If Rouge is beauty horror for the goth girlies then youthjuice is the beauty horror for the Goop boss babes.

But it just didn't work for me. There are two ways to read this--literally, or as a Patrick Batemanesque American Psycho fantasy.

If it's literal--it was too hard to suspend my disbelief. We weren't told how the serum worked beyond it being blood. There's absolutely NO WAY that that many attractive, young, well-connclected white women interns could go missing without a media frenzy. How on earth was Sophia able to preserve Dom's body? She's not a mortician. Why was Emily's body where literally anyone at the party could have found it? I could go on...

And if it's a satirical fantasy of Sophia's, it didn't work for me either. The churning interns, mercurial guru-like boss, and vegan superfoods aren't enough of a critique of the beauty industry and start up culture.

And as a side note, I just have a weird feeling about literally lifting Michael Alig's story out of the tabloids devoid of any context.

While this one didn't work for me, it was still a gripping read, and maybe it'll work for you.

This was like a modern-day Countess of Bathory and the comparisons to American Psycho crossed w/ Devil Wears Prada are right on!
Sophia Bannion is hired as Head of Creative for HEBE, a beauty-brand set to change the market with their newest product, YouthJuice. Sophia is quickly made a believer when she is tasked with trying out the product before the launch, and the results are startling. Sophia has a terrible anxiety-induced habit of biting her nails and her hands have paid the price. Using the YouthJuice only on her hands make them new again. No scars, no chipping of the nails; her hands are new and baby-soft. So what is in the YouthJuice? And where have all HEBE's interns gone?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for this e-arc.*

This was a compelling thriller about a young girl who works at a beauty company developing an anti aging cream through sinister methods! While I was ultimately disappointed by the ending, it was still an enjoyable read.

Former beauty editor E.K. Sathue has given us a gift: youthjuice. Arriving June 4th from Hell’s Hundred, this debut follows Sophia Bannion to HEBE. Named for the Greek goddess of youth, HEBE is a rising star in the beauty and wellness circles. It’s also pretty messed up. The culture is cliquey and the interns rotate faster than clothing trends and celebrity news. At the center of it all is Tree Whitestone, a perfect, flawless, charismatic force of a woman. Through her, and her innovative product, Sophia internalizes HEBE’s mantra: beauty is possible.

Beauty horror has to be one of my favorite subgenres. This book is marketed as a cross between The Devil Wears Prada and American Psycho, and honestly I can see why. Sometimes I find the trend of “x meets y” to be a stretch, but it works here. I want to add Mona Awad’s Rouge to the comparison list. I read it last year, adored it, and subsequently bought a lot more skincare. youthjuice makes me want to do the same. And before you say I missed the point, let’s discuss what the point is.

While the titular product plays a central role in the narrative, youthjuice isn’t critiquing the existence of moisturizer. What it is critiquing is the fanatical social and societal consequences of the industry. This is exemplified in Tree, particularly how everyone around her tries to be her mirror. Sophia quickly joins in, even as she sees—and admires—opposing qualities in others. The women at HEBE all smoke turmeric root, adhere to strict vegan diets, and refuse to drink alcohol. Meanwhile, Sophia’s best friend and roommate, Dom, eats with pleasure and uses substances recklessly.

Because Tree’s behaviors are so dogmatic, Sophia’s adherence drives a wedge between her and Dom. It also causes tension in her relationship with her boyfriend, Richard. As she grows apart from her previous social ties, she naturally grows closer to Tree. This is a textbook manipulation tactic, and it is one the beauty/wellness industry employs on a wide scale for monetary gain. There is a morality implied in the messaging of product campaigns and the routines of influencers. And once your moral compass attunes to a person, it is easy to excuse and explain their decisions. No matter how sinister they are.

What makes youthjuice so fun is that Sophia didn’t start innocent. This book has two timelines, with numbered chapters being in Sophia’s present, and flashbacks being in sections simply titled 2008. This creates a compelling parallel narrative. I wanted to uncover her past to help me understand her choices in the present. As such, I can’t rightly call this a corruption plotline; it’s not linear enough for that. But because of Sophia’s history, her darkness, her compulsions, I also can’t say this is a cautionary tale. It’s a twisted funhouse mirror, not a well-lit vanity.

And this is why reading a book like youthjuice makes me want to revisit my own beauty routines. It’s not a book that preaches, it’s a book that asks you to examine, to think. The horror here isn’t about the moisturizer. It’s just the packaging for the deeper themes of belonging. The bloody lengths we will go to be accepted, to impress. The impulses we keep caged and what happens when we are convinced they are okay. Why do we make the choices we do? I said this wasn’t a corruption story, because I think it’s a possession one. At the end of the day, who is in control? Beauty fan or not, youthjuice will ask you to answer that for yourself.

Okay first things first, the cover gives away the "twist" but as I say I my draft review " Sathue is not trying to obscure the “twist,” rather she is laying bare the chilling truth, as readers sit with that knowledge, and watch the visceral Horrors unfold, without remorse."

Note while reading: try applying any lotion or skin care after reading this book without feeling icky…..you can’t. Even a boring moisturizer. But you will. Of course you will.

Fans of intensely unsettling stories about unlikable but captivating women such as in Gone Girl by Flynn and Maeve Fly by Leede will flock to this debut.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!
Wow, what a story! I knew what the secret of Youthjuice was, as I'm sure we all did, but I was caught off guard by this book so many times!
The characters were suitably awful while still being charming and interesting, and the writing style was nice. And the gore. The self-harm talk kind of surprised me, so to anyone reading this review, be aware: There's self-harm performed in this book. I wish someone had warned me, but it is what it is. I won't even take off half a star for it.
The half star is for the ending. It's so convenient? Like, girl, you've barely done anything for the company, and that's how they reward you? And what about that little thing in your apartment? Did you cop to that? It just feels too easy.
Overall, though, I really loved this book, and I'm gonna round up instead of down on my star rating where I can!

This one fell a little flat for me. It has an interesting premise, which is what led me to pick it up, but it failed to really say anything about the anxieties surrounding the pursuit of staying young and beautiful that persists in women. Unfortunately, “Natural Beauty” by Ling Ling Huang eats this book’s lunch a little bit as the premise is similar and I feel is a little more successful at exploring the themes of beauty and immortality. I also wasn’t a fan of the alternating timelines. Typically, this is something I enjoy because non linear storytelling keeps me on my toes, but I found the sections that took place in 2008 less compelling. The environment wasn’t as richly developed as the storyline that takes place in the present. However, I do think the characters were more developed in this section. The characters involved in Hebe were very one dimensional. I kept wanting to get into Tree’s psyche and really understand what led her to the pursuit of perfection, but whenever she was in a scene she was pretty aloof and what little background we did get about her was from other characters.

I think this book starts out promising and just sort of flatlines once you realize nothing of major import is going to happen. Also, I’m an advocate for the idea that not all endings have to be happy so this ending actually drove me up the wall. I wish I liked this one more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the eARC!

youthjuice is a decidedly surrealist examination of toxic heath culture, parasociality, and societal obsession. It is a book that questions whether the beauty of an image is worth the filth of creating it.
Admittedly, stream of consciousness is not my favourite narrative device. However, the way it is done in this novel elevates the words used from simplistic amalgamations of vowels and consonants, to collections of mercurial and transient imagery meant to offer both familiarity and symbolism. Essentially turning a relatively benign story about a woman getting her dream job into something more poetic and terrifying.
However, the standout of youthjuice is the way in which it uses allegory to address the larger psychological ramifications of the beauty industry and destructive nature of modern “that girl” culture. Case in point the relationship between Dom and Sophia; portrayed on page as a real friendship, when in actuality the interactions between the two feel more distant and partitioned, like that of an anonymous user and a high performance influencer. One-sided conversations, Dom’s entire personality being that of the successful “hot mess”—vastly wealthy with some degree of celebrity, but also revered for her over-indulgence and inability to care for herself. Yet, it is Dom whom Sophia entrusts the care of her greatest insecurities, despite Dom’s complete lack of compassion or responsibility.
It is those portrayals that make this book worth reading. However, while beautifully written and conceptualized, the message behind it feels overdone. Perhaps because I am older and have already come to realize these connotations on my own, or perhaps because this book is late to the party—either way, the themes felt like they were meant to be more impactful than they were, but the book itself was still amazing.

If Elizabeth Bathory were resurrected and appointed CEO of Goop, the result would be Hebe.

youthjuice is a stunning satire that brilliantly exposes the darker sides of the health and beauty industries. The novel immediately seized my attention with its description of "American Psycho meets The Devil Wears Prada," and, as a fan of both works, my expectations were sky high. youthjuice not only met but pleasantly exceeded those expectations.

The plot was fairly predictable, but I didn't go into youthjuice anticipating twists and turns, as one can pretty much infer exactly what horrific route this story will be heading down from the description alone. Sathue cleverly balances all of the gore with an abundance of wit and cheek, crafting a beautiful bloodbath of a novel.

One character is nearly a carbon copy of Michael Alig (the Party Monster). While this very much appealed to me personally, I do wonder whether this was an intentional choice or not. (If it was, then I'm absolutely enamoured with your brain, E.K. 💖)

Like the main character, Sophia, I personally struggle with dermatophagia and often feel as if I've exhausted every outlet of attempting to overcome it. While I doubt that I'll give human blood a shot any time soon, the visceral, gruesome depictions of the condition in this book have left me thinking twice before putting my hand to my mouth.

For fans of Rouge by Mona Awad and Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, youthjuice is a must-read.

All of my thanks to NetGalley & Soho Press for the digital review copy!

This was fun! I loved the parallels with Glossier and Emily Weiss, I agree with other reviewers that I almost wish this leaned into the grossness a little bit more, but I enjoyed it. I'm seeing a lot of these beauty/horror stories recently and I think it makes total sense that these kinds of stories are being told in the age of Instagram.

This premise sounded very exciting to me but missed the mark. I didn't really understand the purpose of the flashback chapters and I also do not think we got a proper view into why Sophia would go along so readily with HEBE and Tree. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC!

Youthjuice by E. K. Sathue is a commentary on the beauty industry and beauty standards of today, and how the truth behind them can be truly horrifying. Sophia Bannion gets a job at HEBE, a luxury skincare startup company in NYC that's named after the Greek goddess of youth. If the company name doesn't give you a hint into the plot then maybe the strange and mysterious occurrences surrounding the company's new moisturizer, youthjuice, will. I was excited to start this book, I've been getting into the horror genre a lot more and thought this would be right up my alley; the premise sounded interesting and creepy! Unfortunately, it didn't make me fall in love with it, and I honestly had a hard time even enjoying it at all.

I get what Sathue was going for, but it just didn't come together cohesively in my opinion. Maybe it's because I read this over a longer period of time and not in one sitting or over a few days, but it just didn't feel like it had a steady plot or pacing. The truth behind youthjuice wasn't as ominous or shocking as I was expecting, it felt kind of static... as did the characters. I ended up enjoying the flashbacks more than the present day plot, and even that seemed to end quite suddenly with no point. I feel like there was a lot of build up but then the reveal just fell flat, both for the flashbacks and the present. It definitely put out the message of how the beauty industry can be and how people are so obsessed with staying young, but it just didn't have that great impact that the author was trying for. The descriptions were certainly icky so Sathue gets a point for that aspect.

As for Sophia, it definitely seemed like she was a little out of it throughout the entire novel, which I think the author did on purpose, which also helped to convey an eerie atmosphere, but I also think this narration style aided in the overall confusion of the story. Maybe it's just me but I felt like the story and message were hard to follow because of this. It wasn't a terrible read, but it didn't blow my mind either. I think there was a lot going for this premise but the execution just fell flat in the end.

I wish that this was a little less American Psycho and a little heavier on character development. Though I do enjoy sometimes when a book ends and our MC has learned no lessons, in this short novel, it feels lacking and left me with a sense of “what did I read and why?” The horror images of women taking baths in the blood of interns is very tongue in cheek, though.

Well, this was different. It started out slow and I almost said enough. But I kept going and the middle picked back up only to disappoint me at the end.
This is not a bad attempt at a horror book but it tried a little too hard in my opinion. The writing was very lyrical for horror and it was definitely a stream of consciousness fever dream vibe. Not my favorite. It did by some miracle keep me going until the end. It’s not a bad book just not for me.
Thanks too NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion. 3⭐️

Really good if you're wanting to get into the weird litfic genre. Sometimes I was a bit lost in the writing and I did expect more craziness to happen being described as American Psycho esque with "outrageous body horror," but I'm not disappointed I read it. Some good talks of beauty standards and past trauma, but I feel like it resolved very easily.

2.5 stars. Youthjuice attempts to be a horror novel and a commentary on influencer culture, and does neither particularly well.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Soho Press for an ARC of youthjuice, in exchange for an honest review.

Sophia, a young woman on the brink of her 30s, gets a job working at this new up-and-coming beauty brand, HEBE. Her whole life, she has been kind of plain, and has a horrible habit of chewing her nails to the point where her hands are completely scarred. Once she is accepted into the HEBE culture, the CEO gives her samples of a new product - called "youthjuice," which has the promise of anti-aging and beauty. Once she starts using youthjuice, her life completely changes and Sophia is sucked into the beauty culture...and will do anything to keep this newfound youth and beauty.

I thought this story sounded really interesting, particularly because I'm around the age that Sophia is, and I understand the pressure society puts on us women to remain beautiful. This generation and the younger ones are constantly exposed to social media and influencers who promote and sell beauty products. Social media has pushed this idea even more over the years; everything is about beauty and aesthetics. Celebrities get plastic surgery and promote or sell all kinds of products, which are made to prolong skin elasticity, clear your pores, remove fine lines and wrinkles, etc. These companies even target women as young as their 20s as a "preventative" measure.

Although this concept isn't groundbreaking, I haven't read many books about the beauty industry, much less horror books about it. I loved this concept of a company creating a moisturizer that keeps you young. The characters were shallow and only cared about themselves, making them unlikable, which I thoroughly enjoy. All these characters were beautiful, but beauty was only skin-deep for them. They were unhinged and willing to do anything to stay young and relevant. What started out as something meant to help others became infested with greed and selfishness. The tension throughout was built really well, and the horror was definitely more of a slow burn. The last quarter of the book really picked up, and the body horror was a gruesome trainwreck that I couldn't look away from. I enjoyed how delusional and unhinged Sophia had become over time; it was kind of fun to see what would happen next. The horror elements in this really reminded me a lot of A Cure for Wellness, but the characters reminded me a lot of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, Norman Bates from Psycho, and Countess Bathory, who was essentially a serial killer in the 1500s.

I did kind of expect more gruesome body horror; I feel like the author held back a bit. The concept was highly dark and disturbing, so a little more body horror could have made this even more terrifying. However, it was still enough to make me feel a bit squeamish at parts, and I'm sure other people will think this pushes boundaries a bit as it is. I also didn't like the character (Sophia) enough to feel vindicated for her by the end of the novel, so that "good for her" feeling was more of a "meh," since she was so horrible, like everyone else in this story. Overall, I had fun reading this one and sped through it within a couple hours.

A wild ride. This is true beauty horror. I was left reeling with every choice and decision our character made along the way. This came from the mind of Guillermo del Toro

WTF did I just read? But in, like, the best sense. The entire time I devoured this book (one sitting) I felt like I couldn’t quite catch my breath. Which, coincidentally, I imagine the main character feels a lot of the time too.

The writing is so descriptive that I had actual visceral reactions in places. As someone who reads (and watches) a lot of thrillers, supernatural, horror, things of that ilk, not much has that sort of reaction on me but there were a few times in this book where passages had actual effects on me. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say I always found nail biting incredibly gross before. Now? I find it downright harrowing, the stuff of nightmares. Hey, I told you it was weird around here. Intrigued yet?

The manic passages had me feeling manic, the ones where Sophia is on top of the world had me right there with her, when she was nervous I was too. The writing here really grabs your hand and takes you alongside every feeling, not just a “watch from afar” feel. The power of words, eh?

So. If you want an absolutely insane read at a breakneck speed, based around glossy wellness brands owned by people with ridiculous names and impossibly perfect influencers like you see all over social media, but with the feeling like you can’t look away from an inevitable gruesome, fiery accident, all wrapped up in a package of ‘unsettling and weird’ this is probably your book.

It’s really more like 3.5 stars. I’d say overall, I enjoyed it, but I felt like it didn’t really do anything new or audacious with the premise to fulfill its potential as social commentary (read Mona Awad’s Rouge for a novel that does!), and it also failed to establish the tension necessary to make it effective as a horror novel. It did have some deliciously gross imagery, especially in the second half of the book, and a unique dream-like storytelling voice. I’m curious to see what comes next from Sathue as she hones her craft!