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
