directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
bookishsapphicshay's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Suicide
thebookpaiges's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content and Blood
mariep97's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse and Gaslighting
chloereads_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
dustghosts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Stalking, and Sexism
brookey8888's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Infidelity, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Sexual content
coolbeans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It follows Lo Denham as she tries to find out what has happened to her older sister, Bea, after she joins the Unity Project, an organization that is increasingly being labeled as a cult in the region. Being informed in flashbacks of the trauma that the sisters endured as children to get the to the present point, Lo journeys into the gravitational pull of the Unity Project and it's highest ranking members for information on her sister and a breaking news story that would expose the dark side of this seemingly gentle and benevolent organization.
The author quickly gains your empathy with the two sisters in their trauma and choices that result from it. Neither are picture perfect in their decisions, but you can clearly see the reasoning behind the way they wade through the muddled events in their lives. In saying that, specifically, you see how the leader of the Unity Project, Lev Warren, can enrapture his followers into his tangled web in the "how, who, and when" of he shows up in their lives. And it's not flamboyant or in-your-face with this part of the story. Summers has a wonderful way of surreptitiously weaving the inner monologue of certain character's perspectives to shift their ideals until you hit a sudden realization of "Wait a second, this doesn't sound like you from four chapters ago." This deception taking root in the reader's mind is in essence the experience the characters in the novel go through as the plot wisps forward quietly and eerily.
Ultimately, the plot, atmosphere, and writing style of this story gives the reader the same isolation, redirection, and unsettling narrative that any follower of Lev Warren of the Unity Project would receive. You definitely feel the characters and atmosphere of this story hazily unfurl out onto you like a foggy mist. It made the book for me. Great first read by this author and has convinced me to pick up her backlog. If you like YA thrillers, cult-related titles, or just a good old psychological minefield, give this one a try!
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Car accident, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
anxiousandreading's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment