The Girls: A Novel

Written by:
Emma Cline
Narrated by:
Cady McClain

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
84
Narrator
24
Release Date
June 2016
Duration
9 hours 46 minutes
Summary
THE INSTANT BESTSELLER • An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, Esquire, Newsweek, Vogue, Glamour, People, The Huffington Post, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Time Out, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Slate

Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence.

Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award • Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize • The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Emma Cline—One of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists

Praise for The Girls

“Spellbinding . . . a seductive and arresting coming-of-age story.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Extraordinary . . . Debut novels like this are rare, indeed.”—The Washington Post

“Hypnotic.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Gorgeous.”—Los Angeles Times

“Savage.”—The Guardian

“Astonishing.”—The Boston Globe

“Superbly written.”—James Wood, The New Yorker

“Intensely consuming.”—Richard Ford

“A spectacular achievement.”—Lucy Atkins, The Times

“Thrilling.”—Jennifer Egan

“Compelling and startling.”—The Economist
Reviews
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Jeremy H

The Girls is a solid read. Emma Cline can turn a phrase! Very vivid writing. This story stuck with me long after I finished it.

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Carly K

Entertaining but I expected it to be about a cult, and it was really a coming of age book. Still really enjoyed.

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Steven Van Loan

Stunning writing. Meticulous detail which allows the reader to feel as though they were right there, smelling the smells, experiencing the grittiness and rawness of the characters, settings and situations. This writer has a brilliant gift for analogies, which kept me hooked throughout the story. It was rough subject material, but well done.

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Laura Bofill

This book was entertaining enough and I never felt like I was forcing myself to slog through it, but it also wasn't amazing. I found myself thinking that if I wanted to read a book about the Manson murders, I'd rather it be a non-fiction version. The story is basically the backstory of the Manson family with the names changed - there's an obvious Charles Manson, Dennis Wilson, Tex Watson, and several small details are identical. The actual murders are a little different but not much. I also went back and forth on the writing style - at times I really liked it, at others I felt like it was a bit overdone and tried to hard to sound literary. Wouldn't read again, but I'm not mad about finishing it.

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Jessica Tynan

At first it was difficult to get into. After the first few chapters it captured me and I found it intriguing.

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Kendra Wells

Boring, was always wondering when something big was going to happen and it never did. I did enjoy the way it was written.

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Paula Mathewson

Trite, wordy, and as self-absorbed as the main character. Would not recommend.

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Kelly Felcoskie

Very close to the Manson murders in plot. Not very original

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Book Critic

Somewhat long and parts of it were dragged out, but it was beautifully written and a captivating story.

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