Review : The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
This book is fucked up, and I loved it.
I have realized that my favorite trope is a group of students (preferably girls) do something messed up in high school or college, and it is now years later, and they must confront the past. It is just the best trope, and I love it so much.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here is about Ambrosia, Amb. She is being doggedly invited to her ten-year college reunion in the now timeline and in the then time like she is just starting her freshman year of college and moving into the dorms after not really dealing with her upsetting and disappointing high school experience. She absolutely craves attention and validation and a bright future in the past, and in the present, she pushes all attention from herself while actively delaying all future planning. The mystery at the core of this story is how Amb, magnetic and volatile Sully, sweet and prim Flora, small-town Elle, and Sully's judgemental high school friend Lauren and a boy all somehow lead to a tragic end to someone's life. In the present, we are trying to figure out who knows what happened in the past and if they can prove it.
So many people in this book are dealing with pretty serious mental health issues. Amb, in particular, I just kept being like, "please go to therapy! You need help, friend!" and of course, she does not listen. She continues to deal with her past by slowly descending into being a mean girl. Where her story ends was a really interesting choice that I don't know how I feel about, but I do think it is super in keeping with the story; on the whole, Flynn certainly does not shy away from telling the raw and sharp story she wants to tell.
This story is truly fucked up. It seems to be inspired by a recent-ish case of a high school couple (I don't want to call out the people in particular because I don't want to spoil the middle of this book), but I was able to see the points of inspiration though this story does significantly divert from that case. Flynn is very willing to show these characters doing very, very bad things; she slowly lets her characters descend into a place where this event can happen. I have read this plot in the past where the story is being told by someone softer, or the actions taken are less sharp and visceral and terrible. I have also really loved the softer version of this story, but I also was completely sucked into this very dark story.
I technically read this book over two days, but that is only because I was unable to go to sleep until I had finished this book. I was obsessed, and I had to know what happened. I kept flipping to the end and then slamming the book shut before I could read what happened because I wanted to know so badly, but I didn't actually want to break the tension by knowing before I was meant to.
This story does so many things well; it tells an excellent story about girls being terrible to each other, it showcases a decent into doing unforgivable things, it has clear heroes and villains while also having morally ambiguous characters. The pace is absolutely excellent, the stream of information the reader gets is pitch-perfect; as we approach the climax of this book, the reader has all the clues to know what is coming, we have seen the building blocks, and we can tell everything is about to come crashing down. It was really an excellent read.
