The Girls - Emma Cline

Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence, and to that moment in a girl’s life when everything can go horribly wrong. (link)

Review: 4/5

First, let’s do a little background check. I was telling my friend about how I was listening to an audiobook about the true story of the Manson murders and the secret history of the CIA in the 60’s. I am still listening to that audiobook… months later… but trust when it’s done, I will be providing an in-depth review and playlist. Duh! Like I said, I was telling my friend, Kinsey, about how I was really into this audiobook, and she said that I would like this book, The Girls by Emma Cline. She said that it “sounds like the same vibe as the Manson murders” and was set in the same time period, the late 60’s. Which, as you all should know, is my favorite time period to read about.  Also if you know me at all, you know I don’t read the synopsis before I pick up a book. It's just not my style most of the time, especially if it was recommended. So, I immediately downloaded this book and I read it. I'm not sure if Kinsey just didn’t know or if I didn’t make the connection in my brain, but this book is to the Manson murders what Daisy Jones, and the Six is to Fleetwood Mac. This book is a reinterpretation and fictional retelling of the Charles Manson murders in 1960’s. Safe to assume that this book blew my mind. 

I loved how the main character wasn’t one of the core members of the cult/commune, but was still close enough to the family to be able to provide a detailed insight into the cult and its members. I also really loved the resemblance between this fictional retelling of something violent that happened mid-century, and the faux memoir, A Certain Hunger. I saw a lot of similarities in the main characters for both, and a lot of similarities in the storytelling. That set me up for great promise regarding this book, because I adored A Certain Hunger so much. 

It was really interesting to read this book while listening to the true story audiobook, because I was trying to figure out what was based on fact and what was based on retelling liberties. I adored this book, and the vibe of it. Without giving too much away, the plot kept me interested the entire time.

I also really loved the inclusion of lesbian representation and not villainizing it for what it was. I think it’s really easy for gay representation in tragedy, like Dahmer for example, to be taken advantage of and put LGBT people in a bad light. However, coming off the spins of Big Swiss, which I obviously hated, this was a really nice revisit of how lesbians are not evil. I know, I know: shocker!

I also really loved the very obvious personality of our narrator. She has this really intense codependence that shines through even when she’s flashing forward to present day narrating. It was really interesting to see how she interacts with other people around her in the same way that she might’ve interacted with the cult members, and to note what she did differently with the lessons she learned. I thought that was one of the more interesting parts of the story I noticed. (But that doesn’t take a genius to put together, does it?)

Long story short this was probably one of my favorite books of this year! I would really, really recommend it.  I would even recommend freshening up on the genuine American history of the Charles Manson murders before you read it. (That’s what it’s clearly based on, anyways.)

I think it goes without saying that I have an intense arsenal of 60s and 70s music that I could’ve picked for this book. I picked the most conspicuous and macabre music I could think of while still appealing to people who don’t really love 60s or 70s music. Think dark classics of 70s rock! That’s what the link below includes! If you disagree with my playlist, shove it. I personally think that it’s the best one yet.

Spotify: LINK