Bout of Books 20: Challenge - Synopsis Rewrite

Interesting challenge, technically for yesterday but I forgot to check: Rewrite a book synapses from a different characters POV #synopsisrewritebob20

I’ll do The Girls, which I just finished.

The book is originally told from the point of view of Evie, a girl from a dairy town in California whose grandmother was a semi-famous actress. Her life is mostly boring and she’s ready to shake things up. When she falls in love with a young woman, Suzanne, who is already in the upper echelon of a "cult," Evie is sucked into a whole different life. She's not used to attention or having her own needs met in any thoughtful way. 

It took me a while to get into the book. Evie's life is generally boring though she has some insights about what it means to grow up as a girl, and the title alludes to these thoughts as much as to the girls who are members of the commune. 

The story is told in flashback, with the adult Evie reminiscing following an encounter with a young man and a vapid girl who looks as lost as Evie remembers feeling. Adult Evie continues to be haunted by the activities of The Ranch that she was both a part of as well as those from which she was excluded. She's back to a bland life and regret.

Here's a picture of the girls you are actually going to be picturing as you read this book, if you know who Charles Manson is at all. 

 

From Suzanne’s point of view –

(as her young self) This is the story of the summer before Russel told me to teach Mitch a lesson. It got out of hand but I could tell they thought they were better than us. They got what they deserved for being friends with a man who went against his promises. That summer I hung out with this girl who was kind of uptight. She was okay sometimes but I’m glad I ditched her before everything happened. She wouldn’t have wanted to go through with the lesson we were teaching Mitch. Our whole thing wasn’t really her deal, anyway.

(As her older self) This is the story of one of the summers before I killed those poor people in Mitch’s house. I was so lost that summer. Like, I think I totally gave up everything I was for Russell. There was this girl who I think really cared about me, but I thought she was just another person to use. I hope that she was able to move on with her life. 

Related Posts: