Genre: Urban Fantasy, YA Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Konjur Road Press
Date of Publication: October 23, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7333901-0-1
eBook: 978-1-7333901-1-8
ASIN: B07WGB5HQ6
Number of pages: 327
Word Count: 90k
Cover Artist: Najla Qamber
Amazon
As if high school isn’t hard enough for those who’ve spent their entire lives in the same school district, coming in a someone new is down right treacherous. When Dorianna is sent to the east coast to live with her incarcerated father’s sister, Dorianna longs to start again with the new people in her school. She lacks confidence, doesn’t have the most popular clothes, nor comes from an affluent family. She’s okay with all of that as long as no one learns about her past. She garners the attention of Ander, a former athlete, which is a surprise. Unfortunately, he also brings baggage in the form of Lacey, his ex-girlfriend. After hanging out with Ander for some time, he takes her to Coney Island and introduces her to Wilson. Wilson is dark, gothic, and creepy yet when he offers her a deal to make her popular, loved, and world-renowned – but of course, with that fame comes a price to be paid.
Pictures of Dorianna is a reimagining of a much older book but Catherine Stine has created her own original young adult horror novel. When you make a deal with the devil there are always consequences to your bargain. Dorianna learns that the hard way as she navigates her new popularity and viral presence. Videos taken and posted by Wilson continue to evolve even after uploading to a popular video service. As Dorianna’s character becomes darker, her videos also take a turn toward the dark side. Her quick rise to fame quickly becomes wrought with controversy as each event she hosts for her new “followers” becomes enveloped in sadness, pain, and one-upmanship from her leading rival. As the book progresses, the beast inside Dorianna continues to grow and elicit more control over her.
Dorianna is complex character and wants what all teenagers want – to fit in. Being a teenager is difficult. Being loathed at her previous school, having a father in prison, and mother who couldn’t handle things, forcing Dorianna to live with her aunt, causes certain emotions and attitudes to develop. She wants to belong, to have friends, be popular so moving to a new school increases her hopes of belonging. Her decision-making skills find her in a predicament that she both loves to be part of but also loathes who she’s becoming. She was written well. Some of the dialogue is weak but the story and characters are strong. I adored the ending and am satisfied with where the author left Dorianna. Great YA story appropriate for teenagers 14 and over.
About the Book:
When her father is jailed, her mother ships lonely, plain Dorianna to her aunt’s in Brooklyn, NY. There, Dorianna yearns to build a new identity, but the popular Lacey bullies her—mostly for getting attention from her ex, Ander.
Ander takes Dorianna to Coney Island where Wilson, a videographer, creates a stunning compilation of her. She dreams of being an online sensation, as she’s never even had a birthday party, and vows she’d give anything to go viral. Wilson claims he’s the Prince of Darkness and offers her the beauty and fame, even love she’s dreamed of—warning her that a pledge has its downsides. Dorianna has no idea of how dire those consequences might be.
She’s thrust into the spotlight, and an incomprehensible nightmare. Not only is she prettier, she’s gaining harmful powers of manipulation. When her dark forces grow beyond anything she can control, she’s desperate but clueless as to how to stop them.
My Review:
Internet followers, beauty, power. It all sounded good.
Until it transformed into a terrifying reality she couldn’t stop.
When her father is jailed, her mother ships lonely, plain Dorianna to her aunt’s in Brooklyn, NY. There, Dorianna yearns to build a new identity, but the popular Lacey bullies her—mostly for getting attention from her ex, Ander.
Ander takes Dorianna to Coney Island where Wilson, a videographer, creates a stunning compilation of her. She dreams of being an online sensation, as she’s never even had a birthday party, and vows she’d give anything to go viral. Wilson claims he’s the Prince of Darkness and offers her the beauty and fame, even love she’s dreamed of—warning her that a pledge has its downsides. Dorianna has no idea of how dire those consequences might be.
She’s thrust into the spotlight, and an incomprehensible nightmare. Not only is she prettier, she’s gaining harmful powers of manipulation. When her dark forces grow beyond anything she can control, she’s desperate but clueless as to how to stop them.
My Review:
Pictures of Dorianna is a reimagining of a much older book but Catherine Stine has created her own original young adult horror novel. When you make a deal with the devil there are always consequences to your bargain. Dorianna learns that the hard way as she navigates her new popularity and viral presence. Videos taken and posted by Wilson continue to evolve even after uploading to a popular video service. As Dorianna’s character becomes darker, her videos also take a turn toward the dark side. Her quick rise to fame quickly becomes wrought with controversy as each event she hosts for her new “followers” becomes enveloped in sadness, pain, and one-upmanship from her leading rival. As the book progresses, the beast inside Dorianna continues to grow and elicit more control over her.
Dorianna is complex character and wants what all teenagers want – to fit in. Being a teenager is difficult. Being loathed at her previous school, having a father in prison, and mother who couldn’t handle things, forcing Dorianna to live with her aunt, causes certain emotions and attitudes to develop. She wants to belong, to have friends, be popular so moving to a new school increases her hopes of belonging. Her decision-making skills find her in a predicament that she both loves to be part of but also loathes who she’s becoming. She was written well. Some of the dialogue is weak but the story and characters are strong. I adored the ending and am satisfied with where the author left Dorianna. Great YA story appropriate for teenagers 14 and over.
I was provided a copy of this book to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
My Rating:
My Rating:
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