Blogger Recap: SEPTEMBER GIRLS

We’re already in a summer state of mind thanks to Bennett Madison’s September Girls – a beachy tale brimming with bikinis, romance, and a bit of mystery. But don’t just take our word; we’ll let the book bloggers tell you why you need to pick up a copy (like now)!

1. Emily May @ The Book Geek says:

“What I saw here was actually a challenge to the way society and other people teach boys to become men, the expectations they place upon them and the misogyny that is openly encouraged. I saw it as a challenge to social constructs of gender, masculinity and femininity. What does it mean to be a man and why? Can a woman be free and independent as well as being a wife and mother?” Read the full review

2. Annabel R. @ Sweet Reads says:

“At first I wasn’t sure if I liked the ‘Girls’ as Sam called them. The way they stared, their attitude, their shocking beauty, their all-around enigma…But then, when I was almost three quarters through the book, I had this sort of epiphany and just GOT it. I got the Girls, I got Sam, I got everyone in the book. Bennett Madison has penned a beautiful and profound masterpiece of a novel, and should be immensely proud of himself.” Read the full review

3. Valerie @ Stuck in Books says:

“Now, what is it that makes this book Edgar Allen Poe like? It’s the voice of the girls. Some chapters are this voice telling us about the girls. Giving us hints that we must sort through and figure out. I must admit that the first of these chapters had me thinking I was in the twilight zone. Symbols and double meaning – nothing explained, it was craziness at best. But it also fascinated me.” Read the full review

4. Amanda Bell @ examiner says:

“…equal parts teenage drama and supernatural whimsy, and the combination is sweet, surprising and most certainly lingering.” Read the full review

5. Anthony Paull @ Goodreads says:

“There’s a weight to certain books that reminds a reader why he or she reads. It’s not always there, but when it is it makes your fingers burn, your heart heavy…it tires your eyes. That’s where this book has left me, heated, exhausted, yet needing more…another dive back to the listless days of surf and sand. Madison has a distinct way of weaving poetry and metaphor that lends magic to his prose; that’s what I enjoy most about his writing. There’s always an eerie, fascinating undercurrent — an unknown — a roughness that though rough, guides the reader along so effortlessly that, at times, it’s hard to remember you’re part of it.” Read the full review

6. Elena @ Novel Sounds says:

“I love magic realism because it straddles the line between what is real and what is not. The most amazing things can happen in an otherwise very ordinary world and I like that because everything becomes tinged with a sense of wonder. September Girls is a languid book with summer stretching sleepily over the horizon.” Read the full review

7. Andrea @ Reading Lark says:

“…I loved the mermaid lore that Bennett creates. He makes the mermaids less glamorous than they have been in previous novels I have read and makes them real and broken. These girls have a whole slew of issues to deal with once they make it to land.” Read the full review

8. Meghan @ Forever Young Adult says:

“This book completely captures the indolence and boredom and heat of an entire summer at the beach, with desperate parties and stifling humidity and crunchy sand carpets, and it’s lovely. I’m totally in love with this book…I want everyone to meet it, and feel like talking about it endlessly. It’s gorgeous and real and makes me think and laugh, and it feels like we have this little inside-jokey, exclusive club of two.” Read the full review

9. J.A. Yang @ jonyang.org says:

“September Girls is some next level YA, if I may say so. I’ve read a lot of young adult…and while many of them have captured my heart, I’ve been waiting for YA to move past certain viewpoints and constraints, especially contemporary YA. I think September Girls does that, all the way. I can’t even think of a comparison novel.” Read the full review