A deliciously sly retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray for the TikTok generation, Steven's seductive thriller finds the students at an elite drama school being picked off one by one through their enchanted likenesses.
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2024
A feminist YA horror-thriller-romance retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray by the TikTok sensation and author of The Society for Soulless Girls.
Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School.
When Penny's new mentor offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse, to have a portrait painted by a mysterious artist who can grant immortal beauty to all his subjects, Penny happily follows in the footsteps of Dorian's most glittering alumni, knowing that stardom is sure to soon be hers.
But when her trusted mentor is found murdered, Penny realises she's made a terrible mistake - a sinister someone is using the uncanny portraits to kill off the subjects one by one. As more perfectly beautiful students start to fall, Penny knows her time is running out . . .
A seductive and searing exploration of beauty, identity, and what the pursuit of perfection can truly cost.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008627355
Number of pages: 352
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 30 mm
Interest age: From 13 years
Weight: 260 g
Language: English
A contemporary reworking of The Picture of Dorian Gray, this book shines a light on beauty standards and the pursuit of perfection.- The Observer “A haunting, emotional and sapphic retelling, one which reels you in and doesn’t let go.” – Paper Lanterns Praise for The Society for Soulless Girls ’A twisty, sexy, smart haunting of a book, full of eloquent rage' Kiran Millwood-Hargrave ‘An intimate exploration of women’s anger, bladed with mystery and sapphic desire. Laura Steven has cut a modern Gothic gem, leaving room for glints of her trademark humour’ – Samantha Shannon ‘A fast-paced feminist horror, that manages to be oh-so-romantic and oh-so-haunting all at once’ – Alexandra Christo, bestselling author of TO KILL A KINGDOM ‘As seductive as it is sinister’ – Kate Dunn ‘Dark, clever and filled to the brim with feminist rage, Steven has crafted the sapphic dark academia of dreams – and of nightmares’ – Francesca May
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"Girls don't want beauty. Girls want power. And sometimes beauty is the closest substitute."
There are books in life that just draw you in and will stick with you forever, not just because of the...
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The Picture of Dorian Gray but make it feminist? Perfection!
This book delivers everything you imagine it will, and more. It truly is horrifying, with the creepier moments scarring images into my mind. And yet, it...
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With ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ being one of my absolute favourite books, I would have shrugged and said ‘why not?’ to a simple retelling of it. But a feminist retelling? I bought this the second I could get my... More
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