ohniar 's review for:

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
3.5
emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Beautyland is an outside look on humanity, one full of curiosity and tenderness. Although at first I found the style of the text annoying, with its constant breaks in flow, I grew to like it as it matched the straight-to-the-point quality of Adina's reports to her superiors. I liked Adina as a character, and I was touched by the arc of her relationship with her mother. A feeling of nostalgia intensifies as one approaches the end, but it wraps up with a nice, cozy feeling of coming back home.