Some books linger long after you finish them, and I think "Beautyland" is one of them for me. It’s quiet, introspective, and deeply observant - the kind of novel that slowly seeps into you rather than demanding your attention. It took me a little while to settle into its rhythm, but by the second half, I was completely taken in.

The novel follows Adina Giorno, a girl born at the exact moment Voyager 1 is launched into space. From the start, she senses she is different - she possesses knowledge of a distant planet and, with the arrival of a fax machine, begins sending transmissions to her extraterrestrial relatives. As she moves through life, navigating love, loneliness, and the contradictions of human existence, she continues reporting back, searching for connection and understanding.

I loved Adina. She feels so fully realised, so singular yet familiar, that I know I’ll be thinking about her for a long time. I went into this expecting more sci-fi elements, but I wouldn’t necessarily categorise it that way. I think it’s best to approach the book without any fixed ideas of what it’s going to be - it unfolds in its own way, at its own pace, and you'd probably have a better reading experience.

It is incredibly slow, and I think if you don’t enjoy introspective narratives, it might not be for you. But if you do, it’s the kind of book that invites rereading, which is why I’ve already bought a copy of the new paperback.

4.25/5 ⭐

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange of my honest review.

Adina sees the world in a different way, hearing and reacting to noises that nobody else notices. At night she finds herself in a virtual classroom while sleeping where she is versed in the knowledge of her people and planet who want to know about humankind. She communicates her observations though an old fax machine. We follow her living through the space race from the 60s onwards. I found this story to be strange but compelling.

What a beautiful, heart-wrenching book. This genuinely made my heart hurt with yearning for the past and how simultaneously beautiful and painful the human experience can be.

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino is definitely a literary fiction novel with sci-fi elements; if you’re going into this expecting it to be a full-blown sci-fi, you’re going to be disappointed. We follow Adina, who believes herself to be an alien sent to earth to observe humans and report on their behaviour via a fax machine back to her people. At its heart, though, this novel is about being and feeling different, and as a neurodivergent person that hit REALLY hard. Adina’s experiences are so relatable and multifaceted, and she’s such an interesting character to follow and root for. I’ll definitely be revisiting this one in the future and am really looking forward to getting myself a physical copy to highlight the hell out of.

Overall, I would highly, highly recommend Beautyland to fans of literary fiction who want an introspective, character-driven story with light speculative elements. This is definitely going to end up being of my favourite books of the year.

Within a few pages, this became a DNF for me. The writing style is choppy and very detached - I felt nothing but was just told stuff. It's written as scenes rather than chapters but what does "Adina: noble Giorno: day" as a scene even mean? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this book - but it was very different to what I had imagined. The blurb intrigued me, but I am not sure the execution of the idea lived up to what the blurb promised.
This was very slow paced and while charming, funny and sweet at times, it was also quite plodding in mundane in other places. Therefore the pacing was a little off. And there were lots of things that didn't really make much sense? Not sure if that was because the premise was a little over my head or I just wasn't understanding what the author was trying to portray. To me, it lacked any real purpose or direction.
The ending was simultaneously dragged out, and yet far too abrupt! I can't really explain that any more without giving spoilers.
Overall, a very strange book.

oh this book was too much for my heart. its was too much for what i was expecting going in! its wasnt sci fi for me, which is what i thought it might be when i chose to read it. and boy am i so overjoyed its not. and more glad that i took a punt and read it(because sci fi isnt my thing but i wanted to try something different because the blurb sounded so good) its so beautiful. its so heartfelt and heartbreaking. there is too much to put into one review. and i dont want to ruin the moment of pure beauty you come across from reading it by giving away those moments in the book
but everyone should read this. especially those who feel or have ever felt a little further away from the group. or not quite sure. or not quite part of it.

Adina is the lovely soul we follow. and her voice story felt like it just wafted over and through you. it flowed off the pages. and a fair few times i just wanted to hug the book, or was it hug Adina. she believes herself to be an alien. and contacts those back home of the goings on in her life and other via a fax machine. we follow her from her first moments all the way up through adulthood. it includes all the important bits and the bits in between that are actually sometimes more important. its not all bad. but its certainly and definitely not all good.
its not a light read. buts its worth it. especially for those who find comfort in books. this one will comfort you.

Ok so, first things first, I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider and struggled to understand those around them. It has a really original premise, following Adina who believes herself to be an alien and contacts her superiors via a fax machine to report on human life. The book chronicles her experiences from childhood through to adulthood, coming of age, making friends, forming relationships with others and going through difficult times, with a tone of voice that makes this funny, sad and memorable.

While this has a sci-fi premise, it’s very much a literary, slice-of-life novel, taking us through the minutiae of the everyday through a series of vignettes. I loved the way misophonia was presented, with references to this across Adina’s life, showing how difficult this can be to deal with and how misunderstood it can be. There was also lots of brilliant and heartbreaking content around not being able to relate to your peers and feeling like an outsider, which I’m sure will resonate with many readers.

A truly beautiful book with a lovable main character, and one which I’m sure I’ll be recommending constantly on here.

This book is out of this world - brilliant!!!
I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I devoured this in record time . I loved all the details and no doubt prove-able events. Adina is loveable always
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this delight of a novel. #Netgalley #BeautyLand

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino 🌎✨👽
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This was a wild read! Adina, a girl who believes she’s from another planet, sends transmissions back to her extraterrestrial family while navigating the strangeness of Earth. It’s quirky, tender, and deeply original—exploring what it means to feel like an outsider, never quite at home in your own skin.

The writing is sharp and poetic, and while it took some digesting, I loved the way it made me think about belonging, identity, and the weird beauty of being human. Definitely one that lingers!

Thank you Random House UK, NetGalley, and Marie-Helene Bertino for the copy!

Hmmm, a strange book but I think that you have to make up your own mind if Adina is an alien (or just feels alien) for yourself. It does beautifully map the human condition and the miniscule observations are a delight.

I received this book as an ARC reader from NetGalley. The synopsis of this book is so intriguing. It had me feeling upset, happy and shocked at times. There was a way this author wrote this book that you aren’t sure whether Adina is an alien or if she just actually a women experiencing all these thoughts in regular life. It was so intriguing to see the thought process our character goes through out the story. It was beautifully written and almost felt poetic at times. I loved that even though we aren’t sure if Adina is an alien or not, that it felt relatable as a woman reading it. Overall I really really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
This books follows Adina, a girl who believes she is not from this planet and is instead an alien sent to earth to report on humanity and what it means to be a human. It did take me a minute to warm up to this narrative style, with all the short paragraphs and observations thrown in. However, once I was used to it, I appreciated that it gave the reader a view into Adina’s writing without dedicating a whole chapter to it in a way that might have upset the pacing.

Overall though, what makes this book so special is how heartbreakingly human it is. The way this book followed Adina’s whole life kind of reminded me of how people will say that your mind never really feels old, you’re still generally the same person inside from when you’re 20 to when you’re 80. Obviously the things you experience will change you, but you don’t magically lose the person you were. Adina perfectly embodied this. She grew and developed as a person, but that weird little girl she was is always there. I did tear up kind of consistently from the last third onwards and I think this had a pitch perfect ending.

I have never been an avid fan of science fiction or fantasy books so this was destined to be a poor choice for me to review. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book. Clearly it splits other ARCs but nothing I can say positively about this book.

This book is lovely. The first part of the book when Adina is living at home with her mum growing up has a real charm about it. Her relationships are all quite special when observed as the reader as are her observations on life. This is a really good, almost delicate read about life and living. And whether you are alien or just feel like it sometimes there will be parts of this book that you just get and will love Adina for calling out. A different and unique but worthwhile read.

Liked this plenty.
It was unique and quirky.
Also layered and witty.
Adina is a part alien girl growing up in Philadelphia and sending her observations to her family via fax.
She grows up and keeps gifting her family and the reader with all the warm insights and introspection she has about human life and Earth.

Not sure about this one.
Adina is sent to earth to observe and send back her thoughts by fax
She observes people's everyday lives and the mundane things they do eg watering plants.
It a different unusual book and well written.
Adina seems lonely and out of place much as you would be if you moved to a new town and didn't know anyone. She observes the things that other people probably miss.
It is certainly a new take on things.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher

I loved this. There was a brief period about one third in that I wondered if it was just going to go on too long, but then it picked up pace again and was worth every extra minute of reading.
It's actually hard to decide if this is a sci-fi or a gentle and loving look at someone not 'the same.' Someone maybe not neurotypical, certainly not someone who just goes through life without asking questions.
A beautiful concept well delivered, right up to the final tear drop.

Unfortunately this wasn't for me. I usually enjoy that type of 'sci-fi ' but I didn't enjoy the writing style. I'm sure some readers will enjoy it but I feel the book will have a limited readership.

A unique story about humanity and friendship, I really enjoyed it, I thought Adina was brilliant. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

Beautyland is literary fiction. A coming of age story that gives commentary on what it means to be human. It follows Adina, an alien born into a human body with the task of experiencing human society and reporting back to her fellow aliens on it via, of course, fax machine! This premise really interested me, but led me to expect more of a science fiction book, which this story is not. The alien of it all is just a vehicle for the commentary. Interestingly, Adina could represent many people who feel alien, or like they don't quite fit in and are always looking from the outside, and that might be my favourite takeaway from the story.

There are some thought-provoking moments and quotes in this book, particularly in the later stages, but they were too few and far between to keep me fully engaged. It felt quite disjointed and didn't evoke the emotions in me I think it has for some others. This may be the kind of book that either hits hard for you and you fall in love, or just general misses with a few sparkly moments.

Whilst I don't recommend this to sci fi fans, I do recommend this to literary fiction fans. If you want a slow-paced, reflective, coming of age story full of observations on humanity, this may be for you.