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A review by izzyvb023
The Girls by Emma Cline
3.0
2.5 stars
I liked this book but i didnt love it.
I think it had some really beautiful moments and writing. And it was really interesting to read a first hand (albeit fictional) perspective of those 60’s girl cults. But the writing was hard to stomach sometimes. Lots of telling and not showing. Lots of unnecessary adjectives to make sentences longer.
I think the perspective of the 14 year old girl was really well done, and that stood out for me over the other parts. The way that Evie was desperate for attention and love and willing to do anything for it was so emblematic of the middle school angsty girl experience. However, i got lost a little in the sections where Evie was an adult. I liked it for its narrative changes and we could see how Evie reflected on the past. But, I didn’t really see the point or love it otherwise. I almost wish these parts had more reflection on what happened to suzanne and russell (and the others) and what Evie ended up doing, instead of the random side plot.
Liked:
- girl cult vibes (reading a lot of cult books right now for my research)
- perfectly captured the experience of being 14 and desperately craving attention
- great writing of characters like Russell: so equally enthralling and full of shit
Didn’t like:
- random side plots and characters like julian/Zav/dan
- the way older evie was written
- very slow at the beginning & spends a lot of time writing exposition
I liked this book but i didnt love it.
I think it had some really beautiful moments and writing. And it was really interesting to read a first hand (albeit fictional) perspective of those 60’s girl cults. But the writing was hard to stomach sometimes. Lots of telling and not showing. Lots of unnecessary adjectives to make sentences longer.
I think the perspective of the 14 year old girl was really well done, and that stood out for me over the other parts. The way that Evie was desperate for attention and love and willing to do anything for it was so emblematic of the middle school angsty girl experience. However, i got lost a little in the sections where Evie was an adult. I liked it for its narrative changes and we could see how Evie reflected on the past. But, I didn’t really see the point or love it otherwise. I almost wish these parts had more reflection on what happened to suzanne and russell (and the others) and what Evie ended up doing, instead of the random side plot.
Liked:
- girl cult vibes (reading a lot of cult books right now for my research)
- perfectly captured the experience of being 14 and desperately craving attention
- great writing of characters like Russell: so equally enthralling and full of shit
Didn’t like:
- random side plots and characters like julian/Zav/dan
- the way older evie was written
- very slow at the beginning & spends a lot of time writing exposition