September 7th, 2024

I have so many unfinished books, but last night I finished Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. It was an absolute joy to read. I think I loved it so much because it felt like watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—a blend of comedy and depth. It had the charm of an iconic 2000s movie translated into words: funny, yet grounded with a great plot tackling serious topics. As I read, I kept imagining a dream cast bringing it to life, and I spent all night gushing over how incredible it would be as a movie if directed right.  

On the other hand, I also finished Bunny by Mona Awad. I’m writing this before diving into any theories or explanations because I want to preserve my initial take and compare it later. Going in, I only had a vague idea: unreliable narrator, dark academia, and a wild twist. I was only half right.  

Initially, I couldn’t get into the book. Around the halfway mark, I had to put it down because nothing made sense. The writing style completely irked me; I’d reread paragraphs and still feel lost. It was hard to distinguish what was part of the story and what wasn’t. Looking back, I see that this confusion was entirely intentional. I hated the characters on my first read. The whole book imagined in my head felt like those horribly made high-budget Netflix teen shows (Elite, Euphoria). Samantha, the protagonist, was this broody and angsty bitch which yet again reminded me of those horrible shows eg. (Ginny & Georgia).

But when I picked it up again, I adjusted my expectations. I’d initially approached it with really high hopes [because it was compared to the 'The Secret History']. This time, I went in with no expectations at all—and ended up enjoying it? Knowing I couldn’t trust Samantha’s perspective, I slowed down and started dissecting the characters on my own terms, ignoring the nicknames Sam gave them and trying to understand them for who they really were, how they would've *actually* looked and seemed like.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**  

Here’s my take: Samantha was schizophrenic. This feels like the obvious interpretation. The symptoms of schizophrenia were explicitly referenced in the book, with the grandmother on the bus reading them aloud “like a cookbook.” Ava wasn’t real—at all. This gave me *Fight Club* and *Mr. Robot* vibes. Ava was everything Samantha wasn’t: confident, bold, and unapologetic. Ava’s loud disdain for things Sam secretly hated—like Max—mirrored Sam’s own internal conflict. In fact, both Max and Ava seemed like creations of Samantha’s mind? I think the girls were real—a clique of seemingly perfect individuals that Sam secretly envied and fantasized about, exaggerating every interaction with them in her mind—my other take is that it could have been the opposite: the girls were intentionally messing with her by giving her drugs and looping her into madness with their stories. They clearly had something against her before that year and always looked down on her writing [out of jealousy or actual hatred we will never know], so it’s possible to interpret their actions as part of a greater deliberate scheme. 

Either ways the “minis” the girls ate? Probably drugs. The boys? Likely never real. The events that seemed supernatural or extreme could easily be explained by Samantha’s unreliable narration, drug use, and mental health struggles. The ending further suggests this: no arrests, no murders, and everyone slipping back into normalcy. The story felt like a surreal mix of reality and Samantha’s fragmented mind, blending her imagination, compulsive lying, and identity as a writer.  

By the end, I genuinely enjoyed Bunny. I wouldn’t categorize it as classic dark academia, but it’s definitely a compelling mix of horror and surrealism. The “twist” wasn’t entirely shocking to me, but it was satisfying. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sweet, unsettling horror.