A review by rhensie
Girls of Little Hope by Sam Beckbessinger, Dale Halvorsen

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Dude, what the fuck? I thought I was getting into a mystery crime novel and got .... very much something else??? A very raw exploration of female friendship, generational trauma, and being an outcast, alongside some pretty horrific horror going on. I would very much recommend reading this book, but be aware that you are not getting into a simple mystery here. The cover is not great, but don't let that put you off; if you can handle the trigger warnings, this is worth a read.

This sort of take on the fungi pandemic is super interesting, considering our own situation on this planet right now, as well as other media that do similar things. I wish we'd learnt more about it, but that also wasn't really what this book was about.

Our main cast of characters are fascinating. Kat, Rae and Donna all have unique flaws and yet fit together incredibly well, and it is devastating to learn what actually happened to them, and the fact that they will never live their full lives. The only thing missing for me was more exploration of the girls' sexuality and identity - there are some fairly heavy handed hints with respect to these issues, but none explored fully, though perhaps there just wasn't time for that in this book.


For anyone who wants to read this, be aware that there is graphic description of self-harm by
cutting
, including a somewhat lengthy and graphic section of the book that was very difficult to read. Also be aware that there is some fairly substantial fatphobia from one of the main characters.
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