The Bad Seed

I’m ending with this unorthodox double feature (think Godzilla v. Kong) because girls who kill put a twist on the theme of this list. What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice. But maybe they’re a little less nice when boys are boys.

A feminist reimagining of March’s classic 1950s novel has Claude Daigle perhaps deserving of his fate at Rhoda Penmark’s hands. What if he tormented and taunted her, and she took revenge? While the daughter in Stage’s contemporary novel walks a very narrow line that kept me unsure the whole time… the guessing… show more.

This is a forgotten treasure that was made into a movie before many of us were born.

A little girl, Rhoda Penmark, looks so sweet and can get away with anything, even murder. Unfortunate accidents always happen when Rhoda doesn't get what she wants. Eventually her mother has to face the truth, that her sweet little girl is a cold-hearted killer and will do whatever it takes to have her way. Every parent's worst nightmare!

At its heart, this is a book about secret darkness. The sweet, innocent-appearing girl may be off-putting, but it’s hard to wrap your head around the things she’s willing to do to get what she wants. One man in the book sees her as she really is and thinks they are alike. The dual storyline is tense without being pushy. William Marsh just tells you the narrative and lets the characters tell you how to feel. He doesn’t guide you through emotions, but allows you to feel whatever comes up naturally. It’s a departure from current books and worth a… show more.

I read this novel written well before the present focus on psychopathy. It’s simple but bone-chilling. The book came out in 1954 and became an instant best-seller, leading to more books, stage shows, and films. Rhoda Penmark is eight years old with braids and the image of sweet young innocence. Yet strange things follow her – bad events, terrible accidents in the neighborhood, and frightened people. March shows the true nature of a psychopath in childhood, giving the reader a peek into what and how these “monster” children grow up.