Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom

30 reviews

wichbich's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Mom death

. This is a huge theme of the book that is not hinted at at all in the description so please proceed with caution as it could be quite triggering. I was not expecting to encounter this at all but I would say it encompasses the bulk of the story. 

This was an interesting book with an interesting idea. I would say the experience of the narrator is very specific and I don't agree with her a lot of the time. That doesn't make her wrong but her voice is often sort of grandiose as she discusses ideas of universal morals so it does feel a but like being fed a worldview. 

Overall this book feels like less of a narrative and more like a reflection on loss, trauma, and image in the midst of an attempt to realign oneself through even more trauma (and some light stalking). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit and Car accident

ashbuckmaster's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Sexual assault

ecox180's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow, what a powerful debut novel! Aesthetica tells the story of Anna, a 35 year-old woman who is about to undergo a risky cosmetic procedure that will reverse all of her previous surgeries. While she’s waiting for the surgery, she reflects on her past, when, at 19, she left her mother in Houston and headed to LA to try and make it as an Instagram model. This book is beautifully written, evocative, and explores the dark underbelly of social media influencing. It also touches on mother-daughter relationships and the pressure of societal beauty standards. I really look forward to seeing what Allie Rowbottom writes next! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual assault

ohennui's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

lowbrowhighart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility and Car accident

tamtasticbooks's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

jennastopreading's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

jaimee_reads's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I feel like the book box I got this from mis-represented the book. This book is not about the procedure. The procedure is covered in a single paragraph about 2/3 of the way through the book. This is about a very specific 6 month or so period of Anna's life that is supposed to give the reader an idea of why she wanted this procedure. It seemed very tech dystopian when I was reading the summary, but it's not. It's very literary and sad. I love the author's writing, but this isn't what I expected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gore, and Mental illness

schnurln's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Sexual assault

dpageteach00's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a very quick read for me.  A terrifying look at social media, the pressure of looking a certain way, although it is all around us. I know how difficult it was for me in my 20s (and still is NOW) I can't imagine the young kids today dealing with all of this.  Yes, very shallow at times, but that is the reality.  Perfectionism, addiction and so much more. I thought this was very well written and the voice of the main character was not a "woe me". She was aware of what she was doing, her mistakes, he pull, and unapologetic about it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent