Anna-Marie McLemore
Published: 28th May 2024
Genre: horror, lgbt, romance, young adult
Spoilers?: no
The Soler sisters are infamous in polite society—brazen, rebellious, and raised by their fashionable grandmother who couldn’t care less about which fork goes where. But their grandmother also knows the standards that two Latina young ladies will be held to, so she secures them two coveted places at the Alarie House, a prominent finishing school that turns out first ladies, princesses, and socialites.
Younger sister Isla is back home within a day. She refuses to become one of the eerily sweet Alarie girls in their prim white dresses. Older sister Renata stays. When she returns months later, she’s unfailingly pleasant, unnervingly polite, and, Isla discovers, possibly murderous. And the same night she returns home, she vanishes.
As their grandmother uses every connection she has to find Renata, Isla re-enrolls, intent on finding out what happened to her sister. But the Alarie House is as exacting as it is opulent. It won’t give up its secrets easily, and neither will a mysterious, conniving girl who’s either controlling the house, or carrying out its deadly orders.
Tautly written, tense, and evocative, this is a stunning YA novel by award-winning and critically acclaimed author Anna-Marie McLemore.
Galley received from publisher
Anna-Marie McLemore is one of my favorite contemporary YA authors. I snagged a giveaway copy of When The Moon Was Ours back in 2016 and, ever since, I’ve been hooked. McLemore writes with such lyrical prose and such loving care, and, although Flawless Girls didn’t soar to the heights of their previous novels for me, I still consider it a really enjoyable book and one I would recommend.
Flawless Girls is the story of two sisters: Isla and Renata. The two of them are more than close: they’re a “matched set,” a complete pair. Sent to Alarie House, an eerie finishing school, to finish their education, younger sister Isla runs away on the first night, abandoning her older sister Renata behind. It’s the first time in their lives they’ve been apart, and the diverging paths the two of them will take begin at this juncture. When Renata returns home, she is prim, proper, and may be harboring a secret violence. And then: she disappears, leaving Isla to return to Alarie House in an attempt to piece together what exactly happened to her sister in an attempt to understand her motives and, hopefully, piece together the clues of where Renata has disappeared to.
I want to stress that, although three stars may seem like a low rating, I did like this book! McLemore has a dreamlike way of writing that may not be for everyone, but I find the fever dream quality of their prose lent itself well to the plot of this book. The intersex representation was great, and from reading the author’s note, it’s clear that this is something McLemore cares deeply about — which comes through in the character work.
As for what I didn’t like – the metaphors, at a certain point, were just too distracting. I get what the point was, but there’s really only so many references to diamonds I can take before I start feeling like I’m in Bridgerton. The writing, while beautiful, can sometimes feel distracting. I can definitely see how this would bother some readers who are more interested in plot and character development. I’m someone who appreciates great prose and even I found myself growing a little frustrated with the language by the end of the book. I also think characterizing this book as “ romance” is doing it a disservice. While I wasn’t expecting capital-R Romance given the synopsis, readers who are in the mood for gothic romances might find themselves disappointed by the contents of the book.
However, as I mentioned, and as I want to keep mentioning, I enjoyed this book! McLemore is a standout in the YA space for their lyrical, dreamy prose (much of YA, at least in my experience, is more focused on storytelling than story craft; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing given the age demographic, but, still, it’s refreshing to see!). All-in-all, I would still recommend anyone intrigued by the premise to check this out.
SENTENCE: BED. While not my favorite Anna-Marie McLemore novel, it’s a testament to their skill as an author that even one of their “mediocre” novels is still a gripping, page-turning read.
six of queens reads 