"It's hard to explain," I said. She hadn't asked for an explanation, but I figured I owed her one anyway. "Say there's this thing you want, this thing that seems more important than everything, this thing you've been waiting for because it will make you into something else. And then you don't want to change. Because you'll miss the person you were before." 
 As I have been able to notice on Goodreads, September Girls has attracted harsh criticism among a significant number of readers who felt offended by certain aspects encountered in the book. This triggered my desire to experience this novel which features magical realism, a genre I have usually enjoyed when reading Latin-American literature. In my opinion, September Girls is a slow-paced, eerie, atmospheric and character-driven YA fantasy book, even though many people have despised the characters participating in the narrated events. 
 The story is told mostly from Sam's point of view, a 17-yeard-old youngster who vacations together with his father and older brother, Jeff, in a remote beach town in the summertime. This town is populated by many young, blonde, beautiful and enigmatic girls who resemble one another and appear to be attracted to Sam, which is quite a surprise to his father and brother. Sam's mother suddenly left the family some time ago in order to pursue her recently-formed ideals and her departure affected both her husband and sons. The protagonist meets DeeDee, one of the Girls, and although there is a mutual attraction between the two, Sam finds himself conflicted about her mysterious personality and her unwillingness to talk about herself. Eventually, both Sam and Jeff discover the unknown surrounding the Girls. 
 Especially in the first few chapters certain readers might find the language used woefully inadequate, considering that there are some offensive sexist remarks made by Sam's brother, father and school friend, Sebastian. Even Sam appears a misogynist, visibly influenced by the men in his life. However, as the story progresses Sam matures and his initial shallow mentality towards women changes drastically. The same applies to Jeff and their father. I believe that the author did an excellent job regarding the character evolution. Sam becomes a person who is capable of appreciating and understanding women, a person who questions himself about love, virginity, life, death, self-identity and the supernatural aspect of the world. The relationship between Sam and DeeDee is portrayed realistically, the writer managing successfully to set aside the magical element. Until the final chapters, I had the impression that September Girls somehow lacked emotion. Nevertheless, while reading the ending I changed my mind. 
 That being said, even though September Girls was a read out of my comfort zone, I enjoyed it considerably and I believe that Bennett Madison's book deserves a greater amount of recognition on Goodreads. If you consider that you can overlook the controversy surrounding this YA fantasy novel and appreciate the lyrical and powerful prose, I think that it is worth a try.