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A review by garion_kim24
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
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.