The Girls

Northern California, 1969. At the start of a hazy summer, lonely fourteen-year-old Evie Boyd is captivated by a group of girls she sees in a park. They are careless, dangerous, and free in a way she has only dreamed of. Soon, Evie is drawn into their world, particularly by the mesmerizing older Suzanne, and finds herself welcomed into the circle of a charismatic cult leader on a sprawling, rundown ranch. The ranch feels exotic and thrilling, a place where she finally feels accepted, but as the summer deepens, her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, pulling her further from her own life and closer to unimaginable violence.

This is a story about the desperate desires of adolescence and the perilous spaces where innocence gives way to experience. It explores the powerful bonds between girls and the moments when a life can be irrevocably altered. For anyone who has ever felt the burning need to belong, this novel offers a piercing look into the vulnerability of youth and the darkness that can lie beneath the surface of a perfect summer, examining that single, life-altering moment when everything could go wrong.