Reviews with content warning for Death - The Project

Lo went through a horrific car accident that took away the life of her parents and nearly killed her. Desperate to help, her sister, Bea, turns to a local healer (also a leader of a very religious organization). Lo miraculously recovers, and this seals Bea’s fate. She joins the Unity Project to follow Lev and his divine teachings.

This was almost a decade ago… now Lo is grown up and she has not had any contact with her sister. You see, the Unity Project members are known to cut people off. But after the mysterious death of another Project member, Lo decides she needs answers. She wants to write an expose on the Project, and all the harm they’re doing. Is the Project a cult? Is Lev really a divine healer sent from God?

I enjoyed the premise of the book, but unfortunately I found Lo so unbearable, I couldn’t connect with her. She goes from wanting to write an expose to joining the cult. And despite all evidence that is being presented to her from the beginning about how toxic this gathering is, she start willfully ignoring it all and abandoning all common sense.

I found the “twist” very predictable, the characters mostly unlikeable, and the storyline of Lo joining too underdeveloped. It just made no sense.

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ghostlyprince's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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aformeracceleratedreader's review

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

This wasn't as good as Sadie but still a worthwhile read. It was a little heartbreaking, a little scary, and even a little hopeful. It does leave me with some questions, but not the kinds that frustrate me.
Read content/trigger warnings beforehand! There is difficult content that could make this unenjoyable if you don't know ahead of time (there are multiple car accidents and as someone who has survived a pretty big one myself, it did kind of trigger me a little. Not enough to deter me from finishing the book tho).

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trashboatwinter's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

this book was so uncaptivating that i would zone out, zone back in, & be confused as hell. started off fine, then around 20% i was just zoning out & with the book being NOT suspenseful at all i was so confused on anything that happened. like literally what was this book? boring? absolutely. basically sadie but worst with a cult instead? again, absolutely. literally i have no other words other than, what even happened.

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ravensandlace's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tw: premature birth, hospitals, parental death, car accident, suicide, parental abandonment, burns, corporal punishment, infidelity, drowning, death

One of my latest fascinations is cults. In fact, over the course of a year (thanks to a 30-minute commute to my job), I listened to a podcast about cults. I’m going to be posting my thoughts on that at a later time but I will let you know that it is on Spotify. It’s called Cults and it’s from the Parcast Network. Anyway, I don't know what it is about cults, but they intrigue me. It’s hard for me to understand how anyone could get sucked into one but they do.

That’s why I was so intrigued with this book albeit a little hesitant. I knew it was about cults. But I've been having a hell of a time trying to connect with Courtney Summers’ writing. She has written excellent books but I just can't seem to get into them. In the last two books I’ve read of hers (Sadie and Cracked Up to Be), I rated three stars. Which is a good rating for me but I wanted to love them since I know a lot of people love her books.

That changed with this book. I loved this book! It started out a bit slow initially and I struggled to pay attention. But I knew that if I persevered, the ending would be worth it. And it was! After a couple of chapters, the book quickly picked up and I was hooked. I did call a lot of the twists but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment. I was glad I was right.

Lev, the leader of the Unity Project, reminded me of the Unification Church (or as they are more commonly called, the Moonies) led by Sun Myung Moon. Moon, along with Lev, had a vision and wanted to “help the world” but behind closed doors, they were not the person they presented themselves to be to the public and if I’m being honest, I almost bought into Lev’s BS, for lack of better words. He did seem very convincing and I was thinking to myself, this group can’t be that bad, can it?

Lo was a great main character. She was incredibly unlikable at times and I just wanted to shake some sense into her. But I really did like her and was rooting for her the whole way through. We also got a point of view of Bea, her sister. At first, I was so upset with her. But as the story progressed, I understood her, and I understood her motives. That doesn’t mean I liked it but I got where she was coming from. I would do anything for my sister, too. I’m not so sure I would abandon my sister for a cult, however.

Overall, this is the best Courtney Summers book I’ve read so far. I’m glad that I preserved and kept trying her books. I knew that eventually, I’d find a book I’d like of hers. I think it helps that it was about a topic I’m very much invested in. I also think I’ve gotten used to the way Courtney Summers writes and also how she writes her characters, which are unlikable female characters. I highly recommended this book especially if you are interested in cults and enjoy Courtney Summers's books.

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amberinbookland's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

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permanme's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Just once I'd love to read a book about someone who is pulled into a cult that the founder/leader doesn't care about. It seems like in every one of these stories, our protagonist is irresistible to the cult leader, and while I know that they're trying to draw them in and make them part of a "family" I just can't imagine that it happens to every person.

Anyway, the plot was fine. I'm still not sure why some things were relevant, but it was decent. This felt like it was weirdly caught between being YA and being an adult book. I feel like being YA just held it back from being a bit more fleshed out, and I wish Summers had just written it as a general novel, rather than YA.

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