The world of THE BELLES is like a wonderful layered dessert: sweet, full of depth, and with clever little embellishments that round the whole thing out. The society created feels complete, and charming, with a vicious twist.
This book does a wonderful job of deconstructing the norms of how society thinks of beauty. It allows the reader to see just how twisted the process of changing a person's appearance is--complete with some truly gruesome descriptions that don't hide the horror of the way the magic works.
However, I didn't always connect with the story. Camellia is necessarily a bit naive, and I felt like I was always many steps ahead of her in terms of seeing just how treacherous the society was. The first half of the book's plot felt like it was driven primarily by Camellia being summoned to different events, and being directed by others. While this holds true with the setting of the book, it made the story feel episodic, and Camellia a bit passive.
I am sure many younger readers on the YA spectrum will enjoy this book--and there's plenty to love--but I felt that the story fell short of the worldbuilding. I hope the sequel has more room to grow, and more room for Camellia to direct her own story.
This book does a wonderful job of deconstructing the norms of how society thinks of beauty. It allows the reader to see just how twisted the process of changing a person's appearance is--complete with some truly gruesome descriptions that don't hide the horror of the way the magic works.
However, I didn't always connect with the story. Camellia is necessarily a bit naive, and I felt like I was always many steps ahead of her in terms of seeing just how treacherous the society was. The first half of the book's plot felt like it was driven primarily by Camellia being summoned to different events, and being directed by others. While this holds true with the setting of the book, it made the story feel episodic, and Camellia a bit passive.
I am sure many younger readers on the YA spectrum will enjoy this book--and there's plenty to love--but I felt that the story fell short of the worldbuilding. I hope the sequel has more room to grow, and more room for Camellia to direct her own story.