In a small book store in Vermont, I searched high and low for the ideal beach read. I found it.
“Reckless Girls” by Rachel Hawkins proved to be the perfect addition to a week of sun, sand, and ocean breezes.
In the few days it took me to read it, I brought it everywhere — to the beach, to dinner, even to the bar once or twice.
If you can get past a few plot holes and two fairly flat characters — and, as I feel the need point out as an editor, a typo or two — you may want to give it a read during your final sunny getaway of the season.
The plot centers around a group of twenty-somethings who embark on an off-the-grid sailing trip to a remote island with a gruesome history. From the synopsis on the back cover, you already know that at least one person will end up dead and another will go missing. The suspense builds as you begin placing bets on who will make it off the island alive, and as initially innocuous characters grow more sinister.
I appreciated the author’s eloquent writing style. She successfully combines elements of adventure, youth, mystery, and humor with darker themes of revenge and betrayal to create a fantasy of what can happen when grief and anger meet isolation.
The book follows several timelines as backstories and motives are revealed, coupled with glimpses into the island’s past that set an eerie tone. As the title suggests, the story centers on the women, leaving the men’s stories to be told through their eyes. As a result, several (if not all) of the male characters have little to no development throughout the story — which may be part of the point. It’s no “Barbie” by any means, but it does play with some of the same power dynamics and societal hierarchies.
The narrator’s character development centers partly on the role of trauma in future-planning, and culminates in one of the very last scenes. As she makes a life-changing decision, she observes, “This island doesn’t twist people up. It just turns them into the purest version of themselves, hones them like a knife’s blade.”
If you’re paying attention, you’ll probably be able to predict the twist long before it’s officially revealed. It’s hidden for much of the novel, but only by a decently-sized plot hole that’s never quite addressed by the end.
Regardless, Hawkins will keep you on your toes and turning the page until the final sentence. It wasn’t the most groundbreaking or complex novel, but it was engaging and fun and successfully lured me back into the world of fiction (which is a feat when your job already involves so much reading).
Even if you can’t find the time to get away, let this book serve as a mini vacation for your mind.
Alyssa Cantwell is The Item’s Opinion editor. Her column appears every other week.
