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notsarahconnor's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Look, I know not everyone likes this one but I adored it. Summers does an excellent job of showing why people would be drawn in to a cult and why they would stay despite how bad it is without judgement. It's heartbreaking and empathetic and an absolutely fantastic novel.
Read the full review on my blog!
Read the full review on my blog!
lorbach's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was fascinating and heart-wrenching at the same time. To see into the cult that has claimed one sister and then the other. I really liked how the auth told the perspective of Lo from the present and the perspective of Bea from the past. I felt like the story was rich, the writing was smooth, and the outcome was as I expected and hoped.
mellyfoo89's review
2.0
This story line in theory was great but, it really dragged on for me. Unfortunately I didn’t finish the book.
turleyboo37's review
4.0
okay so i’m fairly sure i’ve discovered that you could very easily indoctrinate me into a cult :)
karlavuorenoja's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
kim_j_dare's review
4.0
Twisty and intense and dark. This exploration of two estranged sisters and the way they each get involved with a charismatic cult leader probably belongs more in “new adult” than “young adult.”
Thank you, Wednesday Books and Edelweiss, for the advance readers copy.
Thank you, Wednesday Books and Edelweiss, for the advance readers copy.
ashction's review
4.0
Wow, another stunning book from Courtney Summers!
The Project is a tangled story, one that threads us through two periods in time during the 2010s, through the eyes of two sisters. Bea, a recently orphaned sister who becomes a convert to The Unity Project after its leader, Lev, brings her sister back from the brink of death. Lo, a sister abandoned and angry, still traumatized from the accident that stole her family, her sister, and left her scarred as she longs to find her sister again in the religious group where she's since disappeared. After the death of a Unity Project member who crosses her path in more ways than one, Lo begins her investigation into The Unity Project, a path that leads her to Lev, a man who hasn't spoken to media in six years. But Lo isn't just any reporter, and Lev isn't just any cult leader.
The Project immediately pulls you in. Summers does a phenomenal job balancing the two sisters' perspectives, and by using different tense to do so, she somehow manages to create two separate moods and narratives that crash together in a spectacular way. Lo is certainly our protagonist, but there's power in Bea's voice, too. The story explores trauma and the ways it changes a person, twists them to wield power and belief in intoxicating ways.
As a cult novel, I don't have much of a fictional frame of reference, but The Unity Project does feel rather tame. That being said, this is still YA, so it doesn't have to be gruesome or crazy to still be horrifying and poweful. And, in true Summers fashion, the end leaves us guessing - though it's certainly less ambiguous than Sadie was. I think my only disappointment was that I wanted that last bit of action at the end to be more than what it was, so I felt a bit let down. But, overall, really just an amazingly well-written novel and a stellar piece of work for suspense in YA.
I received an ARC of this books as a winner of a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Goodreads and Wednesday Books/Macmillan for providing me a copy!
The Project is a tangled story, one that threads us through two periods in time during the 2010s, through the eyes of two sisters. Bea, a recently orphaned sister who becomes a convert to The Unity Project after its leader, Lev, brings her sister back from the brink of death. Lo, a sister abandoned and angry, still traumatized from the accident that stole her family, her sister, and left her scarred as she longs to find her sister again in the religious group where she's since disappeared. After the death of a Unity Project member who crosses her path in more ways than one, Lo begins her investigation into The Unity Project, a path that leads her to Lev, a man who hasn't spoken to media in six years. But Lo isn't just any reporter, and Lev isn't just any cult leader.
The Project immediately pulls you in. Summers does a phenomenal job balancing the two sisters' perspectives, and by using different tense to do so, she somehow manages to create two separate moods and narratives that crash together in a spectacular way. Lo is certainly our protagonist, but there's power in Bea's voice, too. The story explores trauma and the ways it changes a person, twists them to wield power and belief in intoxicating ways.
As a cult novel, I don't have much of a fictional frame of reference, but The Unity Project does feel rather tame. That being said, this is still YA, so it doesn't have to be gruesome or crazy to still be horrifying and poweful. And, in true Summers fashion, the end leaves us guessing - though it's certainly less ambiguous than Sadie was. I think my only disappointment was that I wanted that last bit of action at the end to be more than what it was, so I felt a bit let down. But, overall, really just an amazingly well-written novel and a stellar piece of work for suspense in YA.
I received an ARC of this books as a winner of a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Goodreads and Wednesday Books/Macmillan for providing me a copy!