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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
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I am a huge fan of novels that are somehow both literary fiction and also total drama. Tara Isabella Burton is so good about writing about the gossip, lust, and popularity contests that come with young womanhood, while also capturing the dark aspects. The World Cannot Give is an atmospheric, dark academia novel about obsession and how it can consume you. Young Laura Stearns believes that author Sebastian Webster's journey in his novel, All Before Them, is the key to her own life. She lives by his words and finds herself living her dream when she gets into St. Dunstan's, where Sebastian himself lived and wrote prior to his young death. She loves the long standing traditions, the boarding school style living, and the closeness is makes her feel to Webster. Like her previous school though, Laura is not confident in her position in the social structures. She is confident in her desire to be friends with, and be with, Victoria, the pious leader of the choir that lead Evensong. Evensong is transcendent for Laura and soon she finds herself alongside Victoria. What once seems like just friendship becomes more, but Laura's obsession has nothing on Victoria's.
The World Cannot Give can be read as just a new adult thriller if you'd like, but underneath the surface is a darker, deeper tale about love, loss, and the dangers of obsession. Tara Isabella Burton captures the nostalgic feeling any adult has about their youth, while also making you remember the fear, the desperation, and the uncomfortable feeling of incompetency. It's both coming-of-age and terrifying adventure all in one. I loved the reflections Laura has about beliefs, relationships, and sexuality. She begins innocent, sitting on the cusp of womanhood, and as you turn the pages you see her step into herself and let go of the things she once held dear.
It's incredibly difficult to capture this novel in a review. Tara Isabella Burton is a stunning writer, with a skill that makes any story feel otherworldly. The World Cannot Give won't be for everyone, but for those who love a journey into the melodramatic and unique, I highly recommend this novel. I was enchanted and entrapped, lured into the promise of being World-Historical and leaving ones' mark. Like Burton's debut novel, Social Creature, The World Cannot Give is not your standard new adult thriller, there's a level of intrigue there that I cannot describe properly that captures your senses and stays with you.
ARC provided.
I am a huge fan of novels that are somehow both literary fiction and also total drama. Tara Isabella Burton is so good about writing about the gossip, lust, and popularity contests that come with young womanhood, while also capturing the dark aspects. The World Cannot Give is an atmospheric, dark academia novel about obsession and how it can consume you. Young Laura Stearns believes that author Sebastian Webster's journey in his novel, All Before Them, is the key to her own life. She lives by his words and finds herself living her dream when she gets into St. Dunstan's, where Sebastian himself lived and wrote prior to his young death. She loves the long standing traditions, the boarding school style living, and the closeness is makes her feel to Webster. Like her previous school though, Laura is not confident in her position in the social structures. She is confident in her desire to be friends with, and be with, Victoria, the pious leader of the choir that lead Evensong. Evensong is transcendent for Laura and soon she finds herself alongside Victoria. What once seems like just friendship becomes more, but Laura's obsession has nothing on Victoria's.
The World Cannot Give can be read as just a new adult thriller if you'd like, but underneath the surface is a darker, deeper tale about love, loss, and the dangers of obsession. Tara Isabella Burton captures the nostalgic feeling any adult has about their youth, while also making you remember the fear, the desperation, and the uncomfortable feeling of incompetency. It's both coming-of-age and terrifying adventure all in one. I loved the reflections Laura has about beliefs, relationships, and sexuality. She begins innocent, sitting on the cusp of womanhood, and as you turn the pages you see her step into herself and let go of the things she once held dear.
It's incredibly difficult to capture this novel in a review. Tara Isabella Burton is a stunning writer, with a skill that makes any story feel otherworldly. The World Cannot Give won't be for everyone, but for those who love a journey into the melodramatic and unique, I highly recommend this novel. I was enchanted and entrapped, lured into the promise of being World-Historical and leaving ones' mark. Like Burton's debut novel, Social Creature, The World Cannot Give is not your standard new adult thriller, there's a level of intrigue there that I cannot describe properly that captures your senses and stays with you.
ARC provided.
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. Holy hell (an apt expression to use with this one). This book started out great - a girl who romanticizes an author and the life he lived and the values he wrote about heads to the boarding school the author attended. The story immediately captured my attention. The setting was on par for what you look for in a dark academia novel. And just when the story began to plateau...well, it didn't! I found myself thinking "No, the author won't take it there...oh wait! She took it there and so much further!" Power, manipulation, obsession, ideals and idols and all we worship as youth, revenge, downfall...all the things that make a great dark academia book. And to go with it, a meta commentary on the genre itself. The perfect fall read.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this but in hindsight it was kinda terrible LOL
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This dark and lyrical novel by theologian Tara Isabella Burton is told from the perspective of a naive, impressionable girl who, at the start of her junior year, transfers to the coastal boarding school featured in her favorite novel, which is reminiscent of A Separate Peace. She is captivated by the chapel choir—especially by its hypnotizing leader and soprano, Virginia—and she is overjoyed to fall into favor with the exclusive group. The singers, who also deify the novel and its alumnus author, are puppeteered by Virginia, whose obsession with gravity and piety leads her down a dangerous and surprising path. Exploring sexuality, integrity, and idolization, this is a novel about wanting to become something one has read about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
The content warning for sexual violence is referring to sharing intimate videos without consent.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
religion and the triangulation of desire and the mythologizing of self and standing at the edge of a cliff and wanting to jump and still not jumping. absolutely wild, loved it
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No