The Girls by Emma Cline

Rating: 4/5 stars 

☆★★★★

The Girls by Emma Cline is about a girl named Evie Boyd who notices a group of girls in the park and is captivated by their freedom and carelessness and decides that she wants to join them. One of the girls, Suzanne, is the most captivating and draws her in to this cult. Throughout the book we learn that this cult isn't as carefree as it seems.

Overall, the book really interested me, but I was also disgusted. Evie is only fourteen years old, and there are some explicit sexual scenes in here that made me very uncomfortable to read about.

In my own way, I could understand Evie. I connected with her a bit. She was curious, naive, insecure, and desperate for approval. Suzanne, with her beauty and maternal-but-dangerous vibe, captivated Evie in a way I can understand. All she really wanted was to get Suzanne's approval and make her happy. She wanted to fit in. I can remember being like that when I was fourteen years old (but in a way less dangerous situation, of course). 

Evie's relationship with her mother broke my heart. Her mother was weird and "organic" and just trying her best in life, and Evie could see that her mother wasn't the strongest woman in the world. It turned out that her mother was just another human being, trying her best, and exploited that insecurity. Her mom tried - she really did. 

The cult had this vibe that my brain kept screaming at me: ~ a e s t h e t i c ~

The whole writing was aesthetic, honestly. It was really beautiful and calm and the writing style really spoke to me. It's like when I try to be artsy and cool and collected, I try to speak and act like this narration style. 

Recommended for: Historical fiction lovers, aesthetic junkies

~ Ending/Spoiler Section ~

Finally, the ending. The ending was a bit of a disappointment for me. The big reveal of the murders was a calm and collected retelling of the events that unfolded. It had a distant feel to it, like Evie wasn't even remotely bothered by it. It wasn't an intense, action-packed scene that had me lying on the ground in tears or anything. It felt like this whole book was leading up to this scene, and it was a total letdown. 

Even with the disappointing ending, I'm still giving this book 4/5 stars because it had a vibe that really spoke to me.