Prologue: Tied and Toasted

Samantha "Bunny" Mackey is bound and gagged in Kyra's attic, surrounded by her former MFA cohort, the Bunnies, who wear rabbit masks and wield an axe. They've lured her back to their New England alma mater under the guise of celebrating her debut novel—a thinly veiled autofiction about them. The Bunnies' tone is both menacing and affectionate, oscillating between congratulation and accusation. They reminisce about the past, their creative wounds, and Samantha's betrayal. The attic, once a site of magical creation and violence, is now a stage for reckoning. The Bunnies announce their intention to retell the story from their perspective, to reclaim the narrative and expose the truth behind the myth Bunny has spun. The night is thick with old resentments, creative longing, and the threat of both literal and metaphorical violence.

The First Conjuring

Coraline, Kyra, and Vik recall their first meeting at Warren's MFA program, each feeling isolated and desperate for connection. Their initial awkwardness gives way to a strange, magnetic intimacy, culminating in a shared encounter with a white rabbit whose eyes turn blue when they all touch it. This moment fuses them into a collective, a "One," and marks the beginning of their magical, reality-bending friendship. The rabbit becomes a symbol of their creative power and the dangerous allure of their bond. The arrival of Samantha, the outsider, and the presence of their idol, Ursula, set the stage for a year of creative rivalry, longing, and the blurring of fiction and reality.

Becoming One, Breaking Apart

The Bunnies' collective grows stronger as they spend nights together, sharing secrets, braiding hair, and sleeping entwined. Their intimacy is both erotic and suffocating, with each girl vying for dominance and validation. Creative jealousy simmers beneath the surface, especially as they begin to sense the limits of their own individuality within the group. The attic becomes their sacred space, a site of both creation and destruction. The arrival of Allan, the horror writer, as their workshop leader disrupts their expectations and introduces a new source of humiliation and rage. The Bunnies' creative energies turn dark, and the boundaries between love, violence, and art begin to dissolve.

Workshop Wounds and Rivalries

The first workshop is a psychological bloodbath. Allan eviscerates Coraline's story, leaving her devastated and the others seething. The Bunnies rally around her, their collective hatred for Allan cementing their bond. Samantha, meanwhile, aligns herself with Allan, deepening her outsider status and the group's animosity toward her. The Bunnies' creative wounds become a source of both pain and power, fueling fantasies of revenge and transformation. The rose garden becomes a site of ritualized suffering and solidarity, as the Bunnies plot to reclaim their agency and creative voice.

The Bunny's Blue Eyes

In the aftermath of Allan's workshop, the Bunnies encounter the white rabbit again. This time, their collective touch and shared tears cause its eyes to turn an unnatural blue—a sign of their combined power. The rabbit becomes a vessel for their longing, rage, and creative potential. The attic rituals intensify, blending art, violence, and desire. The Bunnies' magic grows more dangerous as they attempt to conjure something beautiful and real, culminating in the explosive transformation of the rabbit into Aerius, a beautiful, enigmatic man who embodies their collective fantasy and trauma.

The Pact and the Pact-Breaker

The Bunnies keep Aerius captive in the attic, subjecting him to a barrage of stories, playlists, and films in an attempt to "revise" him into their ideal. Their efforts are both nurturing and cruel, reflecting their own creative anxieties and need for control. Aerius resists their attempts at shaping him, remaining wild and unpredictable. The group fractures under the strain, with jealousy and possessiveness threatening to tear them apart. Eventually, Aerius escapes, leaving the Bunnies bereft and desperate, their creative experiment spiraling into chaos.

The Attic's Dark Magic

In Aerius's absence, the Bunnies attempt to recreate their lost magic by exploding more rabbits in the attic, each time hoping to conjure another Aerius. Instead, they produce a series of defective "Darlings"—beautiful but soulless men who lack the spark of the original. The process becomes increasingly mechanical and violent, with the Bunnies donning aprons and masks to protect themselves from the gore. The attic, once a site of wonder, becomes a slaughterhouse. The Bunnies' creative hunger turns cannibalistic, and their bond is tested by the mounting failures and the specter of their own monstrousness.

The Making and Unmaking

The Bunnies' world collides with the Poets, a rival group whose own creative rituals and jealousies mirror their own. Accusations of plagiarism, artistic theft, and violence erupt, culminating in a campus-wide protest against "axe-related violence." The Bunnies are forced to confront the consequences of their actions, both magical and mundane. Mother (Ursula) emerges as a rival creator, claiming ownership of Aerius and the narrative itself. The boundaries between author, character, and creation blur, and the Bunnies' sense of agency is threatened by the machinations of their mentor and the institutional forces of the MFA program.

Mother's Showcase

Ursula's spring showcase becomes a battleground for creative ownership and personal vindication. She parades Aerius on stage as her own creation, reading from the book he wrote under duress. The Bunnies, the Poets, the Mob, and the entire campus converge in the theater, each with their own claim on Aerius. The performance devolves into chaos as accusations of plagiarism and violence fly. Ursula, desperate to maintain control, attempts to sacrifice Aerius with an axe, but is interrupted by a surreal invasion of rabbits and the eruption of collective madness. Aerius seizes the moment to escape, clutching his book—the true record of his experience.

The Hall of Infinite Reflection

Fleeing through the labyrinthine halls of Narrative Arts, Aerius finds himself in the Hall of Infinite Reflection, surrounded by mirrors and pursued by the Bunnies. The room becomes a metaphor for the endless recursion of self and other, creator and creation. The Bunnies, unable to distinguish the real Aerius from his reflections, are trapped in a cycle of longing and violence, ultimately turning their axes on their own images. Aerius, clutching his book, finds an exit and escapes into the night, wounded but free.

The Book as Axe

Alone in an alley, Aerius realizes that the book he has written is both his prison and his only hope of return. He attempts to use it as a magical talisman, but finds that its power is uncertain and its meaning elusive. The boundaries between fiction and reality, self and other, blur further. Aerius is reunited with Jonah, his lost love, and gives him the book, recognizing that the act of sharing his story is itself a form of transformation and release. The possibility of return to the "Lost Place" remains open, but uncertain.

The Many Ways Back

Aerius, now free of both the Bunnies and Mother, wanders the campus and the surrounding woods, searching for a way back to his original self. He is joined by Tyler (the "Wrong Allan"), and together they rediscover the joy of hopping, the language of the wind, and the possibility of return. The narrative becomes a meditation on the nature of identity, the pain of creation, and the redemptive power of love and friendship. The story ends with a leap into the unknown, the promise of transformation, and the hope of finding home.

The Tale is the Way

The Bunnies, having recounted their version of events, turn to Samantha and beg her to help them publish their story. The boundaries between author, character, and reader collapse, as Samantha is both the captive and the liberator, the betrayer and the redeemer. In a final act of defiance and freedom, she seizes the axe and the book, smashes the attic window, and leaps into the dawn, transforming into a rabbit and escaping into the wild. The tale itself becomes the way out, the means of liberation, and the song of the wind.

The Dawn and the Jump

As the sun rises, Samantha—now both herself and Bunny—runs into the grass, clutching the book and the memory of the wind's song. The Bunnies watch helplessly from the attic, their hands empty, their story stolen and set free. The cycle of creation, destruction, and return continues, as the tale leaps from one teller to the next, always seeking a way back to the lost place, the original self, and the possibility of love.

Characters

Samantha "Bunny" Mackey

Samantha is the dark, goth outsider of the Warren MFA cohort, both drawn to and repelled by the Bunnies' collective. Her psychological landscape is marked by loneliness, creative hunger, and a deep ambivalence toward intimacy and power. She is both the observer and the betrayer, chronicling the group's secrets in her autofictional novel. Samantha's journey is one of self-discovery, as she navigates the dangers of creative fusion, the seductions of collective identity, and the longing for authenticity. Her transformation into Bunny at the novel's end is both a liberation and a return to the primal, magical self she has always sought.

Coraline ("Cupcake")

Coraline is the de facto leader of the Bunnies, a Southern belle with a razor in her pocket and a hunger for love and validation. Her relationship with the other Bunnies is both maternal and competitive, marked by jealousy, possessiveness, and a desperate need to be seen as special. Coraline's creative identity is bound up with her appearance, her rituals, and her longing for transcendence. She is both the architect of the group's magic and its most tragic casualty, unable to let go of the fantasy of perfect union.

Kyra ("Creepy Doll")

Kyra is the group's empath, drawn to the occult and the world of spirits. She is both the most nurturing and the most easily wounded, her desire for connection often thwarted by the group's hierarchies and her own insecurities. Kyra's relationship with Coraline is especially fraught, oscillating between devotion and resentment. Her role as the group's executioner and caretaker reflects her ambivalence toward power and violence. Kyra's longing for the supernatural is both a source of strength and a trap.

Viktoria ("Vik")

Vik is the group's shock artist, a former ballerina turned experimental writer. She is fascinated by violence, hybridity, and the breaking of boundaries. Vik's relationship with the other Bunnies is marked by both attraction and rivalry, her desire for the new and the shocking often at odds with the group's need for stability. She is the first to dig in the mud, the first to embrace the unknown, and the first to recognize the limits of the group's magic. Vik's sexuality and creative hunger drive much of the group's experimentation and eventual unraveling.

Elsinore ("The Duchess")

Elsinore is the group's most enigmatic member, a nonbinary, aristocratic figure with a gift for silence and psychic domination. She is both the group's conscience and its most dangerous element, orchestrating rituals, interpreting omens, and wielding power with a cold, maternal authority. Elsinore's relationship with the others is marked by both intimacy and distance, her need for control often clashing with the group's collective will. Her rivalry with Ursula and her ultimate betrayal of the group's creative pact are central to the novel's climax.

Ursula ("Mother")

Ursula is the Bunnies' idol and nemesis, a once-great writer now obsessed with reclaiming her lost genius. She is both a source of inspiration and a figure of creative vampirism, stealing from her students and manipulating their desires. Ursula's relationship with Aerius is both maternal and predatory, her need for validation driving her to ever greater acts of appropriation and violence. Her showcase is the ultimate expression of her creative hubris and her inability to let go.

Aerius

Aerius is the magical being conjured by the Bunnies from a rabbit, a beautiful, enigmatic man who embodies their collective longing, trauma, and creative power. He is both the object of desire and the site of projection, subjected to endless revision, captivity, and violence. Aerius's journey is one of self-discovery, as he seeks to reclaim his agency, find love, and return to the "Lost Place" of his original self. His relationship with Jonah and his final act of giving away his book are acts of liberation and transformation.

Jonah

Jonah is the gentle, dreamy poet who becomes Aerius's lover and confidant. He represents the possibility of genuine connection, creative collaboration, and the redemptive power of love. Jonah's own struggles with rejection, ambition, and the demands of the MFA program mirror Aerius's journey. His willingness to accept Aerius as he is, and to receive his story, is the key to Aerius's liberation.

Allan

Allan is the horror writer and workshop leader whose harsh critiques and patriarchal authority make him the target of the Bunnies' rage and Aerius's murderous directive. He is both a figure of creative violence and a voice of reason, ultimately helping Aerius understand the limits of magic and the power of story. Allan's own failures as a teacher and creator are mirrored in the group's struggles.

The Darlings

The Darlings are the soulless, beautiful men conjured by the Bunnies in their attempts to recreate Aerius. They embody the dangers of repetition, the limits of control, and the emptiness of art divorced from genuine feeling. Their presence in the basement, their hollow compliments, and their ultimate dissolution are a testament to the group's creative exhaustion and the need for transformation.

Plot Devices

Unreliable Narration and Shifting Perspective

The novel is structured as a series of nested narratives, with each Bunny taking turns to tell her version of events, often contradicting or undermining the others. This device foregrounds the instability of memory, the subjectivity of experience, and the contested nature of creative ownership. The prologue and epilogue, narrated by the collective "We," frame the story as both a confession and a performance, implicating the reader in the act of interpretation and judgment.

Metafiction and the Book Within the Book

The central plot device is the book Aerius writes—a record of his captivity, suffering, and longing for home. This book becomes both a literal and metaphorical axe, capable of wounding, liberating, and transforming its creator and its readers. The act of writing, reading, and sharing the book is the means by which characters seek to escape their prisons, reclaim their agency, and find a way back to the "Lost Place." The novel's ending, in which the tale itself becomes the way out, is a metafictional gesture that collapses the boundaries between fiction and reality.

Magical Realism and Surreal Transformation

The novel employs magical realism to literalize the characters' psychological states and creative anxieties. Rabbits explode into men; attics become sites of ritual and slaughter; mirrors multiply selves and desires; and the boundaries between author, character, and reader dissolve. These devices serve to externalize the characters' inner conflicts, dramatize the dangers of unchecked creativity, and question the very nature of reality and identity.

The Attic and the Rose Garden

The attic and the rose garden function as symbolic spaces where the boundaries between self and other, art and life, are blurred. They are sites of both wonder and horror, where the Bunnies' collective magic is at its most potent and most dangerous. The repeated return to these spaces underscores the cyclical nature of creation, the impossibility of closure, and the longing for return.

The Axe and the Book

The axe is both a literal weapon and a metaphor for the act of creative destruction—killing one's darlings, revising, and letting go. The book, in turn, is both a record of suffering and a means of liberation. The interplay between these two objects dramatizes the tension between control and surrender, violence and love, and the endless search for meaning and home.

Analysis

Mona Awad's We Love You, Bunny is a darkly comic, surreal exploration of the dangers and ecstasies of collective creativity, female friendship, and the porous boundaries between fiction and reality. At its core, the novel is a meditation on the longing for connection, the pain of exclusion, and the seductive power of the group. The Bunnies' magical rituals and violent experiments are both a metaphor for the creative process and a literalization of the psychological wounds inflicted by ambition, jealousy, and the desire to be loved. The novel interrogates the ethics of art-making: Who owns a story? What is the cost of creation? How do we distinguish between inspiration and theft, love and possession, reality and fantasy? Through its shifting perspectives, unreliable narrators, and metafictional structure, the book invites readers to question their own complicity in the stories they consume and the identities they construct. Ultimately, We Love You, Bunny is a tale of letting go—of the need for control, the fantasy of perfect union, and the wounds of the past. The act of storytelling becomes both the means of escape and the way home, a song of the wind that calls us back to ourselves, transformed and free.

Last updated: October 1, 2025