Title: The Project
Author: Courtney Summers
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Date published: February 2, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying—and failing—to prove it.

When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its leader, Lev Warren and as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her—to the point she can no longer tell what’s real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren . . . but now she doesn’t know if she can afford not to.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Back in 2018, I read Courtney Summers’ Sadie and it left such a mark on me! The story was so good and so memorable. I remember that the book had a pocast in it, and that the podcast was re-created as actual audio, which added such an interesting facet to the experience! But enough about Sadie–it’s time to talk about The Project.

Since I was such a fan of Sadie, was ecstatic when I heard that Summers was coming out with another book. Considering my previous experience with Summers’ writing, I knew that I was in for some damn good writing as well as an emotional rollercoaster. And I’m happy to say that I wasn’t wrong!

The Project had me hooked once I was a few chapters in. I had so many questions, and I wanted to get to know the characters better, see what made them tick, find out what happened and who did what. I can’t say much else about the plot and characters though, without probably giving something away. If you haven’t read The Project yet, I really want to make sure you get the same experience I did, without having heard anything about the plot or any other exterior influences.

This book caused me to do a bit of introspection–I remember sitting there for a bit after reading the last page, just thinking about my own mind and how I think…and how that could have influenced the way that I consumed this book. Then I wondered about how others might digest the subject matter here differently from me!

I don’t think that The Project and Sadie are comparable, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable picking a favourite out of the two. I liked different things about each book…but two things were constant: Summers’ immersive and atmospheric writing and Summers making me feel the feelings. I can’t wait to see what Courtney Summers will write next!

⤖ About the Authors ⬻

Courtney Summers is the bestselling author of several novels. Her work has been released to critical acclaim and multiple starred reviews, received numerous awards and honors–including the Edgar Award, the John Spray Mystery Award, the Cybils Award, the Odyssey Award, the Audie Award–and has enjoyed the recognition of many library, state, ‘Best Of’ and Readers’ Choice lists. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times, is the founder of the 2015 worldwide trending hashtag #ToTheGirls, and in 2016, she was named one of Flare Magazine’s 60 under 30. She lives and writes in Canada. Her new novel, THE PROJECT, is available now from Wednesday Books. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

⤖ Places to Purchase the Book ⬻

⤖ Let’s Chat ⬻

THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS!