Linda Cheng

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces was quite literally unput-down-able for me. This book was so f***ing good at being creepy and keeping me asking questions about what happened in the past and what is happening in the present. It really keeps you guessing if there are paranormal things happening (asked myself several times while reading if this was actually a sci-fi/fantasy book) or if things are just happening inside Sunny’s head.

this book is like if you took Perfect Blue Pretty Little Liars Tomie show more Carrie the tiniest pinch of Midsommar a pinch of k-drama level drama/romance.

the book flips between two timelines—present day and 2-3 years prior. In the past, we follow three girls (Sunny, Candie, and Mina) as they as selected to star in a K-pop inspired TV series, that turns them into a real life K-pop girl group. then in the present, we follow Sunny by herself. something has happened to Mina, and Sunny and Candie no longer speak. the group is no longer and Sunny is fading away from celebrity status.

then she learns that Candie is attending a workshop intended to gather girls for a new K-pop girl group. Sunny applies as well and gets accepted. she is determined to reconnect with Candie and find out what happened to Mina.

plot: ★★★★★
this is so original (at least I’ve never seen another book with even a remotely similar outline). the story blends together contemporary fiction, horror, romance, and the smallest pinch of fantasy. and it doesn’t feel weird at all to have all of that mixed together here. I was hooked from the first chapter. the fantasy element did throw me off a tiny bit though.

writing/prose: ★★★★★
I genuinely have no complaints on how this was written. I feel like writing teenagers or young adults can get difficult, because you don’t want them to sound like adults, but it’s also a very slippery slope to making them sound like elementary school students. I appreciate that the characters in this book come across as very normal teenagers (even being in abnormal scenarios). I was completely absorbed into this world.

pacing: ★★★★★
this was a fast-paced story. there’s no lolly-gagging while getting into the grit of it and there’s never any down time. it is also a shorter book, so really easy to read in a couple days.

humor: ★★★★☆ (3.5 rounded up)
Sunny was a super snarky character. while this book isn’t categorized as humorous, there were enough little bits of humor to act as comedic relief.

characters: ★★★★★
I think I can say I grew to love every single character that we got to know (except for Jinhwon, obviously). Candie was really hard for me because I felt distrustful of her from the jump, but as we got to know her, I fell in love with her by the end.

spice level: show less

I have often felt that YA horror is a grossly overlooked genre that needs more attention. I am glad to say that not only is "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" a good addition to said genre, but it is also a great addition for diversity in horror literature, both from an Asian and LGBT representation perspective. Is it a bit campy? Perhaps. But that is part of where the fun lies!

The best way for me to describe this book is to think of the sapphic vibes of "Jennifer's Body" (with thankfully less show more queer-baiting), the uber capitalistic/exploitative themes of "Squid's Game," and the horror elements of another great YA book I read recently "I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me" all joined together. If any of those elements appeal to you, then more likely than not, "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" will as well, regardless of whether you are into the K-pop/K-drama scene. show less

I expected more from this book than I got. The timing was weird, the pacing was awful, the flashbacks increasingly annoying, the details overdone in some areas and almost none in others. The supernatural events--okay, fine. The author would do a plot point neatly and concisely, then drag it out. I don't think this was to pad word count. I think she wasn't sure how to link things neatly, since she kept doing it in a particular way. The repeated "enemies to friends" was annoying at first, then show more frustrating, then finally enraging. Shut up! This was a poor portrayal of Kpop stardom and its fallout. "Kpop Confidential" by Stephan Lee handles these themes much, much better and is a far more engaging novel. It's a better debut to a series, too, unlike this one. This will develop into a series, but why? I was glad to finish this in any regard. Sigh. show less

Sunny Lee was once part of a popular teen pop girl trio with fans all over the world. Her stardom cratered when she was involved in a cheating scandal with a male pop star. Additionally, her trio dissolved when, Mina, one of the three group members inexplicably committed suicide. Sunny, humiliated, traumatized and devastated, withdrew from the public eye.
Two years later, Sunny, seeking answers about the past, joins a competitive K-Pop performance workshop when she hears that her former show more bandmate and best friend Candy has signed up.
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is a queer, contemporary, dark horror novel with a slow start but a fast paced, tense second half. I enjoyed the Asian folklore/mythology that underpinned the story and the eerie unsettling, claustrophobic atmosphere. This book offered insightful social commentary about damaging female beauty standards and the pressures of stardom especially in the cutthroat world of K-Pop. It felt a bit muddled at times but overall, a compulsively readable thriller. 3 1/2 stars rounded up. Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy to review. show less