My rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Fiction

“Human life is quick. I do not mean life is short. I mean, the reason we feel like certain significant days happened only yesterday is because they did. Many of us have bodies that age preposterously out of proportion with how young we are. It’s like, aging in theatre time… we’re all seven year olds hired to play the parts of adults. A decade is not long. Two decades is not long. We say it is because we weigh it against the end of our lifespan, our lifespans are short and do not give us time to feel temperamentally in proportion. …death’s biggest surprise is that it does not end the conversation.”

Beautyland

When Adina is born, she knows immediately that she is different. She is not from here, she knows her home is millions of miles away, she can feel it. As she navigates this world, in all its joy, terror and uncertainty, she documents her experiences. She documents whenever she feels an emotion for the first time; questions why things are the way they are; why people behave the way they do. 

This felt like a coming of age story in many ways. It perfectly captured the tumultuous journey of growing up, the awkwardness and confusion of it all. It captured the significance of connection – those connections that carry us through life, the ones we find and lose, the ones we find and choose. 

I didn’t know a book about an alien cosplaying as human and figuring out earth would have me so deeply in my feels! Filled with vulnerability and hope, ‘Beautyland’ is a magnificent read about the complexity of humanity, collective longing and finding your place in the universe.