youthjuice was a fun ride of a novel. I love an unreliable female narrator in a story and youthjuice produced a perfect one in Sofia. I felt the story got a bit drawn out in the middle and would have loved more story on Dom and what happens with her. The narrator of the audiobook was also wonderful to listen to. If you are into horror but maybe in a fun feminine way, this book is for you.

This was a fun book to listen to. It's set in the It-girl world of New York City where everyone is obsessed with status and appearances and youth.

The book's main character, Sophia has started working at a skincare company called HEBE. As well as a job, it's an entire culture-led by the charismatic founder Tree-and Sophia quickly gets pulled in. She's especially enraptured by a product called youthjuice which has miraculously healed her hands from years of self-injury.

Only, the method for creating youthjuice isn't harmless. Once Sophia and others know, they're faced with the moral dilemma of how far they'll go in pursuit of beauty.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s life story. lol just kidding. But goop plus the blood of virgins to stay young and beautiful.

Definitely for horror fans that have morbid curiosity of the beauty trends on social media.

Dual timeline following Sophia when she was you get and now that she works in the beauty influencer field. She struggles with biting her hang nails and nails to the point of blood dripping down her arms until her boss gives her some youthjuice 👀

It was good. I felt like it was longer than it needed to be but enjoyable in a gross way 😂

I really liked the narrator and the juxtaposition of her voice with what was going on in the story.

Thanks to netgalley and recorded books for an advanced listening copy.

This book was super fun and super disgusting! Exactly what I was looking for!
The imagery was extremely well done, I read a lot of horror but gore in this really surprised me. I had to periodically take breaks to calm down and remind myself it was just a book.
The story was extremely fast paced and was easy to binge. The narrator did an excellent job!

In her debut novel Youthjuice, E.K. Sathue plunges readers into the sinister underbelly of New York City's It-girl culture with a sharp and satirical edge. Drawing parallels to iconic works like "American Psycho" and "The Devil Wears Prada," Sathue crafts a gripping tale that exposes the horrors lurking beneath the glamorous facade of the beauty industry.

Sathue's narrative is both vivid and disturbing, with elements of body horror and gore that add to the unsettling atmosphere. Yet, despite the gruesome imagery, Youthjuice isn't a traditional horror novel that relies on fear; instead, it immerses readers in the warped psyche of its protagonist.

The story follows Sophia, a character whose descent into madness serves as a chilling reflection of society's relentless pursuit of youth and beauty. As Sophia navigates the cutthroat world of influencers and beauty products, readers are treated to a blend of satire, horror, and dark humor.

One of the novel's strengths lies in its portrayal of Sophia, a deeply flawed and unhinged character whose actions are driven by societal pressures and personal insecurities. Through Sophia's perspective, Sathue explores the damaging effects of beauty standards and the insidious influence of social media and celebrity culture on young women.
Youthjuice feels particularly relevant in today's society, where the obsession with youth and beauty has reached unprecedented heights. Sathue deftly captures the cultural zeitgeist, offering a sharp critique of the beauty industry's exploitative practices and the toxic influence of social media.

With its soft pink cover and hints of darkness, Youthjuice is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the darker side of beauty and obsession. Sathue's compelling narrative and incisive commentary make this novel a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of our society's fixation on appearances.

Interesting premise I enjoyed the talk of the beauty and anti-aging industry and how it affects us. Narration was good writing was at times confusing and could be a little hard to follow what was going on which may have been easier not on an audiobook. It was definitely something different for me to read and I like to go outside my comfort zone every once in a while. I want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & RB Media for the ARC via audiobook!

This book was marketed as "American Psycho meets The Devil Wears Prada" - I was interested by the DWP aspect so I decided to give this a try. Although this story vaguely resembles DWP, unfortunately plot overall fell a bit flat for me. This isn't a genre I'm usually into, but the depictions of body horror felt a bit gratuitous at times. The "big reveal" occurs in the middle of the story and after that things kind of fell off for me and I was kind of bored by it. Overall this isn't anything remarkable and I'm a bit disappointed as the overall idea was really interesting to me.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, I think I may have enjoyed reading the book just a little bit more. The narrator fell slightly flat (for me). Also, it did have some gory scenes but I did not find it scary. It is being hailed as American Psycho-ish and in some small respect I found that true - showcasing the ‘horrors’ of the beauty industry and the fmc going a kinda “Bateman Cray-Cray” but it certainly wasn’t what I was hoping for in a horror thriller.

I loved the premise of this book, I thought it was interesting and unique! It fits entirely with modern culture and takes a very cool and trippy take on the beauty standards everyone aspires to in today’s world. The characters were equally as weird yet interesting. It has a strange cult vibe and I loved it! Highly recommend!

This book was so delicious and twisted. I loved the protagonist and her self doubt was so relatable. I will be recommending this one!

A horror story layered between skincare serums and revitalizing retinoids, Youthjuice combines the airy, near-spiritual zealousness of Goop and Goop adjacent companies with American Psycho.

This is the newest in a microtrend of skincare/influencer horror, which I'm quite enjoying at the moment. This book has a fair amount of body horror which is appropriate for the subject matter and it got a bit gorey at the end which I appreciated. The protagonist, Sophia, was a fun character to live in the head of. I think we really embodied a lot of the uncaring that goes on in the beauty and fashion industries. Yes, reality does not have horrors written about in the book, but we do have sweatshops and near-slave labor. The book explores the idea that beauty is often paid for by blood in compelling, easy-to-read horror.

My biggest complaints were that I wish the themes were a bit more serious and I think we could have cut down the character list a bit. The book is a bit of a constant barrage of similar, trendy female names and I often lost track of who was who. I also wasn't very interested in Sophia's back story and I often skimmed those sections. For a book that wasn't even 300 pages long, it felt slow at times though it really speeded up towards the end.

A horror story of the beauty industry in an alternative universe where Goop has done anything to make the ultimate youth product. This was evil and thrilling.

This has been one of my favorite books of 2024 so far! I love the commentary on the beauty industry coupled with the horror elements. Makes for a perfect #girlread

American Psycho for the boss babe millennials with cutting commentary of what it means to be an *almost* 30-year-old woman.

Sathue's novel follows Sophia, an *almost* 30-year-old woman living in NYC as she gets a job that she's not quite qualified for at a skincare startup, HEBE. While Sophia may have lied a bit on her resume, HEBE is also not completely truthful about what goes on behind the scenes. When HEBE founder and CEO Tree gives Sophia a new product to try, youthjuice, Sophia finds herself obsessed with who she can become at this new company and lifestyle. As HEBE starts to crack and Sophia starts to learn what exactly youthjuice costs she must confront if what she's gained from HEBE is worth it.

We are truly living through a horror by girls, for the girls renaissance and I am lucky to be here for it. youthjuice is a cutting commentary on topics such as imposter syndrome, aging, female friendship, jealousy, and office power dynamics. While the novel takes place in NYC, you don't have to be from a major metropolitan city to understand the dynamics of jealousy within friendships, the psychological effect of aging when you're young, but not THAT young anymore, and navigating a corporate world where no one is as the appear. Sathue's use of body horror to convey the all consuming guilt, anxiety, and hatred of what we can't control is a masterpiece.

If I had to sum this book up with just one adjective, I would pick "yucky". I found the plot quite dreadful and, again, yucky, and it didn't really go nowhere or at least nowhere unexpected. It's clear from the beginning that things are going in just one direction. I listened to the audiobook and the quality of the recording was poor at times, some parts seemed to have been recorded with a totally different intonation (when compared to the previous related part), just like that, for no reason.

I listen to the audiobook for Youthjuice by EK Sathue and narrated by Susie Jackson who I thought did a brilliant performance. The book is about Sophia Banyan when we meet her she is new at her job for Vebib a skin care company a kin to Goop. The obscure and strange head of this company Tree Whitestone is obsessed with vitality freshness and skin that has loads of Dewey goodness to it. You see this by the mini mini mini interns that are young beautiful trending and change as often as the calendar. Throughout the book we also learned about Sophia‘s childhood friend who won day she abruptly stop talking to and it’s alluded that maybe that is why Sophia Has to wear gloves all the time when in the presence of others due to her biting her hangnails and or ripping inches of skin from her hands either way she has massive scarring. Then one day Tree calls her into her office and ask her specifically to do a trial run with the new skin cream and then… OK let me say one thing first this is not body hora… At all nor is it American psycho for the most part with the exception of a few brief moments this could very well be thriller and I haven’t even mention her boyfriend Ken also known as Richard. That’s not to say I was disappointed because the whole thing with the roommate I mean that was creepy right? I would definitely read another book by this author but another thing I noticed that this book isn’t told the stories are usually told to you but more told at you like she could be in one place and then Bam she’s in another I mean there were parts of the book that we’re written like a regular story with her intercontemplations about decisions of upcoming events but then other times it’s just I’m doing this and then damn now I’m doing this but I think this author is very talented there was something I really liked about the way she put words together and maybe if she could tell a story in chronological order I think she could really do well or maybe sharpen whatever skill she wanted this book to look like oh really I’m not putting my thoughts into good words just know there’s a Lotta good about this book but a few negatives and I wouldn’t go into this looking for body horror I think if you sat and thought about what the book was telling you maybe your thoughts it could be under body Horror and maybe her nail biting but I DK what they were talking about when they put that in the summary but then again that’s just another summary that doesn’t fit the story told. I still recommend this book to those who want a new way of hearing or reading a story because youth juice is definitely that I have never seen this type of storytelling before, I have definitely read this trope before but not written in this way. Once again I am not putting my thoughts into very good word so maybe I suck as a rider as well.… I said that wrong because I do not think EK Sathue is a bad writer at all. The narrator as I said did a great job. I want to thank RB media for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

"youthjuice" by E.K. Sathue offers an intriguing exploration of society's constant obsession with eternal youth. It's body horror and the beauty industry. The concept is engaging, but this just didn't work for me as much as I hoped it would. Strong audiobook, though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

youthjuice
Written by E.K. Sathue
Read by Suzy Jackson
Book 49/250
Genre: Horror, Satire
Format: Audio/Digital, ARC
Pages/Time: 288/7hr 58min
Published: June 4, 2024
Rating: 8.75/10
Narration: 7.5
Horror: 👻👻👻

"The harm we do to others is nothing compared to the harm we do to ourselves."

Body horror normally creeps me out more than any other subgenre. Mix that with Sathue’s biting satire, and you get the “American Psycho” of this generation. youthjuice is a cocktail of literary whiplash. I went from laughing out loud to supremely grossed out on the same page, thus creating a truly disturbing and unsettling book. Reading this over, that sounds a little negative, but I assure you that it is the height of praise! youthjuice is a perfectly haunting debut, and E.K. Sathue is a name to keep an eye out for!

3.75 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, RBmedia, and Recorded Books for an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This debut novel was a strange one, that’s for sure! It was strange in a good way, which made it a solid read. The fact that I got to enjoy it via audiobook was a nice touch because the audiobook was well done. The narrator did a great job channeling our main character, Sophia Bannion.

Speaking of, all of the characters were interesting to read. I wish they were a little more fleshed out so that they would each be more unique. Since this was a pretty short audiobook, all the characters felt a bit surface-level. That said, I did enjoy reading from Sophia’s POV and seeing her fall apart piece by piece.

The plot is definitely a satirical look into the beauty and wellness space, which may not be for everyone. It also had a couple of body horror scenes that made me squirm as I listened to them- which is good for any horror novel! I think the body horror aspect could’ve gone further, but I loved the scenes that were in the book. It had a solid horror element that had me creeped out.

This was a solid debut novel that I breezed through, although I wish it was longer and went more in-depth. But I definitely recommend it if you enjoy horror!

I had high hopes for youthjuice but unfortunately it flatlined. The narrator was delightful but I’m not sure her voice fit the main character. This book was described as American Psycho meets The Devil Wears Prada. I can see faint hints of American Psycho and stronger hints of The Devil Wears Prada. The main plot point is showcased in the book cover. I think the plot only flirted with the horror of the beauty industry. As Plane Jane from Rupaul’s Drag Race said, “ Mama, Kudos For Saying That. For Spilling.” ALC was provided by RB Media/Recorded Books via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.