Gorgeous gruesome faces

Title:

Author:

Summary:

THEN: Sunny Lee is on the top of the world. She’s one third of Sweet Cadence, the hottest up-and-coming teen pop group, alongside her new BFFs, Candie and Mina. The three are inseparable as they ride their way to the top of the charts, even as Candie and Sunny fight to resist the growing spark between them. But when a shocking scandal breaks, the group is suddenly torn apart. Then the unthinkable – Mina dies tragically right before Sunny and Candie’s eyes. And Sunny suspects the dark and otherworldly secrets she and Candie were keeping may have had something to do with it . . . NOW: For the past two years, Sunny has spent her days longing for her former life and her nights wondering just what caused Mina's death. So when she discovers that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop right in her hometown, Sunny has no choice but to follow her there. Candie might be chasing stardom again, but Sunny is only after one thing: answers. At the workshop, the lines between nightmare and reality start to blur as Sunny is haunted by ghostly visions and her competitors' bodies turn up bizarrely maimed and mutilated. To survive the twisted carnage, Sunny will have to expose the ugly truth behind the workshop’s spotlights and the sinister forces swirling around Candie. Stitched with cutting commentary on the ugly side of stardom and impossible beauty standards, Linda Cheng’s mind-bending thriller will have readers screaming and swooning for more. -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 14-18. Roaring Brook Press.

Grades 10-12. Roaring Brook Press.

General Note:

"You'll love them to death" -- Cover.

Edition:

First editon.

Physical Description:

311 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Horror fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Psychological fiction.

Subject Term:

Korean Americans -- Fiction.

Chinese Americans -- Fiction.

Lesbians -- Fiction.

Teenage girls -- Fiction.

Singers -- Fiction.

K-pop (Subculture) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Roaring Brook Press,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781250864994

Publication Information:

New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2023.

Call Number:

YA CHENG

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003686311	New Young Adult	CHENG	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A cutthroat K-pop competition leads to a dark obsession in this twisty horror-romance, perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting

"A perfect blend of folk horror and dazzling showbiz that will grip you from page one." âe*Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times -bestselling author of She is a Haunting

"The sweetest spot between horror and romance." âe*Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times- bestselling author of These Violent Delights

You'll love them to death . . .

THEN:

Sunny Lee is on the top of the world. She's one third of Sweet Cadence, the hottest up-and-coming teen pop group, alongside her new BFFs, Candie and Mina. The three are inseparable as they ride their way to the top of the charts, even as Candie and Sunny fight to resist the growing spark between them. But when a shocking scandal breaks, the group is suddenly torn apart. Then the unthinkable - Mina dies tragically right before Sunny and Candie's eyes. And Sunny suspects the dark and otherworldly secrets she and Candie were keeping may have had something to do with it . . .

NOW:

For the past two years, Sunny has spent her days longing for her former life and her nights wondering just what caused Mina's death. So when she discovers that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop right in her hometown, Sunny has no choice but to follow her there. Candie might be chasing stardom again, but Sunny is only after one thing: answers.

At the workshop, the lines between nightmare and reality start to blur as Sunny is haunted by ghostly visions and her competitors' bodies turn up bizarrely maimed and mutilated. To survive the twisted carnage, Sunny will have to expose the ugly truth behind the workshop's spotlights and the sinister forces swirling around Candie. Stitched with cutting commentary on the ugly side of stardom and impossible beauty standards, Linda Cheng's mind-bending thriller will have readers screaming and swooning for more.

Author Notes

Linda Cheng was born in Taiwan and spent her childhood moving between cultures and continents. She received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and worked as an art director across South Carolina and Georgia where she developed a deep love for sweet tea, grits, and Southern Gothic stories. She currently resides in Vancouver, Canada with her family. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is her debut novel.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The mysterious circumstances behind an Asian American pop star's death spell disaster for the group's remaining members in Cheng's debut, a thrilling psychological horror. Two years ago, Sunday Lee, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent; Chinese American Candice Tsai; and Korean American Mina Park made up the all-girl musical group Sweet Cadence. But when nude photos of Mina are leaked online, Mina supposedly dies by suicide, and the group disbands. Now 18 and living in Atlanta, Sunny learns that Candie--from whom she's estranged--is arriving from Los Angeles to participate in a prestigious workshop from which a few candidates will be chosen to become K-pop trainees in Korea. As Sunny inserts herself into the workshop, she determines to unravel the mystery of Mina's death and reckons with the increasing instances of injury among her competitors, all while grappling with her ever-shifting relationship with Candie, who still seems to yield an inexplicable power over her. Alternating chapters titled "Then" and "Now" weave flashbacks from the height of Sweet Cadence's fame with harrowing behind-the-scenes looks into the world of K-pop and fascinating, eeriely rendered supernatural horror elements . Ages 14--up. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary Management. (Nov.)