Title: Plain Bad Heroines
Author: Emily M. Danforth (with illustrations by Sara Lautman)
Rating: 3 ¼ stars
Favorite Quote: ?
Review: This novel spans multiple generations as it tells the story of a seemingly haunted school, at times when the school is in operation, and, in its modern timeline, as it follows the progress of a film being made about happenings at said school.
So, this rating probably seems a bit harsh for a book I genuinely enjoyed, so let me begin by talking about what I liked about the book. First of all, Danforth is clearly an accomplished storyteller. She has created an entire world that’s almost like our own - but with a bit of a horror bent.
And when I first started reading this book, the dark academia vibes were strong, which is absolutely my favorite subgenre. And especially as we’re getting closer and closer to spooky season, this book seemed incredibly appealing. Throw in the queer representation, the split timeline, the illustrations, and the impeccable use of the narrator directly addressing the reader at times (something Danforth accomplishes without ever seeming corny or out of place), and I was all set to adore this book.
Trying to articulate why this book didn’t quite work for me, then, has been a bit of a challenge. I think ultimately what it comes down to, is, even at the end, I wasn’t quite sure where it was going. Don’t get me wrong, I often enjoy books that don’t have a discernible plot. For instance, I’m really enjoying Jeremy Cooper’s Ash Before Oak, which is, ostensibly, a book where nothing happens. Sure, the book follows the protagonist’s mental health decline and his recovery, but that’s the undercurrent. On its face, Ash and Oak is a collection of journal entries, mainly focused on the narrator’s physical surroundings.
I think the difference here is that Plain Bad Heroines has plot points - it has action (how could it not when there are multiple yellow jacket attacks? - a literal nightmare of mine). It has characters who are interacting with this horror-tinged world around them, both historically and in modern times, and yet, I’m not quite sure it ever got fully to the point. Which is surprising, since it had over 600 pages to do so. (This is also not a critique of long books since, as I’ve probably already mentioned, Hanya Yanigahara’s A Little Life is one of my favorite novels, and I’ve often described that as 700+ pages of misery and devastation). But Plain Bad Heroines could have been both shorter and could have still better accomplished some sort of literary conclusion than it did at its current length.
So, ultimately, I enjoyed Plain Bad Heroines. I’m glad I read it. But at the end, it just fell flat for me. Have you read it? Share your thoughts below!
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