[Review] The Project by Courtney Summers

 

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 2 February, 2021

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Genre: Young Adult/Thriller

ASIN: B088KSMYJS

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Hardback and eBook)

Rating:★★☆☆☆

Review Written: 29 July, 2021
Warnings: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Car accident, Suicide, Grief, Death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Pregnancy, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Gore, Infertility, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Cults

Summary:  

"THE UNITY PROJECT SAVED MY LIFE."

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo's sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there's more to the group than meets the eye. She's spent the last six years of her life trying - and failing - to prove it.

"THE UNITY PROJECT MURDERED MY SON."

When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its charismatic and mysterious leader, Lev Warren, he proposes a deal: if she can prove the worst of her suspicions about The Unity Project, she may expose them. If she can't, she must finally leave them alone.

But as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members, and spends more time with Lev, it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her - to the point she can no longer tell what's real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren . . . but now she doesn't know if she can afford not to.

WELCOME TO THE UNITY PROJECT.

See more by Courtney Summers at her website.

[Review] Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 1 September, 2020

Publisher: Macmillan Publishing

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/LGBTQIA+/Romance

ISBN: 97811250250469

Edition: Hardback (also available in audio and eBook)

Rating:★★★★★

Review Written: 29 July, 2021
Warnings: Blood, Transphobia, Death, Deadnaming, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gore, Child death, Body horror, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma

Summary:  

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave. 

See more by Aiden Thomas on his website.