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A review by sarah2438
The Project by Courtney Summers
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This one is hard to rate!
Courtney Summers does an incredible job with her writing. Lev's charisma comes through even to the reader-- I felt Lo's skepticism of him going in, and I found myself getting won over at times. I even remember turning to my boyfriend, who buddy read this with me, and saying "he has to have done something sketchy, but honestly he doesn't seem too bad at this point." I was over halfway through the book when I said that! It's very uncomfortable to think about.
Just as disturbing as Lev's charisma is how realistic and twisted this book is. Lev preys upon those with trauma, grief, and pain. He offers them relief. A cause. And they flock to him, just like they would in real life.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't prefect. I think when it comes down to it, there are 3 big things that keep me from totally loving this book. These issues don't all carry the same weight for me, and I'm sure there's plenty of people who would disagree, but here are my 3:
1- I struggled to understand the religion The Unity Project was centered around. Lev's charisma, I totally fell for. But the actual religious tenants were a struggle. I think this is partially attributable to my own lack of faith; it may have required more of a suspension of belief for me than maybe someone who believes in God. I found myself parallel to Lo in this aspect.
2- Something happens about 75% of the way through that didn't feel right to me. It was like a shaky bridge-- it connected the two parts and got us where we needed to go, but I didn't feel sold on it.
3- I didn't love the ending. Summers usually does a good job of having just enough unanswered questions to be realistic, since we're not reading from an omniscient point of view, but still satisfying. In this one, I felt like there were too many questions left open, so the ending wasn't very satisfying for me. I wanted more detail, more information on what happened to everyone.
Courtney Summers does an incredible job with her writing. Lev's charisma comes through even to the reader-- I felt Lo's skepticism of him going in, and I found myself getting won over at times. I even remember turning to my boyfriend, who buddy read this with me, and saying "he has to have done something sketchy, but honestly he doesn't seem too bad at this point." I was over halfway through the book when I said that! It's very uncomfortable to think about.
Just as disturbing as Lev's charisma is how realistic and twisted this book is. Lev preys upon those with trauma, grief, and pain. He offers them relief. A cause. And they flock to him, just like they would in real life.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't prefect. I think when it comes down to it, there are 3 big things that keep me from totally loving this book. These issues don't all carry the same weight for me, and I'm sure there's plenty of people who would disagree, but here are my 3:
1- I struggled to understand the religion The Unity Project was centered around. Lev's charisma, I totally fell for. But the actual religious tenants were a struggle. I think this is partially attributable to my own lack of faith; it may have required more of a suspension of belief for me than maybe someone who believes in God. I found myself parallel to Lo in this aspect.
2- Something happens about 75% of the way through that didn't feel right to me. It was like a shaky bridge-- it connected the two parts and got us where we needed to go, but I didn't feel sold on it.
3- I didn't love the ending. Summers usually does a good job of having just enough unanswered questions to be realistic, since we're not reading from an omniscient point of view, but still satisfying. In this one, I felt like there were too many questions left open, so the ending wasn't very satisfying for me. I wanted more detail, more information on what happened to everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Blood, and Confinement