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anispaperbacks'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
While it did slightly feel all over the place, it's not something I can really hold against it to be honest. Even if not intended, I think that it was a good peek into how it feels for Sunny, the flashbacks included. She would be confused, she would be disoriented, she would be thinking about the past, about what happened, both out of grief and the fact that it was still very relevant to what was happening!
I would, however, have liked for the characters to be a little less flat. Some characters just felt a little lacking.
Some of the lines in this book were written so lovely. Beautiful yet horrid descriptions. Similarly, I was really fond of chapters 27, 28, and 29. They elicited strange and fantastical ghibli like imagery. Reading them, I could only picture them in ghibli style animation. The strange locations, the horrid clawing and rolling *something* that filled the air. You don't really know entirely what is going on, it's not logical, it's strange, it's a little bit awful to witness, but it's fantastic.
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Self harm, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
somelesbianwriter'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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming
kurumipanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Fatphobia, Death, Body horror, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Confinement
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Stalking
betweentheshelves'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
3.5
However, I did appreciate the critiques on the K-Pop/entertainment industry and the expectations that are thrown on teen girls in particular. Sunny struggles with the expectations, especially coming from her mom. It's definitely something that negatively affects her mental health as well. Using the horror genre to explore those sorts of topics definitely works in this case.
If you like darker horror/thriller books, this might definitely be for you! It does wrap up at the end, but there's space left for a sequel (which I guess is happening eventually). We'll see if I read the next one!
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Suicide
Minor: Cursing, Body shaming, and Bullying
amy_salieri's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Blood, Torture, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
booksmoviesandstories'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Gore
devynreadsnovels's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Bullying, Infidelity, Child death, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Death, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Dysphoria, Torture, and Abandonment
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES is a YA thriller that combines K-pop glitter with Chinese mythology.
- I love a book that explores some of the traumas of fame, especially for young people, and that is woven into the larger supernatural mystery of this book.
- I didn't realize this book was the first in a series until I got to the end, and I'm excited to see where Cheng takes this next.
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Murder, Bullying, Death, Stalking, and Suicide
myuh'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: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Grief
kassiereadsbooks'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
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, and Torture