Well, this was definitely creepy in a cultist way.

The Project is my first Courtney Summers book, and it was interesting. Back when I requested it, I just finished a k-drama called Save Me--which also involves cult--and The Project sounds similar with that. At first, I was a little bit disappointed because I was expecting a thriller where the MCs try to break out of the cult, but The Project is 100% a psychological thriller. It toys with your feelings and emotions throughout the book. The whole time I was reading it, I had this...uneasy feeling and it made me nauseated.

The thing that I love the most from this book is Courtney Summers's writing itself. As the reader, I think we've predicted, or even knew to a certain degree, that The Unity Project is a cult beforehand. And yet, somehow, somewhere in the book, I fell into the manipulation. I was questioning myself, to the point that I thought, "Hey, maybe the plot twist is that The Unity Project isn't a cult!". At the back of my mind, I know it didn't make sense and it wasn't possible, but the fact that it even cross my mind is proof that I'd walked to the trap. Because of this, I'm in awe with Courtney's writing, how she manage to write characters that manipulate not only the MC, but the reader as well.

The Project was told in dual POVs between Lo and Bea. At first I wasn't sure what the purpose of Bea's POV since it mostly flashbacks, starting from when she first joined The Unity Project, but soon it became clear that Bea's POV was necessary so we can see Lev Warren's gaslighting toward Lo in the present day. I really want to talk more about these POVs since I find it interesting how Lo and Bea's journey intersect each other, but it'll give away too much spoilers. I think it's best if you go into this book without knowing too much.

I was a bit disappointed though with the ending. It ended way too soon and sort of out-of-nowhere, so it fell short in contrast to the build-up throughout the book. I'd love it more if the "final showdown" weren't not that easy and simple. Overall though, The Project is an intriguing story revolving cult and two sisters's effort to save themselves from it. Definitely will check out Courtney Summers's other books in the future!

Wow, it was good. It was crazy. It was unbelievable what people believe, but their vunerability looking for more from life and either searching for God and more or not believing. Bea and Lo sisters who are the only ones remaining of their family. Lo seriously injured in the accident is left with her aunt as Bea moves on believing that Lo would be better without her. Lo who is now a young adult and upcoming writer keeps searching for Bea and tries to get information from The Unity Project, aka The Cult according to Lo. The Project and mindset of the folks running the group and the followers and what they do and believe of the Leader, Lev is eyeopening, but when Lo wants to join the Project at her lowest point you can see why folks join and want to believe.

The Project is a cult. The leader is a cult leader. The members are cult members. Everyone plays their parts as you would expect. It was a good portrayal of how cults work and how people join them. Unfortunately, the characters were all pretty unlikable and there were no real surprises.

I've never had a book quite like The Project, by Courtney Summers- and it blew me away. So many twist and turns, and almost every one of them surprised me- in a good way. My heart completely broke for Lo and I am sill recovering!! I will definitely be recommending this book!!

NetGalley ARC | If you enjoy reading books about cults, don't skip The Project. Fast-paced, slightly unpredictable, sometimes shocking, and a little heartbreaking, I felt all of the emotions.

I had read mixed reviews, but I absolutely devoured this well-written and engaging February new release.

You can find the complete review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/february-2021-book-releases/

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I don't know what to think. I loved the writing style and the format the author choose to tell this story, but something about religion/cult aspects really bothers me (from a personal experience). The world-building and development surrounding the cult was also very well done and when we learn the true about it, it's just mind blowing. There's a tiny little thing I didn't like about it, but overall was a wild book.

I requested a copy of this book through Netgalley for a few reasons. First, I had heard some very positive things about one of Courtney Summers’ earlier books, Sadie. Second, the blurb indicated that the book involved a cult, which intrigues me. We live in a time where people seem to be more likely to be extreme in their views, and even political leanings have shifted into an almost cult-like following, so the topic of the book felt fitting to me with the current culture/climate. Lastly, I love a good mystery thriller where the main character is a reporter, digging up the dirty and juicy details.

The book didn’t thrill me but didn’t disappoint me much either. I felt like some sections of the plot were a little dragged out, but not too many, as most of the book actually moved at an excellent pace. It was fast enough to keep you interested, but had enough backstory and detail to flesh out the story in your mind. One plot device used had a nice surprise reveal - the author didn’t go the expected route, but made you think she was. I really liked that she got that one over on me.

One thing that I really loved about this book was the depth of pretty much all of the major players. Lo was a strong, independent and ambitious young woman, but we also saw her vulnerabilities and weaknesses in a powerful way. Lev’s history and ability to charm were developed perfectly, leaving the reader to wonder if his patience and loving behavior were a facade or his true nature. Bea’s need to believe in something bigger, her latching on to a spot of light in her time of darkness, and her innate drive to connect with others is superbly written. Lev’s right hand Casey, Unity Project members Foster and Emmy, Lo’s boss Paul, Unity Project member Jeremy’s father Arthur - all are fleshed out and we’re allowed to see what pushes them forward, what has broken them, and glimpses into their inner selves. Honestly, I’d say this author’s best skill is her ability to write characters extremely well.

This is marked as a young adult novel, but while it wasn’t super gritty, it got pretty dark at times. It didn’t read as a young adult novel, at least to me. So please don’t let that genre tag stop you from giving the book a chance.

Overall, I’d say it’s a little more than three and a half stars, but a little less than four, so I’ll round up to four. I enjoyed this book enough that I’ll definitely be going back and picking up some of the author’s other books, including Sadie.

I’d also like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Project by Courtney Summers is about two sisters and a religious group called the Unity Project. Bea and Lo are orphaned when their parents die in a car accident that leaves Lo seriously injured. Bea leaves Lo in the care of an aunt and joins the Unity Project. Those who join the Unity Project leave their old lives behind, so Lo never hears from Bea again. When Lo becomes a young woman and aspiring journalist a story about the Unity Project takes hold of her and she is determined to find her sister.
Alternating between Bea and Lo and past and present, the story of the Unity Project unfolds. The characters felt underdeveloped and the pace was jerky. Just as the story felt like it was getting somewhere with the emotions and plot picking up, the viewpoint would change and all momentum was lost. This worked to create a sense of unease which made the mystery of the story better. However, it just did not work for me and I felt myself getting frustrated as the story continued. The ending was lackluster and felt rushed.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Project follows Lo Denham, who goes to live with her great aunt after the death of her parents and after her sister Bea joins The Unity Project. The Unity Project has won the hearts of many for its charitable actions, but Lo knows there’s more than meets the eye. And when a man shows up claiming that The Unity Project killed his son, Lo has the perfect opportunity to expose The Unity Project and reunite with her sister.

I was introduced to Courtney Summers’ books with Sadie and it became one of my all-time favorites of that year. I don’t read YA thrillers too often, but I found Sadie to be so unique in its story and I loved the way the story was presented. So when I saw The Project, I knew I had to read it.

Lo is nineteen in the main storyline of this novel and works as an assistant, so this book is more for an older YA audience. And just like with Sadie, I really liked the way that Summers set the tone with her writing in The Project. From the events of the first chapter, you can tell that there’s going to be a lot to be uncovered throughout the course of the book. The subject matter of this book was unique as well. It featured the exploration of a cult and the troublesome events that took place behind the scenes.

However, I found somewhere around the halfway mark that I was beginning to lose interest in finding out what was really going on. There are timeline and perspective switches between Lo and Bea that were done in a way that wasn’t confusing, but I feel like I wasn’t as invested in their timelines as I should have been. Additionally, I feel that because of all of the backstory, a more significant event in the book happens that I felt needed to be drawn out more for it to be more believable.

Despite this, there was a fair share of suspenseful and intriguing moments throughout The Project. There were also so many subjects covered throughout the book without it being too overwhelming.

So while it didn’t quite meet my expectations, The Project was definitely a unique mystery/thriller and I continue to look forward to reading more of Summers’ books in the future.

"The Project" by Courtney Summers brings to the forefront how easily troubled individuals so easily believe what they want to hear. In this story Lo survives a horrific traffic accident that kills her parents. Her sister, Bea believes that the sole reason Lo survived was Lev Warren - the founder of the Unity Project. But as time goes on mistakes are made and secrets are revealed - but what is the truth?

I received this book through Net Galley and this is my honest review.

The Project is YA author Courtney Summer’s latest contemporary suspense novel that explores the bond between sisters and the powerful lure of cults.

Lo and Bea are children when a car accident devastated their family and sends their world sideways. When Lo wakes up in the ICU she discovers that not only has she lost her parents and been gravely injured but that her sister has been pulled into a Christian-based cult (The Unity Project) headed by charismatic Lev.
Now Lo is an adult and determined to see Bea again and is using her job at an investigative journalism website to get access to her. But the deeper she digs into “the Project” the more she is drawn in herself.

Courtney Summers continues to impress with her ability to combine the best of young adult literary fiction and contemporary suspense. Both sisters are written as complicated young people and their earnest struggles to find love and acceptance leaps off the page. As the trap slowly closes around each of them the reader wants to jump in and rescue them both. Lo’s dissatisfaction with her career and her desire to be MORE is something everyone can relate to.

I highly recommend The Project to literary suspense fans of all ages. Although it is categorized as young adult I found the themes and maturity of the writing to transcend that category. Courtney Summers has created a contemporary tale of family, deception and the search for meaning in a modern world.

An advanced copy of The Project was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for review purposes

4.5 STARS


The Project is a Courtney Summers book, which means you know it's going to hurt you.

And from the first moments it does. With two estranged sisters, dead parents, accusations of cult activity, and a dreary sense of grief raining over it all, it could seem like it's too much. Like it's too grim, too fast.

But because this is a Courtney Summers book, it's a book that times every punch exquisitely, taking you on a 350-odd page ride through grief and hope and every fragile emotion in between. It's dark, there's no doubt, and it covers topics that simply cannot be approached lightly. And at the very same time, it finds a light, whether it's from a blaze of anger or a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

And this time, at the center of it all, is Lo Denham, an aspiring journalist. Lo Denham, a girl who lost her parents to a car wreck. Lo Denham, who wants to prove that her sister abandoned her for a cult.


It's amazing how Lo fills every inch of this book, and yet fights for space from beneath Lev Warren's long shadow.

Normally, two characters competing for page time might seem fraught, even poorly written. But Lev Warren, founder and leader of the Unity Project, casts a very long shadow, and Lo's life has spun out in that shadow since her sister abandoned her for the Unity Project's promises. Instead of creating a disjointed sense of character space, for lack of a better term, it builds tension instead. Everything Lo does is to pull back the curtain on the cult that took Bea away, so without the Unity Project, without Lev Warren towering over her life, who is she really?

Of course, she's not any less interesting for leading such a life. Her experiences have made her sharp and independent, unafraid to ask the hard questions until she finds the truth. She's nineteen, she's pretty much on her own, and she refuses to let anyone dictate her path. Does it make her hard-headed and bad at taking good advice? Sure. But does it make perfect sense, does it make her such a real, grounded, believable character? Oh, absolutely.

Of course, Lo's steadfast nature did make a late-book plot point seem a little strange, even abrupt, but that was one small hitch in an otherwise roaring, relentless story.


Of course, there are parts of The Project that feel predatory. Such is the nature of cults and their figureheads.

It's impossible to get through this book without feeling discomfort and rage in roughly equal measure. Discomfort with the way cults prey on the vulnerable, the way men prey on young women, the way religion preys on the hopeless. But rage with all of these things, too, rage because people are so unwilling to see the corruption because of a few otherwise good deeds performed to act as a screen.

I spent the entire time reading on the edge of my seat, wondering what it would take to make things right. Wondering if things could be made right. How do you find justice when you have to prove there's evil behind all the miscellaneous good deeds the rest of the world sees?

And every now and again, The Project makes you wonder if there is any kind of evil at work. Of course there is, there always is, but isn't that the nature of cults, the power of them, to suggest that all is well? I'm in awe of but also terrified of how smoothly Courtney Summers manages to balance the two. She makes the path to the truth a slippery one, more dangerous with every step, and it's ruthlessly engaging.


If you're looking to hold your breath while your heart breaks, The Project might be for you.

Certainly check out the content warnings below before you start, since there are many, but give The Project your time all the same. It's sharp, it's gutting, it's all too real, and it's worth every minute spent on every page.

It's also hitting shelves on February 2nd, which means you don't have to wait long to get your hands on a copy! Place your pre-orders or library requests soon if you're able, and in no time, you'll be able to join Lo Denham in investigating the Unity Project.


CW: medical scenes, sexual assault, loss of a loved one, suicide, child abuse, child death, drug use, addiction, self-harm, nudity, sex scenes (non-graphic), violence

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 10am EST on 1/26/21.]

I read Sadie when it first came out and LOVED it (it’s one of my fave books to this day actually). So I truly thought I was gonna love this one even more. But alas that wasn’t the case.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed my time reading this. The writing was beautiful—so atmospheric—and it was super creepy as well. But I didn’t find it to be as compelling as Sadie. It took me a little longer to finish than I thought ‘cause I wasn’t as invested in the story.

This book is told through two different timelines—one in the past and one in present day— so what I enjoyed most about this book was reading Bea’s POV from the past. I thought her perspective provided some great insight onto how cults operate (as f***ed up as they are). Bea was also a likeable character.

Lo was a pretty frustrating character not gonna lie. She made some pretty dumb decisions and I wasn’t here for it. I won’t say any more than that, ‘cause I want to avoid spoilers.

I was also super disappointed with the final climax. There was this big build up and than it just didn’t happen. Like what the hell was that? I wanted some action, I wanted the big fight and I felt cheated from a great ending.

Though not as good as her predecessor, this was still an interesting read. And if you’re a fan of Sadie, I would definitely pick this up.

Lo Denham is trying to move on with her life and kick-start her journalism career after a traumatic childhood filled with suffering and loss. Only 19, Lo lives with the pain and scars from the car wreck that took her parents' lives and nearly took her own. In the wake of that tragedy, Lo also lost her older sister, Bea, when Bea left her to join The Unity Project, a tight-knit religious group led by Lev Warren.

An encounter with a grieving father who lost his son to The Unity Project prompts Lo to start looking for answers. Despite years of being continually shut out by the group and kept from seeing or talking to her sister, this time Lo will not stop until she learns the truth, even if that means getting too close Lev and the influence of The Project.

This was definitely a binge read for me! From start to finish I was totally engaged and immersed in this thrilling hunt for the truth. This book was heartbreaking and chilling, intense and harrowing. It's not a happy read but it's one that I couldn't put down! The story is told from Lo and Bea's perspectives and in flashbacks from both girls, with the present story line being told from Lo's perspective.

Lo immediately captured my interest. She's had an incredibly difficult life and yet she's still fighting and trying to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. She's also intensely lonely and isolated, without family or friends, and working in an environment where she's the newbie kid and not truly a part of the office crowd. She's a misfit searching for answers and that leads her back to the Unity Project and her search for her sister, and also to a story that she hopes will launch her career.

Lo's investigation into the Unity Project brings her into direct contact with the Project's charismatic leader, Lev Warren, a man who claims to be God's Redeemer and offers salvation to all who enter the Unity Project. But becoming a part of the Project requires leaving one's old life entirely behind, a step that Bea took and that led to her being cut off from Lo. Lo enters the world of the Unity Project a hostile skeptic, rejecting the claims that Lev has performed miracles like bringing a girl back from the dead. But during her interviews and encounters with Lev and his inner circle, she starts to question what she once knew to be true and begins to wonder if maybe the Project has been right all along.

Like Summers' other novel, Sadie, The Project is a grim story about the evils in the world that many choose to ignore. It's also about truth and love, loss and revelation, family bonds and the longing for acceptance. It gets under your skin and stays in your mind. While it's not a happy read, it's a good one.

*2.5

I may have gone into this with too high expectations. Having loved this author’s previous work, Sadie, I thought it would be the same case for this one, but I ended up disappointed by almost every aspect of this book; I had to force myself through a majority of it as I was never fully invested in the story.

The Project was slow from beginning to end, I was expecting a shocking reveal, but I saw everything coming. For it being so slow, I was hoping to at least like the characters, but they were all annoying. Although, I will commend the author for creating such a hateful antagonist. Every time Lev appeared on-page I felt inexplicably angry. However, I didn’t see how so many people were charmed by this man, he wasn’t charming and if I met him in real life I’d run away from him immediately.

I had trouble distinguishing between Bea and Lo’s POVs, the only way I’d know whose point of view we were in was the year before each section, but even that started getting too convoluted.

My main interest in this book was the cult, but they just felt too preachy, which is maybe what the author intended, but something I couldn’t get into.

Overall, I feel this book was just not for me. The writing was great but I could not connect to either the characters or the story. I’m sure a lot of other people will love this book and I’m just in the minority here.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Project by Courtney Summers.
I found this book a bit slow and confusing in the beginning, but it did ramp up - so stick with it.
The story centers on two sisters and has sensitivev subject matter.
The book does move quickly - i think this is more YA than adult in my opinion. Nonetheless, it is a good book that provides strong female characters and a current plot.
3 stars.

When Bea Denham is nineteen years-old, her parents die in a car crash that nearly takes the life of her beloved younger sister Lo, as well. Her only other living relative, Aunt Patty, is the stiff upper lip sort of person, and expects Bea to pull herself together for Lo’s sake. Feeling helpless and alone, Bea meets a man in the hospital who not only promises to save Lo’s life, but also offers Bea the comfort she desperately needs:

QUOTE
Bea is tired of the hospital, where Lo is angry and in pain and there is nothing she can do and she makes no difference. She’s tired of Patty’s reproach, the expectation that Bea’s sense of duty be greater than her own need. And then there’s Lev on the phone, nearly every night, reminding her of the work ahead and how incomplete it would be without her, how essential she is to the fight. They need her ferocity, her impulsiveness and her beautiful, unselfish heart. It makes Bea feel like she can breathe to hear that, and she makes him say it to her over and over again. Patty and Lo, they both look at Bea like she’s selfish.

<i>God wouldn’t choose someone selfish. God is infallible,</i> he tells her.
END QUOTE

Lev Warren is the founder of The Unity Project, a leftist religious organization that eschews church hierarchy in order to bring the word of God to the people. When Lo is finally discharged from the hospital -- still in pain and with a porous memory that wounds Bea deeply -- Patty takes over her care. Bea, feeling adrift, enters the Project’s fold and swiftly disappears from society.

Six years later, Lo has recovered, gotten her GED and snagged what she thought was her dream job working for the famed investigative reporter Paul Tindale:

QUOTE
[The New York Times] asked him about what his work meant to him and what his life meant because of his work and he’d answered, <i>You know, I don’t have a kid or a partner. My work is how I make myself permanent in other people’s lives and I only write what’s real and what’s true because the truth endures. The closer you get to the bone, the less you can be denied</i>.

It was the first thing I’d come across after the accident that made me feel like my life could mean anything. I wrote, loved to write, it was the one thing that survived the wreck--and that revelation, that I could use my writing to be real here, to matter here...and then to have Paul Tindale himself hand-pick me out of his lecture…

It all seemed so fucking fated.
END QUOTE

Unfortunately, being Paul’s assistant does not mean actually getting to write anything for their publication, SVO. Frustrated by her lack of opportunity, Lo begins to secretly investigate a suicide she witnessed. Jeremy Lewis was a stranger who spoke cryptically to her shortly before jumping off the train they’d both boarded. She tried to put the incident out of her mind till his grieving father, a close friend of Paul’s, publicly asserts that The Unity Project had something to do with Jeremy’s death. Lo long since reconciled herself to the fact that she lost her sister to The Project, but Arthur’s grief and anger spark in her a fresh need to track Bea down, and perhaps uncover the truth behind an organization sometimes hailed as a godsend but just as often derided -- even by her own publication -- as a cult.

Putting herself back on The Project’s radar will see Lo confronting her past once more, as she peels away at her own protective layers in the process of finding and hopefully reconciling with Bea. The more she digs, the more she discovers, not only of the shocking truth about her sister’s life but also the deepest secrets of an opaque religious order seemingly touched by the miraculous.

I was pretty torn in my opinion of this novel. On the one hand, I admired the craft Courtney Summers brought to this story, layering symmetries in the dual point of view narratives to gracefully build a satisfying whole. Lo’s commitment to writing struck a chord, as did the Rashomon-style framing of the sisters’ past. The ambiguity with which The Project was described was also very deftly done, even as I had to remind myself that Bea and Lo were each vulnerable nineteen year-olds during their viewpoint chapters and so should be cut some slack for their very terrible choices. Ms Summers is both honest and empathetic in writing about young women who want to be chosen, who feel scorned by the people they meet in everyday life so seek the validation that places like The Project, with its promise of a social utopia, offer to their seeking souls. If I weren’t so tired of a political climate that demands I feel sorry and make allowances for people who make bad choices that damage those they claim to love the most, I would probably have enjoyed this more. While this novel is both illuminating and worthwhile, it’s also definitely for readers more capable than myself at present of dissociating themselves from contemporary issues in order to better embrace this tale of redemption and sisterhood against all odds.

The Project is a book about a suspected cult. It started off pretty slow for me. The book moved back and forth in both time and subjects. It was often hard to discern which character a section was about. Overall, the story was ok, but I definitely wanted more.

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

~ Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review! Release date: Feb 2 ~

For that brief period when everything ugly is covered under that sparkle of something so new, the world almost feels like it's living up to its potential.

This was so ugly to read but I couldn't stop. If someone came up to me and said they hated every word of this book I'd honestly almost agree with them. But for some reason, I'm giving it 5 stars?

This book definitely isn't for everyone. It's frustrating, and I quite literally screamed at my Kindle throughout most of it. Yet, I was unequivocally enthralled.

It's told in a dual POV, one about Bea who joined The Unity Project several years ago while Lo, her sister was in recovery from a bad car accident. The other POV is Lo, several years later, trying to investigate the organization that stole her sister from her.

This is a story of vulnerability, and while I never fell for it like Bea and Lo, I still found it fascinating. I've seen some criticism that readers weren't tricked into trusting Lev, but I feel like that's entirely the point. In fact, I'd be surprised to hear that anyone was tricked along with Bea and Lo! Personally, I believe this story is meant to demonstrate how people fall into schemes like this. We see Bea and Lo get abandoned by everything in their lives, so when Lev is the only thing left, of course they cling to him.

I was enraged to see Bea and Lo so easily convinced by this clearly sick individual. I highlighted and wrote notes over dozens of passages expressing endless frustration and disbelief that they couldn't see the countless red flags being presented to them, but other quotes made me understand how this happened to them.

Foster saying he didn't believe the op-ed because it claimed members were being abused, and while he was being mutilated by Lev, he didn't know that was abuse.

Lo admitting, 'I'm afraid I'll give away what's left of myself to feel less alone. I already did it once.'

As the book went on I couldn't get one question out of my head: How did we get to this point?

That's what I think this book manages to do perfectly. You get so sucked in that even when you, as the reader, know that Lev is a monster, you still can't identify when Lo's mind gets changed. It's a perfect illustration of how she can't either.

Courtney Summers truly blew me away with this one, and now I absolutely need to get more into her backlist.