Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Aesthetica

This was a really hard read. I think it's important to think about the impacts of social media and the influencer lifestyle, but it was hard to watch her devolve.

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samuriah's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-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

3.25

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ukponge's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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torixcat's review against another edition

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3.5

feel like fans of patricia lockwood's "no one is talking about this" would enjoy

"Natural is better than prosthetic. Natural is moral. Natural connotes a certain kind of woman, a peaceful wise-woman, a woman like my mother. This is the logic I've let guilt me, guide me; this is the woman I've been trying to become. I have long considered Aesthetica the last step in returning myself to this better, natural state. Even if I could be natural only artificially; even if I could be natural only in death. But I survived." (pg 193)

took a while for me to get through this book but mostly because rowbottom's critiques on social media and the physical vs the digital self really hit hard and essentially led me to spiral and contemplate my own online persona. however the actual story fell below my expectations (and i don't really know what i was expecting).

Spoiler

i would say that fans who enjoyed "no one is talking about this" would like this book for similar feelings, but also because they have a common plot device of using another character's illness as the contrast whatever is happening in the digital world. i think because of that similarity, i felt like the story wasn't as sharp for me.

really would be interested to see what this author writes next!!

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metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-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

3.5

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wichbich's review against another edition

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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

Spoiler

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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