Publishers Weekly
04/08/2024
If The Picture of Dorian Gray were set at a contemporary Goop-esque “wellness and lifestyle” brand, it might read something like Sathue’s satirical, gory, and delectable debut. Sophia Bannion, 29, is the newest creative hire at Manhattan’s Hebe, a beauty and wellness company run by the freakishly beautiful Tree Whitestone and named for the Greek goddess of youth. From the jump, Sathue makes readers aware that something sinister is behind the façade of perfection at Hebe, and as Sophia becomes more enmeshed in Tree’s inner circle, that something slowly comes into focus. In this horror story examining the social pressures on girls and women, the only fault is how on-the-nose some of the symbolism is (“We bathed in their blood to stay young” goes the opening line). Nonetheless, as Sophia’s past comes to light and Hebe’s dark side is revealed, readers will be on the edges of their seats waiting to find out the truth. It’s a certifiable page-turner. (June)
From the Publisher
Praise for youthjuice
A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2024
A CrimeReads Best Horror Book of 2024
“Entertaining and gloomy. The writing is sharp and full of scathing lines that poke fun at the wellness industry.”
—Gabino Iglesias, The New York Times Book Review
“It takes a deft hand to write a story that is hilarious and terrifying in equal measure, and it’s to E.K. Sathue’s great credit that she threads that needle. [youthjuice is] a blistering, surreal satire of toxic wellness culture, perfect for fans of dark-edged feminist writers like Mona Awad and Leigh Stein.”
—Portland Press Herald
“This is the best It Girl satire that you simply have to read if you’re into content creation, the latest skincare craze and the beauty world. Oh, and prepare to squirm.”
—New York Post
“Lena Dunham’s Girls meets Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop meets Mona Awad’s Bunny meets . . . Elizabeth Báthory. youthjuice is a darkly comedic cautionary tale, oozing with voice.”
—Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth
“Staggeringly brilliant and bitingly honest, youthjuice is as beautiful as it is brutal, dancing between razor-sharp commentary on beauty culture and the visceral pain of existing as a girl in this world. The sublime prose will have you gasping in awe while the terrifying twists will keep you squirming and feverishly turning the pages. E.K. Sathue skillfully peels back the pretty pink veneer of youth, friendship, and beauty to insecurity, betrayal, and violence. This novel is a blood-smeared mirror. What truth will it reflect back to you?”
—Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep
“youthjuice is a shocking dive into the depths of what we will do to stay young and beautiful. It’s brutal, funny, poignant, and one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in ages. E.K. Sathue’s prose is devastatingly elegant. A must-read, but you may question your beauty habits after!”
—Amina Akhtar, author of Almost Surely Dead and Kismet
“Youth and beauty have never seemed at once so desirable and repulsive. This book sickened me in the very best way. I don’t know if I want to go run to get Botox or swear off beauty products forever, but either way youthjuice got under my (ever-aging!) skin and might stay there for a very long time.”
—CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly
“Sumptuous and f*cked up, youthjuice explores our obsession with anti-aging through luxuriously icky body horror.”
—Milo Michaels, University Book Store
“A dark, sardonic look at the beauty industry.”
—Electric Lit
“Campy yet cunning . . . This book is great for anyone who likes a little gore with their glam.”
—Read it or Weep
“Ferocious . . . Soaked in blood and rage, E.K. Sathue’s debut novel exposes a culture of toxic femininity against a backdrop of grisly body horror.”
—FanFiAddict
“Former beauty editor E.K. Sathue has given us a gift: youthjuice . . . It’s a twisted funhouse mirror, not a well-lit vanity.”
—The Fandomentals
“youthjuice is a delicious descent into insanity.”
—Horror Bound
“Oozing, fetid, body horror-packed blast from the first page to the very last . . . Will make you think twice next time a viral beauty trend comes across your feed.”
—Winter Is Coming
“Fast-paced and scathing satire of the beauty industry . . . Fans of intensely unsettling stories about unlikable but captivating women, such as Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and CJ Leede’s Maeve Fly, will flock to this debut.”
—Booklist
“If The Picture of Dorian Gray were set at a contemporary Goop-esque ‘wellness and lifestyle’ brand, it might read something like Sathue’s satirical, gory, and delectable debut . . . It’s a certifiable page-turner.”
—Publishers Weekly
“With mesmerizing prose and startlingly precise imagery, youthjuice is far beyond just another beauty industry horror novel. . . Sathue will have readers snort-laughing and cringing simultaneously.”
—Shelf Awareness
“A glittering, grotesque horror that dissects the shallow frenzy of NYC’s It-girl culture, revealing the grotesque extremes of beauty obsession. Sathue’s debut exposes the sinister side of influencer culture, leaving you wary of your next skincare routine and questioning the true cost of eternal youth.”
—BookTrib
“A stomach-turning work of corporate horror with a sharp focus on satirizing the beauty industry and its influencers.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2024-04-05
A young woman’s career in the beauty industry takes a gruesome turn when the luxury brand she works for develops a product—with questionable ingredients—that can miraculously preserve youth.
It’s clear from the very first pages that there’s something wrong with HEBE, the SoHo-based skincare company where Sophia Bannion works. Sophia herself isn’t particularly concerned with HEBE’s cultlike following, her boss’ obsession with eternal youth, or the fact that the company’s interns keep going missing. Haunted by some shocking events in her youth and suffering from a violent nail-biting habit—“I’ve stripped a hangnail from thumb to wrist. Crimson beads collect in the divot of shiny, wormy skin”—Sophia cares more about fitting in with her beautiful co-workers than anything else and is willing to turn a blind eye to the strange goings-on. When her boss, Tree Whitestone, asks her to try a new product called youthjuice, Sophia jumps at the opportunity. The result is nothing short of miraculous as, virtually overnight, the cream erases the scars from her nail-biting. Soon, what began as just a job for Sophia becomes a full-blown obsession. There’s nothing particularly subtle here: From the name of the company where Sophia works (a reference to the Greek goddess of youth), to her detached, Patrick-Bateman-meets-Amy-Dunne It-girl voice, to the intense images of body horror that combine the beautiful and the grotesque, Sathue’s story is bold and brash and can be extremely uncomfortable to read. Although she overuses similes, it’s a fault that can be overlooked when the plot is as audacious and thrilling as this one. With an ending that will no doubt divide its readers, this novel is perfect for fans of Mona Awad and Emily Danforth.
A stomach-turning work of corporate horror with a sharp focus on satirizing the beauty industry and its influencers.
