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The Girls

Emma Cline

3.48 · Rating details · 168,831 ratings · 16,926 reviews

THE WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER

If you’re lost, they’ll find you…

Evie Boyd is fourteen and desperate to be noticed.

It’s the summer of 1969 and restless, empty days stretch ahead of her. Until she sees them. The girls. Hair long and uncombed, jewelry catching the sun. And at their centre, Suzanne, black-haired and beautiful.

If not for Suzanne, she might not have gone. But, into ...more

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Paperback, 368 pages

Published May 4th 2017 by Vintage (first published June 14th 2016)

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Average rating 3.48 ·

Rating details

· 168,831 ratings · 16,926 reviews

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Jun 23, 2016 Justin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I'm turning a corner here, Goodreaders. The old me would rate this book two stars and spend some time telling you how awful the book is and all the reasons I couldn't stand it, etc.

But, that's the old me.

I'm turning a corner. Turning over a new leaf. Doing a 180. Whatever.

At least for this review.

People I know, love, and respect really, really like this book. I completely get it, too. I absolutely understand how you could read this book and think it's amazing and get all caught up in the sto ...more

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Jan 15, 2016 Emily May marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, 2016, historical

DNF

I very rarely put aside books after reading just a prologue and one chapter, but I cannot make myself suffer through any more of this. My stomach was coiling with dread each time I even thought about pushing through another 300+ pages of this overwritten prose.

I ate in the blunt way I had as a child—a glut of spaghetti, mossed with cheese. The nothing jump of soda in my throat.

I tended to the in-between spaces of other people’s existences, working as a live-in aide. Cultivating a genteel i

...more

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Mar 05, 2016 Debbie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best-reads-2012-through-2019, netgalley, debuts, almost-all-time-faves, historical-fiction, damsels-in-distress, complicated-female-relationships

Holy moly, I LOVED this one! My first 5-star book this year!

I'm a sucker for a female narrator talking about what she had to have, what she didn't get, what she really meant, what she should have done. I like all that talking in the head. I make it sound sort of light and funny but there is nothing light or funny about 14-year-old Evie. She seems to be living a typically boring life when she sees a girl in the park…and an obsession begins. Her ordinary life hits the extraordinary, and pow, right Holy moly, I LOVED this one! My first 5-star book this year!

I'm a sucker for a female narrator talking about what she had to have, what she didn't get, what she really meant, what she should have done. I like all that talking in the head. I make it sound sort of light and funny but there is nothing light or funny about 14-year-old Evie. She seems to be living a typically boring life when she sees a girl in the park…and an obsession begins. Her ordinary life hits the extraordinary, and pow, right in the kisser.

I worried that this would be just another teenage-girl-angst book. It was so not that (I say in my best valley-girl voice). This is a tale of big-time obsession, not your humdrum harmless crush. Just Evie’s bad luck, really: the crowd is bad and her age works against her. Can Evie help it that her cerebral cortex isn't developed well enough for her to even have a chance of sensing danger or making good decisions? Her moral compass isn't showing a clear direction yet; she doesn't have a clue how dangerous or wrong it all is.

Evie tells two stories—one about what is happening to her right now and one about what happened to her back then. The back and forth is seamless and works well. What also works well is the tension. We can see the train wreck about to happen, but Evie cannot. Her innocence and her vulnerability are palpable; you want to reach into the story and shake her. Or chain her to the bedpost until she’s legal.

The language is to die for—lots of cool imagery and nice sophisticated sentences. And though I would say this is a cerebral read, it’s also accessible. There’s not a whole lot of action, but it’s not slow. It’s super profound and really good at getting inside a 14-year-old’s head. And let’s not forget the setting: this was my time (chamomile tea and long flowered skirts included), and the author has it down perfectly. As with so many others, my horror at the Manson murders also includes a morbid fascination, so I was glued to the page trying to understand how a control freak becomes charismatic and succeeds in putting people into trances.

One thing I wasn’t crazy about is the fact that all men are pretty much portrayed as obscene; I’m thinking this might bug guy readers.

This book still has me thinking about What Ifs, even though I read it weeks ago. I’m certain that the What Ifs are still haunting Evie too (it’s a pretty good book if I’m acting like Evie is a real person!). She has been to the other side, and like others who have been there, she forever after will be just going through the motions, a heavy cloud following above her. Yep, this is one dark book—it’s at times pretty creepy and disturbing. Fear, desire, vulnerability, idol worship, loneliness, danger, mind-fucking—all are part of the darkness.

This book reminded me a bit of two other favorites, Aquarium (strong tone and imagery) and The Woman Upstairs (girl obsession, first-person narration, cerebral). I just loved this book’s language, imagery, psychological insight, soul. I’m super impressed by this debut—I will wait eagerly for Cline’s next book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

P.S. I’m all messed up about this being called historical fiction! Historical fiction is supposed to be pre-1950s, right? Historical fiction is not supposed to EVER be happening during my lifetime! I mean, come on, lol! What are these young whippersnapper genre-namers thinking?
...more

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Mar 29, 2016 Chelsea Humphrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

I’m going to admit that this book was way deeper and more intellectual than I initially expected it to be. For some reason I was thinking this would be a thriller or mystery of sorts, and I guess it was in some aspects, but it was so much more than that and I’m really glad I was wrong about this one. I had a difficult time believing this was a debut novel as it was so well written; I can see why Random House has pegged this as one of their top books of Summer 2016. I’ll address it right off the I’m going to admit that this book was way deeper and more intellectual than I initially expected it to be. For some reason I was thinking this would be a thriller or mystery of sorts, and I guess it was in some aspects, but it was so much more than that and I’m really glad I was wrong about this one. I had a difficult time believing this was a debut novel as it was so well written; I can see why Random House has pegged this as one of their top books of Summer 2016. I’ll address it right off the bat; I’ve read multiple reviews stating they DNF because of there the top prose with which this was written. I get it; it put me off a bit in the beginning as well, but I’m glad I stuck with it as that tapered off mostly once I got about 15-20% into the book.

“There are those survivors of disasters whose accounts never begin with the tornado warning or the captain announcing engine failure, but always much earlier in the timeline: an insistence that they noticed a strange quality to the sunlight that morning or excessive static in their sheets. A meaningless fight with a boyfriend. As if the presentiment of catastrophe wove itself into everything that came before. Did I miss some sign? Some internal twinge? The bees glittering and crawling in the crate of tomatoes? An unusual lack of cars on the road? The question I remember Donna asking me in the bus-casually, almost as an afterthought. “You ever hear anything about Russell?”…”

This is one of those books that the summary basically tells you the whole synopsis in a nutshell; there really aren’t any surprises here, just the building knot in your stomach as you slowly approach the grotesque ending. I read a lot of books, namely psychological suspense/thriller, so I come across a good bit of violence and graphic content. The interesting thing about this book is how overall it isn’t extremely graphic in the sense of descriptions of violence; a good bit of this is left to your imagination and THAT is what was so disturbing to me.

There were a a few sections that read a bit slow and that is why I didn’t give this the full 5 STARS; the pacing is very steady and not to be rushed. I would not recommend this as a quick, light read (it is about a violent murder involving members of a dangerous cult- think Charles Manson meets Dangerous Girls) but it was a very interesting interpretation of the 1960’s and what all was going on in this time period. I think I would have liked a little more of Russell’s character but I understand why she left him as mysterious and vague, even following the conclusion.

* There isn’t a ton of violence throughout the book, but the ending is a bit disturbing as it does involve a scene (not fully described) with a child. There also is quite a bit of sexual content (mainly Evie is “discovering herself” but a few scenes involving relationships on and off the compound). I felt it fair to include this as it may sway some reader’s decision to pick this book up.

I’m glad I picked this one up; I haven’t read anything in the realm of historical fiction in a hot second and it was satisfying to travel back to a time that my parents were a part of before I was even a blip on their radar. While a heavy read in all aspects, a worthwhile read.

*I received my copy via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more

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May 19, 2016 Jessica Jeffers rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, netgalley

Two stars might be a little harsh? Should I give it three? I don't know, I'm on the fence, maybe I'm just feeling burned by all the hype surrounding this book. Its $2 million dollar price tag built the hype, and I really did look forward to reading it. I was so excited to get approved on Netgalley. It just did nothing for me, for two reasons:

1. It's really overwritten. There are a few turns of phrase, but Cline really overdoes it. She uses the verb cadge four separate times to describe someone t Two stars might be a little harsh? Should I give it three? I don't know, I'm on the fence, maybe I'm just feeling burned by all the hype surrounding this book. Its $2 million dollar price tag built the hype, and I really did look forward to reading it. I was so excited to get approved on Netgalley. It just did nothing for me, for two reasons:

1. It's really overwritten. There are a few turns of phrase, but Cline really overdoes it. She uses the verb cadge four separate times to describe someone taking something, she describes a meal as a glut of spaghetti, mossed with cheese, the narrator could hear someone's silence. It's too much, and it started to feel like it was more about style than substance -- a style that I found grating.

2. I felt like the narrative was ultimately lacking in depth, which is surprising to me given that many reviews seemed to praise its nuance, its perceptiveness. I only skimmed most of the reviews, because I really did want to form my own opinion, but those were the adjectives that stick out in my head. And to those review-headline writers, I say: eh.

Emma Cline does a couple of things well: she sets a very evocative scene (1969 Haight) and she does a good job laying out why our narrator, Evie, would be drawn to the Manson-eque cult. She has a falling out with her only friend, and feels alienated from her peers. She feels unloved by the boys she develops crushes on. Her practically absent father has left for a twenty-something woman and her mother is more interested in dating than mothering. Evie is lonely, insecure, and desperate for attention. It makes sense that she would get drawn in by Suzanne, a slightly older teen who dangles approval in front of Evie like a carrot. In that regard, yes, the book is perceptive.

But it stops short in a lot of other ways. There's very little examination of the cult leader, the other members, life in the cult itself, and the crime they ultimately commit that summer. I know that Cline really wanted to focus on Evie, but she's not really an cult insider, absent when the crime is ordered and carried out and so it kind of felt like it came out of nowhere to me. Except for the fact that I pictured the cult leader as Charles Manson, I didn't feel like I understood why he'd order this crime and I didn't understand why the girls would obey. It felt a little more like, "Well of course that's going to happen, this is a cult. That's what cults do." As though the reader's existing knowledge of the inspiration was enough development.

I was similarly frustrated by the lack of examination regarding the "after" for Evie. Only the briefest of glimpses are given into what she did after the cult, and I finished the book feeling like this big thing had happened but I had no idea how it really altered the course of her life. There's a thread of the narrative that takes place in the relative present-day, in which Evie is crashing in a friend's home and is surprised by the friend's son and the son's girlfriend. Very little comes of this exchange, except maybe to highlight how paranoid Evie remains. But you could also easily construct the argument that she would have been that way even if she'd never met Suzanne. I desperately wanted something to happen here, and was very disappointed when it went nowhere.

Honestly? To me, this felt like half of a pretty good novel that could have used a slightly more aggressive editor. The writing needed to be brought back down to Earth, but Cline really needed someone to tell her to just keep the story going. The NetGalley I received was just 220 pages, though I think the print edition clocks in around 350 (not really sure how that works). If ever there were a novel that could have used an extra 100 pages, it was this one. ...more

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Jun 14, 2016 Katie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: set-in-the-us, published-2016

As I’m sure everyone knows The Girls is about (despite disclaimers) the Manson murders. Personally I think this would have been a better novel (though probably a less commercially successful one) had she invented her own cult because Cline always seemed to me, understandably, out of her depth when dealing with the inner springs of the Manson cult. It was an odd choice to base this novel so closely on the Manson cult and yet at the same time coyly change names and a few insignificant details. Muc As I’m sure everyone knows The Girls is about (despite disclaimers) the Manson murders. Personally I think this would have been a better novel (though probably a less commercially successful one) had she invented her own cult because Cline always seemed to me, understandably, out of her depth when dealing with the inner springs of the Manson cult. It was an odd choice to base this novel so closely on the Manson cult and yet at the same time coyly change names and a few insignificant details. Much of the novel’s failings though are contained in that contradiction, that failure of nerve. It’s often going to feel a bit forced and awkward when an imaginary character is drafted into an historical event and for me that awkwardness eventually marred what was promising to be a truly splendid book.

Cline sets up the novel brilliantly. Most of the best writing in this book is about adolescent female insecurity. She’s fabulous at identifying those needy vacuums in which self-destructive behaviour can take root. Evie, the heroine, has an absent father and a mother who has reverted to adolescent insecurities herself in her search for love. Evie has no role models in her life. Young boys provide no solution – “We believed that boys were acting with a logic that we could someday understand. To believe that their actions had any meaning beyond thoughtless impulse. We were like conspiracy theorists, seeing portent and intention in every detail, wishing desperately that we mattered enough to be the object of planning and speculation. But they were just boys. Silly and young and straightforward; they weren't hiding anything.”

Then she meets Suzanne, a glamorous older female who seems self-possessed and capable of imparting the trick to Evie. “It was an age when I’d immediately scan and rank other girls, keeping up a constant tally of how I fell short.” The evolution of her relationship with Suzanne, the gaping hole in her life Suzanne fills, is done brilliantly. Suzanne will eventually take Evie to the ranch.

It’s odd to say that this is when the novel became less compelling for me because obviously this is when the tension should have been cranked up several notches. But Cline’s Evie is never taken in by the commune. She has the detachment of the author. From the start she sees Russell, the Manson figure, as a rather unremarkable middle aged man. Cline barely allows him any charisma. It’s like Cline fears going anywhere near him and so doesn’t. He will remain unexplored throughout the novel. Strangely she even largely ignores Suzanne’s adulation of him and so even that is not any kind of felt tension in the novel. Most of the key Manson material is told not shown. And as a result neither Cline nor her narrator Evie ever enters into the spirit of the cult. She remains a critical bystander, like the reader. Evie’s main reason for being there is her huge girl crush on Suzanne. Here Cline is in her element. When she’s writing about stuff she knows about she’s brilliant. “No one had ever looked at me before Suzanne, not really, so she became my definition. Her gaze softening my centre so easily that even photographs of her seemed aimed at me, ignited with private meaning.”

The writing begins to suffer when Cline is dependent on research. Cline deals with her obvious difficulty of writing about life at the ranch by constantly removing Evie who, rather unaccountably, keeps returning home for lengthy periods. In this way Cline doesn’t have to write about the period in which everything went dark. Rather vapid transitional passages of menacing prose are called upon to do the job – “The presence of death seemed to colour everything, like an odourless mist that filled the car and pressed against the windows, a mist we inhaled and exhaled and that shaped every word we spoke.” When Cline is out of her depth her prose, superbly eloquent when she knows what she’s talking about, becomes clichéd and generic. Also even Evie’s relationship with Suzanne begins to elude Cline and so her transition from free spirited wild child to psycho killer is left shadowy at best. It’s a massive jump to suggest there’s some kind of inevitable connection between a young female’s conditioned desperation for attention and love and becoming a cold blooded child killer, rather like someone using Hitler to dramatise the danger of eating disorders. It has become clear by now that the Manson murders are the selling point of this book, rather than the heart and soul of it.

Some of the reviews praise this novel for its power to disturb but this is material that will disturb no matter how well or badly it’s narrated so I’m not sure it’s power to disturb is really much of an achievement. Personally I look forward to her next book when there isn’t perhaps so much commercial pressure on her because Emma Cline is a brilliant young writer and there’s lots of fabulous writing in this book; unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me as a novel.

I realise this sounds a bit negative. Truth is, I thought this was absolutely brilliant to begin with (I'd give five stars to the first fifty pages) but then felt a bit let down by Cline’s decision to opt for sensationalism rather than trust in her immense talent as a writer. Maybe this is what a young writer has to do nowadays to get published.
...more

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Apr 11, 2019 Julie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, e-book, historical-fiction, overdrive

The Girls by Emma Cline is a 2016 Random House publication.
Disturbingly realistic, weird, thought provoking and engrossing-

Loosely based on the Manson cult in the late sixties, this novel explores the allure of the hippie commune atmosphere for fourteen- year old Evie, who is adrift and marginalized by her divorced parents, and suffering from loneliness and boredom.

Evie meets Suzanne while out roaming around and continues to run into her until she is finally invited to visit ‘The Ranch’ and me The Girls by Emma Cline is a 2016 Random House publication.
Disturbingly realistic, weird, thought provoking and engrossing-

Loosely based on the Manson cult in the late sixties, this novel explores the allure of the hippie commune atmosphere for fourteen- year old Evie, who is adrift and marginalized by her divorced parents, and suffering from loneliness and boredom.

Evie meets Suzanne while out roaming around and continues to run into her until she is finally invited to visit ‘The Ranch’ and meet the charismatic ‘Russell’. Finding herself more immersed in this life and less a tuned to her own home life, she spends more and more time at the ranch, eagerly participating in anything her role model, mentor, and secret crush, Suzanne might be into. But, as the climate on the ranch begins to shift, turning dark and tense, Evie will find herself right on the cusp of a life altering moment- one that will forever haunt her throughout her adult years.

When this book was published back in 2016, I waffled on it, not sure if was a good fit for me or not. The reviews were mostly positive, however, so I put it in my ‘wish list’. I am always overwhelmed by the books I am assigned, or must be read within a certain time frame, and with those who are always competing for my attention- the private reads and library books- so it wasn’t long before this book fell completely off my radar- out of sight- out of mind.

However, while cleaning up my Overdrive wish-list a few weeks back, I once more found myself wondering if I should keep it on the list, check it out, or delete it. Obviously, curiosity finally got the better of me and I decided to borrow it and read a few chapters to see how it went. I ended up reading it in nearly one sitting.

The author did an admirable job with time and place, sending the reader back to the tumultuous year of 1969. The story is a familiar one, we know the players, even though their names are changed, but the atmosphere is no less fraught with a sense of impending terror, made worse by knowing exactly what is coming.

Evie’s story, while fictional, is still, even now, a cautionary tale. Her near obsession with Suzanne, her parent’s self-absorption and preoccupations, and her teenage angst, make her the perfect target, and she easily falls under the spell of Russell and Suzanne, and their strange, squalid lifestyle, quite willingly.

As an adult Evie looks back on that period in her life with a plethora of emotions, some of which were puzzling and truly shocking, and left me feeling more than a little unsettled.

Overall, this is a well-written, dark, and nearly mesmerizing novel of suspense. I am glad I decided to take the plunge instead of discarding this one!

4 stars ...more

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Apr 13, 2016 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, super-meh, girls-girls-girls, everyone-loved-it-but-me, read-in-2016, the-great-white-hype, book-of-the-month-selection

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ZERO WORTHWHILE CONTENT AND ALSO MAYBE A SPOILER. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Tons of my friends received an ARC of The Girls and my feed has been filled for months with updates/reviews detailing all of the awesome they were all experiencing . . .

Thanks for the warm welcome, John McClane, but I have a feeling you (along with everyone else) will soon be changing your tune.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, ...more

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Jul 14, 2016 Maxwell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

The Girls is definitely the "it" book of the summer. Everyone's talking about it. Rumor has it the debut author got a $2 million advance. It's edgy and risqué and unapologetic.

Maybe the hype killed it for other people. And maybe their dislike of it saved me from going in with high expectations. Because I ended up really enjoying this one.

The writing is superb. There's no doubt that Emma Cline can set a scene really well. And the narration has a self-reflective quality to it that I really enjoy ...more

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Jul 20, 2016 Deanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 Stars!!

I really enjoyed this book by Emma Cline. I wasn't sure when I picked it up what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This is my second try at reviewing this after accidentally deleting everything I had typed. I almost always type in a document. Then I can save if I have to go do something else or accidentally hit the backspace button (which I'm constantly doing). Oh well, it happens. Now let's try this again....

It's the start of summer in Northern California and Evie Boyd, an a 3.5 Stars!!

I really enjoyed this book by Emma Cline. I wasn't sure when I picked it up what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This is my second try at reviewing this after accidentally deleting everything I had typed. I almost always type in a document. Then I can save if I have to go do something else or accidentally hit the backspace button (which I'm constantly doing). Oh well, it happens. Now let's try this again....

It's the start of summer in Northern California and Evie Boyd, an average teenager is a bit lonely and bored. Her parents are splitting up, she's fighting with one of her only friends and feels like no one understands her. However, that all changes after she meets a wild and fun group of girls in the park who seem to be all about having fun and being free. She can sense an undercurrent of danger and it only makes her want to belong to this group even more.

It's not long before Evie starts to pull away from her mother, spending more time with the group especially Suzanne. Suzanne is an older girl that Evie is completely enamored with.

“No one had ever looked at me before Suzanne, not really, so she became my definition. Her gaze softening my centre so easily that even photographs of her seemed aimed at me, ignited with private meaning.”

But Evie is quickly becoming obsessed. Especially once she's been to the ranch and meets the larger than life Russell. Evie desperately wants to stay on the ranch. She feels like no one else understands her like these people do, especially Suzanne. But Evie doesn't realize how quickly things can change and soon comes the time where everything changes...in what seems like the blink of an eye.

I really didn't know how I was going to feel about this book. I really felt like it snuck up on me. There wasn't non-stop action, but there didn't need to be. The writing was great and I really liked how the story was laid out. We hear about Evie's life both back then and now. We see how it all plays out and it's fascinating. This is a well-written, intoxicating book that I won't soon forget.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Emma Cline for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. ...more

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Feb 03, 2017 Crumb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Spine-tingling and Mind-Blowing

This was one of those books, that for whatever reason, kept getting pushed to the bottom of Mount TBR. Finally, when choosing those precious few that I would take with me on vacation, this one made the cut. Let me tell you.. I am SO glad that I did.

By now, I am sure all of you here on GR know what the plot of this book is.. so I am going to skip that.
Emma Cline focuses on character development, character development, and guess what? Yes, you guessed it! Character ...more

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Feb 22, 2016 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, netgalley, fiction, historical-fiction

Seductive from the start...mesmerizing writing and storytelling!!!!

At 14, Evie's parents have recently divorced. Her father has a new girlfriend, and her mother is dating a variety of men. Early into the story, she remembers a cocktail party her parents had thrown, ( the year before they split). The guests were her father's friends mostly. Her mother wasn't very social and hovered around the buffet table trying desperately to seek approval for the food she had prepared
Evie felt embarrassed that Seductive from the start...mesmerizing writing and storytelling!!!!

At 14, Evie's parents have recently divorced. Her father has a new girlfriend, and her mother is dating a variety of men. Early into the story, she remembers a cocktail party her parents had thrown, ( the year before they split). The guests were her father's friends mostly. Her mother wasn't very social and hovered around the buffet table trying desperately to seek approval for the food she had prepared
Evie felt embarrassed that her mother asked her how she looked.
She was clear - and clear her mother was clear - that her father fucked anything he could.
Neither parent was paying any attention to Evie. Her best friend wasn't either. The only woman at that party who looked exciting was her dad's girlfriend. She was sexy with cool clothes. Evie knew she should hate her dad for cheating..
but Evie began to fantasize about her father with his girlfriend naked together..."with her throat circled by a ribbon, lying on some carpet in some too-small Palo Alto apartment".
We not only could see the longing Evie has for attention...but love no longer feels safe to her. She was angry at her mother - that her dad left....

Being 14, angry, and lonely, can lead one down a dangerous path. The year is also 1969...the cornerstone for drugs, sex, and rock-in-roll.
Evie gets mixed up with a cult - a singer-songwriter alluring leader. Later he manipulates his followers into a dark world of violence.

Having grown up in the Bay Area, I'm familiar with the Charles Manson and Sharon Tate story which this novel is loosely based on...
but the books strength ( besides fresh, intimate, and addictive), is the authors ability to understand teen chaotic years of vulnerability.
The author points to the fact that Evie did not know when things exactly went wrong in her life...( yet she had a close idea).
I took value from Evie's unspoken words - her inner thoughts just before she joined the cult. It's not that we haven't read about angry -sad 'coming-of-age' girls before...but Emma Cline touches on areas where many books don't go.

Emma Cline shows gutless courage - I LOVE THIS BOOK!

Thank you Random House, Netgalley, and Emma Cline!!!

...more

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Mar 19, 2016 Kelli rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Whaaaaaat happened?! Everybody loves this book. EV-ERY-BO-DY...except me, apparently. I waited a little over a week to write this review and I can add forgettable to the list of adjectives I would use to describe this. Though quite well-written, the story really lost momentum and felt unoriginal. I was bored and pretty grossed out. 2 stars.

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Dec 29, 2015 Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great book. Took me right back to 1969. Evie was 14, I was 11, and I had a lot of the same stuff going on at home as she did. Her home life, and I think her loss of her best friend sent her searching for the feelings of inclusiveness, etc. that she found with this clan in the in the park and then onto the ranch. This was based loosely on The Manson clan. Evie tells her story from 1969 and from today as an adult. Another great debut novel..

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Dec 29, 2015 Delee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, arc, women-behaving-badly, historical-fiction, netgalley

1969 California-

It was the end of the sixties, or the summer before the end, and that's what it seemed like, an endless, formless summer.

photo bec51b9c-a2dc-4255-8905-c703e6eb7028_zpslypmyt1i.jpg

photo bec51b9c-a2dc-4255-8905-c703e6eb7028_zpslypmyt1i.jpg

14-year-old Evie is bored and disillusioned with her life. She has recently had a falling out with her only friend Connie, and her parents have decided to part ways. As luck would have it her grandmother left behind money from her Hollywood starlet days...and Evie's loopy, hippy, mother is able to live well because of it...but shy, lost, Evie- wants more...she ...more

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Apr 28, 2016 Brandi marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-netgalley-author

I wanted to love this story.

description

But after trying mulitple times, I think I need to put it down. The premise of this one was very intriguing, unfortunately, while I can appreciate the writing style, it simply isn't working for me. Overly poetic and wordy, I just can't anymore.

Everyone was healthy, tan, and heavy with decoration, and if you weren't, that was a thing too-you could be some moon creature, chiffon over lamp shades, on a kitchari cleanse that stained all your dishes with turmeric.

May ...more

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Mar 19, 2016 Carol rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, read-2016, ebook, published-2016

3.5 Stars

A middle-aged Evie Boyd flashes back on her young tumultuous life in the late 1960's as this story commences. She recalls how easy it seemed for her, a lonely, naive and vulnerable 14 year old to leave her divorced parents behind (off and on) and join up with the amorphous group on "the ranch". Not knowing to be wary of these misguided people and so hungry for affection and attention, Evie quickly becomes obsessed with the dark-haired Suzanne, a new way of life, and begins to worship bo

...more

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Nov 16, 2016 Emma Giordano rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5 Stars! I'm working on notes for a video review right now because I LOVED this book!

May add some of my thoughts here later. ...more

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Apr 01, 2018 Luffy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star

I kept visualizing this book as a remake of sorts, an Indie film set in the 80's. Evie is a heroine that's hard to pigeonhole. She is driven but naive and vulnerable. We have all been there so we understand her motives.

I thought that the book was very heavy with social commentary, but what caught my attention is the vocab of the writer. Emma Cline is economical, but flowery in her imagery. I enjoyed reading this book a lot.

But there are flaws. I disagree with many fans of the book about the paci ...more

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Mar 07, 2016 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: cultish, read-2016, netgalley

Damn, this is a great book. (I'm using several quotes from the book just because this Emma Cline can write her ass off.)

Evie Boyd, is fourteen years old in the sixties. Her parents recently divorced and her dad is living in a small apartment with a much younger woman and her mom is trying out finding herself and trying out for a new husband.
So Evie disagrees with her best friend and is just lost. Until she meets Suzanne. Suzanne is cool and otherworldly, she talks about the farm that she and ot ...more

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Jan 20, 2018 Joe Valdez rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-general

My "Girls Girls Girls" jag continues with The Girls, the 2016 debut novel by Emma Cline. This is a book where not much seems to happen on the surface. There isn't a lot of story in this tale of Evie Boyd, a Northern California woman whose unexpected interaction with a teenage couple compels her to recall the summer of 1969, which she spent embedded with a cult later responsible for the most notorious mass murder of the 20th century. It takes place in a parallel universe that never heard of Charl ...more

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Mar 19, 2016 Jen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Be prepared to be disturbed.
It's 1969 - a cultural revolution is taking place involving drugs, sex, free love and rock n roll.
It's also a dark period when a charismatic Charles Manson lures in young girls who are desperately seeking attention and wanting to feel part of something, as warped as it may be, into a brainwashed world of deceit, poverty, sex, drugs and murder.
Evie, now in her 50's, is reflecting back on the days when she was 14 and became part of the cult whose horrific crimes left a ...more

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Feb 23, 2016 Esil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

A very solid 4 stars. The Girls is loosely based on the Charles Manson cult group and murders in the US in 1969. The story is told from Evie's perspective in two timelines -- at age 14 when she collided with the group and in her later adult years as she thinks back on that part of her life. Emma Cline -- a debut novelist -- does a great job getting into Evie's head -- depicting what could possibly attract a 14 year old to such a squalid and miserable group. Although she comes from a relatively w ...more

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May 26, 2016 Dannii Elle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-highness, recommended-reading, thriven-thrillers

First Read: June 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is historical fiction at its finest! This book aroused not just a keen sense of character and setting with its evocative imagery and poignant writing, but an entire era; an entire generation of people that are now almost lost to the world!

This is the story of the dark underworld of the 'swinging 60s', so revered in both memory and passed down recollection. This is the story of what happens when freedom is brou First Read: June 2016, Rating: 5/5 stars
Second Read: March 2020, Rating: 5/5 stars

This is historical fiction at its finest! This book aroused not just a keen sense of character and setting with its evocative imagery and poignant writing, but an entire era; an entire generation of people that are now almost lost to the world!

This is the story of the dark underworld of the 'swinging 60s', so revered in both memory and passed down recollection. This is the story of what happens when freedom is brought to a world with little conception of what can happen when that freedom is tested to its limits. This is the story of Evie Boyd: representative of a generation of those who slipped through the gaps.

The dark, disturbing and often sexual undertones of this book were penned with such a grace and beauty as to bring light to what would otherwise be an amphibological read. This compelled me from the beginning and that had as much to do with the fast-paced plot and flawed, yet real, character creation as it was to do with the allure of the writing that I felt reverberate in my heart with each well-placed phrase.

This book is a heart-wrenching story, no denying, but there was beauty present in amongst the bitterness and chaos. There was, although ill-gained and perilous, the joy experienced at the first taste of freedom. The allure of female friendship, both obsessive and life-saving, were explored. Relationships, in their conception and elimination, were often linked to the birth and death of another. Joy and pain, disaster and success - all emotions are inexplicably linked to their binary here as none can exist in its extremes without the presence of its other.

For each shadowy corner of history this book excavated, it did so with a light that illuminated the darkness within. The unfathomable depths this book dives to is beyond my feeble powers to put into words. It is as dark as it is beautiful and as powerful as it is sublime. The term unputdownable finally has its definition. ...more

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Feb 24, 2016 Melanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“I don’t know which is more amazing, Emma Cline’s understanding of human beings or her mastery of language.”—Mark Haddon, New York Times bestselling author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I don't want to be here...
But this is so well written...
But I really don't want to be here.
But this is so incredibly well written.

This was roughly the ongoing internal dialogue taking place in my head while reading "The Girls".

I have always found certain subject matters difficult to handle. ...more

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Oct 01, 2016 Matthew rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, gr_awards_2016, audio, digital, library

I am a little torn on this one - there was some good stuff and some not so good stuff. I was not blown away by the book, but I am not sad I read it.

My favorite part was the characters. Something about them was interesting in a can't-take-my-eyes-away-from-this-train-wreck sort of way. As the book progressed I kept waiting for them to make more and more unfortunate decisions and it was entertaining.

My biggest criticism was the forced feeling to the exposition. It felt like the author was given t ...more

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Jul 31, 2016 Dan Schwent rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, 2016-books

When Evie Boyd's parents get divorced, she falls in with a bad group of girls, all following a would-be musician named Russel. Evie finds herself drawn to their lifestyle of living free and doing drugs, and particularly finds herself drawn to Suzanne. Will Evie come to her senses before she goes down a road she can never come back from?

The Girls is a story inspired by the infamous murder of Sharon Tate by followers of Charles Manson. Instead of a gore-strewn crime book, it's more about one girl' ...more

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Jul 09, 2016 Wayne Barrett rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, 2016, contemporary, historical

"Connie studied me with cold wonder, like I'd betrayed her, and maybe I had. I'd done what we were not supposed to do. Illuminated a slice of private weakness, exposed the twitchy rabbit heart."

When I first saw a review for this book I thought it was about The Charles Manson Family. It is not, but in essence, it is almost exactly the same story. Only names have been altered and events slightly altered as well. Still, it piqued my interest enough that I wanted to read it because of a story my mom ...more

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Jul 17, 2016 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: botm, cults-and-communes, own, read2016

I started this book and found myself putting it aside for other reads pretty frequently. I think if it had just been a library book I would have returned it without finishing but I paid money for this! So I went ahead and finished.

This is one of the hyped books of summer, and was my June pick for the Book of the Month subscription service that I decided to do for three months (and won't probably be renewing). I found it to be more of a light summer beach read. But even in that context I have com ...more

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Jan 15, 2018 Whitney Atkinson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf, unhauled, read-in-2018

DNF at 72%.

I don't think I've ever given up on a book so far into it. And it definitely isn't because I hate the book, it's just that I'm so bored and I don't see myself giving it anything other than 3 stars, regardless of if I finish it.

The writing is gorgeous. The main character is interesting. But there's really nothing else in this book to drive it forward for me. I'm just not a fan of the hippy/cult vibe, and I went into this book skeptical about its time period and setting hoping that it ...more

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About Emma Cline

Emma Cline

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Emma Cline is an American writer and novelist, originally from California. She published her first novel, "The Girls", in 2016, to positive reviews. The book was shortlisted for the John Leonard Award from the National Book Critics Circle and the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize.
Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Tin House, Granta and The Paris Review.
In 2017 Cline was name ...more

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Quotes from The Girls

“That was part of being a girl--you were resigned to whatever feedback you'd get. If you got mad, you were crazy, and if you didn't react, you were a bitch. The only thing you could do was smile from the corner they'd backed you into. Implicate yourself in the joke even if the joke was always on you.” — 319 likes

“I waited to be told what was good about me. [...] All that time I had spent readying myself, the articles that taught me life was really just a waiting room until someone noticed you- the boys had spent that time becoming themselves.” — 243 likes

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