Author: Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Genre: Y/A Fiction
Series: No
Brief Summary:
Trigger Warning: Self-harm and eating disorders are talked about in this book.
The story is told mainly from the perspective of 17 year-old Moira, who is having a hard time getting past the death of her best friend, Nathan. Her parents make the decision to send her to a school that deals with trauma and is run by a trained psychologist. Against her will, Moira is sent to the Castle School, where she soon finds out that things aren’t exactly what they seem.
The reader will be introduced to a cast of characters whose story will also be woven into the main. The girls and Moira will forge new bonds, have loyalties tested, and face trials that will force them to confront realties that they were not prepared to face.
Here is what Goodreads has to say”
My take on the book:When Moira Dreyfuss's parents announce that they're sending her to an all-girls boarding school deep in the Maine woods, Moira isn't fooled. She knows her parents are punishing her; she's been too much trouble since her best friend, Nathan, died―and for a while before that. At the Castle School, isolated from the rest of the world, Moira will be expected to pour her heart out to the odd headmaster, Dr. Prince. But she isn't interested in getting over Nathan's death or befriending her fellow students.
On her first night there, Moira hears distant music. On her second, she discovers the lock on her window is broken. On her third, she and her roommate venture outside...and learn that they're not so isolated after all. There's another, very different, Castle School nearby―this one filled with boys whose parents sent them away, too.
Moira is convinced that the Castle Schools and the doctors who run them are hiding something. But exploring the schools will force Moira to confront her overwhelming grief―and the real reasons her parents sent her away.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Though the plot was fairly predictable, there were enough twists to keep it interesting. Sometimes, the plot seems a little rushed, and the ending left something to be desired as well. You never really learn the fate of the other students, and even Moira’s story was not given the conclusion it deserved. That being said, I would still say it is worth the read.
