Author: Elisabeth Thomas
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 320
Publisher: Custom House
Year Published: 2020
Format: Audiobook
"A storey about a dangerously curious young undergraduate whose rebelliousness leads her to discover a shocking secret involving an exclusive circle of students... and the dark truth beneath her school's promise of prestige.
You are in the house and the house is in the woods.
You are in the house and the house is in you....
Catherine is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world's best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years- summers included- completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises its graduates a future of sublime power and prestige, and that they can become anything or anyone they desire.
Among this year's incoming class is Ines who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, pills, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline- only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. The school's enigmatic director, Viktoria, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves and their place within the formidable black iron gates of Catherine.
For Ines, Catherine is the closest thing to a home she's ever had, and her serious, timid roommate, Baby, soon becomes an unlikely friend. yet the House's strange protocols make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when Baby's obsessive desire for acceptance ends in tragedy, Ines begins to suspect that the school- in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories and controlled decadence- might be hiding a dangerous agenda that is connected to a secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum."
My Rating: 3/5
This book is so interestingly written. I loved the way the author's writing was descriptive and creepy, it helped me feel uneasy for the vast majority of the book without feeling over the top. The characters in this book were interesting, but not extraordinary in any way for me. Where this book seemed to get a little confusing for me was the last section. This book is not truly a mystery, but more so a dark academic thriller. I think that if you go in knowing your in for an atmospheric read about a dark post-secondary education you'll truly enjoy it. If you think you're getting a true who done it mystery you may find yourself disappointed. I would like to read more books by this author and see what ideas she puts forth next.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
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