Cover Image: The Beauty That Remains

The Beauty That Remains

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This book was okay. I wasn’t clutching my chest nor was I bored to tears. I’d say it is a plausible and relatable depiction of grief that would affect a sibling, a former significant other and a best friend. I found the thread that connected all of them to be very thin and given a bit more attention could have been more impactful. I did like having three different POV and felt that the switching between them motivated me to continue reading. The substance abuse though... I get that it’s a coping mechanism for grief but it’s not the ONLY one. It might be the most accessible to characters of this age, but can we be a little less transparent? And if you’re going to use it, let it be organic to the character.

I don’t think I would recommend this.

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Don’t you love the cover of THE BEAUTY THAT REMAINS by Ashley Woodfolk (March 6; Random House; SLJ: Grade 9 up)? The story is also multi-faceted, being told from three perspectives by racially diverse characters: Autumn, Shay, and Logan each of whom have lost someone they loved (a best friend to a car crash, a twin to leukemia and a boyfriend to apparent suicide). They, too, need to rebuild and reform their lives and get beyond the shocking situations, the panic attacks and the self-medicating with alcohol. Debut author Woodfolk weaves a darker and very emotional tale as these three try to cope with grief, saying at one point, "Lying is the new language we speak. It's the only way we can talk at all." Gradually, though, they begin to rely on new friendships and a shared interest in music. THE BEAUTY THAT REMAINS received a starred review from School Library Journal.

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This book was truly breathtaking. From the writing to the story, it is one that will remain with me forever. I loved the themes of grief, love and acceptance in the novel

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Thank you to netgalley and publishers! This was a 3.5 rating for me but I rounded up on here.

I really became invested in all the characters. I wanted to know how there grief would get better and what it took to do it. Terms like twinless broke my heart with Shay, Logan was destructive it was hard to watch but painfully real., Autumn made me text my long time best friend from middle school because I couldn't fathom losing her.

My reason for the star drop is just because there were a few spots that just moved to slow for me. It had me sitting the book down from time to time.

All in all this was a great debut and I can't wait to see what she does next!

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Very sad read. It focuses on three teens who have all lost a peer that they cared for. As a parent, it's hard to read about the death of young people so this was a difficult, emotional read. Not sure, I would recommend this for young adults still in high school. Maybe once they've distanced themselves from some of the angst of high school, they could read it and not internalize much of the emotion of the novel. Or if it could be used for a grief youth group.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for access to the eBook ARC of The Beauty That Remains in exchange for my honest feedback.

In The Beauty That Remains, Ashley Woodfolk explores dealing with grief and guilt through the prospective of three teens: Autumn, Shay, and Logan. Autumn lost her best friend; Shay lost her twin, and Logan lost his estranged ex-boyfriend. In addition to grief, their connection to a local band and their love of music ties their story together.

The book alternates between the three teens and incorporates social media posts from the deceased to tell the story. Due to the alternating view points and the multiple narratives, the story seemed to slow towards the end. While some of the story may feel cliche, it is rooted in believable and varied reactions to grief, and the author brings to light interesting discussions about the digital ghosts we leave behind.

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Okay. Just finished this book. Amazing. Not my usual cup of tea, but I fell into the hype trap and let me tell you, the hype is more than worth it. This book is heart wrenching and beautiful. I’m in love Ashley Woodfolk’s style and clarity. She captures human emotion with such brutal honesty that I can’t even put it into words.

We start with a funeral. From page 1 you’re tossed into an avalanche of sorrow and guilt and missed opportunities. We’ve all been there. Ashley captures those feelings and proceeds to remove your heart. I’m not one to get emotional with books, but this one...it gets you right in the feels and doesn’t let you go. Ever.

110% recommend this to anyone who loves having their heart ripped open.

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4.5/5 Stars

Why is it that I'm always drawn to books that rend my heart into pieces? Honestly though, The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk is an exquisitely nuanced story of life and death through the eyes of three teenagers. It captures the myriad ways loss impacts each individual while also delving into the craziness of high school life. With so much heart on the page, I'll focus on five reasons this book is a must read.

Top 5 Reasons Beauty Still Remains
1. This book's take on loss, grief, and everything that comes with it is incredible. It deals with holding emotions inside, raging against the world, blaming oneself, overwhelming anxiety, seeking help and so much more. Each person handles grief differently and Woodfolk captures that perfectly.
2. An emotional story doesn't work if the reader cannot feel for the characters. Thankfully all three had distinct traits, (Autumn, the reserved artist, Logan, the intense singer-songwriter, and Shay, the passionate music aficionado), that anyone could see themselves on the page.
3. Diversity! Autumn is an adopted Korean American, Logan is gay, Shay is black and it doesn't stop there.
4. I loved that music was what connected all of theses stories together in both big and small ways.  That is what music does after all. Plus the Unraveling Lovely is an epic band name!
5. Woodfolk's writing was spectacular, presenting a heartfelt narrative with three unique perspectives that delivered on tough topics. Kudos for a killer debut!

Overall The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk is a gripping story of grief that leaves a lasting impression. The author weaves a complex narrative of interconnecting characters and emotions with ease and creates a vivid picture of life and loss. Autumn, Shay, and Logan were wonderful characters to follow and centering the story around music was a brilliant choice. I absolutely recommend this one!

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This book was beautiful. I loved it. Books that deal with such a heavy subject can sometimes be too much but the connectiveness of this really pulled through for me.

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ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. The beauty that remains is heartbreaking, of course, since the three main characters are grieving the loss of someone very dear to them, but there is also a lot of hope in the ways they deal, the people they lean on and how music helps them cope.

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Shay, Logan, and Autumn share a group of friends that are united for their love of indie rock and the band Unraveling Lovely . When they all simultaneously lose someone they love, the group falls apart as grief affects them all in completely different ways. Shay suffers from panic attacks after she loses her twin sister Sasha. Logan is obsessed with watching his ex-boyfriend Bram's videos and alcohol, and Autumn continues to confide in her best friend Tavia via email while she isolates herself from her friends and family. As their grief and guilt continue to weigh them down, they struggle to fight their way out of the darkness and the one thing that brought them all together may be the only thing that can save them.

This standout debut novel from Ashley Woodfolk is amazing. This is a well-written story with real characters that you can relate to and empathize with. If you're looking for plot twists and a thrilling climax, this may not be the story for you. But if you want an authentic, absorbing and worthwhile read about loss and grief, then look no further because The Beauty That Remains is the book for you.

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WARNING: Grief, Depression, Suicide

Shay, Autumn and Logan have lost someone they love; Shay, her twin to Leukemia, Autumn, her bestfriend to an accident and Logan, his ex-boyfriend to an overdose.

In hindsight, I should've known better than to read this book. Given my ongoing battle with against depression, this isn't the right book for me but when I'm done reading I wasn't regretful at all. I'm fine so I think that's a good thing. Yes, I was left very emotional with the characters, not so much with Autumn though. I kinda feel her POV a little lacking. But Logan and Shay, I felt so much. How can one move on after losing someone? And how can someone get through the grief when it's also tinted with regret because these three have all the reasons to be regretful for the deaths of their loved ones. And that's what make this book so emotional. This book really talked deep to me I cried more than I expected. I think the author succeeded on making each character's voice really distinguishable that reading their POVs felt more emotional.
Though I really liked each of the three character's stories , I don't think I liked it that much how they were connected. I didn't really dislike it but there wasn't special about it either. It's like reading three separate stories in a trilogy that can be read as standalones. But it still great how the author weaved their stories together.

Overall, I encourage everyone to read this. It was well-written and the characters voices are truly unique and interesting to read. :) But again, I'm warning you with triggers.

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MY THOUGHTS:
This is the first book I have read that is solely about loss, and those affected by it. I really enjoyed it. I lost my brother this past June, so I related to these characters greatly. All 3 characters were likable in their own ways, but I do wish there was more overlapping. I don’t see the point in having 3 different point of views when they don’t overlap until the last couple chapters. Besides that, I did like this book.

PROS:
The Characters: The characters were definitely the strongest part of this novel. I loved everyone, including those that were lost. My favorite was definitely Logan, mostly because I related to his story the most. I loved the way we were shown different types of mourning, because everyone deals with loss in their own way. This novel definitely portrayed that.

The Subject Matter: This book touched upon some important topics, loss being the obvious one. Besides that it looked upon alcoholism, depression, anxiety, drunk driving, and suicide among others. Not only was all of this included, it didn’t feel forced. It wasn’t there for the sake of being there, it was present to further the story.

The Diversity: All 3 main characters were a minority: A black girl, an Asian girl, and a gay boy. Ashley didn’t stop there, though. Even the side characters were diverse.

The Music: Another main plot point was the underlying theme of music. Another way all the characters were related, besides losing someone close to them, was their involvement with a band titled Undying Lovely. It was a cool addition to the story, and I feel it helped further the plot.

CONS:
Multiple POV’s: Let me say this first. I did enjoy all the POV’s within this novel. My issue lies with the point… All three of these characters could have had their own story without affecting the others. I wish there was more overlap between their story lines, but this wasn’t really a major issue. It didn’t necessarily negatively impact my reading.

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Delacorte Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Beauty That Remains. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Autumn, Logan, and Shay are the ones that are left behind. Each lost someone special to them and each is finding their life empty now. Tavi will always be Autumn's best friend, despite dying in a car accident. Sasha will always be Shay's twin sister, although she recently died from complications due to leukemia. Logan will always regret his last words to Bram, especially because of what happens afterwards. Will the three that are left living be able to find some comfort and solace in others?

The three stories intersect through music, but there is too much that happens individually to make The Beauty That Remains a cohesive novel. The reader gets pulled in too many directions with three narrators telling the stories of the three different people that they loved. The author took too long to join the distinct plot lines, making the book too disjointed. The Beauty That Remains includes socially relevant topics such as suicide, death, and illness, so teenage readers might be able to connect to one or more of the characters. The book has a good premise, but I was disappointed in how the stories were presented. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend The Beauty That Remains.

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We follow the story of Autumn, Shay and Logan in this debut novel of Ashley Woodfolk. The three of them have recently lost someone important in their lives. Autumn lost her best friend to car accident, Shay lost her twin sister to leukemia, and Logan lost his ex-boyfriend to suicide. Each of them has their own way of dealing with their loss and grief. But until when they can accept the fact that they cannot bring back the lives of their loved ones no matter how hard they try?

Can we all just take a minute to aprreciate how gorgeous this cover is? It was actually what drew me in to get the e-arc. I love everything about it. Definitely one of my favorite book covers of all time.

Now let us talk about the book. I really enjoyed reading this book and appreciate the diversity in the cast of characters. They are all unique and relatable especially to those who have experinced (or experiencing) the same situations they’re going through.

I liked that music plays a huge part in their lives and it also connects them together. Music heals! This book also tackles on different relevant issues such as mental health, suicide, drugs, and death.

I love reading books with more than one perspective because I get to know more of the characters and what’s going on in their heads. This book has three different perspectives! I totally enjoyed reading their thoughts but most of the time it was hard for me to identify their voices, especially Autumn and Shay. And it somehow affected the way I wanted to connect with the characters. I also struggled keeping up with the names of the secondary (and tertiary) characters because there were a lot of them.

The pacing felt slow but the writing is beautiful and simple. The words flow easily which makes this book a fast-read. I hope that makes sense. The used of social media as part of the characters’ coping mechanism was pretty interesting, in my opinion. We get to see the advantages and disadvantages of it, of course.

This book is emotional and heartbreaking from the very beginning which was totally okay for me but it became a little exhausting. It also felt a little repetitive. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading books that will make me cry and some of the scenes in this book made me teary-eyed but I didn’t invest too much with the characters. At some point, I got annoyed to this one character because I felt that she is just being selfish.

It took awhile before the stories/characters to overlap which was quite odd since they’ve known each other already. They have just quite parted ways. I was still trying to guess how or when it will happen around 70% of the book. There is romance in the story but I didn’t really care about it at all. Also, the mention of Unraveling Lovely (Logan’s ex-band) and their music in almost every chapter was quite tiresome.

Overall, The Beauty That Remains is a heart-warming, very moving and powerful novel. It reminds us the importance of acceptance and closure.

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This book was beautiful and touching. It is relatable and emotional. Loved it.

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The Beauty That Remains is a debut novel of Ashley Woodfolk. This book focuses on how three teenagers suffers from grief and how music helps them deal with it. It’s written in three-point of views: Autumn who loss her bestfriend; Logan who loss his ex-boyfriend; and Shay who loss her twin sister.

Autumn is an adopted Korean-American who constantly send messages to her bestfriend even though she’s aware that it won’t be read. Logan write songs and was a lead singer of Unraveling Lovely. He resorts to alcohol when his ex-boyfriend died, couldn’t write songs and fails school; Shay loves music, attends different shows and post reviews about Independent bands, but, she develops panic attacks when her twin sister died.

Honestly, I’m having a hard time writing a review for this book because I think it’s a heavy topic. Losing someone you love is really painful and it’s hard to accept. The Beauty That Remains opened my eyes on how people feel, think or do when they are suffering from grief. It widens my perspective about acceptance and moving forward.

What I like about this book is how three narrators show their willingness to move forward, to face the truth that their loved one died, to reconnect with people surrounding them and to use music to help them deal with grief. Moreover, secondary characters has a great impact to me. Without them, those three wouldn’t be aware of what they are doing unconsciously. Family and friends are really great help to deal grief. I’m hurting every time Autumn, Logan and Shay do things every time they remember their loved ones, can’t let go and can’t move forward. I understand that it’s really hard but people around them worries about them because they are losing it… slowly.

Further, I love how diverse The Beauty That Remains is. Aside from the fact that it has characters representing different race, it also dealt with panic attacks, depression, and therapy techniques.

Although some parts are predictable, still, there are parts that shocked me.

I also love how Autumn, Logan and Shay got connected through music and how important Unraveling Lovely to them. They always listen to Unraveling Lovely’s music every time they feel that the world eats them, they remember their loved ones and they can’t hold on.

The Beauty That Remains is a page-turner, sad but beautifully written (this book really touches my heart). I couldn’t stop reading that most of the time, I’m crying because I couldn’t take what I’m reading, but, it sends us a message that we should not lose our hope and faith that life still beautiful even though we lose someone we love.

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You guys… this book is so sad, but also VERY beautiful! I have to admit I found myself thinking of the people I’ve lost and I thought of a lot of situations that made me feel connected to the characters, and yeah… it wasn’t the best emotional experience but I just couldn’t stop reading because the writing is so damn beautiful!

The story is told in three different point of views, where each character has to deal with the loss of a loved one. Through the story you will see the following POVs;

Autumn – lost her best friend
Logan – lost his ex-boyfriend
Shay – lost her twin sister

This is 100% a character driven story. We never stop learning about the characters, their struggles, their losses… to the point where you WILL be attached to them. I have to admit, the ONE thing the story could have improved is that all three POVs sounded similar. Each character deals with different things, but overall, the voices through the story had the same “tone”. The story revolves a lot about grief, loss, and how the characters deal with it, and sometimes I kept forgetting which POV I was reading because the tone felt similar.

Regardless of that, the characters deal with their losses in very different ways and this is something that makes the story interesting. We have Autumn who blames herself for the death of her friend, while Logan recurs to alcohol, and lastly, Shay who is experiencing panic attacks.

Music plays a big part through the story; it’s what brings all the characters together! We see how grief has made the characters struggle with their creation process (from writing music to even just enjoying it) and how music can help heal certain wounds. The story isn’t perfect. The ending isn’t perfect, but I have to admit that it is damn accurate!

Losing people is never easy, and we deal with grief differently, but I saw a little bit of myself in some of these characters and I think that a lot of people will see themselves too. If you’re looking for a book that will give you “all the feels”, then you definitely must pick this one!

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars

Trigger warning for suicide, alcoholism, anxiety / panic attacks.

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It's ambitious to tie together plots of characters grieving three entirely unrelated deaths, but Woodfolk pulls it off. We are presented with three distinct events. They're linked by connections to a band rather than any links in the deaths. The characters grieve in a variety of ways but they are all struggling. They fail to relate to their families and peers. Their grief threatens to destroy their lives. They're absolutely deconstructing. Their grief is hard to watch but compelling nonetheless.

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