Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed 'I'm Sorry You Feel That Way' by the author, so was excited to be able to read her new novel.

Set in a failing girl's boarding school, St Anne's, in the 1980's, with the threat of nuclear war in the background, we meet Ida who is trying to escape her family's poor reputation, following her mother's disgraceful behaviour. Ida manages to get accepted into St Anne's, and therefore can leave the tiny Scottish Island where she lives, in search of a fresh start.

Alongside Ida's point of view, we also have Eleanor's, who is a Geography teacher. Both view points are definitely needed. Especially as there are a load of side-quest stories happening simultaneously! Including Ida's relationship with her mother and sister, Ida's relationship with the notorious Louise (a pupil at the school), Eleanor's history with her ex-partner, the new teacher Matthew, the head-teacher's obsession with nuclear war, and whether the school will make it another year.

Then the biggest story, within all of these other stories and themes, is that some of the girls are going down with a mystery illness which is causing havoc within the school. We also get the viewpoints of two doctors involved in the case.

The book was enjoyable, and an easy read, that progressed really nicely. It was reminiscent of Rachel Joyce's style of story-telling, which I am a big fan of. Everything was wrapped up a bit too nicely in the end for my liking, and some of the side-quest stories were a bit unnecessary, hence the 4 star rating.

Otherwise, a really enjoyable, easy read. I especially loved Ida and Louise's relationship, and the imagery of the school was prominent.

I adored 'I'm Sorry You Feel that Way' so was delighted to see Wait's new book up for grabs to read. I struggled to put it down, reading it in the margins of a day, before I went to sleep. From Ida, the student seeking solace and a new identity in the all-girls boarding school, her roommate Louise with a reputation bound up classic adolescent girl storytelling; through to Eleanor the teacher whose mild-manner and long term tenure at said school leaves her stuck ~ I was all in.
For me, this is a story of girls and women, who end up carrying stories that were given to them, stories that were out of their own control and where they are left to deal with repercussions of others' actions. It's a story of reclamation, of finding your own story, narrative, choices and becoming the version of yourself you choose.
The thread running throughout this story is one of hysteria and mania, of the body and mind and how inextricably linked they are ~ with a mystery illness travelling around the school where limbs move uncontrollably and involuntarily. This is supported by a dedicated neurologist who we know mostly through letters to a previous consultant, a relationship that ended - it appears - through fear, which is not surprising considering the setting of the 1980's and all we know of what was to come in terms of the media and how same-sex relationships were portrayed.
Every character develops, unravels and unfolds in glorious ways, it's such a pleasure to read, so funny, everyone so likeable when often the stories and histories they are carrying would prefer for you to feel otherwise. Adored it and look forward to holding it in my hands for real.

Having read this author before, I went in with high expectations.
They were nicely matched.
There's a lot of different things to enjoy, my favourite being the relationship between Ida and Louise.
There's some elements of comedy in here I think, the tone of the lovely Doctor, the way the school is run, some of the teachers.
It goes well with the mystery of what exactly is happening to the girls, and who or what is causing it?
A very entertaining read.

In the early 1960s, sixteen-year-old Ida Campbell arrives at St Anne’s, a crumbling girls’ boarding school on the south coast of England. She has fled a scandal in Scotland and clings to her scholarship as a second chance. St Anne’s, though eccentric and outdated, offers her a form of refuge — at least at first.

But Ida’s hope for peace is quickly unsettled. Her new room-mate is Louise Adler, a notorious misfit with a reputation for rebellion and suspected arson. Their uneasy alliance is just one part of a complex and shifting dynamic among the girls.

In the background, the staff at St Anne’s struggle to keep the school afloat. Eleanor Alston, the disillusioned geography teacher, is nursing the wounds of a failed affair. She is immediately suspicious of the newly arrived and overly charming Matthew Langfield, a teacher whose credentials don’t quite add up.

As term progresses, strange symptoms begin to afflict the students — involuntary movements, seizures, and a growing sense of hysteria. Rumours of poisoning swirl. The cause of the illness remains elusive, and paranoia grips the school.

Is it a physical ailment, a psychological epidemic, or something more sinister?

As secrets rise to the surface, Havoc explores themes of repression, trauma, female friendship, and the instability of institutions built on silence. With the Cold War looming and social norms tightening around them, the characters must confront both personal and collective truths as the school unravels.

Havoc is a gothic-tinged, slow-burning literary mystery that delves into the inner lives of girls and women at a time of profound societal pressure and fear.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Intriguing and entertaining! This is a great novel about life in a girls’ boarding school when a strange illness hits and spreads. It’s also a heartwarming tale of an unlikely friendship. Really enjoyed this as it was funny in places and tragic in others.

If you like campus novels you’re going to want to read this. Framing the intricacies of obsession and girlhood - this read was a wild ride. The tension was palpable and the ending very deserving!

A fun story revolving around chaos at a girl's boarding school.

Call me crazy, but I have such a soft spot for boarding school stories. I don't know what it is - maybe the comradery, or the idea of an extended sleepover. I feel like the bonds are always tighter, and there's something about living at school that is such a foreign concept to me that I love reading about it.

So this story was another enjoyable read, particularly with the chaos at this school. It's falling apart and in serious danger of closure - particularly when the girls start developing a twitching sickness.

That's not going to work for our protagonist, Ida, who is fleeing from shameful circumstances and merciless bullying. She needs the school to stay open, since it's now her refuge.

The story here alternates between the views of Ida and Eleanor, one of the teachers. This gives us a more rounded view of what's happening at the school, and multiple seats from which to view the chaos.

I enjoyed how unhinged things were, so it was easy to travel along at a cracking pace. There's also the mystery of what is really happening to these girls, and it does add an emotional element that gives the story a bit of heart.

This was a really fun reading experience, and I'd happily read more tales of this school, though it all wrapped up neatly so I don't see that happening. The characters were great and well-suited to this tale, and I would easily recommend this for people looking for a little chaos in their reading life.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

I love Rebecca’s writing style, her dry wit makes me laugh out loud, she writes in a style that reads like it’s not meant to be funny but just is (I.e. Ida’s mum’s new boyfriend being fond of sending faxes! Made me LOL).

There is a lot to love about this book but there was something just not pulling me in completely. I would have liked some more chapters on Ida’s mother - no one writes a narcissistic mother quite like Rebecca does - and I would have liked to delve more into the relationship between Dr Halliwell and George and why they only send memos to each other!

If you liked I’m Sorry You Feel that Way then you will like this too

I was so excited to see Rebecca Wait has a new book coming out! All of her previous works have been outstanding and I love the way she creates characters that feel truly human. So it’s truly an understatement to say I’m disappointed this one didn’t hit the same highs for me.

While Wait’s previous books mostly focus on intimate family scenes (+ a cult), this book has a larger cast and I think that’s one of the elements that didn’t work for me. Everything felt too thin because our time was stretched between students, teachers, doctors… and that intimacy/connection through POV wasn’t present the way it had been in previous books. I didn’t feel the emotional pull that I have in all of Wait’s other books.

I didn’t feel connected to Ida as a character. Louise was deeply compelling but we didn’t spend much time with her perspective. I didn’t feel invested at all in Eleanor’s or the doctor’s POV. I didn’t really understand why the Eleanor/Anthony and Eleanor/Matthew threads were given as much airtime as they were. Apart from Louise, I didn’t find the characters all that interesting, in general.

The sense of place, however, was expertly done. I could vividly picture the school and the nearby town. The claustrophobic feel of the story enhanced this greatly!

Humour in books is so subjective, but I found the ‘banter’ with the teachers felt forced and overcooked. It hovered just above cringe for this reader.

There was a ‘cozy English mystery’ feel to the story with setting, plot, dialogue that just didn’t work for me. The two mysteries at the core of the story were predictable. I kept hoping that it would deviate from the telegraphed path, but both of the explanations (the medical mystery and Ida’s backstory) were just so underwhelming.

The writing was solid, but I didn’t feel like this was the strongest showcase of Wait’s storytelling and characterization. I’d still recommend this book for the writing and for readers who enjoy the decrepit boarding school setting.

An interesting read that grabbed me pretty early on. I remember thinking that the threat of the nuclear bomb was going to have more to do with the plot, explicitly but I liked it as a framing device and how it was used as a way of creating a preexisting environment of paranoia to explore mass hysteria.

A really good read.