I love cults.

Not being in one, obviously. Nor supporting them. But dear lord, do I love hearing about the insanity of cults. From Jonestown to Waco to Jehovah's Witnesses and the MAGAts, their mind frame, their inability to see through the brain washing, it's all so, so fascinating.

So, even though I am in the extreme minority in that I haven't yet read Sadie, when I saw Courtney Summers had a new book, and it was a YA thriller about cults, I signed up SO quick.

The Unity Project sounds amazing. They are dedicated to doing good works, such as feeding and housing the homeless. They have Unity centers all around the country (I think?), designed to help people, mind body and soul. They're all about God, and their leader, Lev Warren, is a messenger from God. They know this because he prayed for 30 hours with no food and water, and that definitely doesn't lead to hallucinations and crazy making.

Lo works for a magazine. She's an administrative assistant who wants to be a writer. Her boss wants her to be an administrative assistant. One day, she's traumatized by witnessing a Unity Project member's suicide, and it brings up painful memories of her childhood, where her parents died and her sister disappeared while Lo was still in the hospital, barely making it out alive.

She goes to the Unity Project, where her sister Bea is no longer a member. And she wants answers. The only way to get it is to strike a deal. She will write a story about them, and they will prove they're not what she believes they are.

There's a LOT to like about this novel. A lot. You know, in your very being, that this is a cult. That Lev Warren is David Koresh. You know Lo should really think twice before drinking anything offered by these zealots.

But...maybe Lo's wrong. Maybe the end will reveal that they're not a cult, and that the mainstream media got it wrong. The conservatives hate them because they're too socialist. The liberals hate them because they're too Jesus-y. Maybe they really are who they say they are.

Right?

I will admit, the final reveal was disappointing for several reasons. Least of which is, we saw no foreshadowing or evidence of what this truth really was. And trust me, I was listening for it.

The ending both ties things up too neatly and leaves too many questions. And that's frustrating after a really incredible, well written story.

3.5, inching towards 4 stars.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book. I find the writing in this book very well written and I also enjoy the premise of these story. Overall, I find myself disconnected with the story and find every plot to be easy foreseeable in this book.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
It took me a little while to get into the story. The front half was good; development of story, character, and setting. I devoured the last half of the book though. I was hooked at that point and had to see how it worked out.
There were fantastic twists and unexpected turns. The final "miracle" seemed like a throw away. I think the non explanation was meant to be in contrast to Lo's belief in only the seen, but it was the only aspect that didn't reveal itself in more detail by the end of the book. Still recommend, it's a good book. *Possible abuse triggers*

Ahhh man I wanted to love this one so badly!

I am a huge fan of the cult storyline. A promising young writer goes to extraordinary lengths to save her sister from a. cult? Sign me up!

It started off very intriguing - and after the amazing Sadie I was ALL IN. But it was just a little bit dry for me. It went on and on and there just weren't really many exciting moments that I feel like could have been injected into the story to make it a little bit more lively. It was the slowest of all the slow burns.

There were definitely creepy and culty moments. But I still don't know what they did - or really why... and although there was a bit of. twist in the middle, it kinda righted itself and slowly just fizzled out.

The flip flopping between sisters and timelines was kind of confusing as well. Sometimes I forgot which sister was which - especially when Lo infiltrates the cult. I kept getting mixed up in the storylines.

The end was a bit disappointing. Kind of satisfying, but also kind of a disappointment? I just think it needed more. More of what? I'm not sure. A-ha moments? Wow moments? More creepiness? Maybe all of the above.

I'm such a fan of Courtney Summers and books about cults and could not wait to read The Project.

After losing her parents and almost her life in a horrible car accident, Lo loses her sister Bea to the Unity Project. On the surface, it's a well-respected charitable community. But Lo sees beyond that and recognizes the dark side to the community.

The story alternates between Lo and Bea's perspectives. It's a slow-paced story that shows how Bea's identity is absorbed into the Unity Project and Lo's quest to reconnect with her sister. The look into religious extremism was eye opening the focus on the predatory ways of cult culture and grooming and how easily a "regular" person can be lured into joining one is a powerful message. While it's not heart-racing

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy

DNF at 55%

Okay, I don't know what the hell happened here. I don't want to be rude but I'm honestly disappointed with this book.

Sadie is one of my favorite books, I recommend it to everyone all the time and I was so excited when I read that Courtney is writing a new book, and about cults! I mean, wow, this could be interesting. The main character is mysterious, a CULT, and an interesting plot, what could possibly go wrong?

I honestly don't know what was this, I didn't care about the characters, I didn't even feel the need to find out what happens to all of them, and DNFed it at 55% because I couldn't read more, it was just boring. The writing was good, as always, of course, but I couldn't relate to any of the characters, I didn't even like them, at all.

I just couldn't finish it, no matter how many times I tried. I'm sorry Courtney.

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC copy of The Project

This book seemed to have everything I would like in a story; complex main character, a cult, an interesting premise and plot – it’s all there. It started great! The first 40% flew by, but then everything stopped. The tension? Gone. The world building? Froze. The interesting plot and character? Completely flattened out; well until the last 10% when the ride started again at warp speed until the end.

The middle section was kind of a mess. I feel like the author wanted to build some relationship with the other characters and flush out some of the mystery, but got tangled in a bunch of details that still seemed vague and didn’t really matter in the end.

I gave this book 3 stars because I did like the beginning and end. I also can see how the middle would work for some people. Then writing was good and nothing felt wrong, but the pacing was wild.

I read "The Project" by Courtney Summers recently and was immediately pulled into the story. It is focused on two sisters, who have a tragedy that affects them. Bea deals with it by joining The Unity Project, which Lo thinks is a cult. The book delves into the relationship between the two sisters, and how the sisters interact with those around them. I would recommend this book. And I will look for more books by Courtney Summers.

the project review
Unfortunately, I DNFed this book. I’m not entirely sure what to rate it, maybe 2.5 stars? I stopped full about a quarter of the way through, and skimmed for a bit longer. (I fully stopped about 39% of the way through.) I will say that a lot of reviewers say that it gets better after the 60% mark, but I feel like I shouldn’t have to give a book that long, especially one like this that’s not very long. I actually liked the style of the prose here, so that’s a plus. I also liked that this book shows how cults target emotionally vulnerable people and prey on their tragedies.

The blurb makes this seem like the type of book I would love. After trying to read it, I’m not the biggest fan. It’s lacking any teeth in the beginning. It’s sort of like… yeah, cults are bad, emotionally vulnerable people get sucked into them, people outside can be dismissive and not notice strange things happening in them.

It feels like the writing is trying to be a bare bones jaded reporter trying to get the go ahead to write a controversial story. Except that Lo, the MC, is not a reporter, she’s a secretary for a reporter who wants to do more but doesn’t have the qualifications according to her boss. It feels like this book is so eager to get to the cult that we don’t get a lot of introduction to the main character early on in the book. I feel like I know about Lo and Bea’s relationship as sisters based on when they were both a lot younger, but not really who either of them are outside of that.

A quarter of the way in, I was kind of bored. (For some reason the e-arc page numbers are off from what it seems the full book is, the e arc is 197 pages but the good reads page says the full book is 352.) From the beginning, it feels like a lot of important events in the past are not given to us. I felt like I had no backstory on who I was reading about. I knew that Lo was in a car accident with her parents that killed them and badly hurt her, and that even was the catalyst to push Bea into a cult. But what’s happened since then with Lo? What made Bea, who was a teenager at the time, emotionally vulnerable and trusting enough that she goes off with this cult leader who shows up at her sister’s bedside? It shows us the aftermath but not the lead up, and often not the events themselves. (I don’t know if we get some of that later, though, so take that with a grain of salt.)
Lo has been trying to find her sister in this cult for a long while, but I feel like that wasn’t explained enough. It took me too long to get it. I just don’t understand why so many people within the book but outside of the cult said that the Unity Project was fine and not shady. This cult won’t let Lo see Bea (and maybe vice versa as well, but I didn’t get far enough in the book to really find out). Big red flags. I feel like religion gets a significant amount of public criticism in the real world, to the point where it doesn’t feel real that so many people in this book who aren’t in the cult keep telling Lo that there’s nothing wrong with the unity project. It’s clearly a cult. I think it would have worked better if people kept telling Lo that there was nothing she could do about it, not saying that there were no problems with it.

Also, the parts from 2012 with Bea’s narration read kind of young. It’s fine when there’s a bit of flashes even farther back, when Bea was a kid and Lo was just born and very little. But for 2012, where Bea is supposed to be a teen (i’m pretty sure), the 3rd person narrates the same way it did when she was a child.

All in all, I liked the writing style but the story feels too bare bones where I stopped. It supposedly gets more intense/gripping around the 60% mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc!

Rating: 4⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an Arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I knew going into this book that it was going to deal with a cult-like setting but I didn’t think it was going to be very religious. As someone who is not religious, I found I was rolling my eyes at some of the things said that The Unity Project would preach.
I liked Lo’s character as she’s driven to find out what happened to her sister. What she discovers along the way though - her sister having a child, being Lev’s “miracle”, Bea’s murder - was very predictable in my mind. I was able to guess all the “twists” well before they were revealed. I feel bad for Lo though since she didn’t really get to know her sister before Bea disappeared. She still had hope for her sister though.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the dual timelines as I felt it pulled away from Lo’s story. I understand why Bea’s story was included but I couldn’t really connect to her character and I often found myself falling bored during her chapters.
I really loved Sadie and wanted to love this one just as much but it fell flat for me. Overall it’s a decent read, it just wasn’t my favourite. I do think others will enjoy this story more than I did.

3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a pretty good YA Mystery/Thriller about a young woman's search for a sister who joined a group that may or may not be a cult.

Bea and Lo are sisters. Lo and their parents were in a terrible car accident when Lo very young and Bea was a teenager. The accident killed their parents and left Lo in critical condition. Bea felt helpless as Lo lay in the hospital clinging to life. After Lev Warren allegedly brings Lo back to life after she supposedly died, Bea join's Lev's movement, The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their aunt and cuts off all contact with Lo. Lo tries to contact Bea throughout the years but Bea refuses to see her. After Lo turns 19 she gets an apartment on her own and starts work as a receptionist at a magazine, hoping to become a professional journalist. She continues to investigate the Unity Project and try to contact Bea, to no avail. When Lo finally gains entry to the Unity Project, she gets close to Lev and begins to question whether the group is as evil as she thought it was.

For the most part this was a good book, although I didn't like Lo very much. She was so closed off and negative the entire book and it was hard to care about her. Even when people tried to break through and be nice to her, she was suspicious, touchy, cranky and took their efforts the wrong way. Perhaps the author wanted to demonstrate just how beguiling leaders of these type of movements can be when they are able to convince even the most jaded skeptic that their intentions are true and their cause just. It was surprising when Lo started to fall under Lev's sway, but then I thought, was she really, or was it just a great acting job to get further inside the movement to discover the truth? I think everyone will have their own opinion about that.

I wanted to to give this book a higher score because I really liked the author's previous book and the premise of this book intrigued me, but this book was so dark and Lo was so unlikeable that I often had a hard time picking it up. I can typically read a book like this in a day or two, but it took me quite a bit longer to read this book because I had to be in the right mood to read it. That's not to say that it's not well written, I think it has more to do with the subject matter than anything else.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

This book was fine, but I figured fairly quickly what the end "surprise" would be. If you're looking for a YA book about cults, I preferred The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly and Agnes at the End of the World.

In The Project, Lo wants to be a writer and she wants to talk to her sister, Bea. But her boss has essentially declared there's no option for her to advance, and her sister is a member of The Unity Project, which Lo (and many others) believe to be a cult.

Determined to kill two birds with one stone, Lo begins visiting the sites of The Project, hoping to see her sister and get information that can be used to bring The Project and its leader, Lev Warren, down. But as Lo tries to get closer, she finds herself drawn in deeper, and she may not be able (or want) to find her way back out.

As in her amazing book, Sadie, Summers deftly tackles heady topics, such as the role of women in different facets of society, what it means to be part of a family (and what exactly defines a family), and what true darkness may lurk under a seemingly bright surface. Summers has a beautiful writing style that lends itself well to the eeriness hovering over every word of her newest story, drawing readers in just like the characters within the book are pulled in deep.

Lo loses her parents and her only sister, Bea, in a short span of time in her early teens. Her parents died in a car accident, and shortly thereafter, Bea joined the Unity Project, an organization dedicated to charity works and community involvement. She is determined to get her sister back. Lo believes it’s a cult and decides to join it to find her missing sister.

Emotional and suspenseful, The Project, is a story that kept my interest throughout with the assistance of the engaging, deeply developed characters. The descriptions of the cult, it’s lifestyle and it’s location are eye opening and stunning, adding to the enjoyment of this novel. Lo deserves to know the truth of her sister and the ending is satisfying.

This is not a book I should have read before bed because it was sooo creepy! I've don't typically read true crime but I have loved this author's other books. This one did not disappoint. This is also my first book about a cult. I thought the narrative framing and clues throughout the story was suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat. I saw our main character descend into danger and at points I actually yelled out loud warnings to her like I was watching a horror movie. I think this is a book with so many small details that you would find more each time you read it. I won't say too much because this is a book you should start without knowing much. It will definitely stay with me after reading. More people please read this book so we can talk about it!

Flip. Flop.

That’s what my feelings for “The Project” did. They flipped, they flopped, and then flipped again as I read Courtney Summers’ latest Young Adult thriller.

And they flip-flopped DRAMATICALLY. From “like” to “strong dislike” to “really like” to even “love” by novel’s end, albeit fleeting.

It’s a lot of flipping and flopping, I know. Stay with me. This is all heading somewhere.

Nineteen-year-old Lo Denham knows how to take care of herself. She’s had no choice – her parents died in a car accident when she was 13, and her older sister, Bea, abandoned her to join the cult-like charitable group, The Unity Project.

Lo knows there is more to both The Unity Project and Bea’s departure than what lies on the surface. She has just never been able to prove it, no matter how deeply she researches the group’s activities or how often she shows up at The Unity Project’s doorstep demanding to see her sister.

Lo finally receives the break she’s been awaiting, however, when a man walks into her boss’s office, insisting that The Unity Project killed his son. Realizing that the young man’s death may be the missing link she needs to find Bea, Lo vows to do whatever is necessary to bring the group’s sinister ways to light.

So, here’s the thing. I feel like “The Project” has two parts to it – the bad part and the good part.

The bad part comes first, and it is SO not fun. It’s long. It’s boring. And it’s a long time to be bored, seeing as it encompasses 60% of the novel. The characters are dull and bland, and Summers’ writing is dry and devoid of emotion. The narrative is also bogged down heavily by info-dumping, with Summers plopping huge chunks of her cult research into conversations and interviews.

And the bad part is obviously why so many readers are struggling with the novel. Because if the plot is not engaging, if the characters are not dynamic, and if the narrative lacks emotion – what is there to connect you to the story?

Nothing, really.

But if you hang in there, as I did, and refuse to throw in the towel, you will eventually come to the good part – and your reading efforts will be handsomely rewarded.

Because the plot quickens. The story grips. The info-dumps disappear. The characters are richer. Emotion fills the narrative. And we are given a closing scene that is incredibly beautiful in its melancholy.

In other words, “The Project” becomes the novel it should’ve been from the very first page.

But it might be too late. I think a lot of readers will have checked out of the story long before the novel improves, and by the time the good part finally arrives, many of those who are still reading will not even care about what comes next.

And in all honesty, I’m not entirely certain the good part is GOOD ENOUGH to outweigh the bad part.

It was for me. But this sentiment may not be shared.


My sincerest appreciation to Courtney Summers, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

It’s a heart-wrenching and emotional story with lots of twists and turns. Lo and Bea are sisters, they lost their parents in a car accident. Shortly after the tragedy, Lo’s elder sister abandons her. Bea leaves and joins the Project. The project has a very nice image outside but it’s not what it seems to the world. The story is told from both Lo and Bea’s perspective. The characters are very interesting. The writing style is awesome. Little bit disappointed with the ending though. It was a bit slow paced. But overall it was enjoyable to me.

Like all of Courtney's books, The Project is an utterly engrossing book that you just cannot put down. It's the sort of book that is incredibly disturbing and horrifying but in a I-can't-look-away sort of way. It's fast paced, fascinating, and will definitely be a hit with many readers. Courtney Summers has an incredibly distinct writing style that really sets her apart form others.

However, my primary complaint about this book is that it is not YA. While teens can certainly read this book (in fact, I'm sure many teens would love it), I do not feel like it falls into the YA category. The main character is 19 at the beginning of the novel and lives on her own and supports herself. All the other characters are adults, and this book also deals with extremely intense themes that would be disturbing to many readers. I was not prepared to read graphic torture scenes in a book marketed towards children.

Ultimately, this is a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I definitely support teens reading outside of their age range however they see fit, but I have misgivings about this book being marketed as YA. In my eyes, it is definitely New Adult. I've already ordered it for the YA collection at my library, but, if I'd read it sooner, I would have not done so and would have instead recommended it to our adult collection development selector.

The Project by Courtney Summers
Release Date Feb 2 2021

Quick Summary:
The Project follows two sisters through 2 different timelines, one about 5 years in the past and one in the present. Lo is trying to investigate the Unity Project which she thinks is a cult that is keeping her sister from her. Bea's perspective follows her through her experience within the Unity Project.

What I liked:
I thought the use of the two perspectives and separate timelines was intricately planned out to reveal information to the reader in such a perfect order. It provided twists and turns and kept you guessing about the project for a really long time. I also love a good Cult book, and this book had some good psychological introspective moments where you could watch characters being indoctrinated or manipulated in real time.

One thing I would have changed:
The atmosphere of this book felt like it was lacking a bit. There is a hard shift in tone about 3/4 of the way through the story that ended up feeling abrupt because the tone of the rest of the book was so casual and normal. I would have liked a bit more of the creepiness to have seeped in earlier so that the reveal at the end was still shocking but more believable. As it was, it just felt a bit forced.

Overall thoughts:
I thin anyone who likes books with cults will enjoy this one. Watching Lo's opinion of the Unity Project shift and evolve from within her own perspective was such an original way to read a book about a cult and I really enjoyed it. Overall I gave it 3.5 stars. I would definitely recommend it to a friend but just wish the tone and atmosphere had been a bit better through the first 3/4 of the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with this ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm feeling pretty disappointed overall by this story. Courtney Summer's writing has always been so hyped up so I was so excited when I was approved for this one. Unfortunately, the writing was the only good part and everything else was flat and not enjoyable. I knew going into this one that the premise involved a cult, which I was fine with. Cults have always oddly fascinated me so that is what drew me in. The characters were flawed but even besides this, I could not truly root for any of them. I like stories that show past flash backs which this one also did but it was disorganized. Sometimes it would come out of nowhere and I would need to go back a few pages to find out where I got lost. Overall, I did not enjoy it. This was not my cup of tea but this may be yours! Summer's writing is excellent which is why I am giving this one 3 stars.