BOOK REVIEW: EVERY EXQUISITE THING BY LAURA STEVEN

GOOD READ SUMMARY:

A feminist YA horror-thriller-romance retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray by the TikTok sensation and author of The Society for Soulless Girls… Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School. When Penny’s new mentor offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse, to have a portrait painted by a mysterious artist who can grant immortal beauty to all his subjects, Penny happily follows in the footsteps of Dorian’s most glittering alumni, knowing that stardom is sure to soon be hers. But when her trusted mentor is found murdered, Penny realises she’s made a terrible mistake – a sinister someone is using the uncanny portraits to kill off the subjects one by one. As more perfectly beautiful students start to fall, Penny knows her time is running out . . . A seductive and searing exploration of beauty, identity, and what the pursuit of perfection can truly cost.

TEE'S THOUGHTS 

“The things we truly wanted wasn’t actually beauty, it was whatever we believed beauty could buy us.”

As someone whose favorite classic is The Picture of Dorian Gray, of course I had to pick up Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven, and honestly? I’m very glad I did.

Set inside a prestigious arts academy filled with girls willing to sacrifice nearly anything for perfection, this book feels atmospheric, obsessive, and deeply unsettling at times. It tackles very real issues surrounding beauty standards, eating disorders, desire, and the desperate need to be seen and loved.

Penny is completely consumed by the idea of beauty — believing if she can just become perfect enough, talented enough, beautiful enough, maybe her iconic mother will finally notice her… and maybe she’ll finally outrun the girls constantly waiting to take her place.

The writing itself is gorgeous. Laura Steven writes in such a vivid, descriptive way that the entire academy feels alive. And while the story does begin a bit slowly, once it finally picks up… all hell truly breaks loose. The twists kept coming and I genuinely didn’t know where things were headed.

This is ultimately a story about desire. The desire for beauty, love, validation, connection and the dangerous depths people are willing to go to in order to obtain them.

Just know going in: this is YA, so don’t expect spice — expect obsession, atmosphere, tension, and emotional unraveling instead