Celebrities are a point of intrigue no matter the circumstances; from the way they dress, how they act, and who they’re seen with, fantasized celebrity gossip and exaggerated headlines catch the eyes of viewers from across the nation every day. While most of the intense celebrity fervor that took over the early 2000s has dramatically died down, celebrities are still held in high regard, and the consequences of celebrity culture still linger.
In recent years, fans online have been protesting under the #FreeBritney movement, advocating for pop-star sensation Britney Spears to be freed from her court-ordered conservatorship, which gave her father full control over her career, finances, and personal life. This movement, which opened many people’s eyes to the injustice of celebrity culture, inspired University of Iowa alumnus, professor, and author Candice Wuehle and her latest novel, “Ultranatural.”
“Ultranatural” follows the story of Lacey Dove Bart, a girl from Appalachia, Ohio, who is determined to escape her small-town life. With the guidance of her best friend, Carrie-Anne, Lacey takes each step toward fame with determination and never backs down in her search for stardom, even if that means turning against the only person she’d ever called a friend and the advice that has never failed her.
Throughout the novel, the audience accompanies Lacey from her time in Ohio with Carrie-Anne, desperate to get into the prestigious Newland Academy, to Lacey’s break into the world of fame and her transformation into her persona, Love, and ultimately to Love’s demise and loss of autonomy.
At each stage of Lacey’s progression, the reader is sucked into the world, never anticipating what life-altering event Lacey will have to hurdle through next, or what stunt Love was about to pull trying to reel in her last shred of fans.
I found “Ultranatural” to be intoxicating. Even while knowing the novel was criticizing the celebrity culture of surveillance and obsession, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to dissect each act Lacey took to understand her and her environment more clearly. I felt, at each page turn, something intriguing or shocking was going to pop out at me, and I was anticipating when the next scandal would strike.
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One of the most alluring aspects of “Ultranatural” was the supernatural element that was woven throughout the entire novel. The first abnormal element is when Carrie-Anne pushes Lacey to desire a life greater for herself through the guidance of the Woman in White, a spiritual guide with whom Carrie-Anne can speak.
From there, the spiritual guidance, deep meditations, dreamwalking, and more become a normal addition to the already heightened storyline. It gave everything an edge of even more intrigue, as I tried to decipher if Lacey was simply losing it or if these events truly were happening to her.
Another deeply compelling aspect of the novel was Lacey’s relationship with Carrie-Anne. The two girls begin as best friends, but after Lacey betrays Carrie-Anne by not following her advice, the two separate to the point of not talking anymore. However, Carrie-Anne is still always on Lacey’s mind, and the question of friendship, reliance, and dependability is brought up.
Additionally, the friendship between Lacey and Carrie-Anne brings up questions about Lacey’s own personality. Lacey lives most of her life doing what other people tell her to, and has struggled with self-identity in a world where she’s demanded to turn her life into consumable content for her fans. Each chapter begins with a tweet from Lacey addressed to Carrie-Anne, and heightens the understanding that even though they aren’t talking anymore, Lacey still wants Carrie-Anne to take notice of her.
Truthfully, I couldn’t get enough of “Ultranatural.” Even though you could tell something bad was about to occur, nothing could have prepared me for the ending Lacey found herself in. The criticism of selling somebody’s self-identity and autonomy for fame and money was a moral debate I can’t say I had ever thought of before but will continue to think of now, even after finishing the novel and closing out Lacey’s story.
“Ultranatural” is a fascinating tale, which unfortunately takes a lot of inspiration from real events that celebrities such as Spears have had to endure. Several of Lacey’s stunts as Love come directly from real scandals, which only adds to the heightened understanding that these tragedies occur both in fiction and as fact.