The book was much hyped from publishers and magazines alike. I found the prose overwrought, and the plot did not intrigue me that much. That said, I look forward to seeing what's next for the author.

The 'Dying-Star Intensity' of Teenage Friendship
In Robin Wasserman's Girls on Fire (Harper Perennial, $15.99), the young (impressionable, insecure, trying-to-find-herself) Hannah Dexter befriends Lacey Champlain, a troubled girl with a penchant for grunge and dangerous escapades. The book is about a lot of things: the wonder and horror of high school, the sexual tension that surrounds coming of age, the power of secrets to distort a relationship. But at its heart, it is a story about friendship, particularly, as our reviewer called it, the "dangerous, dying-star intensity" of Hannah and Lacey's friendship. That phrase could not more perfectly capture the force of teenage friendships like Hannah and Lacey's, a bond fraught with both tension and tenderness--and a bond that shows up repeatedly in contemporary novels.

Emma Cline's much-lauded debut, The Girls (Random House, $17), takes readers into the life of the lonely, searching Evie Boyd, who falls in with a group of female cult followers in the late 1960s. Though the novel is ostensibly about cults and coming-of-age, what draws Evie is not the group itself, but the lure of friendship with those girls already there (and, without giving too much away, one girl in particular).

In The Secret Place (Penguin, $17), Tana French moves her Dublin Murder Squad series off the streets of Dublin and onto the grounds of an elite boarding school, where the bond among a group of girls is so powerful as to be almost eerie. Julie Buntin's debut, Marlena (Holt, $26), takes the premise of the dangerous teenage friendship to its extreme, as readers learn early in the novel that something terrible has happened to Marlena.

There's a thread that weaves through each of these books, as distinct as they may be: look how well these girls can know each other without yet knowing themselves. Look how fine the line between love and danger. Look at all there is to learn in walking that line.

Meine 5 Gründe, warum ihr „The Girls“ von Emma Cline lesen solltet

(1) Es ist keine typische True Crime Story

Von der Manson Family oder zumindest Charles Manson hat fast jeder schon einmal gehört, schließlich werden in vielen Filmen und Serien (unter anderem auch Supernatural und American Horror Story) immer wieder Bezüge zu der Sekte und ihrem Anführer hergestellt. Von der Außenwelt eher als Hippie-Kommune gesehen war die Manson Family eine Gruppierung junger Frauen und Männer, die sich Charles Manson unter anderem durch Drogenkonsum, sexuelle Gewalt und sein Charisma gefügig und hörig gemacht hat. Die Gruppe zeichnete sich Ende der 60er Jahre unter anderem verantwortlich für die Morde an der Schauspielerin Sharon Tate und Supermarktkettenbesitzer Leno LaBianca.

Dies schwebt natürlich in jeder Szene im Hinterkopf herum, schließlich kann man die Faszination kaum leugnen, die die Dynamik hinter einer solchen Tat auslöst. Cline aber findet einen anderen Weg. Im Zentrum ihrer Geschichte steht der psychologische Aspekt, die Manipulation, die täglichen Hürden und Grausamkeiten, die das Leben der Mädchen bestimmen und sie für die Reden des unglaublich charismatischen Russell überhaupt erst öffnen. „The Girls“ weist sehr viel mehr Tiefe auf, als man zunächst erwartet.

(2) Weibliche Charaktere stehen im Mittelpunkt

Cline legt ungemein viel Wert darauf, das Miteinander der Protagonistinnen im Buch darzustellen. Auf Evie üben die jungen Frauen in der Kommune eine unglaubliche Faszination aus. Sie sind wie von einer anderen Welt, ziehen sich nicht auffällig an um den Männern zu gefallen und Aufmerksamkeit zu erlangen, im Gegenteil.

Für Evie sind Suzanne und ihre Gefährtinnen ein Ausweg, ein Lichtblick, etwas Neues und Aufregendes. Freigeister, die Evie in ihren Bann ziehen. Und so folgt Evie den Wünschen von Suzanne, weil sie ihre Anerkennung sucht. Cline stellt diesen Aspekt mit einem ungemeinen Feingefühl dar und gibt ihren Charakteren ein enormes Maß an Tiefe.

(3) Rollendenken und gesellschaftlicher Zwang

Evie wächst in einer damals gut situierten Familie auf, doch sieht sich gefangen im damaligen Rollenbild, in den Zwängen die eine von Männern kontrollierte Gesellschaft ihr auferlegt. Die erhoffte Liebe und Anerkennung findet sie in der Kommune, bei Suzanne und Russell.

Geprägt wird Evies Denken von der Situation im eigenen Elternhaus. Die Mutter ist eine Heimchen am Herd Figur, die stillschweigend die Ausschweifungen ihres Ehemannes erduldet. Denn ohne einen Ehemann scheint Frau keinen Wert zu besitzen. Aussehen und Benehmen stehen ständig unter Beobachtung; es wird beurteilt und verurteilt. Dass Evie sich selbst in ein ähnliches Abhängigkeitsverhältnis manövriert als sie der Kommune beitritt, ist ihr zunächst gar nicht klar, wird dem Leser aber umso deutlicher, je mehr die Geschichte fortschreitet.

(4) Motive des Romans immer noch aktuell

Die Rolle der Frau in der Gesellschaft ist immer wieder Thema, heute genau so wie in den 60er Jahren. Das Rollendenken und die Normen, die bestimmten Geschlechtern angedichtet werden, zwingen junge Menschen auch heute immer wieder dazu, Auswege zu suchen. Ausbrechen und frei sein. Das sein, was man will. So leben, wie man will, ohne ständig unter Beurteilung und Beobachtung zu stehen.

Im Buch nutzt Russell das Verlangen der Mädchen nach Anerkennung, nach Liebe und einem Selbstwertgefühl aus, um sie für seine Ansichten zu öffnen. Positiv ist hier vor allem aber die Figur von Tamar, der neuen Frau an der Seite von Evies Vater, hervorzuheben, die aus den gesellschaftlichen Zwängen auf ihre Weise ausbricht und somit als Vorbild und Lichtblick agiert. Mit wachsender Erfahrung ist ein Ausweg möglich. Es ist nicht alles verloren.

(5) Schreib- und Erzählstil

Der Schreibstil von Emma Cline ist eine Klasse für sich. Sie erzählt ihre Geschichte mit einer unglaublichen Liebe zum Detail, hebt oft Kleinigkeiten hervor um bestimmte Stimmungen besser zu untermalen und in Szene zu setzen. Oftmals wirkt dies schon fast überladen, als zu viel, und ist dann doch wieder stimmig und passend. Letztendlich muss sich der Leser auf dieses Buch einlassen. Die Wirkung entfaltet sich – so war es zumindest bei mir – erst eine Weile nach dem Lesen.

I was intrigued by all the publicity surrounding this book, but then I couldn't get into it. I slugged through the first pages but couldn't relate enough to continue.

I like true crime, so this book was an intriguing read for me. I didn't love the present day scenes as much as the flashbacks, but all in all it's a page turner. The author did a great job of weaving the Manson murders into Evie's fictional coming-of-age story.

A fascinating and disturbing read into what can go one in a cult. In a world that is falling apart at the seams, reading about such things becomes all the more important as we strive to understand how to rebuild communities that are healthy, a 180 from what the girls in Cline's book are doing. Thought-provoking and haunting.

One of my favourite books of event times. A thrilling tale, masterfully told.

I was excited to read this book, but I'm afraid it didn't explore the topics I hoped it would. I found the characters to be less than fully developed and the pacing of the plot was uneven.

Did not enjoy this story, the characters or the plot

This book is a little too dark for my tastes. Supposedly based on the Manson murders, it involves young girls being captivated by an older man, and joining his commune.

The small town atmosphere and trouble at home send Evie to befriend a group of girls who are new to the area. She's drawn to there dark and a bit creepy lifestyle, seeing it as an adventure. The more you get into this story, the creepier it gets.

The writing is good, and the characters are certainly memorable. I just didn't care much for the subject matter. Not what I was expecting.

I'm sorry but I did not like this one. I had a difficult time getting into the details. I have read the book HelterSkelter and know the subject matter. So this one was a big interest for me. However, I just could not get into the story and found it very boring. I tried multiple times but I feel this one is just not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an early review of this one. It did not influence my review.

I thought this was a great concept for looking back on a time and events that we all think we are familiar with. Approaching the story through the eyes of a girl who was there, but wasn't was a whole new perspective of how the events came to unfold. One of the best coming-of-age stories I've read.

This novel is irresistible for its extraordinary craft. The prose is nervous and electric, the sentences crisp and crystalline. You can almost taste the rot and the waste in this summer from hell. The young (and old) narrator's voice is something to behold. Haunting. Fragile. Her senses in full bloom. Her awakening to the world potent and fascinating. Her presence is undeniable. She carries the story with an uncanny sense of innocence and gloom.

Emma Cline is an amazing new voice on the literary scene and I will follow her works with keen interest. But I really, really didn't want to be here.

This books started out so strong and I was immediately captivated by Cline's vivid descriptions and insight. But I thought it ended somewhat abruptly and oddly.

Loved this book
Didn't want it to end
Highly recommend

Read so many great reviews for this book, but it just wasn't for me. Only read half.

I'm going to start out this review by saying Emma Cline's writing is very good, and I didn't have an issue with that at all, which is why I'm giving this 2 stars instead of just 1 star. I did however have an issue with almost everything else about the book. I found the plot and setting to be boring, and the pacing was a bit awkward at times, but the main issue I had was with the narration style and the narrator herself. I hated the back and forth between the past and the present. I felt as though present Evie brought absolutely nothing to the table except to prove she was just a waste of a character. She floated through her entire life letting everything just happen to her, and seeing herself as a victim. I think this story could have been much better if it switched back and forth between Evie's POV and the POV of Suzanne, or anyone else who was actually apart of the cult. I was really expecting a character study on someone who finds themselves in a cult, but instead we get a young girl who is just a very weak person and becomes infatuated with one of the main girls in a cult. Evie isn't even really a member of the cult, she just goes to the ranch when she's mad at her mom. The whole novel is basically Evie calling herself a victim and not owning up to anything she did when she was with the other girls, and she really didn't even blame the girls for what they did in the cult. It was just pathetic how she was completely obsessed with Suzanne. Evie hated her parents, and her friends, and so she spent the whole book trying to impress the girls in the cult. It was so dull. I wanted something more exciting and more interesting, and something definitely darker. I wasn't shocked by anything the characters did, and I felt the plot really led nowhere. I continued to the end of the book because a friend assured me the ending is worth it, but I really disagree. We know how the story ends and just reading about it from the POV of a character who wasn't even involved was a serious let down. There were no plot twists, no major shocks, no characters that stood out. I really feel this book was a waste of time, and I can't think of anybody I would recommend this to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

I'm a little confused. The Girls is a fiction book only because, it seems to me, Cline took a real life event and people (Charles Manson) and changed the names and location. But if you are familiar with the story of Manson and his followers then as you read this book you can predict exactly what is coming up. The giveaway was the first time Cline uses the location "the Ranch." I already had felt like it was the story of Charles Manson and his followers and the location of the ranch sealed the deal. So the reason this book is fiction is because it features a girl who we get an insider's view into her backstory and her fringe association with the group led by Russell (aka Charles Manson). Cline even used Manson's musical aspirations and association with a famous musician for her storyline - just changing the names and situation a bit. The writing wasn't bad. I read the story quickly. Cline did a great job with the fringe character and exploring some of the possible reasons people, specifically girls, will join cults. But at the end of the day, so to speak, the story is still a ripped off version of Charles Manson and his group.