Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom

6 reviews

brianareads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Sexual content, Blood, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Drug use, and Cancer

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

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Car accident and Infertility

shannonigans322's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

Oof, what a ride. Ironic, that I'm posting this review to Instagram, given the focus of the novel. I honestly wouldn't recommend it, unless you want to feel bummed out and super icky about social media. The premise of the book obviously points forth some valid observations that I'm not quite ready to explore. CW for SA, drug use, death of a loved one, body image/dysmorphia, disordered eating 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Body shaming, Drug use, Dysphoria, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Sexual assault

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

marpaige's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Gaslighting and Sexual content

amobrien's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Aesthetica is an incredibly provocative and poignant commentary on influencer culture, plastic surgery, and the way body types go in and out of "style." This novel touches on mother/daughter relationships, friendship, addiction, abuse of power, self-image, feminism, illness, social media... the list can go on. I was so impressed with how it tackled so many subjects in such a compelling way. Aesthetica is the type of story that's a bit difficult when you're first getting into it but you soon find yourself unable to turn away. If you were a fan of My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Aesthetica has a very similar narrative voice that I think you'll enjoy!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Cancer, Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Rape, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent and Addiction

Minor: Vomit