The Girls by Emma Cline

From Goodreads:

Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence, and to that moment in a girl’s life when everything can go horribly wrong. 

From Me:

This book is based loosely on the Manson Family.

When I purchased this book (at a lovely little book store in San Francisco) the seller told me it was good, but dark.   Dark does not usually bother me--and I've always been intrigued by the Manson Family.  The Girls follows the same time-line and I found it interesting to compare.

If you don't know anything about the Charles Manson and his 'family',  the book is still an interesting read--and maybe 'darker' since you have no expectations of what is to come.  Very interesting to see what might make a young girl turn towards that kind of life---drugs, obsession, cult/gang/crowd mentality?

It was a good read.