A Portrait of Potential Left Behind
If you know me, you know I’m super picky when it comes to classics. I’ve only got one or two under my belt, with The Picture of Dorian Gray being my absolute favorite.
Because of that love, I wanted great from Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven, but I only got good. There is a biting irony to a Dorian Gray retelling that lacks substance—it is beautiful on the surface, packed with gorgeous prose and stunning quotes, but entirely hollow underneath. (A quick heads-up: it does come with triggers, so please look into those and protect your peace before reading). While the themes are deep and heavy, the actual plot felt incredibly sluggish. It genuinely saddens me that a concept with this much potential dragged so much; trimming about 50–75 pages would have done wonders for the pacing. As it stands, I’ll likely forget both the plot and the characters in a few weeks.
The biggest letdown was Penny. Instead of letting the reader experience her character, the narrative continuously told us who she was, followed by a level of over-explaining that felt like hand-holding. That lack of trust in the audience completely severed my connection to her. The romance was equally flat, lacking any real spark. In fact, I spent the entire story aggressively shipping Penny with a different character just to inject some much-needed chemistry into the narrative.
Surprisingly, the bonus chapter hints at a sequel. I am actually intrigued enough to check it out, if only to see if these characters finally get the development they were denied here.
Ultimately, it’s a fine YA novel that handles philosophical reflection well, but falls short of its own ambition. I’d recommend it to older teens, though I do worry a bit about how its message might warp their perspective on beauty. A thoughtful, but flawed, 3 stars. I would honestly love nothing more than to give this author a higher rating, so I definitely plan to keep trying her work!
