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joliebeth23's review against another edition
3.0
I really couldn't decide if I loved this book or hated it. It's demented, dark and funny in the best ways some of the time. And, it's demented, dark and shallow in the worst ways at other times.
xlcior's review against another edition
4.0
Weird and disturbing in a wonderful way. So very strange but fascinating. Also, I like what they did with the cover.
scorpstar77's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts off as demented. It ends as demented. Most of what happens in the middle is demented. I loved it. It's the story of three girls, caught up in the modern-day scratch-and-claw fest that seems to be prevalent under the surface of the popular and upper-crust society, but these girls have a distinctly Southern background. The reader meets Sarina, the prom queen, cheerleader, Tri Delt who has always been loved by everyone and has always gotten her way (often by using such clever manipulation that her victims think it was their idea to do this thing for her), and who is really the central character. Then there's Nicole, Sarina's best friend who wants nothing more than to please Sarina, to ensure her happiness, and, above all, to make sure she and Nicole are always together. Nicole and Sarina both have equally manipulative and insane mothers, and their mothers play a large role in the story. The third main character is Bitty Jack, who is poor and therefore like a bug in the eyes of Sarina and those like her, and Bitty's struggle to both prove her worth to and get revenge on Sarina because of a childhood incident that emotionally scars Bitty and her family. Most of the book shows the intersection of Sarina's life with Nicole's and Sarina's life with Bitty's, but at the end, all three lives entertwine with a fairly explosive ending. Very Southern gothic in the manner of the Texas cheerleader massacre and similar instances, I was greatly entertained and disturbed by the characters and their motivations, and how very real they seemed.
marsbarsx's review against another edition
dark
tense
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
adina1's review against another edition
3.0
I loved American Housewife, so naturally wanted to read more by Helen Ellis. This book was good, funny in parts. But it just felt a little disjointed. 3 stars!
alsmilesalot's review against another edition
4.0
My star rating somehow don't reflect it but I enjoyed this novel so much more than the stories "American Housewife" (though as I write this now, I actually think many of these chapters could stand alone as short stories). They provide a twisted (but not wholly unimaginable) take on being an adolescent girl in the deep south.
chaos13delirium's review against another edition
2.0
Unlikeable characters, things constantly going wrong for people or people making terrible choices - frankly it was depressing. I love dark humor, this wasn't it.
I found it predictable. I might have liked it better on the beach, that's why I bought it to begin with, maybe that was my issue.
typical "bad guys' are of course the blonde pretty women. Just generally banal.
I found it predictable. I might have liked it better on the beach, that's why I bought it to begin with, maybe that was my issue.
typical "bad guys' are of course the blonde pretty women. Just generally banal.
indiepauli47's review
3.0
That was a pleasant surprise; I bought this book in a charity shop, solely because of the title. I didn't expect much, and in the end, had a rather good time with this book.
At first I got scared it was gonna be a girlie kind of book; all makeup and boys, and the school drama only superficial girls can create.
But I was wrong, and I'm glad of it.
It was weird and quite disturbing; all three characters had a strong personality and they each stood out in their own way.
I'm a bit confused at the ending though; would have expected more of it.
Still, not a bad read.
At first I got scared it was gonna be a girlie kind of book; all makeup and boys, and the school drama only superficial girls can create.
But I was wrong, and I'm glad of it.
It was weird and quite disturbing; all three characters had a strong personality and they each stood out in their own way.
I'm a bit confused at the ending though; would have expected more of it.
Still, not a bad read.
johannalm's review against another edition
4.0
Eating the Cheshire Cat, Helen Ellis
Mean girls times 10, set in the the south, where social status and social success is the end all for many woman. Southern gothic with lots of humor thrown in.
Three teenage girls in Tuscaloosa Alabama, along with their mothers, are trying to climb the social latter to success. From fancy camps and High School cheerleading to prom dates and College sorority rushing, these girls must find their places. Some do it exceptionally well, if stepping on others to achieve success, while others go literally mad from all the pressure.
Sarina is the most ambitious and driven of the girls, and she and her mother will stop at nothing to get her where she needs to go - nabbing that rich and successful husband so she can have the perfect home and rule the country club. It doesn't matter whose life she ruins on the way up. Two lives she messes with and messes up in horrible and hilarious ways belong to Nicole and Bitty Jack.
Nicole lives across the street and is obsessed with Sarina in an unnatural way. Nicole's mother is determined to make Nicole a social success, despite Nicole's many failings, and the two butt heads often for control of Nicole's life. Bitty Jack is from a much less financially successful family. Bitty is a good girl from a loving family and nothing prepares her and her family for the wrath of Sarina. Bitty tries hard to build a good life for herself despite Sarina's attempts to derail her hopes and dreams.
As the three finally fully collide at a homecoming game at college, nothing can prepare the reader or the crimson tide for the final conflagration.
At times hilarious and also terrifying in its portrayal of social climbing madness, this is a funny and scary depiction of life in the south for women.
Mean girls times 10, set in the the south, where social status and social success is the end all for many woman. Southern gothic with lots of humor thrown in.
Three teenage girls in Tuscaloosa Alabama, along with their mothers, are trying to climb the social latter to success. From fancy camps and High School cheerleading to prom dates and College sorority rushing, these girls must find their places. Some do it exceptionally well, if stepping on others to achieve success, while others go literally mad from all the pressure.
Sarina is the most ambitious and driven of the girls, and she and her mother will stop at nothing to get her where she needs to go - nabbing that rich and successful husband so she can have the perfect home and rule the country club. It doesn't matter whose life she ruins on the way up. Two lives she messes with and messes up in horrible and hilarious ways belong to Nicole and Bitty Jack.
Nicole lives across the street and is obsessed with Sarina in an unnatural way. Nicole's mother is determined to make Nicole a social success, despite Nicole's many failings, and the two butt heads often for control of Nicole's life. Bitty Jack is from a much less financially successful family. Bitty is a good girl from a loving family and nothing prepares her and her family for the wrath of Sarina. Bitty tries hard to build a good life for herself despite Sarina's attempts to derail her hopes and dreams.
As the three finally fully collide at a homecoming game at college, nothing can prepare the reader or the crimson tide for the final conflagration.
At times hilarious and also terrifying in its portrayal of social climbing madness, this is a funny and scary depiction of life in the south for women.
lucy_c83's review
challenging
dark
funny
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia