This Wretched Beauty: A Dorian Gray Remix

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for the review copies of This Wretched Beauty: A Dorian Gray Remix by Elle Grenier (beautifully narrated by Jenet LeLacheur).

I haven’t read Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray since high school (and that was in the late 1900’s!) but reading This Wretched Beauty really was like reading a modern, updated version, with potentially the same impact today as WIlde’s had over 130 years ago.

This Wretched Beauty is a coming of age story with a more innocent Dorian Gray than Wilde’s version. Instead of making a deal (with the devil basically) to stay young, this Dorian is captured in a painting by Basil, a young artist who claims Dorian is his muse and comes to realize as they grow up, it’s the painting that changes.

This Wretched Beauty was beautifully written but it was so full of angst and heartache as Dorian endures all the pains of not fully embracing who they are but feeling outcast from their family and society even while not knowing why or how they’re different that it wasn’t always an easy read, but I am glad I read it.

Anyone who is a fan of The Picture of Dorian Gray or emotionally honest queer coming of age stories should read this immediately.