Talk about a head trip. 
 The first thing I should say is that this book is very well written. The dialogue, the story itself, the flashbacks of now Evie to 1969 Evie- all of it was effortless. Combine all of this and set it against the hazy backdrop of California in the 1960s and you've got a really good, flushed out, but very dark story. 
 It just wasn't for me. I didn't really connect with the characters, I guess because they're so removed from myself as a person, but I was fascinated by Evie's coming of age story. I did relate to the feeling of not knowing where you fit, wanting to belong, and even sacrificing some of your beliefs or changing yourself to fit what you think will make you more appealing to others. This book was just a very EXTREME case of that. 
 The thing that made me pick up this book was because I heard the story was loosely reminiscent of the Manson murders. I was really surprised as I read and saw that it was more a story of one girl's self discovery, and the tragedy was kind of background to that. I was by no means disappointed by that, don't get me wrong. This is a fascinating story, period. It was hard for me to read at times because of the details of the crime, and yet nothing about the act itself was ever really directly stated. It was all kind of hinted at by some sentence that contained one specific detail- "she had lost her ring and pinkie finger trying to protect her face", or something of that nature- that invoked an image that hinted at so much more violence. 
 This book impressed me from a written standpoint. There's so much imagery and descriptive language. I just wasn't over the moon for the story or characters, though I imagine they weren't written to be likeable. The thing I really liked was the setting and how even though I wasn't even alive in the 60s, I felt like I could picture it so clearly. The summer of '69, the hazy nights at this compound, the decoration of the houses, the style of clothing and hair- the writing immersed me in it, and that's what really held my attention throughout. That and knowing the horror of what was to come at the end. 
 This book is dark, and full of triggers, just a warning. But I think if you're interested in it you should give it a shot. The writing lived up to all the hype surrounding the book, but the jury's still out on the story itself. I will say that I'm definitely looking forward to more from Emma Cline.