Bunny: A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Enter the Bunnyverse with the “wild, audacious . . . unforgettable” (Los Angeles Times) #DarkAcademia novel that started it all – the precursor to We Love You, Bunny
“[A] cult classic.” —People
“[A] viral sensation.” —USA Today
“O Bunny you are sooo genius!” —Margaret Atwood
“We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. We very nearly did, didn't we?”
Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one.
But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.
The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.
Named a Best Book of the year by TIME, Vogue, Electric Literature, and The New York Public Library
Enter the Bunnyverse with the “wild, audacious . . . unforgettable” (Los Angeles Times) #DarkAcademia novel that started it all – the precursor to We Love You, Bunny
“[A] cult classic.” —People
“[A] viral sensation.” —USA Today
“O Bunny you are sooo genius!” —Margaret Atwood
“We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. We very nearly did, didn't we?”
Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one.
But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.
The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.
Named a Best Book of the year by TIME, Vogue, Electric Literature, and The New York Public Library
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Bunny* is a wild, surreal novel blending dark humor, horror, and feminist themes, with a *Heathers* vibe and touches of magical realism. ...
This book was the three-est of three stars for me. I didn’t hate all of it. I didn’t love much of it. I don’t think I really even liked most of it, but the parts I liked, I liked just enough to not hate it? Maybe? I don’t know.
I’m glad I finally read it. I’m equally glad it’s over, but I do want to read the sequel (We Love You, Bunny coming in September 2025) because it has Bunny backstories, and they seem infinitely more interesting than sad-sack Samantha who was annoying AF.
The thing I loved most about this book was that I had no idea what to think of it at the end. Was everything literal? Did the bunnies turn actual bunnies into men or was Samantha imagining it? But then she did actually turn a swan into a human, right? Or was she literally dancing on the roof with a swan? Was the swan there at all?
I started reading other people’s interpretations online, and some reviews here, and I honestly find them pretty disappointing. Everyone seems dedicated to a hard-and-fast explanation, implying that everyone else is missing the point or just doesn’t understand. But isn’t the beautiful thing about books that there are endless potential meanings, endless routes for engaging conversations about what it all means?
Personally, I’m comfortable putting a finished book back on my shelf fully accepting that I have no solid answer for what actually happened. To me, it doesn’t even matter because the writing in this book was magnificent and moving and the premise was so incredibly unique. Yes, Mona! Leave me confused and questioning and dumbfounded! Let my limited understanding turn round and round in my head and leave a lasting mark!
This book is confusing, ending with a twist that is murky and unclear but somehow still a twist. My personal interpretation is that the story is a mix of “none of it was real” and supernatural horror. The line between the two is blurry, I’m not sure which is the majority. But I love that. Because either way, we still explored Samantha’s unbelievably deep love for Ava, her hatred towards the bunnies, her tentative attraction to and fear of Max. I cling to those themes because her feelings are the one thing in the book I know for certain were real, and that’s enough for me.
3.5 stars - had a HEATHERS feel but with the magical realism. Started out well enough but I found myself a little bored listening to it and sped it up but it just sort of ended. I know there is a part 2 but the ratings are not good and I probably would not read on since I didn’t really care enough about the characters.
I did chuckle with the narration of the “mean girls” and the crazy creations of the “drafts”.
I did chuckle with the narration of the “mean girls” and the crazy creations of the “drafts”.
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