“With the emotional power of Normal People and the reflective haze of The Girls, a magnetic novel that moves between present-day Los Angeles and a British boarding school in the 1990s, exploring the destructive relationships between teenage girls.”
I was really excited about this book, especially due to the above description, but it was nothing like that. Ellie Eaton had a strong and intriguing idea for The Divines, but it was executed weakly. Jo, now an adult, reflects upon her time as a teen as a British boarding school, where she remembers herself as an innocent bystander, though, as the story moves forward, we learn that she is perhaps not so innocent in the events that transpired.
The story itself was both interesting and boring and never moved fast enough. It jumps from the past and present in a way that wasn’t effective, mainly due to the present being incredibly dull and underdeveloped. Not much happens in those apart from Jo continuing to be an unlikeable character who is hung up on the past and hasn’t really grown much (which was likely the point, but it wasn’t a joy to read).
What I liked about this book was how well it captured 90s England. I’ve seen some people complain about the “homophobic” language used in the book, but it truly evokes that time period so well. I admired Eaton’s ability to write a book about middle class teens in a boarding school, but still have a way of introducing us to working class life outside of that. Although none of the characters are likable and most of them blur into one, Lauren was written very strongly and she really stood out. She felt real and I always wanted to know more about her and what became of her in Jo’s present day. For me, Jo’s time with Lauren, and also her roommate Gerry, were the most interesting and effective parts of the book.
For a book that claims to evoke the “reflective haze of the The Girls, it did nothing of the sort. That book was also set in LA while only the present day chapters of The Divines were set in LA and honestly, Jo could’ve been anywhere. The location wasn’t important in the end but it was a big selling point in the advertising. Also, while The Divines is well-written, it certainly does not have the “emotional power” of Normal People. As Jo was an unreliable narrator with a different view of what happened than her peers, the book lacked the level of emotional depth and excitement that I had hoped for as we moved through the story. Even the main mystery/accident wasn’t near enough as intriguing as it should’ve been, and the ending wasn’t that big of a shock, nor did it feel rewarding.
Overall, The Divines has some strength in its ideas and writing, but it’s buried by a lot of bland storytelling. Despite this, it was fine for a debut and I wouldn’t say no to trying another book by this author if the story intrigued me.
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