I’m not totally sure what I was expecting when I requested this book, but it wasn’t what I found. That being said, I loved this story and once I got a few chapters in I could not tear myself way. It was sweet and heartbreaking (tears may have been shed), A truly honest look at grief and healing. Moira is taken by surprise when two goons show up to escort her to a private school for “troubled girls.” The school isn’t what was she was expecting either, but solving the mystery of what exactly it was will force her to see the whole picture of why she was sent there in the first place. I loved that there were single chapters from the other girls so you got a glimpse into their lives and not just what they presented to Moira.

I loved this book! I want to thank Alyssa B. Sheinmel for creating such an accurate portrayal of mental illness and creating characters that all go through hard time and cope in different ways. When I started this book I was expecting a big mystery and then I got a 12 Dancing Princesses vibe but this story wasn't anything like I was expecting. It was a story about grief and all the ways it presents itself and about understanding that everyone processes things differently and even though it is different it doesn't make it wrong. This was beautifully written and I think everyone should have to read this book because how realistic and how all encompassing this book is.

I’m not quite sure how to put my feelings about this into words. I definitely thought this was going to be a more sinister-driven book, with a hell of a lot more mystery, but it was simply an exploration of grief and how it affects someone. So don’t expect anything other than contemporary, despite the cover and the description. I wavered quite a bit throughout about whether or not this was good or not, so let’s start with the good.

I really enjoyed reading about the other girls. Something about their backgrounds and the way they were written were intriguing and just short enough to leave you wanting more. I liked that this showed you how hard it is for someone to move past something as awful as grief, and what it feels like to move on. I loved the accurate portrayal of living with a mental illness. And I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the book.

Sadly, there were a lot more negatives than positives. I didn’t mind Moira at first, and I obviously felt for her situation.

But over time...I just wanted to punch her in the face.

The way she repeated every single god damn thing really started to get to me after a while, especially when she kept talking about how everyone was pronouncing her name and when she kept saying that Nathan was her best friend. I HEAR YOU. It was too much after a while and SO over dramatic, and she went from someone you felt bad for because of this huge thing she went through to someone you wanted to shake and tell her to stop it.

And I understand, I really do, that losing someone like that affects you in unimaginable ways. My problem was not that she suffered from loss or depression. It was that she was annoying af, insanely selfish, and straight up stupid at times, as well as hypocritical. At one point she even mentioned to another girl that it wasn’t good to only let one person be the one to make you feel better about yourself when she literally spent the entire book talking about how Nathan was her only friend and how she didn’t need anyone else because she had him and who needs other people when you have a friendship like theirs.

There were a lot more things and a lot more moments about Moira that annoyed me, but I’ll move on before I just go on a tangent because those were my biggest issues. The other thing that I didn’t enjoy about this book is that nothing seemed to HAPPEN. Every time something interesting occurred, or I thought some shit was about to go down, it just didn’t. It wasn’t boring, per se, it just wasn’t about anything in particular (except Moira’s whining as stated above).

Overall, I’m pretty disappointed with this, but maybe I’m just getting older and have no patience for bratty, idiotic teenagers who use the bad things that happen to them as an excuse. Or maybe I’m just an asshole who likes to shit on the bad things people are going through. Either way, I personally wouldn’t recommend this, but to each their own.

LOTS of trigger warnings here: death of a loved one, cancer, self-harm, eating disorders, depression, and I'm probably missing some.

I absolutely enjoyed The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel. It was mysterious as well as kind of a therapy, made me understand things about grief and life that I didn't, which I think is pretty great for a book of this genre. It made me cry and hope and laugh. I really recommend this one to anyone who might need help grieving, it helped me. It was also about love, friendship, self-discovery and family.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the free ebook copy in exchange of my honest opinion.

This book was not what I was expecting based off the description, which made it seem like there would be a mystery or supernatural element to the story. There was not. The book was well written and all of the characters were fully fleshed out. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, when it still had the potential to fulfill it's description, but the last third was basically a drawn out therapy session and disappointing. I feel like if I had known what I was getting into, I would have been able to enjoy the book more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for access to this arc.

I loved this book.

1.) Most books about a girl getting shipped off to a boarding school I find very boring and lame. This one was very different then most.
2.) How the author wrote this book it was like you could feel how Moria was feeling. When she brought up her dead friend Nathan it was heartbreaking.
3.) The author brings up a lot of mental health issues. I'm very glad she did because she's saying it's ok to feel this way, or have this urges. Wish help they'll go away.

Moira Dreyfuss is reeling after the death of her best friend, Nathan. She is supposed to be in her senior year of high school looking forward to the future, but instead, she is cutting class, fighting with her parents, and sneaking out to visit her best friend's grave. Moira's parents decide to send her to The Castle School in the hopes that it will their daughter.

The Castle School is in the middle of Maine and does not allow their students to have WiFi or know the actual date. Moira is introduced to the other students, 11 girls who have seemingly different problems than her own. Her world is radically changed as she goes through therapy with Dr. Prince, experiences a "schooling" with no rules and has meals with the other girls. Also, on the property is Dr. Prince's son Randy who Moira seems to have a connection with from their first meeting. Moira hears music from her window and along with her roommate she discovers another Castle School on the property completely different than the one the girls are living in. These boys seem to have a very different experience than their female counterparts and that leads Moira to question the doctor's methods. Through her time at the school, Moira is forced to confront the actual reason she is there and to deal with her feelings about Nathan's death.

I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book. I enjoyed how the majority of the story was told from Moira's point of view, but the reader got to read about the other characters' backstories. Sheinmel allows us to really follow Moira on her grief journey and I found myself tearing as the character worked through her emotions of the loss of her friend. Sheinmel crafted a beautiful, well0-done story that touches on alcoholism, cutting, OCD, depression and more. I loved these characters and was genuinely sad when it was over.

This novel is definitely a YA novel that I will be adding to my classroom library the moment it is released. Thank you to NetGalley for the ability to review this novel.

This was a lot different than I was expecting. I love boarding school books! I love the gossip, the drama. I didn’t really get that with this book. I thought it was going to be more of a thriller or suspense. It ended up being a pretty sentimental read about grief and growth. The therapy sessions between Moira and her doctor were very interesting and in-depth. I found the characters and their variety of illnesses a bit cliched, but can forgive this as it is a YA read. The ending was really sad, but in a positive way, and definitely brought a few tears to my eyes.

“The thing is, mom’s right about one thing: I deserve to be punished. She’s just wrong about why.”

My Thoughts
I became a huge fan of Alyssa Sheinmel after reading her book A Danger to Herself and Others. That book was really good! So, I was extremely excited to get an invitation from the publisher to read and review her upcoming book. Here are my pros and cons for The Castle School:

Pros

1. Moira loves trivia so there are a lot of interesting and unique tidbits of information included throughout the book. Nothing wrong with learning something while you are reading a great story, right?
2. This book addresses a lot of various mental health and behavioral issues, including OCD, ADHD, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, self-mutism, kleptomania, alcoholism, drug use, grief, school dropouts, and runaways. If any of these issues are triggers for you, then be advised they are talked about regularly throughout the book, but self-harm and grief are given particular attention. I will say, however, these topics are handled with extreme care in the book. This author excels at discussing mental health issues in a way that makes them understandable to people who wouldn’t normally understand. She thoroughly and clearly explains how and why some people have these issues and she then incorporates self-care and counseling into the story. I found it eye-opening to learn about some of the causes and emotions behind some of these issues. There is never blame or ridicule in the story, but instead the story is filled with understanding and healing.
3. This is a great book to get some perspective on how teens can experience the world. We were all teens once (some of you may still be) and we’ve all experienced that “you just don’t understand” moment with our parents or teachers. But the fact is that we likely weren’t actually mature enough or experienced enough to understand that we (as teens) didn’t always have the full picture or the tools to handle and understand what we were experiencing. One of the biggest plusses of this book for me was how the author presents both perspectives – the parents and the girls – and how each of them learned how to provide care and help to each other even though they didn’t understand why something was happening the way it was. I think this would be a great book for parents and teens to read – particularly in families where mental or behavioral health issues are present.
4. There are 12 girls at the school. Every couple of chapters in the book there is a short chapter that provides the backstory for each girl. This backstory explains the impetus of their issue(s) and what event ultimately resulted in them getting sent to the Castle School. Those chapters were very insightful.
5. The conversation Moira has with her mother near the end of the book had me crying like a baby. It was so incredibly emotional and powerful.
6. I loved how Moira learned that doing the right thing doesn’t always mean keeping secrets or promises. The right thing to do isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
7. Dr. Prince is awesome and how he helped Moira deal with her grief was amazing. I’m not a psychiatrist, psychologist, or a counselor of any kind, but I honestly believe anyone having issues dealing with grief would benefit from the information in this book.

Cons

1. I feel like the synopsis might be misleading… not necessarily intentionally, but misleading nonetheless. There is almost a hint of supernatural or some thriller element in the synopsis that is not in the actual story. I think some other readers who have given this book lower ratings were disappointed for this very reason – they were expecting a different kind of story than what they actually read.

Summary
This book is exceptional in my opinion. It is not only a great story, but it emphasizes communication and self-care, both of which are so important.

If you are struggling with grief, this book could help you. If you are a parent of a child with mental or behavioral health issues, this book might give you some perspective. If you are a teen or a young adult struggling with a mental or behavioral health issue, this book might help you understand that there are ways to get help and that needing help is not something to be ashamed of. I honestly feel like I went through counseling myself while reading this book. I definitely learned some things about mental and behavioral health issues.

Did I mention that it is a great story as well? Read this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcefire Books for a free eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Second book I have read from this author and I liked it a lot partly because It ended differently than I thought it would. The Castle School houses twelve "troubled" girls and employs therapy, comraderie and strict routine to help them. Mental illness, grief, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and drug use are all touched on. It started out kind of dreary and negative but as the girls get to know themselves and each other, you understand what the Castle School is attempting to do. The positive (but not storybook ending) was a pleasant surprise. I really liked it!

I absolutely loved this book. I whole-heartedly gave this book 5 stars. The main character, Moira, is such a strong personality and her point of view was so fun to read. As a reader, you fully believe Moira's opinions of everyone around her, changing with her as she learns and grows throughout the story. The characters and their relationships were dynamic and real, the setting was rich and beautiful, and the plot was moving and charged. The story told through Moira's experience in the Castle School is so important and resonated deeply with my own history. Though the chapters showing the perspectives of each student at the school were fascinating, each comes with its own host of triggers and complicated narrative.

Trigger warnings for this book include: death, self harm, eating disorders, terminal illness, graphic depictions of injuries, detailed descriptions of disordered thinking stemming from various mental health issues

This felt a little like The Gallagher Girls series with a focus on mental health, which was fascinating. It was refreshing for characters to show their struggles in accepting they were not okay, because that it what it truly feels like. My students would really relate to what each character goes through because it is something teens face more often than we think.

Before I get into the review, I have to say a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at SourceBooks Fire for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Castle School (for Trouble Girls) is a book about a girl who is sent to a private boarding school in Maine after her best friend dies and she lashes out. From being out all night visiting her best friend’s grave to skipping school and getting tattoos, Moira will do anything to avoid her loss. But one day her mother has had enough and she sends Moira to The Castle School where there are 11 other girls just like her. Between classes and therapy the girls find time to sneak out and end up discovering they might not be as isolated as they thought. The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) will come out on March 2nd of next year, but is available for pre-order now.

I went into this book with certain expectations based off the synopsis and the book really didn’t meet them. I think the synopsis leads the reader to believe that there’s going to be some “12 Dancing Princesses” retelling or some magical element to the story--which is why I chose to pick it up near Halloween--but that just isn’t what this story is. Nor is it what the story is about. I think the false marketing is what caused this okay, but not great rating from me. I came in with a certain idea of what story I would be reading and it didn’t meet those expectations because of course it didn’t. I think a more accurate explanation of what the story is about is that the main character loses her best friend to cancer and acts out. As a result of her acting out, her mother sends her to a remote boarding school in Maine and there the main character spends the semester trying to learn how to deal with her grief and how to let other people in. I think that premise might have less people picking it up than the spooky premise, but it’s more accurate.

I do enjoy the castle that the school is located in. I wish that the author had added a little more atmosphere to the story where the setting is concerned. But for a section of the book the main character sneaks around at night and that definitely upped the spooky factor for me. I also enjoyed that these characters felt their ages. Especially when Moira realizes in therapy that her relationship with her mother might be different than what she thought. I think Randy is a great side character and I like that he isn’t overly exploited as a love interest. The focus of the story is really Moira’s grief and her struggle to accept her place in the world without her best friend. And I think the author handled that beautifully. I think she really took the time to consider how a 17 year old might handle something so heavy, especially with it being her first time losing someone close to her. And the author never downplays their relationship in the story. She repeatedly brings up how much you can love someone in a non-romantic way.

I think if you can manage your expectations for this story then it can be really impactful. I think the main things that hurt it were the misleading synopsis and the dialed down atmosphere. But if you’re looking for an emotional story about a platonic love and loss then this is exactly what you need.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel!

This novel was incredibly easy to read despite its heavy subject material - which is just what I like. Moira's character is both intriguing yet predictable but I loved her story and her relationship with Nathan. One thing I will add as well is that I like that Moira tells the reader off the bat that Nathan's dead and doesn't hide it until the end of the novel like many narrators could do to trick the reader.

Furthermore, I really liked in between the chapters that we get to read about the girls and their backstories. It gives us a depth without having Moira speak to each individual character.

I would have liked to know more about the other Castle Schol as there are still many questions unanswered but even so the book was a good read.

I received this book as an E-arc in exchange for an honest review. Thanks NetGalley!

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) was an amazing read. I wish I could rate it more than 5 stars! Alyssa Sheinmel continues to deliver in each of her books. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors for two very important reasons: 1. She knows how to create a gripping storyline that will keep you wanting more, and 2. She does a phenomenal job portraying mental illness in a realistic, delicate, and respectful manner, and I truly appreciate that. I loved A Danger to Herself and Others—I actually read it twice—and The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) will undoubtedly be another repeat read for me at some point in the future. I have gifted several copies of her other novels to friends and family members because I wholeheartedly enjoy her work.

The Castle (for Troubled Girls) is a psychological contemporary novel by Alyssa Sheinmel.
So this book isn't a typical mystrey novel like I was expecting but it is primarily focused on bringing to light the issues young adults face when it comes to mental health. Though it's something that's talked about a lot in the present day, it's still considered a sensitive topic and the author does a brilliant job of creating a balance between real world issues in a fictional setting.
We meet different girls who each suffer from issues ranging from kleptomania to self harm and we get to deep dive into what lead each of them to be enrolled at the school/castle. It's sad to hear their stories but what makes it even more real is that there are people going through these issues on a daily basis in the real world.
The mystrey element come from Moira's doubts about Dr. Prince's practices in the castle and that it feels more like a jail to her which in its own way was interesting as we get to learn a LOT more than I expected about him and why the Castle exists.
But the ending takes the cake as Moira's struggles finally unravel as she learns why her parents sent her to the Castle and it runs way deeper than just "skipping class".
It brings into question why we do the things we do because even when we don't realise it, subconsciously we all have our reasons.
Overall, I loved this book!

I enjoyed this book. It was well written and flowed really quickly. I tore through it. However, part of the reason I tore through it is because the book made it seem as if there was going to be some sort of mystery or some sort of secret exposed. This was not the case at all. This was really a book about a grieving girl coming to terms with the death of her best friend. I felt a little duped by the blurb on the back of the book and also the set up of the book which truly did make it seem like something "else" was going on. I think I would have appreciated this book more had I not been anticipating something else. Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and Alyssa Sheinmel for this ARC. The author is a talented writer and I look forward to reading more by her in the future.

Hey friends, I was honored to get a chance to read The Castle School (for Troubled Girls). I must admit from the description I was expecting a suspense/mystery about what was going on at the school...and while there was an element of that for the character...what we are given is a character driven drama about friendship, loss, and grieving. The pivot wasn't a problem for me just a surprise.

I really connected with Moira. Loss of anyone who is much at the fabric of who you are is something I wish none of us had to experience. As someone who is continually processing grief this book helped me.

I do want to throw a trigger warning out there... This does deal with girls with real problems. If you are sensitive to OCD, eating disorders, self mutilation, or grief...this may not be the book for you.

If these are not problems for you I would recommend the read. I felt like I learned and grew, and even healed a little along with Moira.

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) is an excellent YA novel about platonic love and grief. Having personally lost one of my best friends at 17 (around the same time as the main character), this novel brought back a lot of those emotions and hit hard on some lessons that it took me many, many more years to learn than it took Moira. As a social worker, I can also say that the therapeutic aspect of this book is well-done and the ending leaves teenagers and young adults with exactly the right messages about grief and loss (although Moira really does get there very quickly).

Moira is a high school senior who went from straight-A student to not a chance of graduating on time as her best friend Nathan developed brain cancer and eventually passed away on the first day of their senior year. Moira's mom, seemingly frustrated with all of Moira's class-cutting and family-dinner-ditching, finally snaps when she learns Moira has been sneaking out late at night to visit Nathan's grave and got a tattoo and so can't even be buried in a Jewish cemetery like a good daughter. Moira is immediately shepherded off to a reform school in the middle of nowhere where she is stuck with eleven other girls all sent away by their parents for reasons that seem equally dumbfounding to each of them.

Once at school, Moira is immediately suspicious of the psychologist, Dr. Prince, and his treatment methods. He insists on calling this place a school, but what little schooling exists is a joke. It's basically just treatment. Within a few days, she has followed mysterious music coming from outside her window across the the grounds and to a whole other castle--the Castle School (for Troubled Boys) presumably. There she discovers that the treatment program for the boys is very different. While hers is very strict, with phones treated as contraband and bedtime before 9pm, the boys are free to roam unsupervised late into the night and are having dance parties while blasting music from their iPhones. When she learns that Dr. Prince's ex-wife--the other Dr. Prince--is running their program, that only fuels her conspiracy theory that they are running some halfcocked experiment to determine whose methods work better.

Throughout the novel, Nathan remains a constant presence for Moira. The questions of what Nathan would say and do are ever-present. The guilt of doing new things without him, the memories of all of their adventures and their bond, and the extraordinary shame of having let him down when he counted on her the most. As Moira works through these intense feelings, she learns so much about not only herself, but her mom, and ultimately about Nathan as well--a boy she thought she already knew everything about. An incredible story.

On another note, trying to personalize each of the eleven other girls was nice in the sense that it brought a realistic perspective to each of several different "disorders" that can be very affirming for teenagers who are struggling with them or have friends who are. From girls struggling with opiate addiction and alcoholism to eating disorders and pulling out their hair and selective mutism, the author does a phenomenal job of humanizing their perspectives on these "afflictions." However, it really led me as a reader to think Moira would have more interactions with most of these girls or that their stories would intertwine much more than they did. They are all very much background characters.

I do want to be clear that there is no real mystery in this novel in the way the blurb suggests. This is a story about platonic love and the overwhelming grief of losing your best friend at such a young age. It's not a thriller and there are no crazy plot twists. So don't keep frantically reading trying to figure out what's up with the school. It's nothing interesting. Literally everything is as it seems. That felt misleading, but was hardly a disappointment, since anything more would have detracted from the actual message.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC in exchange for the review.

Recently Moria's best friend Nathan died and ever since then she has been living life in a trance and heading down a downwards spiral as in her mind since Nathan isn't here to enjoy life, then why should she as to her it feels like everything she does in life including making new friends is a betrayal to Nathan. Her parents are at their wit's end and have decided to send her to a boarding school called "The Castle School " Each semester the school picks 12 girls that they think they can help from all walks of life but each of them, their parents are at their wit's end. At the school, Moira will soon adjust to the way of life, and one night she hears music and along with her roommate Eleanor who is in for self-harm, they discover a school just like there but for 12 boys. This Castle School though seems like a happier and freerer version than their one but soon they will learn that things are not always as they seem. If you are looking for an edgy read that has a heavy focus on Mental Health and other issues then check out The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel. I love these books as I am a big fan of edgy fiction as I have always found Mental Health books fascinating and this was the second book I have read from Alyssa Sheinmel that has featured Mental Health issues. One of the diseases that was mentioned in this book - trichotillomania ( obsessive hair pulling) touched me on a personal level as I suffered from this from aged 7 - 11 years old. It got so bad for me that I didn't even know I was doing it and I would wake up and have clumps of hair on my pillow in the morning, during this too when I was 7+, I went through a stage where I told my parents that I didn't want to live anymore - so Mei's issues I could fully understand and recognize.