Samantha Mackey is a student at Warren University’s highly regarded writing program. It’s the kind of place that asks you to “dig deep” and get “experimental.” Samantha has writers block and is lonely, aside from her one friend Ava with whom she complains about the program and the four other girls in her workshop. The girls, who over-affectionately call each other “Bunny,” flaunt their friendship in front of Samantha. Samantha finds them nauseating, but when they invite her to hang out with them, she says yes. She tells herself it’s just the one time to satisfy her curiosity, but one hang leads to another and another until she’s fully sucked into the Bunny world. At first it seems the Bunnies are just sitting around in frothy dresses, reading poetry to each other, and eating at a cafe that only serves miniature food. But they soon let Samantha in on their secret ritual and things get…weird.
This is like Heathers (in a not-at-all-veiled homage) if Heathers took place in a grad school program. How so? Well, it’s about a lonely girl who gets pulled into a clique of beautiful, popular, twee mean girls and it ends in destruction. Mona Awad isn’t just satirizing these literary types, she’s mocking the entire institution where they frolick. There’s definitely some magical realism in this one, which I don’t hate…but it isn’t my favorite genre/literary device. If you’re a fan, then I highly recommend this book.
3.85 out of 5 stars. I think I would have awarded it more if I had the opportunity to talk about it with someone – this is definitely a book that begs discussion!
Pair with: Champagne served in a teacup
Peaches to Apples 