Sawkill Girls

"Bit too young for my taste 2.5 ⭐️ "

"I liked this book. I liked the fantasy and creepy aspects of it. After reading Wilder Girls I thought this would be similar for some reason and I'm glad they were different. Not my favorite but I did enjoy this. "

"For a book with a complex magic system and plot, I think it described it well. It left some parts to mystery until appropriate times and tied up every loose end by the end. I enjoyed the diversity of characters - it felt natural and not badly forced just to tick the boxes like in some books (although I think the asexuality of one character may have flown better in her character development if it was just shown and not told). "Girl power & fighting the patriarchy", a central concept here, was also entwined in the story very smoothly and the author made their point very well, not cheesily and still diminutive of women. So much of this book was done well, with complex character development and a cool plot. Recommend it! TW/SPOILERS BELOW murder, some light gore, slightly explicit scenes, violence, portrayals of misogyny"

"3 separate girls, 3 intertwined fates. In this book, you really experience the feeling of love and loss. But loss can make us do crazy things. However, these girls managed to stay level headed, approaching the unknown with the advantage of knowledge. And the atmosphere! You really feel the dreariness that the small island of Sawkill Rock represents. The dread, the anxiety, and the fear are always ever present. Thrilling, engaging, and terrifying. This is a must read. "

"lolz she was adorbs! the magic system was highkey confusing but i liked all three characters for the most part and it was very gorg "

""That blackness was in her head now--moving, gnawing, unknowable."<br/><br/>Sawkill Girls was one of the Ladies of Horror Fiction picks for the October readalong. This was the first book I've read by Claire Legrand, and I enjoyed it! There were some good creepy scenes, and I loved the setting of the story. This book has a diverse cast, and it was a refreshing read. <br/><br/>The author's writing is gorgeous, and it's very easy to get swept up in this story. Even though the last portion of the book dragged a lot, I was still interested in the story, and always enjoyed the writing style. <br/><br/>Besides the odd pacing at some parts, my other issue was that I wish there would have been more build-up to a relationship in the book. It felt like it came out of nowhere, and insta-love is an issue I consistently have with YA books. I wish the relationship would have been paced a little better, but it's not anything that ruins the story. <br/><br/>I hope that Claire Legrand writes more horror; I would definitely read it. I feel like the ending of this book left it open for a potential series, and I would love to read more books set in this world."

"Tbh i remember really loving the majority of the plot, but some of the queer elements feeling weird and creepy and not like good or well-thought out representation at all. ALTHOUGH i don’t remember exactly what happened and plan to re-read this book soon"

"I was so disappointed with this one. I loved Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls and was so excited to read Legrands other books but this one fell short for me. Not only did I feel this book was 200pgs too long, there were so many climaxes in the book that it felt so redundant. I really wanted to love the characters, especially Zoey but she just came off to me as a stereotypical tough girl character that had no development. So much was left out of explanation that you’re just kinda left going “wait…but how does this explain anything?”. This book came super highly recommended so im sure I’m just one with an unpopular opinion but the book didn’t live up to the hype for me."

"I am in love with The Sawkill Girls. It’s so unapologetic and I appreciate it so much. None of the characters are ever like, “but not all men” or “yeah you helped murder all these people I care about, but it’s cool cuz you’re hot” or “but he’s my dad so there’s no way he could ever hurt me”.<br/><br/>I LOVE that I’m seeing more and more books where femme characters don’t give a **** about forgiveness. Anger can be powerful! Some people will never deserve an ounce of mercy! WE DON’T OWE YOU ****.<br/><br/>It is honestly so cathartic reading characters, like all three main characters in Sawkill Girls, who choose themselves first.<br/><br/>This book has all that plus a TON of queerness, feminism, weird/creepy/AWESOME sci-fi and fantasy elements. It’s funny and sad and poignant and creepy and liberating."

"This is a story about women binding together to fight a monster. There is girl on girl hate. Girl love. Girl friendships. Girl power. <br/><br/>Our main characters are Val, Marian and Zoe<br/><br/>Marian (bisexual or lesbian)- just moved to Sawkill. She is getting over her fathers death. She is the glue for her mother and sister Charlotte. She is a introvert. Very plain and simple girl in contrast to Charlotte, who is pretty and wants to hangout.<br/><br/>Zoe (black and Asexual)- one of her friends disappeared and no one knows what happened. She is dealing with that and the breakup with her boyfriend, Grayson. She pushed him away after she noticed that she did not like sex. She felt like something was wrong with her. Her dad is the sharif. (She is still friends with Grayson and he is such a great character)<br/><br/>Val (bisexual)- she is the pretty, popular girl. She rich and is pretty much the queen B. Behind closed doors, she is abused by her mom and there is a dark secret in her family. <br/><br/>Being a story about women the author choose main characters from different backgrounds. They all are complex and suffer from some kind of trama. I felt like Val’s reason for turning against what she was taught to do could of been written a bit better. I like that they at least don’t forgive her in the end. At the same time it was point out that she was through a lot and deserves sone comfort. <br/><br/>A lot of people didn’t like the ending. For me i didn’t like the government cult and the super powers"