**spoiler alert** A solid 3 stars. I was going to give this book 4 stars until the final act, which is where things kind of fell apart for me.
What I L**spoiler alert** A solid 3 stars. I was going to give this book 4 stars until the final act, which is where things kind of fell apart for me.
What I Liked: 1) The beginning aspects of Chase as a character and what he represented in Sophia's growing girlhood was relatable. I think most women have had some relationships with a boy that they probably shouldn't, where nothing outlandishly horrid happens but there's a sinister air about him. I was hoping this relationship would lead to other things, but it didn't.
2) This book definitely sees Sophia as a bad person, which is nice. I enjoy books that are self aware with how terrible their MC is.
What I'm Struggling With: This book felt like it should have been a movie. The characters are seen through a very shallow lens, which fits with the narrative of Sophia being the shallow person she is, but it would have been nice and more impactful to have some character depth. It feels like the author had a specific ending and theme in mind, and the rest of the book created around this ending and theme were lacking.
What I Didn't Like: 1) The book's way of poking fun at the health/wellness and beauty industry felt a bit immature. There are valid criticisms to be had, especially when the more malicious aspects of the industry directly feed off of women and girls' insecurities. However, this book felt very surface-level in its understanding of what the true issues with the industry are. It's funny to laugh at people smoking turmeric root through vape pens because of how ridiculous it is, until you realize that it's not so funny people are directly hurting themselves to maintain a crushing standard they'll never reach. Like I said, there are genuine issues with the industry that could be expanded on in a creative way, but this book seemed to take the notion that some women and girls are just super vain and left it at that.
2) Sophia having zero repercussions not only made sense, but it wasn't satisfying. I can understand the author trying to have a "grr this is so unfair" moment at the ending that leaves you impassioned, but it just didn't make sense. Narratively, there's no way Sophia would have gotten off scott-free with everything she did and how deeply she was involved. Sure, she didn't kill anyone to make the youthjuice....except she murdered her supposed best friend to keep its secret. Yeah, she was just employed at the company and wasn't responsible for youthjuice being created....except she used the blood cream multiple times and kept its secret origins under wraps until it didn't benefit her anymore. Again, I get the idea of an unjust ending reflecting how in our own world capitalism often prevails, but this wasn't satisfying. I think it would have been better if Sophia realized how horrible she and her actions were, but she went down with HEBE in the end.
3) There should have been a twist to the story outside of youthjuice being made with human blood. The cover of the book itself spoils this twist, and there was a lacking "oomph" that a good surprise holds in a book like this.
4) As mentioned above, the flashbacks to Sophia's childhood with Mona and Chase didn't really add much. I was expecting Mona's death to be more directly a result of Sophia's actions, especially after Dom died. But when Mona overdoses and Sophia just watches her die....it leaves the reader with nothing. It's a pretty empty plotline that gave me the impression it was created to fill more pages.
TLDR: This book was fun up until the final act. There could have been less flowery writing that ultimately said nothing, because the story was over and just leading up to an unsatisfying conclusion. It felt like the author had a cool idea and didn't know how to properly formulate an execution to that idea. I'll be curious about her other books, with this being an enjoyable one-time read. ...more
This book is breathtaking. It is an educated view into 15th century China, but even moreso a perspective into the beautiful importance of female relatThis book is breathtaking. It is an educated view into 15th century China, but even moreso a perspective into the beautiful importance of female relationships and the lives of women. I was brought to tears twice, once at the immensely incredible show of female love and support that can only be found within community, and then at the loss of such a meaningful woman's life.
We live such unique lives throughout every generation. Women are courageous and strong through everything we endure from society. I am endlessly inspired by the true stories of historical women....more
Interesting to listen to while in the car and driving, definitely learned some cool things. This is something that you won't be able to get into if3.5
Interesting to listen to while in the car and driving, definitely learned some cool things. This is something that you won't be able to get into if you aren't heavily invested in the subject material, and even then I think the book was just a little bit too long. Super interesting though! I would recommend this to another forensics nerd. ...more
It's a cute introduction to the topics that it presents, but you need to use it as a very basic jumping pad for your own research. There was also a loIt's a cute introduction to the topics that it presents, but you need to use it as a very basic jumping pad for your own research. There was also a lot of quoting of old authors (Pliny the Elder *cough cough*) without very good citations. The author's own opinions on the topic being thrown into the book was also a bit of a letdown....more
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