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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Cult violence is in the background; the threat becomes real toward the novel's end
Language
Some
Adult language in Cline's literary register
Sexual Content
Some
Adult content including the predatory relationship between the commune's leader and underage girls
Substance Use
A lot
Drugs are central to the commune culture; extensive substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological portrait of a young girl's hunger to belong — and how that hunger makes her vulnerable to exploitation — is one of the most precise and uncomfortable in contemporary fiction
What this book is about
Emma Cline's debut novel follows fourteen-year-old Evie Boyd, who is drawn into the orbit of a Manson-like commune in 1969 through her fascination with Suzanne, one of the older girls. The novel is about the particular vulnerability of adolescent girls to manipulation and belonging; the violence of the commune's eventual crime lurks at the novel's edge. Cline writes with extraordinary psychological precision. Adult content throughout.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Predatory relationships involving underage girls
Drug use throughout
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