This is really fantastic.. It's twisty, blink and you'll miss it, uncertainty the entire time. I wasn't sure what to think and I couldn't tell at all where it was going.

I received this ARC and was so excited because I love the author and really enjoyed Sadie a while back. This one didn't quite do it for me, but it was still a pretty good read.

Lo Denham works for a glossy publication as an assistant and one day witnesses a boy commit suicide in the subway. Before his death, that boy calls her by name and mentions a Bible verse. He also happens to be the son of a friend of Lo's boss. She connects the dots to find he knew her sister who has been MIA from Lo's life since a tragic car accident that injured Lo and killed their parents and led her sister Bea to join The Unity Project, a cult-like organization led by the enigmatic and energetic Lev Warren. Lo sets out to learn all she can about The Unity Project, uncover its secrets and find her sister. But are there secrets, or is she the one on the wrong side of the information?

My biggest peeve with this book was the choppy and jarring transitions. It goes back and forth between 2011/12 and 2018/19, and that's a bit confusing in and of itself, but it just abruptly changes times or scenes with little warning, forcing the reader to pay close attention. It makes an otherwise quick and easy read tough to get through.

After reading Sadie, I had to get my hands on Courtney Summers' next book. The Project was creepy and fascinating. Will read anything Courtney Summers writes and order it for the library's YA collection!

After reading and loving Sadie, I was eager to sink my teeth into this one. And holy moley, I wasn't disappointed.

The Project is ultimately about two sisters on a quest for each other. Summers writes about sisters extremely well. Bea, the older sister, joins a cult after watching the leader bring her sister, Lo, back from the dead. Bea leaves her sister in the care of an elderly aunt, after being totally enchanted by this cult leader and she devotes herself entirely to him and their cause, The Unity Project.

Meanwhile, Lo thinks of nothing but her older sister and would do anything to find her and bring her back. After some inquiry, Lo discovers the Unity Project for herself.

I'm simplifying the plot here because I don't want to give anything away. I loved the narration style, moving backward and forward in time. The author never announces which sister is narrating each particular chapter, perhaps because the two of them have stories that are so completely separate and linked all at once. It was masterfully crafted.

I do have a fascination with cults, and I'll read just about anything with a cult in it. The story of The Unity Project was so believable and the people who inhabited this world were so multilayered and nuanced that I often reread chapters just to make sure I picked up on all of the clues the author was putting down for us. I cannot recommend this book enough, and it will fly off of my shelves for a long time.

Content: This is a book recommended for older teens. The protagonists are in their late teens throughout the story. There is fade-to-black sex scenes throughout the story, but there is also violence and gore as members of the cult are punished for their "sins." It felt appropriate in the context of the story.

I read and adored Sadie by Courtney Summers and couldn't wait to get my hands on her newest novel.

The book follows two sisters, Lo and Bea, both of whom are very different, but who in different ways become involved in a religious "organisation" called the Unity Project. We follow Lo in the future who is on a mission to expose the Unity Project, and Bea in the past as she's drawn deeper and deeper into the group. The non-linear storyline was very fascinating to read and connect all the dots together.

I quite enjoyed the storyline and even though I could see some of the plot twists and reveals coming, that didn't take away from my enjoyment. Although, like Sadie, it is quite a slow book but the characters are intriguing and the writing great.

If you're looking for an intriguing YA thriller that will keep you up all night. I recommend this !

Whooo Nelly that was a ride! I do love a good creepy cult and Courtney Summers is always an excellent writer when it comes to atmosphere and tension. A definite page turner from start to finish. Don't be put off by the fact that it time jumps and perspective jumps, it can get a little confusing at times but the payoff is worth it.

First book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
The author is a talented storyteller and I love her great style of writing.
The plot is tightly knitted and the character development is excellent.
A gripping and fascinating story that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC of The Project.

This book has a lot going for it and. a few things that I wish were a little stronger.

The Project ended up taking me a while to get into it and for it to really grab my full attention. There was a lot of flopping back and forth with the narrative and the pacing of the story.

However, the concept of this book is very unique and made me want to read the book. I like the last 100 pages and felt like the pace there should have been where the book started.

This is a decent book. It does jump around in time quite a bit so you do have to concentrate on when things are happening and that does affect the flow. The beginning is pretty confusing, there are times where you get to the end of a section/chapter on kind of a cliffhanger moment and then the next section/chapter is either years later or years earlier and it makes the flow choppy.
The book is somewhat portrayed as suspenseful, trying to figure out what happened to the man's son, is it a cult or isn't it? Yet, while there's a bit about those, it is honestly just a book about two sisters who have been estranged, trying to find their way back to each other.
I wanted a little more though, because overall it just turns out to be a straightforward book about a cult pretending to not be a cult but everyone seems to know it is but are scared to come right out and say it. And I wasn't super thrilled about the ending, the drama occurs off the page and so we're left to wonder what exactly took place. I suppose that was the author's point but I didn't care for it.
It's not a bad book though, but you have to slog through the beginning to get to the "meat" of the story and I'm not sure all readers will have the patience for that. If you like stories centered around a cult, this one will probably appeal.

I absolutely loved Sadie by Courtney Summers, so I think my expectations may have been a little too high here. The writing is gorgeous, which is always a good start, and the characters are compelling and sympathetic, but I felt like the narrative was holding the protagonists at a bit of a distance, which made it difficult to get fully invested. The "thriller" aspect sounds like it should be strong from the set-up, but it didn't quite sing.

The Project is one of those books whose premise is one I couldn't put down. Lo Denham has been on her own since her sister Bea joined The Unity Project, a renowned spiritual movement led by the charismatic Lev Warren known for their extensive charity work. Lo knows that there is more to The Unity Project than meets the eye, and after she witnesses the death of one of its members, she's determined to expose them to the world. When Lo catches the attention of Lev Warren, she's given unparalleled access to his person and the inner workings of the Unity Project. However, as Lo spends more time with Lev and the members of The Unity Project, and learns more about Bea's involvement and her connection to the religion, Lo feels herself being drawn into The Unity Project, and everything she knows about herself, her life, her sister and The Unity Project is upended. Is The Unity Project a cult, or is it the one thing Lo never knew she needed to believe in?
I read The Project in 2 sittings, so that should tell you how hooked I was into it. I find cults to be a fascinating topic, and Summers managed to capture everything about cults and cult leaders that sparked my interest. She is able to capture the deep needs that draw people to these kinds of groups and the charisma of cult leaders have to take advantage of that desperation. As you read about Lev Warren (who is a really interesting and well-developed character) you begin to understand the allure of these kinds of groups, but you also see the dark side of them in this book too, and how abusers are able to maintain control of those groups and take advantage of people who are down on their luck. The reader is right with Lo as she endeavors to make sense of The Unity Project's allure and discovers the truth behind it. Summers's writing style is electric and really really good. This book would have been 5 stars, but I felt that the ending was really rushed and abrupt. I also didn't find the book as scary as it has been marketed. Disturbing and compelling, yes. Scary? no. The Unity Project is a story about cults, but its also a story about how people are placed into desperate circumstances and look for hope, and how the worst of society looks to take advantage of it. It's also a story about sisterhood, and the choices two sisters will make for each other.

I was a big fan of Courtney Summers' last book, Sadie, so I was extremely excited when I was approved for The Project. Overall, the story really held my attention, though I felt the last quarter of the book kind of went off the rails--I could have used more foreshadowing about the initial reveal re: what kind of person Lev actually is, and I felt the revelation of what happened to Bea was pretty underwhelming as well. That said, I'm SHOCKED that this book was written for a YA audience--not to say that young adults couldn't handle the content, but the subject and particularly the nuances of religion and motherhood that Summers explores are better suited, I think, for an adult book. I also found Lo's job situation to be totally unrealistic--girl, you're 19 and you were literally HANDED a job, please stop whining! If the character were like 22-23 instead I would have found it way more believable.

Courtney Summers' The Project is another propulsive thriller about two sisters and the cult that threatens to come between them. I won't like that I was predisposed to be fascinated by this book because of the content about it focusing on a cult (hello NXIVM), and Summers did not disappoint.

If you loved Sadie, try this. If you haven't read Sadie, still try this, and then go read Sadie.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

If you know me, you know I’m a huge Courtney Summers fan. I read Sadie back in 2018 right after we started our bookstagram and proceeded to make every person I know read it as well. I feel like her young adult novels skip any of the silly stereotypes and have unique and mature plot lines. I was ecstatic to be chosen to read her newest. Anything that has a cult, sign me up! While I didn’t love the Project as much as Sadie, it was still compulsively readable and unique. Lo was a great female protagonist with a very interesting character arc. My only gripe was with Lev, the leader of the cult. I had a hard time seeing how anyone would follow him as he didn’t seem charismatic in the least. Overall, this was a good quick read but not my favorite from Summers.
⁣

I audiobooked this and really enjoyed it. However I found it somewhat difficult to differentiate Lo from Bea because the narrator used the same voices for both. The Unity Project was intriguing and different but it didn’t blow my mind to be honest. There weren’t many plot twists that caught me off guard. Maybe I’m too used to shocking and violent endings with my love for horror novels or a teen mystery was just too tame for me 🤷🏼‍♀️ overall, this is still a story that I would recommend to customers and teen readers. It was fun for sure but nothing that made me adore it

I feel like everyone that has reviewed this book has done so with extremely high expectations, be it the author bigging it up to be hyped and 'the one' but honestly I tend to go into overly hyped books with a grain of salt and enjoy making up my own mind about what i think. I think this book was a 4 star and excellently written. I loved the cover, it sucks you in and leaves you wanting to pick it up and find out more.

The main character Lea was fine and i didnt really find myself disliking anyone or having to skim pages to get to more exciting parts within the book. It was a fab read and worth some hype.

This was a very intriguing thriller about a young woman who finds herself entangled in a cult that her estranged sister became involved with. I liked seeing the dual POV describing both sisters' experiences with the cult and, although the non-linear storytelling was a bit frustrating at first, I grew to appreciate it. I really liked the complicated sisterhood shown here and all the love, anger and confusion between the two sisters. The story is extremely slow paced which made it hard for me to get into but eventually the dark and deeply unsettling atmosphere, along with the beautiful prose, won me over and got me invested. I think the book does a good job of exploring religion, abuse and trauma - I personally would've liked some more twists and turns and a less predictable plot but overall, it was a fairly compelling read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Courtney Summers has a way of exploring uncomfortable phenomena that happen in everyday life but get swept under the rug, and The Project was no different. Here we are given the chance to not only explore the inner workings of cult life, but we explore how human weaknesses can be so completely exploited. It is so easy to manipulate a person when they are at their lowest, when they need a caring person to give them hope. I was not pulled into this novel immediately. It took about a third of the book for my intrigue to peak, and then I was hooked and couldn't put it down. What a ride this was. A fascinating, horrific, sad ride.

Lo Denham’s parents died in a car crash that left her with a large scar on her face. Her aunt took care of her after her older sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project. The Unity Project is a group known for their charity work and community outreach. Lo hasn’t spoken to her sister in six years, and she is sure that The Unity Project is a cult. When her boss’s friend claims that The Unity Project killed his son who jumped in front of a train in front of Lo, she knows she has to investigate The Project. Her research leads her right to the founder Lev Warren, who makes Lo question her own beliefs.

This story had dual narratives. Lo told her first person perspective, which alternated with a third person narrative about Bea and her years in the cult when she didn’t speak to her sister. The two sisters had been through a lot together, with losing their parents and Lo having a life altering injury from the car crash. However, Lev was able to convince Bea that the cult would be better for her than her sister.

Lev and The Unity Project were very convincing. There were accusations of abuse within the group, which prompted Lo to investigate The Project and find her sister. Lo was slowly drawn into the cult as well. The things they told her were quite convincing, but when you look at what they left out, they looked very suspicious. I could see the ending coming, but like other Courtney Summers’s books, it was heartbreaking.

This is a great, slow burn thriller.

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I initially was very intrigued by the premise of this book. However, I found “The Project” to be rather convoluted and never got into it. You would think that a book that dealt with a cult and its ripple on two sisters would not have that problem, but here we are. Not a terrible book, but it just wasn’t for me. 2 ⭐️.