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bookburdy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Pros
- The narrator was my favorite (hilarious and talking to you specifically) I recommend the audiobook!
- I enjoyed the creepy crawly bits (the yellow jackets)
- Loved the atmosphere and the writing
- I liked the multiple points of view.
- It was trying to be too many things.
the ending was so boring.. nothing even happened?? - Too long for no reason.
- No diversity (barely any POC)
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexism, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
gann's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Murder
wlwlibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Plain Bad Heroines is a beautiful exploration of queer friendships, sapphic love, and the sometimes-blurry space in between. This book made me laugh out loud one moment and be terrified the next. It’s a complex journey, but a fun one to take. The author does a very good job of not allowing characters’ identities become lost due to the length, and casually renews the reader’s memory of them.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would have liked a little more closure, but it’s a good one nonetheless.
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
The d-slur is reclaimed in this book, and that could be triggering to some readers. I wasn’t super vigilant about keeping track of TWs.callikat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
First of all, it is LONG. I almost DNFed it 150 pages in, because nothing had happened yet. And for so much character exposition, the characters themselves didn't feel very authentic. We got glimpses of their insecurities, feelings, and secrets but it never went past the surface. I think that's why the climax at the end didn't work for me -- you expect to get emotional over all of the betrayal, but then no one has any reaction and everything just ends.
I also didn't really like the switch from different time periods. One part of the book takes place in modern day, as they film a movie about these two girls who died under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Flo. The other part of the book takes place in 1902 - the time period the girls actually died. However, while we learn about the two actresses (and the writer) in modern day, we never really learn about Clara and Flo, because the 1902 scenes are not about them -- they're about the headmistress and her partner. And to be honest it's hard to get interested in their story when the girls in modern day only talk about Clara and Flo. I wish the 1902 scenes had been about Clara and Flo, and then we could learn more about the girls in modern day/how they connect to the original heroines.
It was still a good book, I really did like the plot. I guess I just wish there had been a clearer point to it all, I wish we had gotten to know the characters better, and I wish we could have seen more of the movie being filmed!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
perseffable's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Lesbophobia
sm_moon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death and Homophobia
Moderate: Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia
mimeflower's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
hales230's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Homophobia
barefootbetsy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
maryy_r0se's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
In the early 1900s, a series of gruesome deaths occurrs at the the Brookhants School for Girls. Speculation runs rampant that these deaths are somehow connected to The Story of Mary MacLane, a radical new book that has several of the students transfixed. Headmistress Libbie Brookhants and teacher Alexandra Trills are stuck trying to protect the girls (and trying to protect themselves.) In present-day, Merritt Emmons’ book about Brookhants is being adapted into a movie starring queer superstar Harper Harper and former child actress Audrey Wells. The women go to Brookhants to film and find its history is still alive.
This book was incredibly ambitious, and to me it more than succeeded. Despite being over 600 pages, I found myself wishing it was even longer because I enjoyed it so much and would have loved to learn even more about the school’s lore. The narration style and use of footnotes was so unique, and I fell in love with the characters (Audrey and Libbie were my personal faves!) After hearing this book somehow combined gothic, horror, comedy, and dark academia (and had all sapphic main characters), I had very high expectations, and I was elated to find that this book surpassed them. The tone is very unique and it certainly takes some getting used to, but I had such a fun time with this one.
(Aside from the content warnings mentioned below, this book also has a lot of horror surrounding wasps, so if you have any sort of wasp or bee phobia you may want to tread carefully!)
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Pregnancy