September Girls

by Bennett Madison

[wyvernfriend]

*Braces for impact*

I liked this one, I didn't expect to having read a multitude of reviews that panned it, but I actually liked this one. I will also say that it wasn't perfect but I found it a good read.

It would probably be best described as closer to magic realism than true fantasy, the fantasy is not central to the story, it is an aspect and not as important as the relationship between the characters. It's ultimately a coming-of-age story, Sam's story of a first sexual encounter, of the pressures on girls to be one way and boys to be another.

Yes, some of the language is crude, but it comes across as authentic to me and while he starts off thinking of the world in black and white you can see the maturity dawning in him by the end, he makes choices that are more thoughtful of others rather than of himself and he understands that sometimes when you love someone you have to let them go and that you can't make decisions for other people, they have to make decisions for themselves.

Sam meets DeeDee when his father drags him and his brother to a beach town because their mother has gone off to explore herself, which at first Sam finds incomprehensible. In this beach town there are beautiful girls, who seem to be everywhere with ridiculous names, one of them is DeeDee and Sam finds himself entranced by her. As the relationship grows he learns that these girls aren't run-of-the-mill and their secret is big. There's a curse that needs to be broken and he has the key.

Yes there's crude moment and the way Sam thinks at first isn't the way it ends and that's important. His unthinkingness is blatantly wrong and he needs to be a better person before he can be a hero. This is the story of that path. I get what people have had issues with in the story but I found it a rewarding read and did enjoy it.