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garion_kim24's review
3.0
I DNFed this book originally because of the slow, drawling beginning (I got to around 300 pages originally), and sudden realization that the book wouldn't be centering on, not the girls affected and killed at the Boarding school the book's curse revolves around, but the principal of the school, Libby and what I presumed would just be her boring, everyday love affairs (but after fully reading this book entirely, I can now say that it is one of the only interesting things in this novel).
Anyways, this book has been sitting on my shelf collecting dust (much like Clara and Flo's role in this novel), so now that I have finally read it, I can rant peacefully:
- Despite the book being centered around the curse that involved a group of girls, Clara, Flo, Eleanor, and the deaths that followed, we almost never get their side of the story, nor do we prioritize them as characters, only as what the movie's script believes them to be based off of Meritt's research. I don't understand why the Gilded Age perspective couldn't have followed the lives of these girls and their downfall while comparing them to their Hollywood adaptions. Not only could their true lives be revealed more interestingly in the gothic fashion, but it could show the exploitations of Hollywood in a more clear fashion instead of hyping yourself as creating a new adaption without even centering the victims of the situation in the narrative.
- But instead, these girls are described as these "feminist icons", without any basis, considering this novel hardly goes into the movie making process at all. We don't see Harper or Audrey acting out these scenes during production, nor do we see Audrey acting with her mom. We literally don't see the process at all. Whenever we hop back to the current perspective, it's either drawn out filler, or short instances of "horror" with no actual risks and tensions.
- If this novel wanted to target the adult audience, then this book could have easily had Clara and Flo as college students. The interesting love affairs, secrets, desires and obsession we had in Libby's and Alex's POV can be translated in this version as well.
- There's also the fact that Libby and Alex plot-line had basically no bearing to the current plot-line, and that is probably one of the reasons why the current plot-line felt flatter. They don't bring those two up in any important manner despite the fact Libby was the principal of the school and Alex mysteriously died. Like I said, we could've had more tension if Clara and Flo haunted the narrative more constantly than they did (which is not a lot) and they motivated Audrey and Harper to think more about their roles in creating this movie.
- The random tidbit at the end that tried to explain the origins of the curse was very sudden, and should have been hinted along the course of the novel. There is too much telling in this book and not a lot of showing.
OK, rant over.
Anyways, this book has been sitting on my shelf collecting dust (much like Clara and Flo's role in this novel), so now that I have finally read it, I can rant peacefully:
- Despite the book being centered around the curse that involved a group of girls, Clara, Flo, Eleanor, and the deaths that followed, we almost never get their side of the story, nor do we prioritize them as characters, only as what the movie's script believes them to be based off of Meritt's research. I don't understand why the Gilded Age perspective couldn't have followed the lives of these girls and their downfall while comparing them to their Hollywood adaptions. Not only could their true lives be revealed more interestingly in the gothic fashion, but it could show the exploitations of Hollywood in a more clear fashion instead of hyping yourself as creating a new adaption without even centering the victims of the situation in the narrative.
- But instead, these girls are described as these "feminist icons", without any basis, considering this novel hardly goes into the movie making process at all. We don't see Harper or Audrey acting out these scenes during production, nor do we see Audrey acting with her mom. We literally don't see the process at all. Whenever we hop back to the current perspective, it's either drawn out filler, or short instances of "horror" with no actual risks and tensions.
- If this novel wanted to target the adult audience, then this book could have easily had Clara and Flo as college students. The interesting love affairs, secrets, desires and obsession we had in Libby's and Alex's POV can be translated in this version as well.
- There's also the fact that Libby and Alex plot-line had basically no bearing to the current plot-line, and that is probably one of the reasons why the current plot-line felt flatter. They don't bring those two up in any important manner despite the fact Libby was the principal of the school and Alex mysteriously died. Like I said, we could've had more tension if Clara and Flo haunted the narrative more constantly than they did (which is not a lot) and they motivated Audrey and Harper to think more about their roles in creating this movie.
- The random tidbit at the end that tried to explain the origins of the curse was very sudden, and should have been hinted along the course of the novel. There is too much telling in this book and not a lot of showing.
OK, rant over.
veganheathen's review
4.0
What a unique story! This was a long book, but honestly, I didn't even notice. I never felt like I was trudging through it; instead I was always looking forward to the next chapter. My copy is an ebook and included some information from the author at the end. (Not sure if paper copies/audiobooks do also.) I had no idea Mary MacLane was a real person and wrote a very real book that is the really at the centre of this story. I found this just creepy enough, but still approachable if you're someone who isn't really into the horror genre.
missreaderlove's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Terrifying, thrilling, captivating. Multiple stories and timelines wrapped together to create an intricate and chilling novel.
beth21's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
megmoo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
graveyardpansy's review
2.0
truly did not like this, may come back later to write a longer review. the premise is cool, but it simply... was not pulled off
lurker_stalker's review against another edition
3.0
I think my expectations were waaaay too high for this one. I don't know. I mostly sort of enjoyed the book but could have probably done completely without the contemporary component. I mean, it seemed overly long and I just don't get the point of spending so much time in the current era with the movie. And soooo many characters and twists. It was really too many for me.
I read the ebook and listened to the audiobook, sometimes together. Which reminds me about how much the footnotes irritated me. Having to tap and have the footnote pop up was irritating and the reading of the instagram posts in the audiobook - ugh. I know it sounds petty but there were so many.
I'm not sure if the time spent was worth the payoff for me.
We picked Plain Bad Heroines as the March book on Cocktail Hour and I'm excited to discuss it with Andy and Colette.
I read the ebook and listened to the audiobook, sometimes together. Which reminds me about how much the footnotes irritated me. Having to tap and have the footnote pop up was irritating and the reading of the instagram posts in the audiobook - ugh. I know it sounds petty but there were so many.
I'm not sure if the time spent was worth the payoff for me.
We picked Plain Bad Heroines as the March book on Cocktail Hour and I'm excited to discuss it with Andy and Colette.
october528's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dembury's review against another edition
3.0
"Plain Bad Heroines" ended up being a bit of a rollercoaster read for me - there were moments where I was deeply intrigued by what was happening, specifically in the past timeline at Brookhants, and then there would be stretches of plot that felt like a chore to get through. It's been awhile since I've read a book that is so interesting but so boring all at the same time.
The main strength of PBH lies in its come-hither promise of a darkly delicious story about a cursed school, queer actors, and a little red book that prompted young women to diverge from the beaten path. Especially in the first 200 pages of the novel Danforth weaves the past and the present so wonderfully, and each timeline hints at all these mysterious going-on's in a very tantalizing way that made me want to keep turning pages.
The characters were ones I never really connected to, but I did root for some of them more than others. Audrey and Alex I heavily empathized with and wanted them to succeed in any way they could. On the other hand, Merritt is one of the most obnoxiously irritating characters to exist and I couldn't stand her. I'm fairly certain she was meant to be unlikable for a portion of the novel, and in that sense she was very well-written, but even to the last page I was annoyed by her. Harper felt very flat and everything she did became repetitive, which in turn made her dull to read. I thought her plot was going to be a bit more flashy yet remained predictable.
Which leads to the weaknesses of the book, namely, failure to deliver on the promise of a terrifying tale. The book sets itself up like chaos and darkness are going to descend in the present plot but instead it all just gets dragged out to the extreme. It's over halfway through the book before the present story finally makes its way to Brookhants, and when we're finally there so little really happens! It's more yellow jackets and angst and malfunctioning film equipment, none of which is actually scary. The past plotline also becomes more difficult to enjoy because it feels very low-stakes, and again, becomes repetitive. We see the same kind of horror (yellow jackets, slimy water, physical injury) over and over and over again and it's simply ineffective.
Finally, the ending: when a book is over 600 pages and keeps making big promises, but delivers a weak, uninspired, and too-many-questions-left-unanswered ending, it's bound to be a little bit of a disappointment. It's not a terrible ending, just a boring one.
TL;DR: Parts of this book are enjoyable, even funny, and the writing is strong, but the plot drags too much and doesn't deliver on the promise of terror - also yellow jackets can only be scary once or twice before it feels like a forced motif being slammed over the readers head.
The main strength of PBH lies in its come-hither promise of a darkly delicious story about a cursed school, queer actors, and a little red book that prompted young women to diverge from the beaten path. Especially in the first 200 pages of the novel Danforth weaves the past and the present so wonderfully, and each timeline hints at all these mysterious going-on's in a very tantalizing way that made me want to keep turning pages.
The characters were ones I never really connected to, but I did root for some of them more than others. Audrey and Alex I heavily empathized with and wanted them to succeed in any way they could. On the other hand, Merritt is one of the most obnoxiously irritating characters to exist and I couldn't stand her. I'm fairly certain she was meant to be unlikable for a portion of the novel, and in that sense she was very well-written, but even to the last page I was annoyed by her. Harper felt very flat and everything she did became repetitive, which in turn made her dull to read. I thought her plot was going to be a bit more flashy yet remained predictable.
Which leads to the weaknesses of the book, namely, failure to deliver on the promise of a terrifying tale. The book sets itself up like chaos and darkness are going to descend in the present plot but instead it all just gets dragged out to the extreme. It's over halfway through the book before the present story finally makes its way to Brookhants, and when we're finally there so little really happens! It's more yellow jackets and angst and malfunctioning film equipment, none of which is actually scary. The past plotline also becomes more difficult to enjoy because it feels very low-stakes, and again, becomes repetitive. We see the same kind of horror (yellow jackets, slimy water, physical injury) over and over and over again and it's simply ineffective.
Finally, the ending: when a book is over 600 pages and keeps making big promises, but delivers a weak, uninspired, and too-many-questions-left-unanswered ending, it's bound to be a little bit of a disappointment. It's not a terrible ending, just a boring one.
TL;DR: Parts of this book are enjoyable, even funny, and the writing is strong, but the plot drags too much and doesn't deliver on the promise of terror - also yellow jackets can only be scary once or twice before it feels like a forced motif being slammed over the readers head.