The Fountain

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Pub Date 08 Dec 2015 | Archive Date 08 Mar 2022
Perfect Analogy Publishing | Evil Alter Ego Press

Description

Careful what you wish for. It just might come true.

Ava Marshall, driven by a desire to learn more about her mother's past, moved across the country to attend St. Augustus. But her mom’s secrets will have to wait, because she finds herself instantly hated for her family’s connection to her new school and is forced to fight alone against a classmate who is setting Ava up to be expelled.

Fleeing campus, she takes a shortcut to her Gran’s house through the forbidden West Woods and discovers a mysterious fountain that has the power to grant a wish and change it all. But can she live with the consequences? Or will she end up breaking every school rule and risking the love of her life to make it right…

Careful what you wish for. It just might come true.

Ava Marshall, driven by a desire to learn more about her mother's past, moved across the country to attend St. Augustus. But her mom’s secrets...


Advance Praise

"Debut Author, Suzy Vadori, has created an easy read, capturing the essence of youth, but can be a thoroughly enjoyable page-turner for any age." - Reviewer Avery Olive

"Debut Author, Suzy Vadori, has created an easy read, capturing the essence of youth, but can be a thoroughly enjoyable page-turner for any age." - Reviewer Avery Olive


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9780994726650
PRICE $4.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

Send to Kindle (EPUB)

Average rating from 24 members


Featured Reviews

*This book was received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Actual Rating 3.5/5 stars

I really liked this book but I was kind of disappointed by the ending. It's not that I didn't like the resolution especially regarding Ethan (view spoiler), but it just felt like the ending was rushed. After the massive build-up throughout the whole book it just seemed kind of anti-climatic. I also felt sorry for Lucas; his disbelief in magic and wishing wells drove a wedge in his and Ava's relationship. I really liked the idea of the book and the history behind the wishing well but I wish there was more explained about it and that the reader could learn more about the wish Ava's Dad made. Overall, this was a good book that was interesting but seemed slightly anti-climatic due to the rushed ending.

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I received an ARC version of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED this book. It was easy to read and interesting. I like that the book is part adventure, part YA romance. I liked Ethan. He seemed to cute and sweet. The Fountain in the story is intriguing and I hope there is another book that talks about how the fountain works. Old New England Folklore is so great.

I recommend this book to an YA fan that likes a touch of adventure and sweet (non-explicit) romance.

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I really enjoyed this book. For one, its set in a boarding school which is always a winner with me and then add in some romance, magic and mystery and you have a great read. Its so interesting how just one flippantly made wish causes such a ripple effect. A really good debut novel.

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The Fountain is set in a boarding school, next to a forbidden woods, with fun people and a cute boy. What's not to love? The plot is even deeper and really gives the reader a great mystery that is not too heavy. The relationships between the characters and flawed and REAL. I couldn't put this book down.

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Be careful what you wish for. You never know when it may come true. This book was everything I hoped for. I loved the relationship between Ava and Ethan. I felt that the story ended a little abruptly. I hope this is going to turn into a series. I am interested in whats going to happen if/when Courtney returns to St. Augustus.

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This was my first approval I got from Netgalley, and once the squealing stopped, I made sure to contain myself and start reading - only for the squealing to start again. However, somewhere in that squealing, I may have confused myself because for some very odd reason, I kept thinking the fountain was a well.

And I know what you're thinking - um, Mandy, there's a fountain in the title. There's also a fountain in the summary. And oh, I don't know, there's a fountain on the cover. Also, they get pretty descriptive about how it looks in the book and I mean, there was no mistaking - it was a fountain.

My brain still thought it was a well. So, yeah, that happened. I blame Saturday Night Live and their skit about the sensitive boy's well.

Anyway, let's start off with the basics: The Fountain is about Ava Marshall, who has just transferred to the boarding school that her parents used to go to. She's super excited to be in the halls her beloved mother used to roam, especially with her still struggling with her death, until a girl named Courtney starts to make her life miserable with taunts, pranks gone wrong, and more drastically affecting Ava's life. When Ava finds a fountain in the woods, she thinks nothing wrong of it and makes a wish to change her life for the better. However, once that wish comes true, Ava realizes that she should have been careful what she wished for...

It's been a super long time since I read a YA book about boarding school. A few years ago, it seemed like you couldn't throw a stick without hitting one. I used to really be into them, but with so many in the market and not much difference separating them, I kind of assumed all of the YA genre was just at the same massively large boarding school. It was refreshing to see this atmosphere here again, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.

I also really liked the plot. Vadori really made sure to think about all the little details that would go into Ava's wish and the ripple effects that would occur because of it. A few issues that cropped up, I didn't see coming, and it really made Ava's decision a lot harder to reverse what she had done. I liked that complexity and it made me eager to find out what was going to happen next.

I also liked Ava as a main character. She had layers to her, and I liked how we saw the guilt kind of eat away at her. So many times, we will see a main character say, "OH, I feel so guilty" and then go eat a cheesestick or something. We don't see how it affects their sleep, their thoughts, their relationships, etc. I thought Vadori did a great job presenting that, and I wasn't expecting something so deep from this book.

Although I liked Ava as a main character, the truth is...I'm not really sure why the other characters liked her. I know that sounds super harsh, but for most of the book, Ava was depressed about her decision and feeling guilty. She didn't contribute to a lot of conversations or activities, yet everyone loved her. I liked her with Ethan, but really, I didn't get how they fell into a relationship because she didn't contribute enough to make him like her, in my opinion. As I said, I liked her, but she didn't display any of that characterization with other people. There would be a couple of times she would have a conversation with her friend, Jules, and she would literally say nothing and they both seemed to think it was a relationship building thing. I would have liked a bit more on that end.

Also, the ending was definitely interesting. I liked how it didn't fit with what I thought was going to happen and it was something a little different. Although, it did feel a bit abrupt and I was kind of concerned that Ava forgot some of her concerns. I liked it for the most part, though.

Overall, this was a quick and speedy read that provided me something a little difference. It had its slight issues, but I did enjoy the story overall. I waffled back and forth between what rating to give it and I've decided on a 3.5 (although it might as well be rounded up to a 4 star since there are no halves anywhere except in my mind) rating and we will say hello to Jasmine again! Thanks again to the author for providing me with this copy!

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This book has a similar plot to time travel stories where someone who goes back in time changes the present. Except in this case, everything is changed by an innocent coin toss in a fountain and wish by the main character Ava. She has recently enrolled in a new school and one of the girls is determined to get her expelled; Ava wishes the girl's family had never been a part of the school. The author did such a good job of describing the bullying and the resulting angst felt by Ava that at times I felt myself cringing. While it is similar to those plots I mentioned, the story is quite refreshingly new.

This is a fast book to read; however, it's also very well written. The ending was quite a surprise, and I honestly wasn't completely sure if a certain wish made by someone else didn't have a lot to do with how things turned out

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this book started off really great. I was loving St. Augustus. I seriously dig books set in boarding schools because they remind me of old school YA and I think they are the perfect setting for mysteries and magic and sneaking around at night and falling in love. ♥ So I was pretty much smitten about the whole St. Augustus idea. Much more when I met the cute, dark-haired guy!

However, despite there being a magical fountain that's able to grant wishes, I felt that I needed more magic to make me feel that I was reading a fantasy book. Instead, I think that what I was really reading was a book with magical realism. And like reality, The Fountain was a bit short on resolutions. I needed more closure. Unless there's a sequel? Because I just can't stand the idea of leaving the story the way it ends. I would read it!

The whole idea is great and I did enjoy reading this book, so if you like boarding schools, then you'll be drawn to this book no matter what. But if you are not that into loose endings, then it's possible that this book isn't for you.

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A really good YA read featuring a forbidden woods, a magical fountain, students breaking rules while trying to unravel a complicated history, and the timeless paradox of right vs. wrong

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