Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Girls

i for the most part enjoyed this book and read it quickly but it was lacking in parts and i didn’t hugely connect? well written and a really interesting concept, the iconic California 1969 based on Manson murders etc, but i did feel it could have been executed better.

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elizlizabeth's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

The first two parts are a bit slower, more of an internal monologue and a couple reflections to frame Evie as a character, but the actual plot picks up from chapter 5-6 onwards and while I knew what was going to happen I was flying through it to find out when and how it would unfold. The narrator's voice was gritty and cynical which helps make the story feel a lot more immediate and makes it more obvious that Evie is still reeling with PTSD over the event.

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The first couples pages of the book were over-the-top flowery language, and I wasn't sure if I was going to stick around, but it calmed down a little bit. I think the strongest parts were the descriptions of the very challenging time of pre-teen/early teenager-dom, when girls are really trying to just figure out how they fit into the world. I did not like the use of "Asiatic" to describe childlike banter - that feels.... not right and insulting to Asian languages. Just really unnecessary. I'm not sure if I'd read this author again because I might just not be able to get on her level of stuffed sentences.

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terrabby's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

No lo he odiado pero me lo habían hypeado mucho y me ha dejado bastante indiferente. El tema sectas me interesa más bien poco y tampoco creo que la parte psicológica que sería la más interesante se desarrolle demasiado. Parece un poco un collage de escenas morbosas con un toque de coming of age que en realidad para mi gusto es la única parte que vale la pena de la novela. Mucha gente dice que no le gusta la voz de Evie pero a mi me ha parecido bien, solo me hubiese gustado que me contase una historia diferente. Las partes de adulta me sobraban muchísimo.

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bethybooevans's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Just didn’t live up to the hype or my personal expectations at all. I felt that the present day Evie and the narrative surrounding Sasha and Julian was very irrelevant and a lots of unnecessary content just to give the comparison between younger Evie and Sasha.
The book would have been more engaging had the focus been on the cult and the facts surrounding it.
However, the gruesome men were portrayed well and Evie’s relationship with Susanne was intriguing.

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smalika's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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arys_library's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really loved this book! It was amazing and I cannot wait to read more from Emma Cline. I love how the book was written; in a nostalgic way from the protagonists pov. It was really easy to be put into her shoes. I was amazed actually how I felt like I was in the main characters mind, which was kind of foggy yet also knew that what was happening in that moment wasn’t what the mc thought was happening. It’s hard to explain but it was like I got two povs and two “truths” while reading the book one time with one pov. At first I didn’t like how the good parts seemed romanticized and the bad parts seemed skimmed over, but as I read on, I realized it was purposefully made that way and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I wish the bad parts were more known and described more, even though that might change the story.

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