Book Review: Girls of Little Hope by Dale Halvorsen and Sam Beckbessinger

From the beginning we’re immersed in a gluey, sharp mystery that grips and doesn’t let go. Our main characters Donna, Rae and Kat are what true female friendship is made of, with a tight, realistic bond that feels completely genuine. Being fifteen and stuck in a small town—Little Hope, California—they keep each other entertained from delving into boredom with the typical 90’s stuff, making zines, going on adventures and sometimes, they even go sleuthing. 

But after going on a certain excursion one day to a sheltered cave on a mission, disaster strikes—only two of the girls return alive, and in bad shape, covered in blood. Donna’s last steps are gone, her troublesome ways caught up in memory gaps that leave more questions. Rae feels herself trying to forget what happened, whilst still unsure of it herself. That leaves Kat, the sweet, wannabe-writer of the group, missing, presumed dead. No one knows what happened to her, or where she might be. And as the police get involved, more things are going unanswered. Whilst Kat’s mother begins her own investigation, the two remaining girls venture back to the cave, where it all began—but what they find cannot be unfound.

Overall, Girls Of Little Hope was dark, punchy, and made me feel like I was in a nineties horror movie most of the time. Whilst it did take me a little while to get into the story (and I wasn’t sure about how I felt with how it ended) as it’s pretty information heavy, I found myself turning pages fast to get to the heart of it all, to discover what monstrous entity was at the story’s core. What stood out to me was the friendship shared by the girls. It was truly one of those ones that doesn’t feel forced or unnatural. I’ve never seen a full episode of Stranger Things, but from the parts I’ve gathered over the years, this book felt very reminiscent of that eerie, nostalgic feel. Horror fans will eat this up. Four stars!