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nicosa's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
calliekay's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to this on audiobook, which was fine, but I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed it more if I actually read it. Knowing that this was a culty book based on the Manson family, I really was expecting something different....I honestly just wanted to hear about the murders, why they murdered them, who, and why.....so I kept listening and listening and listening even though I was bored, instead of just calling it a DNR and moving on.
This was a very long and very detailed (not in a good way, the writing was somewhat pretentious at times) story of a 14 year old girl who has felt so abandoned by everyone in her life, that she finds comfort in a cult on a ranch nearby. She is absolutely infatuated with another older teenage girl in the group, and wants to do anything to impress her and be accepted by the group which causes her to make some uncomfortable decisions. To be fair, I'm not sure this is really much different than most poorly chosen friend groups teenage girls may find themselves in, except for the whole murderous cult thing. The murderous cult thing was barely spoken of though.
There were definitely points of girlhood that were relatable. The peer pressure, the pretending not to care about things that obviously meant a lot, doing things outside of your comfort zone to impress people around you, finding acceptance anywhere you can because you don't feel it at home, etc. Being a teenage girl is really weird at times and this did shine light on some of those points.
The last 45 minutes to an hour of the book was the best part, but still wasn't even enough for me to recommend this to anyone.
This was a very long and very detailed (not in a good way, the writing was somewhat pretentious at times) story of a 14 year old girl who has felt so abandoned by everyone in her life, that she finds comfort in a cult on a ranch nearby. She is absolutely infatuated with another older teenage girl in the group, and wants to do anything to impress her and be accepted by the group which causes her to make some uncomfortable decisions. To be fair, I'm not sure this is really much different than most poorly chosen friend groups teenage girls may find themselves in, except for the whole murderous cult thing. The murderous cult thing was barely spoken of though.
There were definitely points of girlhood that were relatable. The peer pressure, the pretending not to care about things that obviously meant a lot, doing things outside of your comfort zone to impress people around you, finding acceptance anywhere you can because you don't feel it at home, etc. Being a teenage girl is really weird at times and this did shine light on some of those points.
The last 45 minutes to an hour of the book was the best part, but still wasn't even enough for me to recommend this to anyone.
elleriekaren's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
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
3.5
hilarytomlinson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vils's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jenhurst's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book that I was also intrigued by because the cover is so memorable but I wasn’t really sure what it was about. Once I found out the plot I had mixed feelings about it I’d enjoy it. I find Charles Manson and that cult to be so fascinating but I find hyped up historical fiction and mainstream popular books to usually be overhyped. But I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this. But I think it’s because was so good. The narrator did a great job with evvy! She made her very relatable and I liked how she voiced Suzanne too. I think the writing would’ve irritated me had I read it physically since it was so overly descriptive but it worked well with the audiobook. I liked seeing how naive evvy was as she got brought in because she wanted to belong, as did all the other girls. We knew where it was going and I felt like Suzanne was trying to protect evvy for a lot of the book, even if she couldn’t see this.
llassu01's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
peaknit's review against another edition
3.0
I need to preface this review by admitting that I was a criminology major in college and ingested every bit of information that I could about the Manson family. Knowing as much about that as I do about that probably soured the story for me. This felt like a fictionalized version of the exact tale of the Manson family right down to the ranch and a sadistic murder on the fancy side of town. I still found the listen entertaining. I did struggle at times with the flowery descriptors that the author used. I generally enjoy rich description and love words but It almost seem to me like she went back and added more flowery five dollar words that she needed to. At one point she described llamas as sultry and heavy lidded like a street siren. It felt a bit much. That said, if you don't know much about the Manson story I do think that this is interesting and a really frightening look into what cult life may have been like specifically in this era of the 60s. Charles Manson was truly in a league of his own when it came to captivating young people. I would recommend Helter Skelter for a true look inside that world.