I looooooved The Project so much!! I didn't think Courtney Summers could pack so much of a punch after Sadie but boy was I mistaken. So many twists and turns, so much emotional investment, and OMG the tension and heartbreak as a reader!!! Another amazing book!!!

Courtney Summers always seems to reach into my mind and pull out the exact words that will create a shudder down my spine. The Project is delightfully really enough that you can see this happening in your own town. The characters are three-dimensional and fantastically written.

Bea Denham almost lost her whole family in a car accident. As her sister, Lo, barely clings to life, Bea's desperate prayers are answered by The Unity Project and their leader Lev Warren. Years later and estranged from Bea, Lo is trying to make her way all on her own. When her job as assistant to a high-profile journalist brings The Unity Project to Lo's attention, she dives deep into the world that completely took over her sister's life. Will she expose the Project's supposed dark secrets or will she be taken in by its leader just like Bea was? THE PROJECT has all the devastating twists you'd expect from a Courtney Summers's novel and a dynamite ending.

A fun read, a decent ride, a little simplistic but will be eye-opening to many, even if from a fictional perspective.

this really had me invested from the cover, I loved the psychological elements in the book. The writing was well done and I really enjoyed reading this book.

This was a powerful novel about loneliness, family, deception, and faith. The characters were interesting and real. Although the plot lagged a little (especially in the parts where Lev explained the rationale behind The Project), it routinely made me want to read more. I loved the motifs the author introduces, including the bond between sisters and the sisters’ calling each other’s names.

This book was well-written, but it kind of fell flat for me. I'm not really sure what message I was supposed to get from the book that wasn't pretty obvious to start with, i.e., cults are never a good thing. The ending felt rushed to me with the build up to that ending being pretty draggy in sections. Also, for a young adult book this novel has some pretty explicit sex, violence, and language. So if we're talking young adult as in college age I think it's fine, but it would be iffy for teens otherwise imho. Bottom line, this novel is a slow burn with the ending being played out quickly and somewhat ineffectively but enjoyable overall.

I knew as soon as I put together my October reads that I was going to push this to the top of my list.
The Project is an extraordinary story of sisters and what one would sacrifice for the safety and love of another.

Courtney Summers has a way of developing a story in a unique fashion and keeping you on your toes, questioning everything along the way. The Project is no different. The story is told from two sisters POV's, Bea and Lo, focusing mainly on Lo's. But the real kicker is the time frame. We get different parts of the past from Bea and then the present mostly from Lo. That was the only complaint I had. It got a little confusing at times the way it was broken down. That and the fact that there are no "real" chapters. Just 'parts', making for some longer reading sprints.
You just have to pay attention to the years and who's POV you are in. This is the part of the story that is the meat. It gives you all the background for what you will or will not believe in what Bea did for Lo.

Bea and Lo's story starts normal. Two loving parents that have two daughters. Bea was an only child for awhile, so when her sister arrives, her parents focus so much on the fact that "having a sister is a promise no one but the two of you can make-and no one but the two of you can break". And that will be the something that rings true throughout their life and this story. When tragedy strikes and Bea is given a way to save her sister's life, she takes it.

From there on, we get to see a connection between sisters, even from a distance. And it is one filled with tragedy and loneliness. This is where we begin to understand the ramifications of Bea's decisions she made. But Lo is intent on finding the truth about Bea, the connection she may have with what she saw transpire at a train station and how it all leads back to The Unity Project. What is The Unity Project? Some say a cult. Some say a way of life. And Lo is going to find out so she can reunite with her sister once and for all.

Courtney Summers made me question who were the 'good guys' and who were the 'bad guys'. It literally took me over half the book to make me a believer (of what? I'll let you figure it out). It was evident that she took the time to research and then mess with my emotions as a mother, daughter and sister. All the characters were so important to the overall arc of the story and the way we perceived each individual. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE is connected in one way or another and the way Ms Summers created this was just magic in her creative writing skills.

Let me just say this.....Read the book. Or maybe listen to the audio. I have a feeling it's going to blow my mind the way Sadie did. I will definitely give it a listen when it's available. Experience another way of looking at groups that some see as cults. Experience the way family comes first. Experience the way an author will get creative in their storytelling to make you confused on what to believe. And then question that last dang line she leaves you with.

"But The Project does not take what one is not willing to give."

After survivng a car accident that kills their, Lo Denham's world is upended when her sister, Bea, joins The Unity Project, leaving Lo to live alone with their great aunt. The Unity Project, a charitable outreach program of sorts, has won the hearts of most in Upstate New York but Lo knows there's more to the group than meets the eye and she'll prove it.

When a man shows up at Lo's work claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees an opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea. When her investigation puts her in the path of their 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, she thought she could never afford to believe in Lev. . . but now she doesn't know if she can afford not to.

Courtney Summers is more than amazing yet again in her story, The Project, about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister from a cult.

When I first started this one of was hesitant if I was going to like it. It didn't pull me in quite from the start but then the ending hit me like 'Wait!?! What??? No!'

I wanted more because I was so engrossed in the story and not ready for it to end. The secrets and the mystery surrounding Lev and the Project grow and grow as the story goes on and just when you think you know what's happening, some other revelation sweeps you off your feet.

This is a story that makes you think and question and by the end you still aren't quite sure if your questions were answered but you feel like you still know a lot more than you did you begin with. Overall a very great read!

Courtney Summers tweeted ‘(This is) a book that will make you reconsider everything you think you know about yourself.’ And I get that an author has to promote her own book, but I think this is taking it just a tad bit too far.

I, in fact, did not reconsider anything about myself. This did not make me reconsider anything at all. I already know cults are insane. Maybe it's just the skeptic in me, but I was not buying anything Lev was selling at any point. Never. So there weren't any shocks for me, unfortunately.

However, I do think this story is written very well and explores different aspects of cults (as much as a YA story can) that some readers may not ever consider. I also think this is a strong story about the bond between sisters and the lengths they will go for one another.

Overall, not as good as Summer's success, ‘Sadie,’ but still an entertaining read, one fans will undoubtedly enjoy.

This book was heartbreaking, un put downable and absolutely fantastic. After the accident that killed Lo and Bea's parents and nearly killed Lo, Lo is searching for her sister who has devoted her life to "The Project" and wants nothing to do with her. As Lo continues to search for her sister and push for answers "The Project" is slowly tighten its grip on Lo and only one will come out alive.

Lo has been on her own since the car accident that killed her parents and almost took her life too. Her older sister Bea was already wrapped up in The Unity Project at the time, and she sacrificed her relationship with Lo in order to have The Unity Project's leader, Lev, save her life. Now an aspiring journalist, Lo delves into the secrets of The Unity Project in order to break it's hold on her sister.

I love books about cults and I often find them fascinating. While The Project did hold my interest in that regard, it moved too slowly to make me want to keep reading. It might just be the eBook format, but I found it difficult to keep track of the narrators, and the time jumps were confusing.

Looking at other reviews, I can really see that I’m in the minority here. This is my first book by the author but I was looking forward to it because I’ve heard great things. I was bored for the entire book until the last 15%. I’m not sure if it was a lack of editing due to reading the ARC, but I was so confused at times. It would seem the character was in one place and then suddenly in a completely different place. The back and forth between the sisters was difficult to follow. I didn’t feel that there was enough background on the sisters for me to have interest. The story felt like I had accidentally started in the middle of the book and missed the entire backstory.

As someone who really enjoyed Sadie, I was looking forward to this author’s latest book. Going into the book, I only had the blurb to go off of. I would say that this book wasn’t what I expected and just really missed the mark for me.

This book is told from past and present and each one is told by a different sister, Lo and Bea. I thought this was an interesting way to do it and mirrors or mystery/thriller books. The thing is, the timeline would be quite confusing especially in the beginning of the book. Things are happening and I have no clue what some mean until later on so emotionally I couldn’t be invested.

Another reason it was hard to get invested was the characters. Even though the book is about Lo trying to make sense of her sister joining this group and leaving her, it felt more plot driven than anything. I also feel like Lo’s character didn’t make sense since she did so much to try and save her sister/expose the cult but then found herself mixed in. I might it’s not totally unbelievable but I just didn’t feel like there was enough strength in that bond for her to make such a choice. I will say at least the plot was enough to keep me going but it also didn’t make me feel much.

The pacing is on the slow side and a lot of the mystery and secrets of the group doesn’t come into play until halfway through the book. There was no real bass drop for me because it took too long for things to get going.

In the plot, there is talk about politics. Personally, I don’t think it was necessary. It didn’t add to the plot in any way.

Like with any cult, there is a lot of abuse. The cult leader in this one is also a groomer. The grooming made me very uncomfortable and it’s something that I don’t like to read about.

Overall, it was okay. I kept waiting for it to get better but it just never clicked for me. I do see this doing well even if it wasn’t for me.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited for the opportunity to receive this e-ARC, having read Summers' All the Rage and Sadie. I went into the book with an open mind. Tw: abuse and violence

Bea and Lo are sisters, separated by 6 years. As readers, we get little insight into their sisterly relationship prior to a devastating accident which kills their parents and leaves Lo clinging to life in the ICU. Bea, the non praying type is desperate for a miracle. She finds herself in the hospital chapel and encounters Lev who started The Unity Project. On the surface, it is a charitable organization. But it's so much more insidious than that.
As a reader, we shuffle between present and past as the 2 sisters discover separately the secret horrors of the Unity Project. Some of this story doesn't work for me.

At the onset, Lo is 100% certain her sister has been ensnared into a cult. Even without certain evidence. Then she discovers an unexpected family member and it's like she's lost herself in this thing. How does such a skeptical person make that transition?? Sure the leader is a bigger than life personality. Lo throws her job away to pursue her connection as she still hasn't seen her sister. What goes on behind closed doors at the Unity Project is far more disturbing than I could have imagined. I just wish I enjoyed the writing and story more. I felt it dragged from 1/3 in until about 75% into the book. The pacing could be better. If you are fascinated by cults, you might be interested. I think the religious aspect turned me off, as a Jewish person.

Fantastic page turner! Must read. A different kind of thriller but this book will keep you up late at night to find out the fate of every character. I couldn't put this book down as I was totally drawn into the plot. You'll question everything about The Unity Project. Is The Unity Project a cult or not? I can't write too much or I'll spoil this page turner! The Project is not all it appears to be at a first glance. When the main character takes a deep dive to both uncover her past and take a leap forward in her career as a journalist to write an explosive tell-all , she realizes the truth about The Unity Project and questions all of her own beliefs.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of The Project by Courtney Summers. All opinions are my own.

I feel like I should start off by getting it out in the open that I'm in a massive reading slump, and I'm hoping that's why I couldn't finish it. I love all of Courtney Summers' books, so I was disappointed that I couldn't get into this one- especially since I'm fascinated by cults and this book centers around one. I'm definitely going to pick this back up and try it again and I hope it clicks.

Jeez it kinda sucks to say this but this is nowhere near the book I was expecting to follow up Sadie.

I’ll preface this with saying that I very well may be in the minority with these opinions and I genuinely can not get a grasp on what I think the overall reception of this book will be.

I mean, well, for starters, this was just boring. I’m talking draggingly so - the settings for the different storylines are very bland and drab to visualize - it reminded me of that Fairly Oddparents episode where everyone is grey. Nothing happens in the first 80% ... it’s supposed to be a book about a girl finding things out about what may be a cult but she spends all that time not finding much out at all???? The only suspense that is built in that first 80% is the fact that you’ve likely read the synopsis and know there’s something deeper than what she’s found - there’s literally no other driving factor for the story.

There are some vital things in the end scenes that desperately needed more attention. Especially the scene that is the final “battle,” where the big confrontation happens. I feel pretty cheated when it comes to that scene. Also there’s a dog at one points and then I think after a move of locations there just stops being a dog? Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m trying to figure out where the dog ended up because it was perfectly healthy.

This book is, like Sadie in many ways, infuriatingly not fair. The last chapter honestly left me feeling like... the author did all that for what? I mean it actually felt like torture porn at this point. Like she legitimately ONLY wrote it to make you upset. Which, I mean, of course tragic things can happen in books. But the tone and placement of that last chapter just really didn’t fully sit right with me. Especially after the chapter before that was a weird somewhat-happy ever after situation that ALSO didn’t fit the tone?

The most upsetting thing about this book is subject matter. There is kind of a grooming situation? A mid-30s man has a sexual and “romantic” relationship with a teenager not once but twice? And obviously the book doesn’t condone it in any way. It just doesn’t condemn it in the right way for me, either. Seeing it happen for the second time was enough to make me physically cringe because the man was a few years older than the first time AND it was with someone even younger than the first time and also it was WILDLY out of character for that person. Which, I think that part of the book was about what it takes for a person to be driven, or dragged, out of character, and what you cling to when there’s nothing left for you... but jeez. It was still just so extremely uncomfortable to read. I genuinely think it’s enough to have turned me away from the book altogether if I’d understood its contents.

There’s a few character “developments” that are more like mood swings, even with some being regressive and going the opposite way from developing, that happen soooo fast and make you wonder if the characters ever had conviction at all. One plot line was just clear as day to predict and made the main character look really daft for not understanding. But a lot of these characters are pretty vapid - they’re in what’s being accused of being a cult, so how lively or unique are they allowed to be?

I’m honestly trying to think of why I shouldn’t bump this down to one star. There’s genuinely not much I could pinpoint that redeemed this book. I’m always appreciative of realism in books, meaning when broken relationships don’t always get mended or the “bad guys” don’t always get justice, etc., and this definitely stayed true to life. I can see how most everything I pinpointed to dislike could be looked at through a lens of purpose - I could talk around each of those points until there was symbolism in the story for each one. I think it’s smart (or potentially lucky) in that way. I didn’t DNF or hate-read it, so I guess that spares it from one-star doom.

Dude, as far as me recommending it, I think if you’re curious enough about it, I think you should try it and see how it works for you. As much as I can criticize it, I really don’t see it being universally hated and I think the slow burn might work for people who aren’t used to this kind of story. I definitely won’t be actively recommending it to either teens or adults at work - actually now that I think about it, I think it either should have been aged down slightly to appropriately fit into YA, or aged up to appeal more to adults. Because it where it sits now it has crossover age range but I’m not quite sure if the story is fresh enough for people who read adult thrillers.

Content warnings: parents’ death, car accident/major injuries and scarring, grooming (?) or something similar, physical abuse, mental abuse, suicide (not a major character so not really a “spoiler”)

Thank you to NetGalley, Courtney Summers, and Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC. I enjoyed The Project. For someone who typically does not enjoy books about cults, I had heard enough good things about this one to give it a try. The buzz surrounding Sadie also made me want to read something by this author. The book did not disappoint. It was twisty, suspenseful and satisfying. I also enjoy a book with alternating time lines so that was also a huge plus for me. I will say that I did not realize this was a YA book until I dove in and as I have moved out of that "genre", was a bit concerned about that. However, in the end, this was a great read and I highly recommed.

The Project slowly wormed its way into my heart and broke it, as I've come to expect from Summers' writing. The characters, past and present, were beautifully haunted and felt incredibly real. What Summers has crafted here is a cult that seeps its way into being plausibly benevolent until the darkness is truly revealed. The Project serves as a richly atmospheric read.