This is a book that received many accolades when it was published. Many people really liked this book, but it was just okay for me. Don't get me wrong, it is very well written, but some of the subject matter and language was just a bit rough for me. The Girls is the story of 14 year old teenager, Evie Boyd, who is a very lonely young girl. She bounces between her divorced parents' houses and after seeing a group of girls in a local park, begins hanging out with them at a strange cult-like compound that promotes love and acceptance. The story is told in dual timelines, 1969 and then years later when Evie is much older. The author does a good job with this and it flows easily from each time period. As Evie becomes more and more involved with this cult, and somewhat in love with Suzanne, a wild and sexually free young woman, things get more dangerous and Evie has to decide how far she is willing to go. Fortunately for her, her parents are not willing to give up on her.

This story is based on the Manson murders and it was rather disturbing. I do not want to repeat what the blurb says so will leave it with this. I will once again say that this was a well-written story, but the subject matter may be hard for some to read. There is foul language, sexual abuse (she is only 14), violence and some difficult living conditions. This is a hard one for me to rate for these reasons.

This book absolutely freaked me out, but in the best way. Cline's writing drew me in immediately, and I will pick up anything she puts out -- she is incredibly talented.

The Mason murders are a crazy story of human beings in a cult. Parts of it were fascinating, to learn about what might have been going on in the minds of these girls

It's a great representation of the young female psyche navigating insecurities, rebellion, and curiosities through adolescence.

One thing a good reader recognizes is that all books are not their cup of tea, but recognizes that being taken out of one’s comfort zone can be a good thing. So it was for me with this book. I kept wanting to stop reading. I knew where the story was going. Perhaps for a younger reader not familiar with the Manson family, it will strike a different tone. This was the Manson family told from the perspective of a young teen, who thinks she’s found the family love she is missing in her own family. But as the horrors awaken her to what she’s gotten herself into, how does she get herself out, and for me that determination to reclaim her own life made the book worth reading for me.

this was a dnf for me . I was actually getting bored with the characters and the author really overwrote the book . She could of trimmed some off and the book would of been better .

This book was a bit of a guilty pleasure and, honestly, I couldn't put it down. It's one of those stories where you know how it's going to end, but the way it gets there is what makes it memorable. I found the story of Evie completely mesmerizing...and raw...and of course, disturbing. Cline's use of first-person narration was masterful and, while she is able to make some very dark moments feel almost beautiful, the underlying wickedness of Manson is always there. I would not recommend this book to just anyone, but if you're up for a visceral exploration of a murderous cult combined with a disturbing coming-of-age novel, this is about as good as they get.

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.

After reading a few chapters, I decided this book held no interest for me at this time nor was it a good fit for my blog.  I elected not to finish the book now, but it may well be a case of "the wrong book at the wrong time" syndrome and I might be willing to try it again in the future.  Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to sample this title.

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 didn't like this book.  I found that the characters were not believable and the situations were too far fetched.

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.