hannah1994's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This book made me angry in the best way.
It touched on so many parts of our society that we ignore; women's rights, how horribly men treat women/general misogyny, the objectification of women, feeling like an outsider in your own skin, and it even had a full scene where the main character gets lobotomised (which is terrifying considering it happened not even 60 years ago.).
One thing about this book I love with my heart and soul is how Mena and her friends truly care for and love each other. In the hell that is the academy, they are like a little family and lift each other up when one of them is down. THIS IS WHAT FEMINISM IS ALL ABOUT.
the last few chapters of this book had me like: "Yaaasssss bitch!!! GIRL POWER! STICK IT TO THE EVIL MEN WHO DID YOU WRONG!!!" 😩👌💖
Definitely one of the more challenging books I have read.
It touched on so many parts of our society that we ignore; women's rights, how horribly men treat women/general misogyny, the objectification of women, feeling like an outsider in your own skin, and it even had a full scene where the main character gets lobotomised (which is terrifying considering it happened not even 60 years ago.).
One thing about this book I love with my heart and soul is how Mena and her friends truly care for and love each other. In the hell that is the academy, they are like a little family and lift each other up when one of them is down. THIS IS WHAT FEMINISM IS ALL ABOUT.
the last few chapters of this book had me like: "Yaaasssss bitch!!! GIRL POWER! STICK IT TO THE EVIL MEN WHO DID YOU WRONG!!!" 😩👌💖
Definitely one of the more challenging books I have read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, and Infertility
faefires's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
After reading The Treatment by Young, I had completely written her off. The premise of this book interested me though, so I gave her another chance. She’s definitely improved, but the book is honestly sort similar. An totalitarian government/business is controlling young minds to be happy and compliant…whatever. If she has a lane, that’s fine.
  This book has good themes. Sisterhood, feminism, agency, all good. They’re not subtly delivered at all, but the setting doesn’t really allow for subtly when the whole concept is a school designed to breed female subservience. The romance plotline was barely present and unnecessary, you could replace Jackson with a house plant and the story would be the same. It also cheapens the message: it’s all about female empowerment but they need outside help from a man?
 Overall this book was a fast read that didn’t require much thought, it was entertaining and I finished it in two sittings. Won’t be picking up the sequels, this could have easily been a stand-alone.
 Overall, an okay book. Enjoyable, nothing revolutionary. The Handmaids Tale, but make it teen thriller! Read it if you want to, you’ll probably like it. But if you want nuance and feminism in a similar world, just pick up Margaret Atwood.Â
  This book has good themes. Sisterhood, feminism, agency, all good. They’re not subtly delivered at all, but the setting doesn’t really allow for subtly when the whole concept is a school designed to breed female subservience. The romance plotline was barely present and unnecessary, you could replace Jackson with a house plant and the story would be the same. It also cheapens the message: it’s all about female empowerment but they need outside help from a man?
 Overall this book was a fast read that didn’t require much thought, it was entertaining and I finished it in two sittings. Won’t be picking up the sequels, this could have easily been a stand-alone.
 Overall, an okay book. Enjoyable, nothing revolutionary. The Handmaids Tale, but make it teen thriller! Read it if you want to, you’ll probably like it. But if you want nuance and feminism in a similar world, just pick up Margaret Atwood.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Pedophilia, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Fatphobia and Suicide
very_offkey_kazoo's review
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I couldn’t put it down; I read it from cover to cover in three hours.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Pedophilia, and Rape
jaec11's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars
This book was gripping, disturbing, and painful in such an emotional way. It's going to take me a while to process it. It's heartbreaking and stunning and completely took me by surprise. My heart is still racing from the plot twists and chaos of this book. If you enjoyed the backstory of The Queen's Gambit (the orphanage and drug part) then you NEED to read this.Â
PG-13+ for language, violence, gore, and abuse. Trigger warning for emotional, physical, and slight sexual abuse
This book was gripping, disturbing, and painful in such an emotional way. It's going to take me a while to process it. It's heartbreaking and stunning and completely took me by surprise. My heart is still racing from the plot twists and chaos of this book. If you enjoyed the backstory of The Queen's Gambit (the orphanage and drug part) then you NEED to read this.Â
PG-13+ for language, violence, gore, and abuse. Trigger warning for emotional, physical, and slight sexual abuse
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
thevietvegan's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A very interesting plot twist, I look forward to reading the other books in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Trafficking
Minor: Violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization
annacolb's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
A truly interesting look at deprogramming in more than one sense. I realy enjoyed the progess of the girls and Philomena in particular. And the men of the academy agrevated me to no end. The worst being the knowlegde that people like them realy exist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Death
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
caidyn's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This review can also be found on my blog!
CW: physical abuse, extreme sexism, assault, body shaming, and rape culture
I have to say, this was a great book with a very interesting story that it had to tell. And, at times, it was very hard to read, although that only spurred me on to keep going because I had to find out what might happen next.
Something is wrong at Innovations Academy… but no one else really recognizes it. It’s like a finishing school for young girls, shaping them into model women who will be a man’s dream. They’re taught manners, gardening, interior design, how to make small talk. They’re beautiful. They’re well-behaved.
But, something is very wrong.
And slowly, the book unfolds to show exactly what this fucked up mess is.
I absolutely adored the whole crew of women and how it was a female-led story. Mena was absolutely fascinating. She was a great MC to follow as she woke up, seeing the mess that was her life and she was in. And her friends were so much fun, too. Everyone had a great personality of their own and I could distinguish them.
Also, this is a very refreshing story. It’s YA dystopian/sci-fi at its finest. I have never read anything like this because it’s a brutal commentary on how the world is and how women need to stick together to figure things out. I know I’m not exactly the target audience, but I absolutely adored this whole story because it wasn’t a romance. It was honestly sci-fi and friends and that was gorgeous. I desperately need more stories like this.
And, I have to say, Look What You Made Me Do is the anthem for this story.
But, only four stars?
Yes. I wasn’t a fan of the ending and the fact that this is going to have a second book. I thought that doing a little bit of editing — cutting something out completely, basically — and this would have been a fantastic stand-alone.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m definitely going to read the second book. But, I still think it would have been stronger as a stand-alone because I don’t want to see this dragged out into a huge series because I feel like the premise could run thin very quickly.
CW: physical abuse, extreme sexism, assault, body shaming, and rape culture
I have to say, this was a great book with a very interesting story that it had to tell. And, at times, it was very hard to read, although that only spurred me on to keep going because I had to find out what might happen next.
Something is wrong at Innovations Academy… but no one else really recognizes it. It’s like a finishing school for young girls, shaping them into model women who will be a man’s dream. They’re taught manners, gardening, interior design, how to make small talk. They’re beautiful. They’re well-behaved.
But, something is very wrong.
And slowly, the book unfolds to show exactly what this fucked up mess is.
I absolutely adored the whole crew of women and how it was a female-led story. Mena was absolutely fascinating. She was a great MC to follow as she woke up, seeing the mess that was her life and she was in. And her friends were so much fun, too. Everyone had a great personality of their own and I could distinguish them.
Also, this is a very refreshing story. It’s YA dystopian/sci-fi at its finest. I have never read anything like this because it’s a brutal commentary on how the world is and how women need to stick together to figure things out. I know I’m not exactly the target audience, but I absolutely adored this whole story because it wasn’t a romance. It was honestly sci-fi and friends and that was gorgeous. I desperately need more stories like this.
And, I have to say, Look What You Made Me Do is the anthem for this story.
But, only four stars?
Yes. I wasn’t a fan of the ending and the fact that this is going to have a second book. I thought that doing a little bit of editing — cutting something out completely, basically — and this would have been a fantastic stand-alone.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m definitely going to read the second book. But, I still think it would have been stronger as a stand-alone because I don’t want to see this dragged out into a huge series because I feel like the premise could run thin very quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Misogyny
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