The Belles
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- 3,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
'Looking for the next big groundbreaking event in YA? This is it.' Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series
Welcome to the dark decadence of Dhonielle Clayton's sharp tale of beauty, obsession and magic. . .
I AM A BELLE. I CONTROL BEAUTY.
In the opulent world of Orléans, the people are born grey and damned, and only a Belle's powers can make them beautiful.
Camellia Beauregard wants to be the favourite Belle - the one chosen by the queen to tend to the royal family.
But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favourite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that her powers may be far greater - and far darker - than she ever imagined.
When the queen asks Camellia to break the rules she lives by to save the ailing princess, she faces an impossible decision: protect herself and the way of the Belles, or risk her own life, and change the world forever.
'Sumptuous and original worldbuilding, heart-pounding plot and gorgeous prose.' Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Season
'A whip-smart writer with grand, grand talents.' Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist
'Breathtakingly beautiful and deeply unsettling.' Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sixteen-year-old sisters Camellia, Edelweiss, Ambrosia, Padma, Valeria, and Hana are the new generation of Belles, young women who are responsible for keeping the citizens of Orl ans beautiful, magically transforming their appearances to align with the latest trends. Descendants of the Goddess of Beauty, the Belles are paid to perform their magic to prevent their people from reverting to pallid, red-eyed creatures, their natural state. Talented Camellia believes that she will be selected as the Queen's favorite, a role the sisters covet deeply. But when another Belle is chosen, and Camellia is assigned to a teahouse to perform beauty rituals on the wealthy, she begins to wonder if what she has always believed about the Belles is true. Clayton (coauthor of Tiny Pretty Things) creates a vivid island world in this enticing series opener, saturating the narration with lush descriptions ("Carts hold tiers of pastries frosted in rose-petal pinks and pearly whites and apple reds, flutes overflow with jewel-tone liquids") that reflect the culture's obsession with elegance, appearance, and luxury. Readers will be left with much to consider about morality, individuality, and the malleability and artificiality of beauty. Ages 14 up.
