I first heard about The Girls back when I worked in a well-known bookstore. It was one of their ‘Picks of the Month’ and it definitely caught my eye. However, as is always the case – there were other books I wanted more so, as many a forgotten title have, this took a backseat.
Then I came across it in a used bookstore, and I didn’t hesitate, my initial intrigue and my personal goal of trying to expand my genres. I bought it and I’m happy to say, it did not disappoint.
California. The summer of 1969. In the dying days of a floundering counter-culture a young girl is unwittingly caught up in unthinkable violence, and a decision made at this moment, on the cusp of adulthood, will shape her life….
Evie Boyd is desperate to be noticed. In the summer of 1969, empty days stretch out under the California sun. The smell of honeysuckle thickens the air and the sidewalks radiate heat.
Until she sees them. The snatch of cold laughter. Hair, long and uncombed. Dirty dresses skimming the tops of thighs. Cheap rings like a second set of knuckles. The girls.
And at the centre, Russell. Russell and the ranch, down a long dirt track and deep in the hills. Incense and clumsily strummed chords. Rumours of sex, frenzied gatherings, teen runaways.
Was there a warning, a sign of things to come? Or is Evie already too enthralled by the girls to see that her life is about to be changed forever
As always, this is spoiler-free!
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