Boring Girls

Do you like your books dark? Really, really dark? Like, so dark that even light can't escape? Then BORING GIRLS is the book for you.

***WARNING: SPOILERS & TRIGGERS (OH MY)***

BORING GIRLS triggered a lot of things for me, as it probably will for you. It touches upon many subjects that most people won't touch, or don't approach very well -- misogyny, sexism, rape culture, bullying, tolerance for violence, revenge.

The most striking, and terrifying, aspect of BORING GIRLS is Rachel's transformation. She started out as someone who was very much like me: an unhappy girl with a loving family who was bullied by her peers for being different, and didn't find solace until she met a group of like-minded individuals in a counter-culture. But by the end of the book, she was...well, almost unrecognizable.

It's scary, seeing someone like you turn into a monster. It makes you wonder what kind of monsters might be lurking inside you.

Rachel is an ordinary loner girl, and I thought the way she was bullied was very realistically done. Her fear, her anger, her helplessness; these were all things that resonated very strongly with me. It's clear from the beginning that Rachel has a fascination with things that are dark and morbid. Her favorite painting is Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes.

(from Wikipedia)

Artemisia Gentileschi happens to be one of my favorite painters, and the parallels between her and Rachel are not coincidental. Artemisia was a female in an occupation dominated by men, in an environment where women were still considered pretty much worthless. She was raped by another painter, Agostino Tassi, who was actually hired to be her tutor. Her paintings often depicted women being abused or repressed by men, or strong women rising up against their oppressors.

In the same vein, Rachel becomes fascinated with metal. (The ex-metalhead in me would just like to take a moment to point out that what Rachel is actually listening to -- the screaming and shouting kind of metal, with the dramatic costumes and gory imagery, is more like nu-metal. Slipknot was the first band that came immediately to mind, although there are other bands like that -- like Cannibal Corpse (they have a song called "Stripped, Raped, and Strangled") , Lord Gore ("Rape Camp"), and Dying Fetus ("Kill Your Mother / Rape Your Dog").

A lot of metalheads don't like bands like these. As with many music genres, there are purists, and a lot of the die-hard metal fans don't consider "nu metal" real metal, preferring instead the epic sorts of metal bands that tend to be based in Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway have excellent metal bands), with Nightwish, Stratovarius, Epica, Sonata Arctica, and November's Doom being some notable examples. I knew some people who wouldn't even consider listening to an American or British band, because they didn't have the same roots as the traditional stuff.

One of the things that put me off nu-metal was the violence. Especially the sexual violence. I found the music achromatic and dissonant and couldn't stand to listen to it, not when I had symphonic metal power ballads at the ready with singers who were actually trained in classical opera (I love you Tarja Turunen). But this is exactly why Rachel adores these bands: they provide an outlet for her impotent rage and frustration about being bullied and not fitting in at school.

Rachel ends up meeting another girl through a friend, Josephine, because the two girls went to Catholic school together. Josephine's ex-classmate is named Fern and she and Rachel form an almost instant rapport when they realize that they're interested in the same music and subculture. Pretty soon, they decide to form a metal band of their own.

One of the best things about this book is the way that the author portrays what it's like being a female in a career that is dominated by men. I find this is especially true in geek culture. People think of geeks as being adorable and awkward, but a lot of them are quite nasty towards women, with a lot of inherent sexism being directed towards female gamers, female cosplayers, and female geeks. She captures that "rape- and misogyny-culture" really well, and I loved some of the messages Sara Taylor had to send about sticking up for yourself and not buying into rape culture.

Then, about 3/4 of the way through the book, things take a turn for the worse. The band is starting to go pretty well, and there's a concert, and I'm thinking, "Oh, they're about to be a success..."

And then Rachel and Fern are both raped, just as Artemisia Gentileschi was, and, like Artemisia, it changes the way they approach their art. Unlike Artemisia, however, they plan to exact revenge on their rapist...and it will change everything. EVERYTHING. AND THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

Since I'm the first person to write a full-length review for this book, I feel obligated to go into detail because this is a very explicit book, with a lot of topics that will upset people. Yes, there is some very vivid and graphic imagery in this book that people will find upsetting. There is rape. There is murder (and it's descriptive murder, too -- no clean and pristine "fade to black" here).

It's interesting, because when I looked up the lyrics to the nu metal bands some of my friends at the time sent me, I couldn't image what kind of a person you would have to be to write that kind of thing. "These men must be fucked in the head," I thought to myself. In the here and now, that seems a little hypocritical, because I'm sure some of the people who read my books take one look at some of those fucked up passages and think to themselves, "Nenia Campbell must be a total psycho in real life." (I am, actually, but that's a secret...shhh.)

In BORING GIRLS, Sara Taylor shows that sometimes this is true -- sometimes the people who write psychotic stuff are psychos. And sometimes they're psychos who hide in sheep's clothing and pretend to be nice. And sometimes they're nice people who dress up like wolves as catharsis for the stressors in their lives. What an incredibly disturbing book this was. I think I loved it.

3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars.

Rachel seems like a normal and stable teen. She is a loner--like to keep to herself and hangout with her family. All of this changes when she discovers death metal and a new best friend named Fern.. The girls form a band and life really beings to change--and not necessarily for the better. This is more a why done it and a who done it. It is an excellent novel for both young adults as well as adult readers. It grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until the bittersweet end. Highly recommended.

This was an enjoyable read and I pretty much rattled through it. If I have a criticism, it’s that the book doesn't really live up to its opening paragraph. It promises a dark comedic wit and intelligence but whilst it does a good job of keeping the story moving it never really fulfilled this promise for me. It also reads more like YA title than an adult one and that is where I’d see most of the potential readership for this novel. I can see fellow teens who themselves are unpopular at school finding much to like in much of what Rachel does.

This book is totally rad. I am not really a "metal" person, but I could identify with Rachel & Fern's struggles. Sadly, being dismissed and disrespected simply for being young and female seems to be the norm. This book took a super dark turn that surprised me, but ultimately I was pleased that like Rachel's painting of Judith, it takes something dark and goes even darker.

Wow. I'm still reeling. One thing's for certain: Taylor definitely knows how to play up a moment. Some pretty intense stuff happens in this book, as all blurbs have promised, and none of it has the jarring resonance of shock value or is diluted entirely by poor pacing or overly speculative filler prose. Taylor is a deft writer with a strong voice. Every page, every paragraph of Boring Girls propels you forward and forward until you reach the insane finale.

To me, Boring Girls tells the story of what would happen if a teenage girl acted on wholly on her anger on her own behalf. Rachel and Fern find themselves up against, to use their own words, "some real assholes", especially after they start their own band and realize how misogynistic the metal scene is (this, unfortunately, is the case with so many other subcultures that you don't have to be into metal to feel that painful twinge of recognition ). And that's putting it...lightly. They don't go to the police, their parents, or their male friends. They take matters into their own hands. This is the story of Boring Girls.

Worry not - this does not sparkle with the luster of fantasy. Not even the parts about touring as a rock band is glamorized (probably helped by the fact that Taylor is in a band herself). It is what it is - the violence, the consequences, - and it all certainly makes for a different kind of story.

To say that this book will not make you uncomfortable is an understatement. Rachel is a girl who grew up being humiliated and the pain that she feels from that slowly transforms into hatred and revenge. A lot of her decisions that she makes I did not particularly agree with but I could understand why she would do the things that she does.

When I first started reading the book, it seems very lighthearted; like a regular story with a teenager who is trying to find herself and whose parents are not so keen about what she chooses. But slowly, it starts becoming darker and darker. And this was something I did not expect at all.

Overall, I enjoyed the story a lot. A liked how Rachel became involved in music, metal, and how that became a huge part of her life. I feel a lot of people can relate, even if we may not be artists, and how music can be a defining part of our lives. Also, I enjoyed reading how she follows her dreams regardless of what others think of her. She struggles but she learns and improves herself in her craft.

I think this book also falls under the psychological thrillers that have been popping up recently in contemporary fiction. It deals with a lot of feminist aspects that I seriously did not expect. It addresses the misogynistic and sexist views that are heavily present in the music industry. It goes through Rachel’s innermost thoughts and actions based on these kind of views.

You seriously do not know what to expect of this book. The twists and turns that it takes are at times, unexpected. You will come to either like or dislike Rachel, but at the end of the day, you will feel sympathy for her because of what she has gone through. And in some ways, I think it is justifiable to some extent. Definitely worth reading but caution due to the triggering topics it deals with.