This may be one of the worst books I've ever read. The blurb made it sound like it was going to be a cool mystery set in a boarding school but it was actually about the most bland girl on the face of the earth. Moira is just so annoying. The entire book she makes it seem like Nathan, her dead best friend, was like this super awesome person but he's just a dude. Her entire personality is that she's obsessed with him and she likes trivia. She doesn't actually play trivia or anything, but she frequently talks about looking up trivia online as a hobby. She also doesn't know how to "girl" which is one of the most annoying things anyone could possibly say.

Anyway, about 40% in, this book takes a complete turn and now there's a second castle and for some reason our dull heroine thinks it's a conspiracy. She spends her time at said castle dancing with some other guy and having what I imagine to be incredibly awkward conversations. Also just take a moment to imagine what it would be like to spend your whole night slow dancing (presumably) with a stranger. And this is just initiated one night and never stops?

TBH, I think this school sounds great and Moira is a self centered, codependent idiot. I wanted so badly to DNF this but pickings are slim on Overdrive at the moment and I needed to read something while on desk at work.

The description of this book is deceptive. It leads you to believe that you will be reading a thriller about the mystery surrounding twin castle schools - one for girls and one for boys. What this book is is a dive into some of the mental illnesses that affect our youth - our daughters, in particular. It is unique and well-written

(NETGALLEY BOOK –  I RECEIVED A COMPLIMENTARY ADVANCED READER COPY OF THIS BOOK THROUGH NETGALLEY. OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS REVIEW ARE COMPLETELY MY OWN.)

(3.5) This book was overall just ok. I was expecting it to be some big mystery where they are running an experiment and they have to find a way out. that’s what the blurb made it sound like at least. so i was really surprised when the last 100 or so pages was just therapy. i felt like so little happened in this book. i could prob give a summary in about 2 sentences and that would cover everything you would need to know. i thought the idea of it was good but it wasn’t what i was expecting. i also felt like some of the characters were only there to move the plot forward when things got slow. like cass and virginia. the two of them seemed like they would be much more relevant and then like 1/3 of the way through, they were barely mentioned except for the break up. it was the same with the other girls. there were some girls whose name would be mentioned and i wouldn’t remember which one they were because they had like maybe one line of dialogue and then a short chapter. i liked the chapters with the other girls and how they got there but i feel like it would’ve meant more coming from them rather than an isolated chapter. another thing that bothered me was the way some thoughts were written. i absolutely hated the “i found out laters” because it was more telling and not showing. moira said it so many times it became her catch phrase and it bothered me. i also didn’t totally love the page long side tangents she would go on about random facts that had nothing to do with the plot. i understand it could show her progress but it still felt completely out of place, especially in the middle of a conversation. also virginia having adhd felt a lot like someone googled “adhd” and took those results to make the character. she didn’t have much depth as a character because it just felt so surface level. overall, the book was like ok. i had a few peeves about the writing but i did enjoy the bonding the girls had and the growth that moira had.

The way Alyssa writes hits me deep in my feelings. Brilliant.

4.5 good realistic fiction and I really appreciated the short sections throughout in the voices of the characters

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, and some terrible loneliness I’ve been feeling lately I think I picked this book up at the right time. I could really identify with Moira in many ways even if I’m not a teenager who’s lost her only friend. I appreciate how the mental illnesses were handled. On top of that it was a fast read that I needed to help me get out of a reading slump.

OH MY WOW. This book was not what I expected in the best way possible. The book didn’t have any crazy mystery plot or anything, it was more like a story of acceptance (very self vs. self if you will). This book was emotional, eye opening, and kept me interested the whole way through. I literally have nothing bad to say.