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.
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The prose in this book is just mesmerizing and beautiful. Really enjoyed reading this- its my type of book. It explores women's roles and how society gives girls a distorted view of themselves. It involves murder and cults and the circumstances someone might have that would push them to join a cult. Also, the setting really complemented the plot and characters and contrasted the way the author described the Ranch. This book made me think-but not to the extent that I couldn't focus on the plot or the prose. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that even has a slightest interest in this book- It was a little "eh" in the beginning but I ended up finding myself immersed in the storyline whenever I picked it up. Its not really a true 5- but more like a solid 4.5.
0Read this book for a book club.
Not a fan.
We are told up front that the main character was not present when the murders happen, so it's not a surprise to be told about them second-hand. But it was a disappointment. I wasn't hungering for gore, but this whole book seemed so lack-luster and drab to me. Everything was dirty and hot and dated. I didn't care for the main character, whose name I've already forgotten, either as a young woman or as an adult. I found her a bit sad and pathetic as an adult, which I think was the sad point.
The discussion was decent: overall everyone who lived through this time said that this book did a nice job capturing the feel of the country and the American mindset in 1969. This was one aspect that made me dislike the book's setting, because this was unappealing personally.
We also discussed whether or not the main character would have participated during the murders, and also about her own sexuality and coming of age. There was also some discussion about young women and how they can be cruel and force each other to do horrible things in a constant power struggle and popularity contest.
Was a satisfying and decent discussion that raised my opinion of the book from a 1 star to a 2.5.
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