Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tara Platt for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Prep School for Serial Killers coming out September 1, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In a future society, a school is set up for elite students who test high on the Psychopath Scale. The school direct their talents toward becoming Assassins. They just have to survive the graduation ritual of Kill Slip Day. Anathema knows she has exceptional deadly skills. She finds a journal in her room that belongs to Mary. Her eyes are opened as she relates to Mary’s journey. She becomes a chess piece in the game at school and soon starts to question everything she knows. 

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I loved the diary entries format throughout the book. I think I was expecting a little more serial killer behavior based on the title of the book. I thought it’d be more like Deadly Class or something with the students trying to kill each other more throughout the book. I think it was more sci-fi than serial killers for me. I did really love the last 25% of the book. I thought it was the best part.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys sci-fi futuristic societies.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’m a sucker for morally gray murder-y characters so the title alone had me intrigued. We follow Anathema Blight, current student at a boarding school that, as the title suggests, trains its students for murder. In the backdrop, multiple Great Wars have ravaged the earth and in attempts to heal their people the government has put various chemicals in the water, which has the unfortunate side effect of turning the children into psychopaths. As expected, I really enjoyed the school aspects. It was fun to see Anathema attend various classes and be taught the different arts of killing. Platt got quite creative with this aspect and it was very fun to read. What lost me, however, was the larger plotline with the headmaster Hunting and government secrets. I felt like the epiphanies Anathema experienced throughout the stories and the choices she eventually made felt undeserved, that there wasn’t enough depth to her character and decision to really sell me on the character. Overall, I rate this book a 3/5. The murder-y bits were fun and interesting but the overarching plot felt rushed and underdeveloped.

I got a free e-arc through Netgalley, this in no way affected this review.

This books starts off very confusing. There was a lot of info dump and it was quite hard to follow everything. You’re basically thrown into this dystopian world and are expected to follow from page one.

When I eventually got through the info dump, I could enjoy the story a bit more, but there were still moments where the book was kind of slow or where the pacing felt weird. The last 15% however pulled everything together, because that’s where all the action happens.

Set years into the future where many people are considered psychopaths. Any who rate between a 6 and 8 on the scale are sent to a special school to be trained as an assassin for the government. Anathema is a level 7 and a very good student until the day she finds a journal under her floorboard. It was written by a student 20 years earlier, who begins to realize that there's something wrong with the way they're raised. This in turn pushes Anathema to begin questioning her life from the tracker in her wrist, the forced medication that ensures they feel very little, and the way they're pinned against each other. Each year, in the spring, the upper level students participate in KillDay, meaning that they each receive a target and are expected to "kill or be killed." This year, everything changes and Anathema finds herself stuck between government cronies and rebels.

First, the title should give an inkling that this book is very violent. There is a scene where they describe the gruesome punishment/deaths of two students. Another where they dissect their own classmate after he died, and one where Ana goes hunting and kills a pregnant animal. If you have a weak stomach, this may not be the book for you. I definitely do not think this is a young adult book even though the character is young.

However, if you can separate yourself from those scenes. This book is really unique. The Killday really reminded me of the Hunger Games and I really enjoyed that. It was interesting hearing about how the world got the way it is and how some of the professors played a role in it. Ana's slow rebellion was compelling, especially as she started to realized that the journal held key information to understanding her world. I enjoyed the plot twists and am eager to find out what happens to Ana in book 2

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I really enjoyed this book! That being said, it is not for the squeamish. The entire plot of the book focuses around murder, more often than not it is murder of the gruesome type. I loved the take on the idea of a school for killers and I thought it was excellently executed. I was a little confused in the beginning about the flashbacks but everything was tied up at the end. I also really liked Ana's character arc. She goes from being confident and withdrawn to scared and emotional. That's not an arc that I see often in literature so it was a treat to see it portrayed here.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an early arc in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of Prep School for Serial Killers interested me right away. The book is set in a dystopian world and follows Anathema who is enrolled in a school that trains its students to become assassins. The story builds up to KillSlip day, which is the day the students get their assignment to kill one of their peers.

This book seemed right up my alley but ended up falling flat for me. The descriptions of the scenery are detailed, which I enjoyed. But the characterization fell flat. Motivations lacked, other than being the trained killers that the students are trained to be. The classroom scenes dragged the story a bit for me. The worldbuilding and political angle could be fleshed out more.

Overall, an interesting premise that left much to be desired.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What I loved about this book: I loved the way it reminded me of the Hunger Games- how these children are raised to kill or be killed, especially one day a year where they receive the name of a fellow student who is their target. It also reminded me a bit of 1984 where students are medicated to stop their emotions, students keep eyes on others and communicate their steps and are constantly surveyed by the headmaster.

What I felt could be improved on: there wasn't enough world-building in my opinion to understand some of the plot twists. What, exactly is at stake here? How would this world be changed if in different hands?

An interesting premise, but I think more could have been done with it.

Prep School for Serial Killers has a fascinating and disturbing premise. A dystopian world with a much higher proportion of psychopaths who are taught the best ways to inflict harm and kill from a young age and who, worst of all, are eager for it.

It is a really intriguing idea and I enjoyed the switching perspectives between the protagonist Ana, and an old student's journal that Ana found. However, for me there's just not enough world building to understand the setup or the motivations of the characters. The students took medication to remove those pesky emotions, and yet there seemed to be a lot of emotional behaviours from those still under the influence of the medications, so I never really bought into it. The political/rebellion elements of the plot are intriguing but could do with a lot more development.

Overall a really interesting and sinister setting with a lot more that could be explored.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback. I requested the book as a fan of dystopian young adult literature. Unfortunately this book didn't quite live up to my expectations. It tells the story of Anathema Blight, a student at a school which specialises in training children to become serial killers. The premise of the book intrigued me but the story itself just didn't grip me as much as I'd hoped. I found that there were too many descriptions (of the school, teachers, and lessons) without much happening in the earlier parts of the book. I also didn't find myself engaging with or warming to the characters. I would give this a 3.5 rounded up to a 4

Anathema Blight is an orphan enthralled by ways to kill. She has been living at the school for serial killers for most of her life. Recently she came across a journal by a former student named Mary and had begun to question everything she has been taught. She knows she must be at her best because at this school it is literally kill or be killed and most of the students are not expected to make it out alive. Her final exam sets her up to kill a professor that seems to be the cause of most of her trouble the past school year. Is she going to be able to complete her kill or will she be killed in the process?

I was pulled in from the first chapter. I found myself arguing with different characters and talking to Anathema out-loud, asking her why she did this or that. I "felt" her pain and am so hoping there is a sequel to this book. It is a great stand-alone, but I need more!

I was given the opportunity to read this by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

I was really excited about this book until I started reading it. The characters have no humanity. I will not be buying this one for my library.

thank you netgalley for the arc!!

the beginning was a little difficult to get into, but things start picking up a little later in the book and at that point, this book becomes a fast paced thrilling page turner. I really enjoyed the dystopian aspect of the book as well as the mystery aspect of what is actually going on behind the scenes at school. It was really fun to read and I hope there is a second book.

A surprising book. The almost gentle, matter of fact style of prose made what could have been a truly disturbing story into something great. The main character is likeable and smart. The world building is interesting, giving us just enough and not trying to explain too much. The twist was a little predictable but I didn't care.
Can't wait to see where Anathama's story goes next.

I mean - who doesn't like books/shows about serials killers - LOL. When I read the description I was immediately intrigued- and this book did not disappoint. I mean, what a concept! So many twists and turns....great mystery and suspense; you can't help but feel connected to the characters - like you're right there with them. I loved that they are sociopaths and immune to the emotion of killing. MC Anathema was very interesting, I liked her exploration of the past The ending is very heartbreaking.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

A dark and twisty read where our protagonist - Anathema - goes to a school where she's trained to be an assassin in a dystopian setting...and soon enough Anathema starts to discover that maybe there’s a much larger force at work and where exactly does she stand?

The detailed writing style made this easy to follow and the characters were interesting to read about. When Anathema finds the hidden journal that brings her to life and gives her hope the story really picks up and the ending felt like things were wrapped up neatly.

If Jason Bourne had a daughter, it’d be Anathema.

I thought this book was such a breath of fresh air. There’s no detracting love story, no damsel in distress, no calling upon memories of mom and dad to propel her forward—just one badass girl following her own intuition and forging her path based on strengths that she’s relentlessly honed over years and years. Ana WORKS to kill and not be killed, and a teenager feeling alone but pushing through each scenario, each day, is a pretty accurate portrayal of adolescence for many.

(I did have to laugh at the callback to a card catalog in the library. I’m not sure than in 2022 kids would know how to use one, let alone 100+ years in the future.)

“Weakest part” (for me) was that there were several characters with some murky motives for actions—but it holds true to the idea that it’d be hard to get a clear character arc of trained assassins. It’s also a genuine reflection of human nature. Sometimes the unlikely can be allies, at least for a moment, and sometimes people are so multi-layered that you’ll never get to the core of who they are.

This is definitely set up for a series, but is still gratifying as a stand alone.

I’d have to warn my students about extreme gore (even though I LOVED the vivid descriptions of wounds!).

A dark dystopian thriller in the same vein as the hunger games. This world breeds and trains serial killers —assassins. Kill or be killed is the motto. Our main character is questioning everything.

Brutal, dark, visceral and gory, this book gripped me from the top. The ending felt a little rushed and confused but that could be bc things are left open for a sequel and I can’t wait to read it.

This was such a unique book. The world set up was new, and the mystery was attention-grabbing. The idea of a boarding school that trained serial killers was amazing. The characters were well fleshed out, and I greatly enjoyed reading it.

I am a huge thriller/mystery fan but this book had an interesting summary that got me hooked but after reading it, I wasn’t as hooked anymore…

Written with well developed characters and plotlines, <i>Prep School for Serial Killers</i> is an atmospheric and dark, dystopian read that ranks up with some of the better books I have read this year.