The Girls

I'd read really mixed reviews of this but I'm interested in cults (...fictionally speaking) so I checked it out. I...agree with mixed reviews? It's a great idea and there are some beautifully observed lines about ~the patriarchy~ and how much sense it makes for all these girls to be competing for a male cult leader's affections. (“I waited to be told what was good about me. [...] All that time I had spent readying myself, the articles that taught me life was really just a waiting room until someone noticed you- the boys had spent that time becoming themselves.” ) It can feel a little didactic in points, but the frame narrative makes that make sense.

Overall I'd recommend it if you're interested in cults, but otherwise not a must-read.