***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***


“<i>Having a sister is a promise no one but the two of you can make- and no one but the two of you can break.</i>”†

The Project tells the story of two sisters, one in present day and the other in non-sequential flashbacks. They were struck by tragedy when an accident left their parents dead and Lo, the younger girl, with a long road to recovery. Bea, the eldest but still only 17 or so, didn't have the emotional and psychological maturity to deal with the situation and turned to the only adult willing to listen to her: a burgeoning cult leader. Throughout the story, Lo deals with PTSD and the aftermath of severe abandonment issues that have led her to live a solitary life. Though physically healed, Lo still wrestles her past daily. It has been years and Bea has fully ensconced herself within the Unity Project. Lo, now an intrepid would-be reporter, is still determined to reconnect with the only person she has left, even if that means exposing herself to the dangerous underbelly of the cult herself.


“<i>She buried her old family and built a new one on top of its bones.</i>”†

Writing about a cult in any context is somewhat difficult. Unless the narrative is framed so that the reader is unaware that the setting is a cult, we automatically condemn it. The Project did not hide the presence of a cult, but it somewhat lacked a narrator reliable enough to sell the story. Instead of being left with vague concepts and assumptions, we are left with one-sided emotional responses to events outside the narrative. This book really made me want to jump into the story and talk some sense into these people. It was especially frustrating when the (seemingly) only reasonable character in this whole mess <spoiler>fell prey to the same abusive rapist as her sister (Cult leaders cannot have consensual sex with their followers).</spoiler>

BUT THAT'S HOW CULTS WORK. Their leaders <i>are</i> charismatic and know the ways to make their potential followers feel seen/heard.


“<i>The Project holds up a mirror to the world’s failures and the world’s response is to break the mirror.</i>”✝

Look, my darkside brain wants to give this book 1 star and strike it from my thoughts eternally. Because it made me super uncomfortable and I didn't have a good time. It made me want to throw my kindle at the wall. But you know what?! It <b>should</b> make me uncomfortable. Cults should make <i>everyone</i> uncomfortable. Courtney Summers did an amazing job of selling this story. As a reader outside of the narrative and well-aware of the key indicators of cults, it was super cringey to read about characters falling under the cult’s spell. But it's also the mark of a good book when a reader is all up in their feelings. All in all, this was a compelling and addictive read that made me want to crawl out of my skin. It didn't quite live up to Sadie's legacy, but it still had that same trainwreck cant-look-away effect. I look forward to reading Summer’s future work.

✝must be checked against final text


This review will be posted upon publication to the following: amazon, ibooks, kobo, bookbub, barnes & noble.

I so love a cult tale, and this was one of those. The ending seemed a little rushed but I tore through the book in the same manner, so...

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Courtney Summer is truly the queen of unsettling stories. I couldn't put this one down in the same way that Sadie was unputdownable. We're looking forward to sharing Courtney's writing process with our readers!

This wasn't my favorite book of the year, but I did enjoy it. Personally, I believe Courtney Summer's other book Sadie was better. That being said, this wasn't a entirely terrible book, and I hope someone loves it.

Courtney Summers seriously knows how to tell a tragic story. Her writing is so unique and lyrical and her stories are so raw.

This book is about Lo. A sister who survived death twice - a man who claims he saved her and brought her from death. And her sister Bea who gets caught up in believing him and following his cult.

Years have passed and Lo just wants her sister back who wants nothing to do with her. Who is involved with a big community/cult and has given up her past to follow Lev. Lo set's out to find the story on this community- The Project - she is a writer and wants to uncover the truth about them while also find her sister only to be caught up in everything Lev tells her pulling down her guard.

I dont want to spoil the rest but man does Courtney get her readers to pull down their guard right along with Lo.

5 stars

CW : death, murder, loss, suicide, abuse, unexpected pregnancy. (if I am missing anything I am sorry)

I enjoyed Sadie, especially on audio. Cults in fiction are still pretty new to me, so I jumped at the chance to read this one. Unfortunately, this book is not the dark read I thought it would be. It starts off pretty slow and seems to focus mainly on sisterhood and Bea & Lo’s childhood. Not what I’m looking for. I’m sorry, but I just didn’t have the patience to see this one through and is just not for me.

If you told me a book punched as hard as Courtney Summer’s Sadie, I would pick it up immediately, but while I enjoyed her latest book, a cult-book The Project about sisters, I didn’t find it as punch-y. I enjoyed it, sure,but the back and forth timeline wasn’t as well delineated in the ARC I was reading, and there was some character stuff I was unsure about. It’s a fine book–I’d say a 3.75 star read but it’ll be interesting to see how it does with a wider readership!
The Project (the Unity Project) is a religious group (aka: cult?) led by Lev, a enigmatic man (age unclear to me? Probably 30s?) but this story is about the different experiences two sisters–Bea and Lo–have with the group. It’s told in two different timelines, one for each sister, and jumps around a bit from the early 2000s to the 2010s to 2018. After a car crash kills their parents, and Lo almost dies with them, Bea struggles with the idea of losing her sister and instead loses herself in the Unity Project and Lev. Years later, after no contact, Lo puts on her investigative journalist hat to try and go to the Unity Project, find her sister, and get to the truth. But what happens goes a bit off course, because Lev is charming, the Project is powerful and full of secrets, and the Project escapee that Lo saw kill himself may have been trying to get a message to her she’ll wish she had gotten.
It’s very clear that this book is about the power of sisters, the power (good and bad) of religion, and draws you in to that story, but I was just a little underwhelmed compared to Sadie. I didn’t care about either Lo or Bea that much, we didn’t get to see maby normal members of the Project (just higher-ups) so I felt disjointed, and overall, I wanted more. I would have liked to see more Lo at the Unity Project and less Bea in the past being sad about missing her so that the reveal about Bea would pack a greater punch, ya know? I think this is a cool idea, it just wasn’t an outstanding read for me.
The Project is on sale everywhere February 2, 2021

Thank you to Macmillan, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! I absolutely love Courtney Summers, so of course she’s always on my radar for new releases. Especially after reading and loving Sadie. If you’re looking for a new thriller to read this February, this will definitely be the one for you.

This book flips back and forth between the past and the present, between Lo and Bea. Through these flashbacks, you slowly get the whole story of the Project and of the two sisters. This format works amazingly for this book, building the intensity of the mystery. Both of the sisters have a unique voice throughout, which helps in drawing readers into the book.

Throughout the book, you definitely feel a building sense of dread as you know something sinister is going on behind the Project’s closed doors. Summers is a master of creating this tension, and it is on full display throughout this book.

Overall, this story will pull you in and not let go until the very end. This is a February thriller that should definitely be on your radar.

4.5/5 stars

There are other, better, books that focus on cults. This one was just okay. I didn't care about any of the characters, and the story jumped around timelines too much for my liking.

a serviceable thriller based around vulnerable people being taken advantage of that lies somewhere in the murky area between traditional ya and adult markets

I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this novel, I can only say this isn't it. I guess I was expecting more something more dramatic and fantastical. Instead, this is a realistic, heavy look at the effects on a family of losing a loved one to a cult. This is a slow burn, it builds gradually leading the reader all over the place until we aren't sure what's real and what isn't. The writing is strong and emotional. I was fully invested in the story from start to finish. It reads more like an adult thriller than YA, with sexual content and graphic violence, though I don't think the story would have been as believable without those elements.

Like a lot of book readers, I am fascinated by things that I do not know much about. This story centers itself around a cult and the people that are a part of it. The story is interesting and the characters are genuine. I did feel that parts of the plotline dragged a bit but I was able to push through.

Lo, as a character was vulnerable and searching for something more in her life. She wanted recognition for her writing and not the scars on her face. She wanted a relationship with her sister after she lost her family. She just wanted. Lo knows about The Unity Project because they have her sister and she wants to expose them like no other writer ever has before.

I am not giving away any more of the story but I do want to say that the ending was ridiculous. It was fast, without details, and just ruined the reading process for me. I found the ending to be so disappointing that I aa almost mad that I read the book.

Ever since Lo's sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project and essentially cut Lo out of her life, Lo has been determined to uncover something - anything - to prove that the Project and their leader, Lev Warren, are not what they seem. After years of searching, Lo finally seems to have landed an opportunity to not only investigate The Unity Project, but to come face to face with Bea again.

The Project is intense, but not in the way you'd expect. As I was reading, I didn't even really notice the tension building... until it snapped. It is a quiet, steady force throughout the novel. It creeps up on you. Unsettles you. This is the novel's strength - the teasing of information, the jumble of timelines adds to this growing sense of unease. I really believed what Lo was experiencing and how she formulated her opinions and emotional responses. I thought that this aspect - along with the pacing and alternate perspectives - was extremely well done.

Courtney Summers is just so. good. at writing sister relationships, and somehow makes them believable even when the sisters aren't actually interacting in the present. I felt the same way about Sadie. This is Summers' bread and butter. The relationship between Bea and Lo was both beautiful and tragic; it's what drives this story.

This novel is a fascinating look at vulnerability. It isn't saying anything particularly new about cults, religion, or how the 'weak' are preyed upon in a society that values individualism, but what it does bring to the table will still get your attention if you're interested in any of these topics.

This review will be posted on instagram, @_dizzyreads, closer to publication.

I was so excited to read this book. I loved "Sadie" and when I read that this book was exploring cults, I couldn't have been more interested. Alas, because of this, I feel my expectations were way too high.

Bluntly, this was a disappointment. I found it slow to the point of boring, lacking character development, and at times it was hard to follow. I found myself not interested in reading it and that led me to taking far too long to finish the book. Although I found myself not wanting to read it, I kept pushing ahead to complete it for the NetGalley review.

This book is about a young woman named Lo whose sister, Bea, has been entangled in The Unity Project, a religious 'cult' founded and led by a man named Lev. After Lo witnesses a shocking event with relation to The Unity Project, a man comes to the magazine office where Lo works claiming that The Unity Project is responsible for the death of his son. With Lo's sister involved with The Unity Project, Lo takes a special interest in investigating The Unity Project, even though it's not her job and her boss doesn't want her to be doing this work. While Lo is trying to figure out if The Unity Project has ulterior motives and is actually a cult and attempting to find out where her sister Bea is, she becomes entangled in Lev and The Unity Project herself.

The book also jumps back in time to Bea's perspective and how she became involved with The Unity Project and Lev as a young woman dealing with loosing her parents in a car accident that left Lo in critical condition. Bea immerses herself with Lev and The Unity Project in the subsequent years.

Bea's past chapters lead up to Lo's chapters in an intriguing way. I kept wondering how they were going to intercept. Additionally, I was genuinely curious as to what happened to/where was Bea.

I didn't understand Lev's magnetism. It was hard for me to imagine the 'miracles' he was conducting as they were never fully detailed. I felt like Lo and Bea were not well-developed characters. WHY were they interested in The Unity Project? WHY were they interested in Lev? I didn't understand it.

I feel like this book would have been much better as an adult book instead of a young adult book. I think the author was toning down things to keep it in the young adult genre. Overall, the potential for a great adult literary book was there, but it just ended up being an unremarkable young adult read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

Two sisters lose their parents in a car accident. Younger sister Lo, who was severely injured in the accident, struggles to survive while older sister Bea joins the Unity Project, led by its charismatic leader Lev Warren. Once healed and beginning her career as an aspiring writer, Lo seeks to find her sister and learn more about the Unity Project. Is it a charitable organization/commune or a dangerous cult? Lo is witness to a suicide and learns that the young man was a member of the Unity Project.

Lo’s story is told in present day and we learn about Bea’s journey several years in the past as she falls under the spell of Lev. The author does a good job creating doubt about the Unity Project. Is Lev a good man or an evil manipulator?

The Project is targeted for a YA / Young Adult audience. While I found too many unanswered questions in both sisters’ stories to be fully satisfied, I’m attributing that to my not being the intended reader. Courtney Summers’ writing is excellent. Teens should find The Project, with its suspenseful storytelling and the search for identity and family, very appealing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for the opportunity read this absorbing book in advance of its February 2, 2021 release.

Rated 3.5 stars.

First of all, that COVER is fantastic! I wanted to read it right away for the cover and of course the author of "Sadie" wrote this book.
Lo witnesses a strange suicide in the very beginning of the book. They are connected by Paul. She lives in a town outside of New York and dreams of becoming a writer, while she works for a magazine. Yet she is only the assistant of Paul and he won't promote her. The beginning is kind of slow as the story unfolds.
Lo has a sister, Bea. We get two POV's, Lo's which is in first person and Bea's which is in 3rd person. There is a complex sister relationship there, as we find out. Bea joined The Project and Lo hasn't seen her sister since. The Project is the epitome of a creepy cult.
Strangely, the book has no chapters, which I was not fond of. But the story is fascinating and the writing is gripping and beautiful. I recommend this to all readers, not just YA. 4 stars.

I was so excited when I got this book as an arc because I absolutely loved Sadie. If you have never read Sadie before, I highly recommend the audiobook version because it’s amazing! Needless to say, I was more than happy to get my hands on this book.
This story follows a girl named Lo, who felt alone her entire life. She lost her parents in a car crash when she was younger and the only person she had left by her side was her big sister, Bea. Lo was in the car with her parents when the accident occured and she was severely injured, but she survived against all odds. But right after the accident, Bea left Lo to join a very famous cult named The Unity Project, and they never saw each other again. This organisation is well known in New York for helping people in need and for their community outreach. But Lo is not convinced they are as good as they claim, and she believes they are hiding secrets that would reveal their true nature. After some suspicious activity, she decides to do her own investigation on what is really going on and she becomes even more determined to find her sister.
To be completely honest, I didn’t love this book. There were two main reasons for this: Firstly, I don’t usually find fictional books about cults and/or religion very interesting - and that’s on me, I know -, so overall I found the book a bit boring. Secondly, there was a point near the end where things just started to make no sense. This is due to the fact that there was a big change in the plot near the end that didn’t work very well, so unfortunately that part felt very rushed and misplaced.
On the good side, I really think this book has a very interesting take on religious cults and leaders in general. The story is very unique and I think the author did a great job combining this topic to a mystery novel.
This is only my second book from Courtney Summers so I don’t know that much about this author from her work, but if sibling relationships are her part of her style, she sure does a great job portraying them. I saw this before in Sadie, and I also see it clearly in this book.
I absolutely loved Sadie, but this didn’t work as well for me. I think it’s a great book to pick up if you are interested in mystery books or books that talk about cults and faith.

Courtney Summers does it again! Summers delves into the world of cults and how they prey on those who need something or someone to believe in the most. The Unity Project and its magnetic leader Lev bring in two sisters at two separate times. Bea prays to a higher being, begging whoever is listening to save her sister from the horrific accident that killed their parents. And someone does listen. Lev. She is indebted to him and finds solace, comfort, belonging after her world has been shattered. But in doing so, she leaves behind Lo. Fast forward to Lo as a young adult who has never given up searching for her sister. And this path leads her straight to The Unity Project.

Courtney Summers you've done it again. The Project alternates between two sisters perspective, and how their difficult life effects them in different ways. Summers shows how when someone hits rock bottom it's so easy to latch onto anything that gives them the slightest bit of comfort, even if that comfort is in a cult. While I was able to easily anticipate what was coming next, I still was so invested in watching everything pan out. This book confirmed my disdain of organized religion and I nearly through my kindle across the room around the 75% mark in frustration.

I want to start this review by admitting that I just requested this book because of it’s beautiful cover. I would also like to state that it wasn’t until after I had started reading this book that I realized that this is the same author that wrote Sadie. I have yet to read Sadie but it’s a book that has been very high up on my TBR. Now upon finishing The Project, I NEED SADIE!

What to say about this book other than: I want to sing its praises. This book is everything I needed at the moment. Having fallen into a bit of a slump and having started 5 other books that really weren’t holding my attention I decided to start this gem. I just had a feeling about it. And it didn’t disappoint.

In The Project we are following Lo, Bea, and The Unity Project. Lo and Bea are sisters. Their parents died in a car accident of which Lo was also a victim of. Somehow Lo survives but her life after is never the same. Bea obviously is distraught at the cards that life has dealt her and decides to leave the world behind, including her sister, and join The Unity Project. This group of people have the hearts of the people in NY. They do AMAZING things for the community. Lo doesn’t like them very much because her sister left her for them. So, naturally she sets off on a quest to uncover some things involving this group and a death that’s somehow linked to them.


The beginning of this novel hooks and grips you in such a way. I was instantly drawn in by Bea’s story and how she came to find out about and accept her new little sister, Lo. I loved the bond between them so much. I truly thought this novel was heading in a whole other direction (I don’t read synopsis prior to reading) but was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t. As the novel unfolds I find myself really invested in Lo finding her sister, really feeling her despair. Summers does such a great job at unfolding the different layers within the story. This novel is told in different timelines, it toggles A LOT between the different years that the events transpire in. At first I thought I was going to be heavily confused, which I was, but this quickly restores itself leaving you with a clear picture of what’s going on. The mysteries and secrets are so interesting and the author does such a great job of uncovering them, making this a page turner. I just couldn’t get enough of the story, and the characters. I needed to know the truth! And the truth I got. It was the perfect ending, IMO. Also, the sceneries in the book were so amazing and so vivid that I felt like I was physically in those scenes.

Ok, I'm going to stop rambling on and on about this book. If you love novels about cults, family secrets and beautiful winter scenes, then this book is for you!