Is Plain Bad Heroines Worth Reading?
Ada’s Score
Danforth opens with wasps and a cursed orchard, and the rot never lets up. Plain Bad Heroines braids two timelines — a doomed 1900s New England girls' school and a contemporary horror film production — around a shared obsession with a real historical text about women who refused to behave. The novel is genuinely funny, genuinely creepy, and structurally ambitious in ways that mostly pay off. The footnoted narrator is a masterstroke, adding archival texture without slowing the dread. Where it strains is length — this is a book that loves itself, occasionally too much. But the queer gothic atmosphere is immaculately rendered, and Danforth's prose earns its indulgence. Best suited to those who want their horror literary, their heroines difficult, and their endings unresolved.
Spotlight“Part horror novel, part love letter to bad women and cursed schools. Danforth writes with a glee that makes the dread even more delicious.”
Wickedly Alive: The Queer Gothic Glory of Plain Bad Heroines
Emily M. Danforth doesn't just write queer horror — she writes queer horror that is deliriously, defiantly in love with its own genre. Across two timelines soaked in yellow jackets, obsession, and doomed girls, Plain Bad Heroines asks what it means to be monstrous, desired, and utterly ungovernable. If you've ever wanted a gothic novel that winks at you while it terrifies you, this is the one.
Ada Brief
AI reading intelligence“Part horror novel, part love letter to bad women and cursed schools. Danforth writes with a glee that makes the dread even more delicious.”
Wickedly Alive: The Queer Gothic Glory of Plain Bad Heroines
Emily M. Danforth doesn't just write queer horror — she writes queer horror that is deliriously, defiantly in love with its own genre. Across two timelines soaked in yellow jackets, obsession, and doomed girls, Plain Bad Heroines asks what it means to be monstrous, desired, and utterly ungovernable. If you've ever wanted a gothic novel that winks at you while it terrifies you, this is the one.
Book Details
- Publisher
- William Morrow Paperbacks
- Published
- January 1, 2021
- Pages
- 640
- Language
- English
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Ada’s Score
3.9
Ada’s editorial score — not an aggregate of reader reviews.
Common Questions About Plain Bad Heroines
- Is Plain Bad Heroines worth reading?
- Part horror novel, part love letter to bad women and cursed schools. Danforth writes with a glee that makes the dread even more delicious. Ada rates it 3.9 out of 5.
- How many pages is Plain Bad Heroines?
- Plain Bad Heroines is 640 pages long — around 11–12 hours at an average reading pace.
