Every Exquisite Thing (Review)

Information:

• Author: Laura Steven
• Genre: Horror, Thriller
• Page Count: 364
• Year published: 2023

Read This If You Like:

• British novels
• Queer representation
• Picture Of Dorian Grey retellings
• Dark Academia vibes
• Horrifying reads
• Messages about beauty and perfection
• Theatre

Spoiler-Free Summary:

Penny Paxton is the daughter of an iconic actress, and her one goal is to continue her mother’s legacy. Penny enrolls at the elite Dorian Drama Academy that she’s dreamed of attending her whole life, but it isn’t starting well, especially with her new rival Davina getting in the way. When Penny’s mentor tells her of an artist who creates portraits that can trap the subject in their current state, therefore giving them immortal beauty and youth (similar to The Picture Of Dorian Grey), Penny greatly accepts, knowing that she’ll soon have the attention she deserves. But only days later, Penny’s mentor is found dead, and her own portrait is destroyed. As more deaths and incidents happen, Penny starts to realize the terrible cost she paid for her beauty.

Review/Opinions:

This was a very unique story. I loved the author’s first YA horror story, The Society For Soulless Girls, (you can read my review for it here) so when I found out that she released another book only a few days after I finished Soulless Girls, I was so excited to read it. I was lucky to find a way to get the book as quickly as possible (Every Exquisite Thing isn’t available officially in the U.S, only in the U.K.), and I’m glad to say it lived up to my expectations.

If you prefer your YA horror on the greatly disturbing side, this book definitely is the one for you. There were so many moments and twists that I didn’t expect. This author is a master of surprising her readers. There was a bit of a slow start (an issue that also appeared in Soulless Girls), but then when the book started to speed up, it packed so much suspense and shock.

Most of the horror is included to highlight a main theme in the novel: how we focus on perfection and beauty. The Picture Of Dorian Grey was the perfect story to base this novel off of, as through the paintings Penny understands the grave cost she paid to gain immortal beauty. Due to her mother’s reputation, Penny feels like her beauty is her key focus on life, but not in a snobby and annoying way and more in a way of longing and hurt, especially since Penny is shown to suffer from hair loss, which makes her extremely afraid. She takes many extreme measures to maintain herself, including restricting her eating, and eventually agreeing to have her portrait created, which results in huge consequences for her life (which also are seen in Penny’s mom’s character). This isn’t just a horror story, but also a story of acceptance.

This book also contained some good queer representation. Penny states at one point that she’s gay, and that it affected a relationship with a former friend (it’s brought up multiple times in the text, but we don’t get much explanation for that incident). Catalina, one of Penny’s close friends at Dorian is also confirmed gay, and Davina, Penny’s rival, is shown to like girls, but her exact sexuality isn’t confirmed. The queer representation is a bit more subtle (This also happened in Soulless Girls), but it’s there. Other than romantic relationships, there are also great “just friends” relationships, especially between Davina and Penny, who start as very bitter rivals but later develop to have a close bond.

Overall, fans of horror novels and retellings should definitely try out this novel from the author of The Society For Soulless Girls. Besides the terrifying scenes, there are also beautiful messages about beauty and perfection and the risks we will go to achieve it.