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itsheyfay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Evie, please go see a therapist.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol
grboph's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was the first book I finished in 2022, and it was a very good one!! I have been very fascinated with cults recently, and this was a good deviation from a lot of the nonfiction things I have been using to learn about them (the cult in this book is clearly based on the Manson Family). Emma Cline is a wonderful writer, and it is somewhat hard to believe that this was the first book she ever wrote. I found Evie to be a very interesting character, and I think she had a good arc. The thing I liked the most about this book was that Evie felt very relatable, which was nice for me since I hadn't really encountered many teenage-girl characters like that in adult novels before. Then that scared me a little because I realized that maybe I could have fallen into something like Evie did if I had found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time when I was that age. I don't know if this was something Cline did on purpose, but either way, it made the book all the more thought-provoking. Overall, The Girls was a unique and engaging book and I enjoyed every second I spent reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cults or the 1960s as a time period, or anyone looking to read a unique story of any kind.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Excrement
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, and Blood
This is a book about a violent, manipulative cult that culminates with a relatively graphic description of the murders of four people, one of whom is a young child. Also, the whole reason that the main character is drawn into the cult in the first place is because of someone she has an obsession with who is quite manipulative and cruel.
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