I wish I'd taken more literature classes in college, or paid better attention to the ones I did take (all plays), so I would be a more skilled/attuned reader. I sensed that The Project has literary devices galore, but all I caught was a possible allusion to The Crucible and/or life in the Divided States of Trump. Two narratives, told in the third person by Bea Denham and in the first by Bea's six-years-younger sister Lo, alternate, going back and forth in time.

The girls were orphaned in a car accident when Bea was a teen and Lo (Gloria) a tween. Lo was in the car with their parents and still bears a scar on her face. Without any close relatives, Lo ended up with an elderly aunt (great aunt?), and Bea got sucked into a Christian community called the Unity Project. Now 19, Lo, who hasn't spoken to Bea in six years, thinks the project is a cult and wants to take it down. She works for a journalist known for breaking that kind of story, so she's primed to dig.

Lo is a tenacious and possibly ill-mannered person who is accused of "living in her accident," but she is also strong and resilient in the way of people who have nothing left to lose. Bea, on the other hand, has less of a sense of self or more of a selflessness and becomes a central figure in The Project. What happens as the sisters try to find each other is unexpected, believable, and tragic. They remind us that everyone is broken, but some people can be saved.

I've had Courtney Summers' Sadie on my to-read list for eons - along with a thousand other books - so when I received an arc of her upcoming novel, I moved it to the top of my list.

The premise drew me in - Lo's sister, Bea, abandoned her for The Unity Project - an organization run by a charismatic leader Lev Warren and often labeled a cult - when Lo was just 13 and recovering from a terrible car accident that killed both their parents. Several years later, Lo has the opportunity to interview Lev for an independent newspaper. Seeking answers for herself and yearning to find Bea, Lo dives right in.

The book seemed to be told from afar, holding the reader at arm's length. Some of Bea's motivations were explained and there was a look at Lo's current life, but I never felt I got close to either character. Nor did I really get to know Lev Warren, and was unable to see what drew so many to him. This was the man who charmed both sisters and a flock of other followers - how? Why?

There were hints as to the secrets behind The Unity Project's wall throughout the book, but the true horrors were revealed at breakneck speed. The aftermath was also too rushed - what exactly happened to Lev and was did anyone claim responsibility - or in this case, credit?

With all the stories about NXIVM in the news, I was excited to get an inside - if fictional - look at a cult and it's inner workings. Instead, I felt we got a glossed-over peek, a missed opportunity.

The last Courtney Summers book I read was Sadie, so I was expecting a certain intensity here, and this book certainly delivered on that front. It’s a story of two sisters, orphaned as teens after a car accident that also seriously injured the youngest. The older sister, seeking a spiritual connection, gets involved with the Unity Project and leaves her younger sister behind. The book skips around in time a bit but mostly focuses on the younger sister, Lo, at 19 or 20, working for a news site and taking it on herself to investigate the project and find her sister. The narrative includes many traumatic events, from a witnessed suicide to the memories of the car accident and more, but Summers crafts these scenes carefully so that they don’t feel voyeuristic. A tense, well-paced read that packs a lot of sadness and loss into a story about a quest for the truth.

This was an interesting and unusual story. The Project by Courtney Summers began with the voices of two sisters as they went through their young lives separated from each other despite a strong connection and love for one another. I saw this as a sad story and the ending, though probably positive, was painful and lonely, much like the lives of the sisters had been. The leader of The Project, was someone that I truly detested and never once for a moment did I have good feelings for him or sympathy. I found it hard to believe that others adored and obeyed him. I do recommend the book but with reservations, as it should probably be read at a time that is more positive and upbeat than 2020 has been.

THE PROJECT BY COURTNEY SUMMERS REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS 2/2/2021
thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

my brain is kind of still spinning right now from this book.

courtney summers has been a force to reckoned with since she released her first novel, cracked up to be. since i read that first book, i’ve been searching for the next book that will mess me up as emotionally and fully as that one did. i think some girls are is the one that was my full on “oh my gosh, this freaking hurts but i don’t want it to stop” book. like, it was one of those books that i had trouble rating because i was like “should this really be one of my favorite books with all the stars after i hated that i loved how it made me feel completely torn up inside?” i’m still grappling with this feeling after i read it close to ten years ago. but it’s definitely one of my favorites.

the project is another book that’s going to make you feel all the things and you’re going to hate that you love it so much. this book, somehow felt like a fever dream that pulsed until the end. i believe it’s being marketed as young adult, but it’s unlike any young adult book i’ve ever read. every word written feels so raw and provocative that it’s truly hard to stop reading. i literally held my breath during several scenes because they were just so real that they HURT.

also, the premise and characters are amazing. a girl wakes up to find her sister gone after losing both their parents to a car accident? and a cult? and different timelines. heck yes!

if you haven’t jumped on the courtney summers train, now is the time. it doesn’t look like she’s slowing down or shying away from anything any time soon.

tw: religion, graphic abuse, cults, sex, suicide, graphic violence, mental health, death, manipulation,

As soon as I saw this cover, I knew I had to request The Project. I find cult narratives fascinating and couldn't wait to get started.

Lo works as an assistant to a high(er) profile reporter and desperately wants her own byline. Scarred by a childhood accident both physically and emotionally, a chance encounter thrusts her back into the middle of a cult-like organization called The Unity Project, where her older sister Bea has been cut off from her for years. She wants the story. She wants to write. But getting involved with The Project, even peripherally, threatens to unearth long-buried secrets and open wounds.

How far will Lo go inside The Project?

There was a lot I loved about this book. Lo, as an MC, was wonderfully developed and authentic. I loved her interactions with her boss, the desperate sadness she fights to suppress as she transitions from one stage of her life to the next. Indeed, Summers created a heart-wrenching voice and took us on a journey from skepticism to curiosity, exemplifying the way cult leaders will prey on those who are lost--specifically in times of transition. Here, Lo is trying to spread her wings and taking off the rose-colored lenses where people have her best interest at heart. Cult narratives can be difficult to pull off. There's been a resurgence of the genre lately, from The Sinner to several other Netflix series, and while this isn't an in-your-face action read, there's plenty of disturbing events and to keep this plot moving.

I will say that when I came back to write my review, I had forgotten this was categorized as Teens/YA because some of the subject matter is edgier and the voices were more sophisticated than I typically associate with the genre. However, that's not to say I didn't love Lo, and I think many younger readers will definitely relate to this inner turmoil and gray-area fear she emanates.

In terms of suspense, I would say there's a general uneasiness Summers captures well in the tone, but there are points that read a little dense. I also wasn't surprised at the trajectory, especially after the coverage of NXIVM. As a native of Upstate NY, it was impossible to miss the news and articles about the charismatic cult leader and the dealings that paralleled this narrative in many ways. I don't foresee this being an issue for readers, however, as Summers' writing is sharp and insightful, focusing on tragedy, grief, and the power of sibling love.

Overall, The Project is a taut, quiet thriller that examines many relevant issues and will be one to add to your 2021 TBRs.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Pamela K. Kinney, Author

Bea met her new baby sister, Lo, for the first time in the hospital, where the preemie baby is on a ventilator and in a see-through box. Her mother tells her back in the room for visitors, that she hopes that Bea will still have love for her and her father, because ‘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.’ The next time the reader see Bea and Loa is years later, and Lo is in a hospital again after Lo’s and their parents’ accident in their parents’ SUV, a ventilator attached to her again to help her breathe. It is when she goes to the hospital chapel and breaks down in front of the altar and cross, saying, ‘I’ll do anything,’ that Lev Warren, the charismatic and mysterious leader of The Unity Project, that strangely, Lo gets better after he sees the comatose young woman. And Bea joins the Unity Project at that moment, willing to do anything for Lev and the organization, leaving Lo alone and to their Great-Aunt Patty’s hands. Lo’s story begins later in September 2017, in first person POV, after she has left Patty’s home and has been working for Paul Tinsdale as his office at SVO Magazine, when a boy who says he knows her and jumps onto the tracks and is killed. And when the father of the boy in October tries to get Paul or someone to check out the Unity Project, saying Lev and they killed his son, that Lo begins to investigate, hoping to finally see her sister whom she hasn’t since before her accident. To prove that the project is a cult and not as prefect as it seems to be.

Heartrending and suspenseful, Courtney Summers pulls no punches with this haunting tale of one woman out to prove the truth behind a cult and find her sister. Alternating from a raw first person with Lo to third person in the past with Bea, this thriller sucks you in, delivering with scary, uncomfortable honesty.

Too much info dumping in the first part of the book. It's extremely easy to get lost, because things are rushing at you so fast. I think I went into this with different expectations, and didn't get anything like what I thought I would get. Maybe it's suited for a different audience, but I did not finish.

In The Project, Courtney Summers shows us from the inside how easily young people at their most vulnerable can be enticed into a cult.

The story moves back and forth in time, revealing what happened to two orphaned sisters (Bea and Lo), from both their points of view.

After one joins The Unity Project, the other tries to find her and to extract her

I’m a huge Courtney Summers fan, and I’m so happy to say this book did not disappoint. Summers’s propulsive, gritty storytelling grounds the fantastic plot. At each turn, you can feel yourself moving toward the inevitable end, unable to look away.

Lo Denham is many things: a survivor of the car crash that killed her parents, assistant to an upstart journalist, and younger sister to Bea. Though Lo has experienced a lot of trauma, it’s the final aspect that defines her story. Lo sets out to uncover the truth about the Unity Project, a religious cult that her sister joined following the death of their parents. Though Lo tried everything she could to maintain her relationship with her sister, Bea pulled away as she waded deeper into the Unity Project and became entangled with its leader, Lev.

When Lo witnesses the suicide of a Unity Project member, she reignites her efforts to find her sister and is granted unprecedented access to the group for an interview—one that Lo hopes will make her career. Told in dual perspectives, which made the twists in the story feel more abrupt, we follow Bea’s path into the Unity Project and Lo’s journey after her.

This book was wildly engrossing and atmospheric. I could feel the cold and rain seeping into my bones. I held my breath as Lo ventured closer to Lev in search of her sister. I highly recommend this to any of Courtney Summers’s fans!

I found the first third of the book rather tedious (up until the car crash) where I thought things would take off, but the whole book was kind of a slog, and the ending was a dud. I kept waiting for some big twist or revelation that would take the story to the next level, and it just didn't happen. It's a good premise that needs a lot of beefing up.Very meh.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC.

Courtney Summers has broken my heart yet again, but in a far different way than she did with Sadie.

Only Courtney Summers could make a cult seem enticing. She really set the standards high here. The Project follows the path of hook, line, sinker that a person would go through if being drawn into a cult and BOY DID SHE CATCH ME. She did it so SMOOOOOOTHly too that I didn't realize I was drawn in until it was too late. Proceed with caution (ok, not really, don't take any caution, read read read read read read read read).

I love reading stories about cults. It is so hard for me to imagine how someone is sucked in. Is it because they are vulnerable, they are needy, they are anxious to believe in a cult belief, what is it! This story tells a lot about cult life and what is attractive about it. It is scary to read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I stayed up way too late reading this one. Utterly compelling, you will not be able to put this one down. Cults are so fascinating to me and this fictionalized account of a cult was well done and incredibly suspenseful.

This was a definite page turner and read more like an adult book than YA. Courtney Summers definitely knows how to grab your attention. I think readers will like the inside look at cults and the fall out that ensues.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Project by Courtney Summers.

Why am I reading and watching so much about cults lately? And why is it endlessly horrifying and fascinating?

Lo is lost. She lost her parents to an accident, and her sister, Bea, to a cult. Desperate to find out what happens, she begs her boss, a journalist, for a chance to do an expose on The Project, the religious group that stole her sister.

But in no time, Lo gets pulled in by Lev, the group's charismatic leader, as well as Emmy, Bea's daugher. But even through her intoxication of Lev and the group, she still wants answers, and she is patiently waiting for Bea to reappear into her life. But what seems shiny and good on the outside, often has a dark and dangerous underbelly.

I kind of expected the unfolding of this book to blow my mind, but it didn't. That's not to say that it wasn't crazy and captivating, but Occam's Razor anyone? Or maybe I've just read too many books about cults and I should probably see someone about that.

But, this really is quite the read, and it was fun to be reunited with Courtney Summers after enjoying the crap out of Sadie as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the early review copy.

Things haven’t been great for Lo Denham since she survived the car wreck that killed her parents and her sister ran off to be in a cult. Every time she tries to establish a connection with her sister, Bea, the Unity Project shuts her down. Its charismatic leader, Lev Warren claims he was called by God to help rid the world of its sin through works. No one can find anything negative to say about this organization who helps so many, but witnessing the suicide of a young man in the Project will send Lo on a journey of discovery that will shake her to her core.

I’ll be honest with you. I’m fascinated by cults, and 90% of the time, I’m disappointed. I’m tired of cults that are just about dudes who want to have sex with and control a bunch of women. It’s boring. It’s tired. Do something else. So while I was initially excited by the premise of this book, I had my reservations as well, but I needn’t have worried. Summers does an excellent job with this book. I couldn’t put it down.

It’s mysterious without being a genre story. I loved the characterizations and the questions I asked myself while reading. The relationships between the characters are interesting, I found the way connections forge almost like secondary sources fascinating. I really like deeply flawed characters who are smart and misguided, and this book delivered! I didn’t know I needed to read this as I was climbing out of my reading slump, but I am so glad I did.

It’s not out until February, but I promise you, it’s worth the wait. When you’re deep in the winter blues, this won’t happily drag you out of them, but it’ll crawl down into them with you.

When I finished this book I thought "I've already read over 350 pages?" It totally flew by. I also expected there to be an acknowledgment at the end about Courtney Summers experiences with a cult as it felt like she 100% experienced all this and knew what she was talking about. She made it so easy to believe the cult leader and think that maybe he was genuine. I loved Lo and hated her decisions at the same time. I pulled for her and for everything to work out for Lo. I think I liked this one even better than Sadie.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Whew, what a JOURNEY. I loved Bea and Lo and their arcs. The story was a bit slow and confusing at the start, but the ending? The ending just punched me in the face. It really almost had me fooled and the way Courtney Summers made that happen was truly masterful.