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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to Simon Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! #SimonBooksBuddy
If you're looking for some wintery dark academia to add to your TBR, THE WORLD CANNOT GIVE might be just the thing. It's got a cultish choir, a very Traditional boarding school, and some terrible teens. While I felt this novel tended toward YA in its style, I thought the author nailed the obsessiveness and malleability that are often hallmarks of the teenage experience. I can see why this has been compared to THE SECRET HISTORY so often, but I think this comparison only really covers the setting and "student group" trope. But it is a wild ride from start to finish!
If you're looking for some wintery dark academia to add to your TBR, THE WORLD CANNOT GIVE might be just the thing. It's got a cultish choir, a very Traditional boarding school, and some terrible teens. While I felt this novel tended toward YA in its style, I thought the author nailed the obsessiveness and malleability that are often hallmarks of the teenage experience. I can see why this has been compared to THE SECRET HISTORY so often, but I think this comparison only really covers the setting and "student group" trope. But it is a wild ride from start to finish!
to be fair to myself, i didn’t read anythinggggg about this book other than the tags on here. somehow worse than the pulpy YA books i read as an early teen. sapphic booktok would eat this up…
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sometimes a book is enjoyable based on vibes and you probably shouldn’t dig deeper into the plot or characters. this book has vibes going for it.
what really bothers me is why the choir follows virginia around like she’s a cult leader? this is crucial to the story, but the most explanation we got is “they all wanted her but knew they couldn’t have her.” that doesn’t explain why virginia was able to lead a “not-a-secret-society” diehard circle that performs blood oaths after choir practice. one of her five followers seemingly exists just to say “that’s cringe” every scene he’s in, which is cringe.
i also have qualms the fact there was SO much more potential for laura to reflect on her sexuality. this is sold as a sapphic dark academia, yet the only lesbian couple feel more like caricatures than characters & laura has a couple moments of “i would do whatever virginia tells me to do.”
overall, this book feels like a noncommittal, watered down “the secret history” set against the backdrop of one dorm room, convenient landscaping, and a chapel.
what really bothers me is why the choir follows virginia around like she’s a cult leader? this is crucial to the story, but the most explanation we got is “they all wanted her but knew they couldn’t have her.” that doesn’t explain why virginia was able to lead a “not-a-secret-society” diehard circle that performs blood oaths after choir practice. one of her five followers seemingly exists just to say “that’s cringe” every scene he’s in, which is cringe.
i also have qualms the fact there was SO much more potential for laura to reflect on her sexuality. this is sold as a sapphic dark academia, yet the only lesbian couple feel more like caricatures than characters & laura has a couple moments of “i would do whatever virginia tells me to do.”
overall, this book feels like a noncommittal, watered down “the secret history” set against the backdrop of one dorm room, convenient landscaping, and a chapel.
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i reaaaaally enjoyed this lol
definitely one of those books where it had a plot cocktail full of everything i love reading about. is there anything better than using morally grey characters who are as entertaining as they are ridiculous to explore adolescence and the questions that linger long after? to me, no!!
i know the whole “throwing a bunch of titles as a comparison” thing is a faux paus but this felt like such a cool combination of the secret history, life is strange and mean girls (lol) to me both thematically and tonally (which i think was balanced really well considering the range of delivery in those titles).
the only thing i wish this book had more of was… book lol. there were some points that had me wishing there was a bit more depth added but maybe thats just me being greedy ❤️
definitely one of those books where it had a plot cocktail full of everything i love reading about. is there anything better than using morally grey characters who are as entertaining as they are ridiculous to explore adolescence and the questions that linger long after? to me, no!!
i know the whole “throwing a bunch of titles as a comparison” thing is a faux paus but this felt like such a cool combination of the secret history, life is strange and mean girls (lol) to me both thematically and tonally (which i think was balanced really well considering the range of delivery in those titles).
the only thing i wish this book had more of was… book lol. there were some points that had me wishing there was a bit more depth added but maybe thats just me being greedy ❤️
So engaging that, about halfway through, I started shouting at the characters the way my dad used to shout at SportsCenter.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes