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A review by pagesofplatypus
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I can't say I've ever read a book like A Lesson in Vengeance.
Lesson one: follow an unreliable narrator.
Lesson two: add some witchcraft.
Lesson three: add in a boarding school setting in the middle of winter.
Lesson four: make it lesbian.
Victoria Lee's A Lesson in Vengeance is a perfect mix of the semi-obscure academic references of Dead Poets Society, the Gothic atmoshpere of Wednesday, and the twisty, wintry murder mystery of The Pale Blue Eye.
Felicity Morrow is haunted. Cursed to reckon with the ghost of her ex-girlfriend, one whom she feels directly responsible for killing. When new girl Ellis arrives at the prestigious Dalloway, she is the only one who understands Felicity and embarks on a mission to prove Felicity isn't haunted. As their relationship deepens into something more than friends, Felicity will question how far she's willing to go to seek the truth.
The atmosphere of A Lesson in Vengeance is established perfectly. A suspenseful mix of gloom, secret societies, schoolroom gossip, and age-old secrets. Entering Felicity's fractured mind has readers constantly guessing the story and themselves. And the unsettling questions of what we're willing to believe and what we're willing to tell ourselves will follow readers even after the last page.
Lesson one: follow an unreliable narrator.
Lesson two: add some witchcraft.
Lesson three: add in a boarding school setting in the middle of winter.
Lesson four: make it lesbian.
Victoria Lee's A Lesson in Vengeance is a perfect mix of the semi-obscure academic references of Dead Poets Society, the Gothic atmoshpere of Wednesday, and the twisty, wintry murder mystery of The Pale Blue Eye.
Felicity Morrow is haunted. Cursed to reckon with the ghost of her ex-girlfriend, one whom she feels directly responsible for killing. When new girl Ellis arrives at the prestigious Dalloway, she is the only one who understands Felicity and embarks on a mission to prove Felicity isn't haunted. As their relationship deepens into something more than friends, Felicity will question how far she's willing to go to seek the truth.
The atmosphere of A Lesson in Vengeance is established perfectly. A suspenseful mix of gloom, secret societies, schoolroom gossip, and age-old secrets. Entering Felicity's fractured mind has readers constantly guessing the story and themselves. And the unsettling questions of what we're willing to believe and what we're willing to tell ourselves will follow readers even after the last page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Mental illness