, which I think these books tend to lack in this category - shock-filled descriptions of workplace abuse with flat, predictable endings plague this genre. This is not that...but also, what even is this? It almost catapults into an entirely opposite direction, flipping from weird moments of surprise and intrigue to complete shock and disgust. I want to find the meaning in why the author chose to go this route, but the direction feels SO stark and graphic that it feels done more as a means to shock over saying something meaningful or going to those violent extremes for a purpose.

The ending also, for all the violence it built up to, fittered out in the most important moment. Even just a few more pages of struggle, or not a random cut

when Victor finally catches up to the narrator and has his hands around her throat, to suddenly her safe in a hospital? I don't think there was even a mention of her passing out, no struggle or anything, just sudden touch and the next chapter.

.

The writing building up to this moment was well done, and thoughtful in building out the character's back story before bringing her to the main conflicts. But the ending just frankly ruined any hard work done by the beginning of the book, all in the name of shock value. I wanted to like this more but I'm not really sure how to feel other than kind of disappointed by the ending.

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babywren's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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jemiddleton7's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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goatsrsexy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

This was a fantastic read! I absolutely loved the writing/narrative style, how it starts off running and feels super confusing and almost surreal but as the book goes on it actually starts to make more sense and feel more realistic despite the insane subject matter. There is definitely some scathing commentary on western beauty standards and the beauty industry, but the story stands on its own, I was totally riveted. Will definitely be looking to see what this author does next.

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