Slither Girls

Slither Girls: The Series is an extremely popular series of wizarding romance novels written by Dolly St. James. The most recent fifth novel, The Fallout was published on February 14, 2009.

A large part of the ad campaigns and success of the books is dependent on the fact that Ms. St. James is a showman and will do just about anything for attention. Her exploits made the gossip columns before she ever started writing.

When coupled with the nature of her books, a lot of the appeal has become readers trying to figure out which character corresponds with a known relationship in her life. People assume that the main character Odette is Dolly herself - but everyone is dying to know just who Devlin, the object of her greatest affection is. Everyone has theories they love to share, and couples they would rather see shipped together, and each book adds a new layer to the puzzle and seems to put more distance between Odette and Devlin rather than bringing them closer together.

Book One: Slither Girls: The Introductory Years

In which the Slither Girls are introduced - Odette Hoyt and Lilith Hennessy have been best friends most of their lives. It is a strange relationship as Odette is vivacious and outgoing in the face of her family’s idea of morals and the place for women and children to be heard. Lilith, on the other hand is rather reserved and very careful with herself. In the summer between years six and seven the girls spend a fair bit of time traveling, causing mayhem, and being looked after by Devlin Macy.

Childhood flashbacks show that despite the three or four year age gap between Dev and the girls the trio has been close for a very long time. There are several funny incidents of “hexes gone awry” with Dev on the receiving end of Odette’s saucy anger. It becomes readily apparent that he’s her intended love interest but life and other boys just keep getting in the way - though the pair does share one heated night in Paris. Hilarity abounds once the girls return to school when a smooth talking devilishly handsome potion master [Garrett Basil] takes over lessons after a mishap with one of Odette’s potions experiments nearly kills the previous professor. Torturous school girl flirtations and fixations ensure that his first semester is one he will never forget.

In the second half of the book, each chapter starts with a set of letters shared between Devlin and Odie, while Lilith watches her closest friend nearly self destruct after Devlin announces his engagement to a fellow pureblood socialite Sidell Sinclair [Odette’s former rival and frenemy]. The final chapter closes out with Lilith and Odette setting off for summer adventures, this time solo - headed for the Greek Isles to sunbathe away their troubles and devise a way to ruin Devlin’s wedding day.

Book Two: Slither Girls: Fools of Engagement

When we meet up with the girls again life has changed drastically for them - thanks in large part to the copious amounts of alcohol and other illegal substances Odette has decided she needs to deal with what’s going on around her. Other changes? Her best mate is shacked up and having mad crazy sex with bloody quiddy star Court Cavanaugh, and unfortunately even after several months of scheming the girls haven’t been able to break up Wizarding London’s new power couple; Devlin Macy and the divine Miss Sinclair. The most painful thing for Odette is the fact that, in her own words, Devlin “won’t just let me go”. He insists on acting as though everything is exactly as it’s always been despite the fact that he is obsessively in love with his bride to be. He also pretends that the girls never had a contentious bone between them and Sid hadn’t tried several times to knock Odette from the limelight.

After a disastrous Christmas party that ends in the two forgoing wands to literally try and beat one another half to death about the head and shoulders Odette makes a hasty retreat from polite society. Traveling to Istanbul, hoping time and space will some how recover the now wonky view of the world she becomes embroiled in a passionate, rather high stakes affair with a black market smuggler named Eren. Things become decidedly more complicated when the Turk finds himself falling in love with her at the very same time Devlin decides to postpone the wedding and come “save” Odette from herself. Meanwhile things between Lilith and Court are going south fast and she’s clawing at straws as to why she should even bother staying with him.

The end result of all the drama? Odette ending her romantic relationship with the Turk - though not her business one, after she and Devlin come within a hairsbreadth of rekindling their relationship. Of course, as with the last book readers are left wondering just what will happen for the pair, when he simply kisses her on the forehead and makes a hasty exit to go back home and “deal with a situation”. The final chapters close out with Lilith and Odette taking the long way home by train, reflecting on how little their lives have actually changed since leaving school.

Book Three: Slither Girls: The Lost Year

In The Lost Year, Miss. St. James attempts a slight style change. She focuses far more on Odette’s downward spiral when, once again, Devlin leaves her waiting and wanting. The first third of the book is a journal style recounting of alcohol soaked nights and vivid encounters with men from her past. The Turk makes a brief appearance only to be turned away. Slowly over a collection of introspective entries our Heroine comes to realize that for most of her life she’s been waiting to be loved - always waiting for Devlin to admit, despite the fact they quarreled like two old crows it was meant to be. With these revelations came a growing sense of annoyance, and a loss of faith in love. She becomes increasingly aware of the way most pureblood marriages work - at least of the people she knew, and the prospect displeased her greatly.

With the second third of the book a change comes over Odette, the desire to be free of both her feelings for Devlin and the notions she’d been brought up with about her place in society. Once again she leaves the polite parlors of her youth and heads off on a solo adventure - this time to Romania. Back in narrative form she talks about staying with a rather dashing - though mild mannered dragon tamer named Rhys Marley. For the first time in her life Odette is forced to work for what she wants, no amount of clever lines or eyelash fluttering turns Rhys’ head. The last chapter of The Lost Year closes out with Odette attempting her first solo Dragon ride, her mind finally free of Devlin - only to return to the ground and find him waiting with Rhys, clutching an urgent letter from Lilith begging her to come home.

Book Four: Slither Girls: The One

When we last saw our heroine, the divine Miss Hoyt was torn between ending her stay in Romania and killing off her budding relationship with the stoic but soft hearted dragon tamer, Rhys…or telling her lifelong best friend to sort out her own bloody crisis. In the end Odette could not turn her back on Lilith in a time of need and bid Rhys ado leaving him with a lingering kiss to remember her by.

Once back in London she finds her former life to have been turned upside down. Lilith has fallen in love with a Muggleborn smuggler and the backlash from their former friends is palpable. Lilith herself is terrified by her first serious relationship - Court hardly counts as anything more than a bedfellow, and that had ended some time ago. To complicate matters Odette has her own feelings about love and the likelihood of people staying together no matter how much they believe they’re right for one another. She finds it difficult to reassure her friend to follow her heart - not for any purist reason but simply because she’s terrified herself of what Lilith falling in love means for them. Having turned her back on Devlin, and embraced her own freedom in the least 18 months of living with Rhys, Lilith is the only person who still links her to the past. A past, painful though it was, Odette is not sure she wants to completely lose.

Through several flashbacks the reader is given a peek into Odette’s home life as a young girl - and it becomes increasingly obvious that unless she was acting out she was nearly invisible in comparison to her sister Aimee. We see how the trio of Devlin, Odette, and Lilith formed - as well as the ways in which they became her surrogate family. While she tries to help her best friend find peace within herself, Odette is plagued by the sense that something is missing dearly in her life. In the final chapter we are transported to a lavish family gathering when a strangers knock at the door sends the entire event off course.

Book Five: Slither Girls: The Fallout

When we last left Odette she was standing in the foyer of her parents’ grand home opening the door to the man who might just change her life forever. You’ve been waiting over a year to find out just who this mysterious man might be - and will be happy (perhaps) to find the reappearance of Rhys.

Unable to leave their potential love affair with a misbegotten kiss goodbye the Dragon tamer whisks in to save our sassy heroine. The two fall not-so-haplessly into bed together and Odette is surprised to find herself in an out of character very adult “let’s talk about our feelings” grown up relationship. She leaves behind ideas of a life with Devlin in exchange for building something with Rhys.

The book examines how the formerly flighty socialite changes in the coming year and a half and tries to figure out if it is really better to settle for what you can live with rather than pine for what you can’t live without. When it is all said and done can Odette really turn her back on true love’s blind hope in favor of security and someone who adores her unconditionally?

Controversy Surrounding the Books

Another reason that the Slither Girls series and creator are often in the news: controversy. Every good series has it, and Dolly herself readily admits that her books are not intended for the faint of heart or people who are still forming their moral identity.

The first book summed up the last two years of her life at Hogwarts - which included themes from unprotected underage sex, the consumption of illegal substances (potions, plants), to in general just doing things that could get a sane person killed. Obviously this leads to an outcry from parents, who feel that it is wrong for her to glamorize bad lifestyle choices while seeming to show no consequences for her actions - hateful or otherwise.

Ms. St. James' reaction to these accusations (and often her interviews) stir up as much trouble as they quell for her. She loves her fans dearly because they give her the attention she craves. She doesn't feel it's her job to turn the Slither Girls into a collection of morality tales and is quite honest and up front that having money and having a family name does buy you leeway, still, in the wizarding world.

At Absit Omen

• Your Prince Charming is a Tin Man: New 'Slither Girls' Drops (Daily Prophet review of The Fallout, written by Niobe Thursby)
• Cosima Early secretly writes Slither Girls fanfiction. [1]
• The Lovelace Luxuries Literary Club that meets at Puddifoot's has included Slither Girls in their book list. [2]
• As of 2 March 2012, Waverly Roh-Ballentyne still has copies in her bedroom [3]
• Bethan Ellis hid the books from her parents [4]
• Wiki Feature: The Slither Girls Series: Prose or Pulp? <- Many other character reactions.