If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha is set in Seoul. Korea and highlights the extremely high beauty standards in Korea, The novel follows the lives of four young women who live in the same low-cost building:
Ara, a hair stylist who has painful memories of an assault in the past – which rendered her mute. Ara is bullied by the new girl in the salon, the girl keeps disappearing and as a result Ara is looking after her customers as well as her own. Ara has a crush on a K-Pop star, and is devastated when she learns he is going on tour in the USA.
Kyuri, a high-class party host who has had plastic surgery too, it’s very common in her profession. She works in a room salon where she entertains alcoholic clients at night.
Miho, Kyuri’s roommate, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage has lived in New York City where she studied art because she got a scholarship. Miho has a rich boyfriend who seems to worship the ground she walks on.
Wonna, an office worker; she’s a newlywed who is a few weeks pregnant. She is convinced she will miscarry this baby just like she lost her previous pregnancies.
A fifth woman, Sujin, a manucurist and Ara’s best friend wants to look as glamourous as Kyuri and wants to work at a room salon so she can earn a lot of money.
I loved this book – it’s told from the alternating points of view of Ara, Kyuri, Miho and Wonna. The melancholy of Kyuri, Wonna’s fear of losing her baby, Ara’s anger with the new girl, and Miho’s history, all told beautifully and palpable. I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it!
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 43: A book that includes a nonverbal character
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
