Backstory:I love books about other books. The characters are usually readers, so I identify with them immediately. And frequently, these books will provide a fresh take on familiar stories. It’s almost like getting to read several books simultaneously, which is awesome for a person like me. So when I saw the blurb on the cover (written by Audrey Niffenegger, no less, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I think is incredible) saying that the book was “a chance to see Scarlett O’Hara and Emma Bovary off duty,” I dove in excitedly.
One-Sentence Plot Summary:Penny, an angsty thirteen-year-old annoyed by her mother’s preoccupation with the fictional heroines who visit their inn, encounters a hero from a Celtic story and is put in a mental institution because of it.
Review: The Heroines was extremely disappointing, partially because the summary and promotional blurbs were so misleading. They made the book sound light-hearted, a fun romp with readers’ favorite heroines. Instead, the story focused on Penny. Favorite chooses Penny as the first-person narrator (a serious mistake), and so we spend a significant portion of the book institutionalized with Penny. This part of the book is reminiscent of The Bell Jar or Girl, Interrupted–books I enjoyed but would never portray as light or charming.
The title clearly implies that the heroines are going to be the focal point of the novel, but for the most part, we only get brief glimpses of these characters. Generally, they stay in the background, crying over their fictional problems. Franny Glass is an enjoyable exception, but she is only portrayed more fully because of the influence she has on Penny’s development.
Even if the promotional materials were more accurate, this would still not be an enjoyable read. The two storylines (Penny and the heroines) pull the novel in opposite thematic directions, ensuring that it isn’t successful at developing either of them. Penny isn’t a pleasant character to spend so much time with; she is typically childish, selfish, and banal. Her mother seems incompetent. And the big reveal at the climax of the novel is absurd. (I won’t spoil it, in case you decide to read the book even after this review, but let me just say that the fictional character used would never do that.)
Conclusion: It seems as if the publishers knew the book wouldn’t sell as written, so they decided to shift the marketing to attract unsuspecting readers like me. Steer clear.
Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s. Also available in Sony eBook and Kindle formats.
