A review by readingtomydogs
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The World Cannot Give is a dark campus novel, where the main characters struggle with what it means to have devotion. The protagonist Laura is drawn to the boarding school in rural Maine for its historical significance, but soon encounters a group of choir students and their cult-like devotion to their leader Virginia. Laura struggles throughout the book with her identity and her place in the world. There is suspense in the second half of the book, with an ending that is surprising, but where the book has been leading all along. 
I thoroughly enjoyed Tara Burton's writing, and never felt like the storyline was predictable. 
As a former boarding school student myself, I can relate to the isolation such living can give you, and how it can make you susceptible to group-think and others' influence. 
I would recommend this to any lovers of Donna Tartt's "The Secret History," Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep," or the classic campus novel, John Knowles' "A Separate Peace." 
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