I thought The Hawthorne School started out with a bang. It then turned into a slow burn. I think that the book started to sag in the middle and then slowly died at the end. I love thrillers but this one did not make the mark for me.

The Hawthorne School by psychotherapist turned novelist Sylvie Perry is a perfect example of narcissistic manipulation of a vulnerable person. It also is thrilling fun for fans of suspenseful academia cult stories.

Claudia is a young single mom with a rambunctious four year old named Henry. She has no help since her mom passed away a year ago. The preschools all tell her Henry has behavioral issues and is behind the learning curve. When her neighbor recommends the private Hawthorne School Claudia knows she can't afford it but checks it out praying for a miracle.

What she finds is a form of a Scandinavian Forest school. They believe in kids playing outside, learning to grow vegetables and each child learning at their own pace. They tell her there is nothing wrong with Henry. In fact, he is gifted and just needs the right environment to flourish. They offer a full scholarship if Claudia will donate hours working at the school. Her prayers are answered but be careful of your prayers. Then there is the special "green tea" they grow themselves. It soothes her, calms her. It even has Henry behaving and sleeping so peacefully.

It is obvious that something is very wrong with this school especially if you enjoy thrillers. However, what made this story stand out for me was not the crazy cult-like manipulators running the school but the desperation of a person feeling alone and doubting herself. Thinking she is letting her son down and is not as good a mom as those around her.

Listening to the pain and fear in narrator Nan Mcnamara as Claudia really got to me. I remember that feeling when my youngest was struggling and the relief I felt when I found a school that changed our lives. For the record they never offered me any beverages! Predictable fun.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from #dreamscapemedia via #Netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own

DNF @31%

I'm always a fan of gothic novels and the premise of The Hawthorne School was intriguing- a single mom with a difficult child thinks her problems are all miraculously solved when he gets into an exclusive private school, and with a hefty scholarship to boot! But things begin to get strange at the school and her four year old comes home talking about ceremonies in the woods...

Here's the thing though, from page 1 the story is LITTERED with red flags and I have a very hard time believing a parent of a young child who actually cares about their kid wouldn't pick up on at least some of them and RUN the other way. The main character is so immature and naive as to bend believability for me and I just couldn't deal with it any longer. As a mom myself with a child around the same age as in the book who can be difficult, I found this even more off-putting. I really tried, but this just is not the book for me. I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was such a creepy read! The suspense kept building as the school became more sinister in its intentions. It had some serious cult vibes, complete with its own version 9f drinking the coolaid or should I say little green. The characters were excellent. Ireallr felt for Claudia who made the decision to send him there because she really did want the best for her son and felt like a failure. There was also plenty of action to move the story along. I loved the narroration, it was perfect for the book.

The Hawthorne School tells the story of Claudia and Henry, a troubled mother and child trying to make it in the world with no family. When Claudia hears about The Hawthorne School, she thinks it might be just the thing that Henry needs to fix some of his behavior issues. Is it really as good as it seems?

The premise behind the book is so good. I can't talk about the ending because it would ruin it but it was AWESOME!!! I loved the slow build up to the ending. At one point I had the thought, "Okay, lets get on with it." But right when I thought that, the ending happened! I loved that the book was from Claudia's point of view. It made it very interesting and made the ending a little more ambiguous. SO GOOD LOVED IT. The narrator was also just so solid. I loved her narration and it definitely enhanced the book.

This was gothic, dark, culty and AMAZING. This book satisfied my thirst for a gothic, dark academia story. This school is dark that makes you drink little green...... Wow.

This was a dark story about a sinister private 'Forest school' that single mother Claudia gets tangled up with thinking it is going to be the solution to her young son's behavioral problems. Little does she know there is a much darker purpose to the school than initially advertised. I thought this started off really strongly but lost steam towards the middle. I almost gave up but luckily the end was suspenseful enough that I kept reading. Just an okay read overall for me unfortunately. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance listening copy!

Cults AND a school setting, I knew I needed to read this immediately!!

This was a chilling story of manipulation that started off pretty strong but then took a bit of a turn near the second half that I didn’t quite love. While incredibly thought provoking, I think I was just expecting a little more shock value!

I did find it to be a fun and entertaining gothic style read though and I’m interested to see what Perry does next!

The Hawthorne School is an adult thriller about a mother who discovers that her son’s perfect new school isn’t what it appears and the lengths she’ll go to get him back.

Claudia is a single mom at her wit’s end with her behavioral challenged pre-schooler Henry. After being kicked out of his most recent pre-school Claudia has no idea what to do next. When a neighbor recommends a “Scandinavian forest school” set inside a beautiful gothic mansion on the outskirts of town Claudia decides to give it a shot. But slowly she discovers that her ability to parent Henry is at direct odds with the “Hawthorne way” and that school isn’t just content to teach Henry but aims to take him over completely.

Let me say right off that I wasn’t a big fan of Henry and I would have been tempted to drop his annoying self off at any place that would take him. Although I didn’t find much about Claudia relatable (definitely not her naïveté or her parenting style) I could see how the inability to control a child’s behavior would make her judgement a little iffy. But, there were many, many red flags about the school and she didn’t always make the best choices or see what was happening around her. Although fairly entertaining I found most of the plot wildly unrealistic and better fitting a TV movie.

This was a just okay and slightly silly contemporary suspense thriller

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this dark academia thriller book. I thought the narrator did a great job with all of the characters. What I thought this book lacked was a more believable plot. It was very obvious that something weird was happening at the school and the main character was oblivious to it all and continued to believe all of the lies. It’s crazy to me that it’s happened to hundreds of people, how do they all fall for it? I understand that’s necessary for the plot to play out but maybe if it wasn’t so easy to believe it would make more sense. I was happy about the ending though, everything closed out nicely and I overall really enjoyed the writing so I’d be excited to read from this author again!

The book is classified under mystery and thrillers. Mystery? Not at all. The reader knows all along what's going on. Thriller? Maybe, but not really. There's no real tension around whether the bad guy will get caught or whether the day will be saved. Throughout the story, so very little happens . . . there is little advancement. It is creepy (in an icky—not scary—way).

I disliked virtually all of the characters. Worst of all, contrary to the publisher's description of Claudia's “instincts,” she seems downright clueless and ineffectual.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. Publication is expected December 7.

A gothic school run by a cultish group sums up the book. The storyline is typical troubled, scholarship, poor child with a single mom. The actions and dialogue are representative of what I feel are for a young adult book. The story is just okay. I enjoyed imagining the different areas of the school.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to read and review The Hawthorne School.

#NetGalley
#DreamscapeMedia
#Audiobook

I think we all want the best for our children, especially when it comes to education, and I also find that most people think that the best education you can give to your child comes from one that is paid for. Not everyone agrees with this, but Claudia Morgan, the Protagonist in the upcoming book The Hawthorne School did.

Claudia is a struggling single parent, she has a young son named Henry who struggles in his current pre-school and the school seems to have a hard time dealing with him. She finds out about the Hawthorne School, a progressive private school that has a unique way of teaching, it is fashioned after Norwegian forest schools, which use the outdoors and more free play to educate. Claudia knows there is no way she can afford Hawthorne but goes to meet with the headmistress just to find out what her son would be missing. While there, the headmistress offers her a volunteer program to work at in exchange for Henry’s tuition. Claudia can not believe her luck and everything seems perfect at the school, but as time goes by, Claudia begins to notice small things that just don’t add up.

Claudia spends much of the book being naive. She overlooks a lot that the reader is quick to pick up on and see while reading. These are things most people might draw a red flag at, but Claudia in her impression and happiness to have her son in this prestigious school is willing to overlook Henry’s well-being.

The author Sylvie Petty does a great job making the school a character in its own right, it is creepy, and gives the story a great gothic atmosphere. It is perfect when you look at it on the outside, but once you begin to chip away at the outside there is something sinister there. I, being a lover of gothic, loved this part of the book.

Besides Claudia one of the best characters in the book is Zelma, the headmistress at Hawthorne. This lady is the master of manipulation, making Claudia trust her and like her. She gives her the feeling of belonging and importance, but she has a creepiness about her that gives you the same feeling as the school will give you, something about her just isn’t right.

I did find the story predictable, and for the most part, I had the ending figured out ( not all of it ) but it did not prevent me from enjoying this book or keep me from finding it intriguing.

I think anyone who likes psychological thrillers, dark academia settings, or mystery will find this book worth reading.

I absolutely loved this! The whole story was so twisty and I truly felt like I was going a bit crazy trying to keep up with all the Hawthorne shenanigans (I mean come on - that was some serious gaslighting!) I loved every second of this audiobook and I am so glad I got to enjoy this! 10/10 do recommend!

If there was a way to give this book more stars, I would. The book starts with Claudia Morgan, who is the single mother of little four-year-old Henry. She has been struggling emotionally and financially since her mother died. Her mother helped her out quite a bit after Claudia’s husband deserted the family when Henry was a baby. In addition to all of this, Henry is a very challenging child, and both his mother and his day care center have had just about all they can take. And THEN she stumbles onto The Hawthorne School. I have heard a statement that if you think something is too good to be true, it probably is, and that is definitely true in this case. Henry starts classes at the school, which is quite pricey, and Claudia is allowed to volunteer to help with the tuition. Henry’s behavior begins to improve right away, and Claudia is thrilled that the school is helping him. A lot of weird and creepy things go on at the school, which Claudia overlooks because Henry is doing so well. I’m not going to go any further (spoilers), but I will say that the situation escalates, and the tension just doesn’t stop. I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it. Every page has something even more bizarre going on than the pages before, and the writer slowly works through story and reels you in. The writer is a psychotherapist who specializes in narcissistic behavior and addictive power dynamics, so she knows her stuff. I hope I never come across any people like the ones who ran this school, but if I do, I’m running as far and fast as I can! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in return for my honest review.

I was given a advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.. this book started strong faith me as I easily identified with th divorced mom with an uncontrollable four year old boy. She is told upon picking the child up from his current daycare h he is no longer welcome there and should see about moving him to a different school. They recommended the Hawthorn school. Mom and son went to check out the school. They were exuberant at the thought o the possibility of being able to go to school there. The head Mistress assured mom they had a place or her son. He fit right in. She was worried about tuition. Mom was told they trusted she would pay what she could afford then she could volunteer her time to work the rest. Mom was happy because that meant she would be spending her days with son. Perfect right? That is only the beginning of this thriller. While I did think she was unbelievably naive, I don’t know why I would expect this one to be so different. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a good thriller. Thanks to #NetGalley, #CrookedLaneBooks #SyviePerry #The Hawthorne School.

This book has potential but it was to slow for me. I was hoping for some creepiness but I didn't get those feels. At times it became repetitive. Overall, I liked the plot just wished more had happened.

The plot of this story takes off right away...no dawdling around. Claudia is standing in front of the Hawthrone School right from the get-go with young son Henry. All the red flags are there, a better term would be huge red banners. It's so obvious that this school has secrets and is hiding many of them in its dungeon! There are no books, the children play outside most of the day, the children act like zombies, etc. But young Claudia is entranced with the school and Henry is enrolled practically the next day. Disregard that Claudia cannot afford the school, that's pretty much a non-issue, she can just volunteer at the school. Run Claudia Run!

I love a good thriller, but one that's so obviously doesn't even try to hide the pretense that there is an ulterior agenda. You have to at least try to play the game. I didn't dislike this book. but the plot was just so obvious that the "big reveal" was just no fun. Because the reader will know all along.

The narrator was not the best choice. I couldn't stand the way she spoke young Henry's voice. Nails on a chalkboard. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

**3.5**

Altogether this book wasn’t too bad. I’m always a bit of a sucker for books that hint of some sort of crazy mystery/secret because I’m way too curious to not know what it is. That said, while I appreciate knowing what it is, I also find that books with one “big reveal” can be a little dry because it’s kind of only got one move, for that reason I can’t give this book a super high rating (also because it was a little predictable).

Beyond that however, I still enjoyed the actual story of the book. I could kind of see how the end would turn out, but the journey to that point was still interesting and was still filled with some twists I didn’t call. Now perhaps it was the audiobook, but the book also did a good job of building suspense and presenting the air of things not being quite right which also contributed to it being an interesting read in spite of it not being the most surprising one.

While I wish I could say that I loved the book more, I was just an okay read for me. I’m glad I read it, but I can’t see myself reading it again. The premise was interesting and the execution was still quite good though, which is why I still think it’s a book worth reading (or listening to as I did because the audiobook itself was really good).

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story took way too long to hook me and even longer for me to get invested. The main character, Claudia, is unbelievably dumb and, all of the twists are predictable. The kid isn't even a real character. There's no character growth they all end, the way they begin. Some parts are repetitive with the reader seeing it the first time and understanding but, it takes Claudia the whole book to figure out, even when another character literary tells her. (don't even get me started on the father) Another random character that is built up the entire book but does nothing for the story is the main bad guy. The ending with the news reports was satisfying but, then the story ruined it. Overall, this book drags on way too much and, you could cut half of it without changing anything.