This Book Is A Hot F**king Mess, From An Objective Standpoint

Cee R.
2 min readDec 20, 2021

A bulletpoint, quick-fire, review of The Girls by Emma Cline

‘The Girls’ with flowers and a hazy picture of a girl in a summer dress
Image: reviewer’s own, made with Canva

The Girls by Emma Cline

Warning: this post discusses and refers to serious topics such as rape and child abuse. Please be careful my nerdlets.

  • Evie Boyd falls in with (*coughs* The Manson Family *coughs*) a cult that is definitely NOT The Manson Family. *shifty glances.*
  • Who is the author kidding? This book is about the Manson murders.
  • This book is fascinating in that macabre way that The Manson Family is fascinating.
  • It’s also a hot f**king mess, from an objective standpoint.
  • If you step away from its captivating spell for a moment, this is a book where several grown-a** adults have sex with a fourteen-year-old girl, and IT ISN’T VIEWED AS A PROBLEM.
  • ADULTS HAVING SEX WITH UNDERAGE KIDS IS RAPE.
  • It’s not OK. It’s not romantic.
  • So, despite the allure of the 60s California vibe, and the genuine readability and enjoyableness of this book, I can’t recommend it.

For my full thoughts on this book, including Content Warnings, check out my mini-review (don’t let the ‘mini’ fool you, it’s a lot more detailed than this…

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Cee R.
Cee R.

Written by Cee R.

Writer, poet, (book) blogger @ dorareads.co.uk , Queer, weird, & a tad peculiar. Bookish rebel. Welsh as a tractor on the M4. Buy me a coffee @ ko-fi.com/ceearr

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