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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Overall I enjoyed it, although I thought Cline cribbed a bit too much detail from Manson's life. I'd probably rate this closer to a 3.5/5 but her prose more than made up for the thinly veiled character of Russell. As debut novels go, I'm excited to see what Emma Cline does next.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If I had read this a decade ago, still only vaguely aware of the Manson family, I would have been far more intrigued. But I'm middle age fans this has lost some luster, despite a good fictional retelling of this era.
dark
reflective
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:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an interesting book, marred for me by the relentless view of women as hopelessly needy. Of course, given the subject matter (a fourteen year old girl meets up with a fictional version of the Manson cult), it was probably inevitable, but it got to me after a while. Emma Cline writes very well.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
Yes
So much of this book was frustrating! It’s like the writer just learned to write describing in as many adjectives as possible every other word. Just incredibly difficult to read on what is a good storyline.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF after the first few chapters…mentioned a 4 year old boy who was murdered with undigested spaghetti in his stomach. Maybe when my son isn’t 4 anymore I can try again :(