A review by mfrisk
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

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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