Youthjuice

A bloodthirsty copywriter realises that beauty is possible - at a terrible cost - in this surreal, satirical send-up of NYC It-girl culture.

From Sophia Bannon's first day on the Storytelling team at HEBE, a luxury skincare/wellness company based in New York City's glitziest neighbourhood, it's clear something is deeply amiss. But Sophia, pushing thirty with plenty of skeletons in her closet next to the designer knock-offs, doesn't care. Though she leads an outwardly charmed life, she aches for a deeper meaning to her flat existence - and a cure for her brutal nail-biting habit. She finds it all and more at HEBE, and with Tree Whitestone, HEBE's charismatic, sinister founder and CEO.

Soon Sophia is addicted to her HEBE lifestyle, especially youthjuice, the fatty, soothing moisturiser Tree has selected Sophia to test in top secret. But the unsustainability of HEBE's system is rapidly growing apparent, and Sophia is going to have to decide how far she's willing to go to stay beautiful forever...

Glittering with ominous flashes of Sophia's coming-of-rage story, former beauty editor E.K. Sathue's horror debut is as hilarious as it is stomach-churning in its portrayal of literally all-consuming female friendship and capitalism's short attention span. youthjuice does to skincare influencers what Bret Easton Ellis did to yuppies in the '80s. You'll never moisturise the same way again.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation meets The Neon Demon - youthjuice is a nail-biting story of friendship, self-esteem, and transgression. It asks how far you'll go, and what you'll sacrifice, to get what you want Jenna Clake, author of Disturbance
Lena Dunham's Girls meets Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop meets Mona Awad's Bunny meets . . . Elizabeth Báthory. youthjuice is a darkly comedic cautionary tale, oozing with voice. -- Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth
Staggeringly brilliant and bitingly honest, youthjuice is as beautiful as it is brutal, dancing between razor-sharp commentary on beauty culture and the visceral pain of existing as a girl in this world. The sublime prose will have you gasping in awe while the terrifying twists will keep you squirming and feverishly turning the pages. E.K. Sathue skillfully peels back the pretty pink veneer of youth, friendship, and beauty to insecurity, betrayal, and violence. This novel is a blood-smeared mirror. What truth will it reflect back to you? -- Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep
youthjuice is a shocking dive into the depths of what we will do to stay young and beautiful. It's brutal, funny, poignant, and one of the most entertaining books I've read in ages. E.K. Sathue's prose is devastatingly elegant. A must-read, but you may question your beauty habits after! -- Amina Akhtar, author of Almost Surely Dead and Kismet
outh and beauty have never seemed at once so desirable and repulsive. This book sickened me in the very best way. I don't know if I want to go run to get Botox or swear off beauty products forever, but either way youthjuice got under my (ever-aging!) skin and might stay there for a very long time -- CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly
'An astute exploration of modern girlhood which centres on the power of aesthetics, and the creation of self through cosmetics. Capturing a uniquely feminine experience, in the Youthjuice world aging is horror, beauty is power, and perfection is the holy grail. Sathue accurately captures the claustrophobic, building anxiety that women are encouraged to feel towards aging- the fear of impending rot and decay. In this case the stakes are raised and the horror is terribly, terribly real.' Celine Saintclare, author of Sugar, Baby
Sumptuous and fcked up, youthjuice explores our obsession with anti-aging through luxuriously icky body horror -- Milo Michaels, University Book Store
A dark, sardonic look at the beauty industry Electric Lit
If The Picture of Dorian Gray were set at a contemporary Goop-esque 'wellness and lifestyle' brand, it might read something like Sathue's satirical, gory, and delectable debut . . . It's a certifiable page-turner Publishers Weekly
A stomach-turning work of corporate horror with a sharp focus on satirizing the beauty industry and its influencers. Kirkus Reviews
Happily standing up to NYC, beauty culture and ageing, [youthjuice] is going to resonate Stylist *

E.K. Sathue is a pseudonym for the author Erin Mayer. A native New Yorker, she wrote her first haunted house story in Mr. Palladino's third-grade class and never looked back. Her work has appeared in a variety of online publications including Bustle,Travel + Leisure, Better Homes & Gardens, Literary Hub,CrimeReads, Business Insider, and Man Repeller. She lives in Maine with her partner, Benjamin Perry, and their beloved haunted doll, Persephone.

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