Samantha is a graduate student in a prestigious New England writing program. She spends most of her time with her best friend Ava, rejecting the four other girls in her program with their close friendships and nickname for each other: Bunny. She observes and criticizes from the outside until she gets invited to one of their Bunny parties. Samantha inadvertently gets swept away in their world, as they write together and “workshop” in order to be as creative and authentic as possible. She tries to navigate life with the Bunnies while completing her program and is shown a writing process that is like nothing she’s ever seen before. She is chewed up and spit out by the Bunnies, and is eventually forced to face the world again without them; navigating graduation, her friendship with Ava, and the mess left by her relationship with the Bunnies.
Bunny is, without a doubt, the wildest book I have ever read. At some points, I had to put the book down to try to process what was happening, but I could never stop reading or talking about it the whole time I was reading it. The obsession I had with the book is almost enough for me to say I really liked it. However, upon further consideration, it is slightly problematic. Some of the themes come across as sexist or anti-feminist, especially the descriptions of the Bunnies and Samantha’s initial hatred of them. I was put off by this, as I take pride in my doting friendships that seem similar to the four girls’, and was offended by Samantha’s critiques of them. My other issue with the book was that the story gets hard to follow and goes off the rails in what is almost an excessive way. At first, it’s thrilling and disorienting in the best way but after some time, it gets to be a lot. Overall, the writing is wonderful, and it makes a great book to talk about. Bunny is not to be underestimated as a thriller, and maybe just requires an open mind.