Emily M. Danforth's Plain Bad Heroines (opens in new tab) is not for everyone, but #ReadWithMC reviewers are confident that the 600-page novel will soon develop the perfect niche fan base. In fact, one of them has already had a Plain Bad Heroines Society t-shirt made. There is also hope that the queer gothic horror-comedy will be made into a movie or TV show.

The story within the story begins in 1902 when two students at Brookhants School for Girls, Flo and Clara, found the Plain Bad Heroines Society and are soon found dead on the school grounds.As the ReadWithMC community points out

The story is difficult to summarize and is best understood after one has begun reading.

Overall, there were mixed reviews about the pacing and character development throughout the book, although some felt the characters were realistic and well represented. Here is what readers thought of the books selected for Marie Claire's November book club.

"The mediocre bad heroine is basically a nested doll. It's basically a story within a story within a story. Brookhunt School for Girls has a notorious history. Years earlier, two students obsessed with controversial author Mary McLean founded the Plain Bad Heroines society as a tribute to her and embarked on a scandalous, forbidden romance. Their bodies were found in an apple orchard, badly disfigured and apparently subdued and poisoned by a swarm of yellow wasps. Several more people died suspiciously, and the school was eventually closed.

In the present day, Hollywood buys the rights to Merritt Emmons' hit film, which explores the "Brookhunt curse" and the legacy of the sapphire of the women who attended there. The newest "it" girl, "Harper Harper," is cast in the lead role along with little-known, unsuccessful actress Audrey Wells. They arrive at the school for a location shoot. When spooky things start happening to the cast and crew, they must determine if it is staged for the film or evidence of a real-life curse.

Danforth creates a truly unique genre that references cultural touchstones like "The Office" and "The Blair Witch Project" while incorporating spooky elements like pop culture/gothic romance. The various types of heroines are compelling, not succumbing to the pressures of society.

I have mixed feelings. Some characters and situations seemed more fluffy filler than essential. I also would have liked more emphasis on the contemporary cast and more character development. But for the record, I will sleep with the lights on and avoid Yellow Jacket at all costs." -suzylew_bookreview

"'Plain Bad Heroines' is the story of three women, Merritt, Audrey, and Harper, who make a film based on Merritt's book. Her book is a nonfiction account of the Plain Bad Heroines, two girls who attended an elite girls' school in 1902 and became obsessed with each other's scandalous memoirs, and the aftermath of their mysterious deaths... A 600-page darkly comedic queer thriller that had me laughing and I read it with laughter and horror. I listened to ALC and the narration was perfect; there was a lot going on in two different timelines and stories within stories, but I never got lost in the way this was written." -@suethebookie

"Okay. This book is genius. It has layers of gothic, sapphic, and meta, all mixed with a great sense of humor. It is also unpredictable, creepy, and completely satisfying at various points, and PBH features a darkly amusing narrator who comments on both the past and the present, complete with footnotes and illustrations. The pacing of this book is perfect, unfolding slowly but captivatingly over time. Then there was a series of events that had me turning the pages again and again to read it in greater detail.

I highly recommend reading this piece in printed book form. Personally, I am not a fan of audio and find it confusing to grasp the plot and time transitions (I know @naturemamareads enjoyed it on audio). (I know @naturemamareads enjoyed it on audio.) Also, I hear that footnotes are notes in the digital version of the e-book, which I think is tough because they provide context and enjoyment.

I liked this book, especially as a buddy read. Thanks @booksonthel for going along with my random messages about being creeped out, or trying to predict what will happen next, or whatever."-Repeated images, old bloodlines, the eternal question of what is real and what is staged. And I loved it. It's one of those rare books where you feel the same emotional connection to each character. One scene made my skin crawl, another had me laughing and reading it out loud to my partner. On top of that, the film is very queer. Generations of women love women, and it all felt very real to me. Don't let the fact that the book is over 600 pages fool you, I was so immersed in Brookhunt's world that I didn't want it to end.

Content warning: homophobia, death, murder, wasps, sexual assault, institutionalization." -This is a 600+ page queer ghost story. Can I still get your attention? Excellent. This book may be for you."

Plain Bad Heroines is "a story within a story, a devilishly haunting, modern masterpiece of metafiction featuring black and white period-style illustrations. But "a story within a story" barely scratches the surface of what this book is about. In other words, there's a lot packed in here. Plain Bad Heroines is a book about a movie about a curse/ghost story (not a spoiler), and as if that wasn't enough, the author gives us more backstory/background/random facts through footnotes (footnote after footnote, after footnote). 12]

It took me longer than usual to read this book, partly because of its length, but also because of all the stories. I know this book will have a perfect fan base, and I think it's a perfect book for this season. I was so impressed with the queer representation in these stories that I even began to wonder if I was a worthy reviewer of this book. I will be looking for my own voice review on this book and will share it when I find it." [email protected]

"I finished reading Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth yesterday. Moody and appropriate for this season. The story moves back and forth in time between the events at a boarding school for girls called Brookhants and the later film adaptation about the strange events and many deaths that occurred there.

I really enjoyed the writing, as if the author was speaking directly to the reader. But the whole thing was eerie and drew me in. I really recommend this one. I also hope it becomes a movie or show." -@jennareadsbooks - It's extremely rare that I finish a book and immediately want to re-read it. But that's what happened when I finished reading "Plain Bad Heroines". I wanted to dive back into Brook Hunt's world. PBH is my favorite book of 2020. Without wanting to spoil anything, Plain Bad Heroines is based on the Brookhants School for Girls in Rhode Island and tells a dual story of unexplained events at the school in the early 20th century and the present-day attempt to film a horror movie based on a book about the haunting of its past. Indeed, there are several other stories and layers woven into the book (a book within a book, a movie within a movie, all within a book), and the story of modern Los Angeles alone could be one of the great Los Angeles novels.

The entire novel is effortlessly engaging, highly witty, the characters sharply relatable, the mystery clever, and the haunting eerie. It's like "Two Storms" from "Haunting of Hill House" arranged in the gothic style of T. Swift's "Folklore" album. I have lots of thoughts, questions, and theories. So someone I know needs to read this book and join my Plain Bad Heroines Society. Readers, I am already making t-shirts." -@jurassicody

Book I missed picking for the November book club: for December, we'll be reading "Cobble Hill" by Cecily von Ziegeser, author of the bestselling "Gossip Girl" series. Click here for an excerpt from the book (opens in a new tab).