Tournament of Books discussion

let's talk Marlena! by Julie Buntin This year's "The Girls?"

For me, it was the book I wanted The Girls to be. It's probably my favorite of the summer reads this far..

I'm partway through and not sure how I feel. I read The Girls last year and The Animators last month, so I feel everything here has been done before. There's still lots of room for surprised though.

I just read Marlena today, and although I gave it 4 stars, I think Ill Will is by far the better book.

Heather wrote: "For me, it was the book I wanted The Girls to be. It's probably my favorite of the summer reads this far.."
I can definitely see what you mean by this. It also made me think of My Brilliant Friend in some ways, two girls-teens growing up in a rough environment, a bit of friend, a bit of frenemy, the friend always seeming to have more secrets and pain, a bit of a naive narrator.

I liked the inclusion of present-day chapters to break up the story, I liked that the death is known practically at the beginning so it isn't just a melodrama ending in a death. The writing was impressive, I liked how the author would step back and write some reflective sections - I think it's page 147 where she talks about being bored in michigan, my favorite passage.

I liked the layers to Marlena's deeply hidden insecurities. It was kind of subtle, but made for a toxic role model.

I'm really enjoying the portrayal of Cat's mom - she's obviously trying but she's still pretty sad and haunted by the way her life has turned out. That being said, she seems to be more of a positive than a negative influence on Cat even if she can only see it in hindsight. I feel that's rather rare in a "when I went off the deep end" bildungsroman.

Amy wrote: "That being said, she seems to be more of a positive than a negative influence on Cat even if she can only see it in hindsight. I feel that's rather rare in a "when I went off the deep end" bildungsroman. "

You're right, how nice to have a parental figure whose biggest fault is "trying their best and failing." And more true.

Oh, I loved her mother. And yes, I felt like it was refreshing that she was just a realistically flawed parent. Not a monster in any way, has her problems, trying her best, and ultimately a source of love in her daughter's life who she can look back on and see she was maybe too hard on.

I also found the insecurity of the female characters realistic and refreshing. I think maybe that gets at the root of what I didn't like about The Girls. I don't remember having nearly that amount of confidence in my own sexual prowess, or about anything about myself really as a teen, that it seems like so many of the girl characters in that novel and many others possessed.