Critiques - WattPad Reviews by David McIntosh

The Casquette Girls, by Alys Arden

The Casquette Girls, by Alys Arden

I chanced upon this Wattpad gem a few months ago in the usual way, by following links of various authors who I find interesting. Since then it has truly taken off, becoming a Wattpad featured story and garnering almost half a million reads. I wish I’d written my critique back then and could take the credit!

At first glance The Casquette Girls (TCG) is not much different than so many other stories on Wattpad. A teenage girl moves to a new place, new school, misses her friends, meets the girls in the mean clique. This may actually account in part for the story’s popularity, since so many young girls obviously relate to this premise. However once you get past this basic similarity you find that TCG is so much more. If young women are drawn to this story because of its familiarity, it is an amazing opportunity for them to see how this basic plot can be woven into a story of depth and substance.

In fact there are so many aspects to the story it is difficult to know where to begin. The lead character, Adele, is returning to New Orleans following a devastating storm. She finds some people who are also returning, others who never left, colourful local characters, mysterious newcomers. She deals with family issues, school issues, job and money problems. She has strange and mysterious experiences in the streets, in abandoned churchyards, and in her own kitchen. There is a whole sub-story about a 17th- century ancestor.

In fact, there is so much going on in the background of this story, it isn’t until Chapter 17 that we even hear the word vampire! There are plenty of strange and mystifying occurrences up to this point, hinting very strongly at magic, voodoo and witchcraft, murder and mystery. But for a story in the vampire category, this vampire drought is unusual.

I expect that avoiding the ‘v’ word for so long was a deliberate choice of the author. There is so much going on in Adele’s life, Arden takes her time leading us through it all. As I have presented her myriad subplots above, the story sounds crowded and overflowing. However, as written by Arden it is all presented in a way that is calm, measured and accessible. When Adele is ready to believe in vampires they enter the story. By this time the background is well set, and the reader is truly invested in a world about to be changed completely by these forces of evil.

Even at this point, in full knowledge of vampires, Adele’s life is too full to pause. Even as we see her life turned upside-down by vampires, Adele returns to life as usual as she needs to do a lot of growing before she can confront them. She will be the key to setting things right and defeating evil for the next few centuries, but she is not ready. The Adele of Chapter 1 could not defeat them, and neither could the Adele of Chapter 17. By the final chapters, however, Arden has made sure that Adele has matured with the strength she needs, and the final confrontation is something unique.

Okay, now for some things I’d like to see done differently. The book is written in first person, which is fine. But because of this Adele is known only as ‘I’ until someone finally says her name at the end of the second chapter. Alys, please have her father just call her by name somewhere early on!

The 17th-century portions of the story are translations from the diary of a young French girl, Adele’s ancestor Adeline. I was about to suggest a different tone would suit this part of the book and set it apart from Adele’s adventures, except I just checked and it appears the latest rewrite has accomplished exactly this! So instead I’ll pick on a minor point. I can’t believe that Adeline wrote this diary with the intention of showing it to her father!

Perhaps he suggested she write her adventures, and gave her the diary to do so. But I think Adeline would make it clear that although she would keep a journal as asked, it would be for her eyes only as an aid to an imperfect memory, and that her father was never going to read it! Maybe later, after it became her record of so many amazing events she would decide to send it to him, asking his forgiveness for parts he might find unflattering in his daughter.

I met Alys Arden one day when I was skulking about her story, attempting to quietly drop a couple of votes in the corner without being noticed. She called me on it, dragging me out of my comfortable solitude, and since that day I’ve found myself on the periphery of a supportive group of authors (probably where I’m most comfortable).

I tend to overlook the ‘social site’ aspect of Wattpad, but when you find a community of interesting and like-minded individuals it can be great fun. Most recently, both Alys and I have been parodied in a story that gives Wattpad authors and their stories the Mad Magazine treatment! If you’ve read TCG or my own Wattpad Support you will definitely want to read Ellis in Wattpadland by Lori Ellis (LivingDeadGirlxox).