Wow, this book was amazing! I love everything about this book; the characters, the writing style, and the storyline. This book emotionally destroyed me. It had me crying. I read this in one day, I could not put it down. Right after I finish this I recommended it to all my friends. I also put this on my books I need to pre-order list. I love Moira and all the emphasis on how to pronounce her name. Randy, my sweet baby, can I marry you? I love you sooooooo much. And Nathan, I just want to be besties with you forever. I adore how this book felt like a thriller but it didn’t end like other thrillers I’ve read. Now some people might not like how this ends but i think it’s unique and i really enjoyed it.

This book unexpectedly blew my mind! It was a fantastic read. The author talked about misunderstood teenagers and their problems, particularly focused on mental health problems. And I loved how she delivered that information which would otherwise have been an information dump.

The book talks about certain triggering topics, so be sure to look up those before reading.

Not my cup of tea. Alas, the author's repetitive writing style slowed the action for me. The author "belabored the point" for just about each and every thought, action or idea in this story. She took one premise and stretched it out like bread dough. She presented all the variations of the one idea in the same paragraph. Aha: see what I did? I used a similar writing style to show you exactly what irked me about this novel.

The author has some interesting ideas about grief and about Moira's inability to accept or come to terms with the loss of her best friend Nathan. All that bottled up and misdirected anger!

Great writing: all the variations on the same theme were often impressive - but maybe she should have saved some them for another book on a similar subject? I'm giving this one a 3 out of 5.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A mysterious castle used as a place to help treat girls with mental illnesses and “difficulties” and a girl grieving after her best friend has died come together to bring about a story about dealing with grief and mental illness. The story follows Moira who is being sent to “The Castle” (school for troubled girls) since she has been acting out after her best and only friend has died. Moira has been heavily grieving, skipping school to the point where she can’t graduate, not eating, visiting her friend’s grave, and avoiding everything. Moira is steeped in her grief and when she gets a tattoo, it’s the last straw for her parents, and she is being sent off to hopefully heal at The Castle. However, upon arrival, things are not as they seem. The Castle only has 12 students, all girls, is a castle set in a location that is not disclosed, time is not told, and there is essentially no school, just daily therapy, and there are bars on the windows. Moira meets Dr. Prince, the head of the school and the therapist who is in charge of all the girls. Besides Dr. Prince, there is Randy (Bertrand) his son who also stays at the school but is treated as invisible by all the other girls except Moira. There she also meets the other girls:
ELEANOR- her roommate, finding her relief by cutting herself
MEI-pulling her hair because she doesn’t want to be defined by her beauty. She’s more than that.
VIRGINIA- suffering from ADHD. She has hard times to concentrate and be the daughter her parents want.
GREY- just like her name she sees everything grey, suffering from chronic depression
ALICE- cannot be happy about her appearance, fighting with anorexia.
RYAN- wants to keep her special treasure by suffering from kleptomania.
RAINA- stopped talking after witnessing something so tragic and she never feels safe to come clean.
REVA- she cannot stay at the same place for a long time. She’s at flight risk. She cannot restrain her uncontrollable instinct of running away.
BETH- her sports injuries resulted with drug addiction.
HALSEY- her desire to get approval of her inner circle pushed her to be an alcoholic.
CASSANDRA-having problems with authorities, she cannot be told what she’s going to do.

One night Moira notices the bars on her window are broken and her and her roommate sneak out to follow the music they hear at night only to find another castle, a school for troubled Boys except in that school there is warmth, music, light and it appears to be better, but not everything is as happy as it appears. The story is told from Moira’s point of view but throughout the book we get a chapter of each girl and her backstory about why/how she ended up going to The Castle. I thought that was a great touch to the book. There is light romance and mystery but overall, this is a story about dealing with grief and accepting it. It has a lot of very relatable things and was a touching story. I was surprised by how much this story touched me. I would definitely recommend this book as a read! My favorite quote from the arc was “ That’s the never-ending strangeness of grief: Even after you accept it, it doesn’t go away. In fact, I think accepting it means acknowledging that it may never go away.”

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) is essentially a story about loss and grief. A depiction of what happens when a young girl is so blinded by her sadness and grief that she cannot and does not want to see past it to any sort of growth.

Moira is not too happy to learn that her parents are sending her away to the Castle School, an all-girls boarding school in Portland, Maine, but there really is not anything she can do about it. Her parents have had enough of her antics, but after the death of her best friend, Nathan, there is not much that matters to her anymore. She feels that they just do not want to deal with her anymore.

Meeting a varying array of other troubled young women attending the school, Moira has no intention of making any new friends. She only ever needed Nathan. And she has no interest in her sessions with the odd Dr. Prince. She is so closed off and has no plans to change that any time soon. But, when she hears music at night and then discovers a broken lock on her window, she and her roommate sneak out only to learn that there is another school close by, and all-boys school. While it seems freeing at first to be able to sneak away to this other school, she ultimately comes to a different conclusion. And, slowly, Moira begins to open up and accept the things around her that she cannot change.

I really enjoyed this book. This is not my first Sheinmel novel and it will not be my last because I love her hard-hitting while accessible writing. I loved the school setting in this book and all of the different girls that attend with her. They all struggle with such different afflictions. I loved how fiercely Moira loved Nathan and I felt the heartbreak in her when she simply could not let him go. But I did not like what ultimately happens with the schools. It felt wrong in relation to the rest of the story.

When I requested an ARC of this book I did so with the expectation of receiving quite a different story. The pitch of a dark psychological contemporary about grief intrigued me, but I found that in reality the narrative moved me in unexpected ways. Although the book was not quite what I had imagined, it was something altogether better. And something I didn’t realise that I needed to read until it was right in front of me.

I appreciate the way Sheinmel unravelled the story of Moira and Nathan as the plot unfolds, and in such a real and relatable way. The quiet moments of exceptional growth that Moira experiences are striking. The characters present with very real issues, which they each work to overcome. The adults are flawed, but not irredeemable. This is truly a story in which everyone seems to be doing the very best they can with the information and or experience that they have at hand. And it is a story I look forward to getting lost in all over again.

The Quick Cut: A teen girl gets sent to a school for troubled girls in the wilderness of Maine. Not all is as it seems as she discovers another school nearby.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Grief is difficult at any age, but when it happens to you as a teenager, that pain can seem insurmountable. How you deal with those feelings and find a path forward can change what your future looks like. For Moira, this path gets far more difficult than anticipated as she grapples with the loss of her best friend, Nathan.

Moira's life has taken a very steep tumble. While she once was a straight A student, now she never shows up to class and is constantly at war with her mother. No one in her life seems to understand the pain she is going through after her best friend Nathan died of brain cancer. How can she move forward in life if he's no longer there as her companion? What could moving her to a remote school in Maine do to change her path?

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to loathe books that trend higher in the page count. Although this book is a long one, it doesn't feel like it as you read it. Moira's pain is so strong that she finds it difficult to relate to anyone in her life (as few as those people may be). It's interesting seeing how she takes that pain she is going through and uses it to eventually relate to other people at the school.

One of the big themes throughout this book is how everyone deals with pain and trauma in different ways. Although there are twelve girls at the school, each one has a different problem that brought them there and every one uses different methods to cope. Seeing that play out and where it ends up taking them really can open up your eyes to realizing how everyone has to process in their own fashion.

The other significant theme in this story is friendship. Nathan was Moira's best friend and if we're being honest, her soul mate. Not every soul mate is a romantic relationship and when they get forced into different directions, it's like losing a part of who you are. The bond between these two is so real, even if all you see of Nathan is Moira's memories. It's easy to put yourself in their shoes if you have someone like this in your own life.

A potent story about loss, friendship, and how everyone has their own way to adapt.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Thank you @netgalley and @sourcefirebooks for sending me a eARC of The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) by @alyssasheinmel -- pub date 3.2.21

I first have to start off saying the cover and the blurb were misleading. They had me expecting a mystery and supsense, that something criminal and dark was going on at this school. I was waiting and waiting for something to happen. But nope. This is more a contemporary novel heavily dealing with mental illness and grief. So please be warned of many triggers for addictions, eating disorders, self-harm, and more.

It definitely read like a young adult novel and there were a lot of cliches but it's semi forgiveable as some cliches come from truth and it is a YA book. Honestly, I can say despite the deeper topics of mental illness and dealing with a death, there really wasn't much of a plot. There really wasn't much keeping me invested.

There were also a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track and after a good chunk of the book, I stopped caring as much. Especially for the main character (who was very repetitive and annoying)

Overall, I suppose it was a decent read. I just went in hoping and excepting something more sinister, with mystery and there wasn't. That really threw me off. It was just a big and slow exploration of grief and it wasn't amazing. It definitely wasn't bad either. It was just whatever. Fell flat and expectations were not met.

2.5🌟 for me.
(Review taken from my instagram @fortheloveofcrime

The Castle School (for Troubled Girls) is a fantastic read, a dark edgy psychological thriller set in a boarding school. It's a compelling read with a main character you fall in love with, she's grieving and gets sent away to this school and as an individual goes on this amazing journey as the plot unfolds.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooksfire for sending me an arc of The Castle School (for Troubled Girls). All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I love this book. I love this book. It quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read and I mean that with every ounce of respect, admiration and sincerity. I usually start with a brief explanation of the book and its premise, but I'm currently sitting in my room in a blanket cocoon with tear-filled tissues surrounding me and I can't help but want to hold this book in my arms for hours and hope I can absorb every word into my very soul.

(TW: While my review is TW free, this book does contain references of grief, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, loss of speech, trichotillomania, alcoholism, drug addiction, selective mutism, cancer. While it is a beautifully written book, please take this into account and practice self love/care and reach out if you need help. You are loved.)

The Castle school follows high school senior Moira Dreyfuss as she tries to come to terms with the loss of her best friend all while her parents ship her off to a castle (yes, you heard me, a CASTLE) in harsh Maine. At the Castle School (for Troubled Girls) she meets the enigmatic Dr. Prince (yes you heard me again, his name is Dr. Prince... he runs a castle! I was half expecting a fairy or evil queen to pop out in the beginning!) along with 12 other girls all battling their own demons as they try to ward off their isolation. Opportunity sparks as one night, Moira finds her uncertain escape in the form of a replica castle school but instead, filled with boys.

I was expecting a boarding school mystery or maybe a parallel universe and I think it suffices to say I've never been more shocked yet ecstatic at where this book took me. Not only was every character fully fleshed out, but they all also brought such dynamic and realistic approaches to the story in such a fresh way. It would have been all too easy for Sheinmel to throw away the side characters to focus on advancing Moira's plot but the dedication to creating a wholistic world and even giving a chapter dedicated purely to each girl in the school was such a literary genius touch.

More than a cliche love story, more than a big mystery and more than a satirical approach, we see a girl grappling with her loss and the idea of what it really means to move forward. This was without a doubt one of the most realistic portrayals of grief I have ever read and as someone who has been through things incredibly similar, my heart aches for Moira and felt such a deep connection to her struggle and in the end, her resolutions.

Sourcebooks Fire never (and I mean never) ceases to amaze me with the books they publish not only in the talent of the authors but in the choices they make to showcase authentic, realistic and vulnerable stories. I truly cannot wait to see what they publish next and read more of Alyssa Sheinmel's work

Not what I expected!

I picked this one out because it sounded a bit different and it turned out it really was. The main character was a seventeen year old girl from Manhattan, New York named Moira Dreyfuss. Moira recently lost her best friend Nathan to Cancer and has been acting out, skipping meals and school, the last straw was a tattoo on her arm. So her parents send her to The Castle School (for Troubled Girls).

Nathan was Moira’s only real friend and they were true best friends. They did everything together. Moira always got the feeling that she was a disappointment to her parents and was often at Nathan’s place rather than her own. She liked his parents and they treated her as a family member. During Nathan’s long bout with Cancer, Moira would often skip school to stay with him in the hospital and after he died, she didn’t feel like going back even after what her parents considered a timely mourning period.

The Castle school is actually in a real Castle in the wilderness of Maine and it is cold, dreary and they take away her phone and laptop. There are no clocks, no electronic devices and the rules are very strict. They don’t have fires burning in the rooms for warmth and the girls are always cold. They see Dr. Prince (a.k.a. The Prince) every other day for therapy and Moira also meets his son, Bertrand (a.k.a. Randy). Randy lives in the castle but isn’t allowed to have much interaction with the girls.

The school is a joke, Moira thinks it is pretty ironic that her parents sent her away for skipping school and this school is pretty much non-existent. She also thinks a lot of things about their situation is really strange and starts to wonder if it is all some elaborate psychological experiment that The Prince is doing on behavior or something like that.

Moira notices the bars on her windows are loose and along with her roommate, leaves during the night to investigate music they have been hearing late at night. They find a very similar Castle nearby with boys which is run by Maura Prince (wife or sister of The Prince). However, the boys have much more freedom and Moira can’t figure out what is going on.

As the story goes along, each of the girls Moira is with in the castle has a chapter with their own POV which goes on to show a bit about their life prior to getting sent to the castle and what was the primary reason for them being sent to the castle. They range from OCD to addiction and just about everything in between.

The story was a bit slow, but good and the ending is fabulous. There were quite a few mysteries and I found myself wondering along the way why Moira didn’t come right out and ask about some of these things. But I guess I can see why she didn’t. In some cases the questions were too intrusive and not really any of her business and in others, the questions would give away the fact that she knows about the other Castle and its inhabitants. So like in most books, we just have to wait for Moira to find out more. I just really liked the story and how it all turned out. Mysteries are rarely revealed like in this book. It was a breath of fresh air.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Based on the description, I was expecting more supernatural elements but this book is not that. It was an excellent story, nonetheless. A very emotional and realistic look into a teenage girl experiencing grief. It's a fast paced story that will keep most readers engaged. I enjoyed it.


Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love the contemporary look at boarding school. This book deeply explored the mysterious mind of a teenager who is dealing with more than their fair share, and did it well. It moved fast so I finished it fairly quickly. I really enjoyed it!

After reading the blurb I was immediately drawn in by the idea of the two castle schools. I was expecting the novel to develop supernatural and mysterious elements but the book is firmly contemporary. This did not detract from the book, as I was captivated by its thoughtful exploration of the mystery that is grief. I would recommend this book to older teens especially those confronting mental illness and loss.

This was a really fast-paced book. I couldn't stop reading, I was engrossed in the story. Be prepared for an intense and emotional read.
Moira Dreyfuss recently lost her best friend and life hasn’t been the same since. She’s cutting classes, fighting with her parents, and getting tattoos (well, one tattoo). This propels her parents to send her to a boarding school: The Castle School. Once she’s there, Moira meets the other students and discovers that there is a second Castle School. Soon, she’s convinced that the people running the schools are hiding something nefarious.
I enjoyed the representation of mental illness and how it was shown through the various characters. It was a realistic portrayal of how young adults deal with and live with mental illness. The author undoubtedly handled it well.
This book really resonated with me - I related to the grief and guilt Moira felt. Losing someone close to you is an extremely difficult situation, and the author truly captured how it feels and the thoughts that come with it.
I can’t say much more without getting into spoilers, but just know that there is so much more to this book than what is presented in the synopsis.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think one of the main reasons I ended up being a bit disappointed by this book is because it kept trying to be something it wasn't. Both the blurb and chunks of the book itself hinted toward a gothic suspense sort of story, Jane Eyre discovering Bertha in the attic, and that was misleading. There seemed to be an attempt to include some sort of take on The Twelve Dancing Princesses which never came to much. Even the more pedestrian things it was trying to discuss - grief and mental health issues and bonding with others - felt like they were distracted from or received surface level treatment; the brief profiles of the other girls didn't make me feel any more connected to those characters, and I didn't even necessarily feel that the story tracked Moira's growing bond with them particularly well or in enough depth to feel realistic.

The writing was good, though the pacing was quite slow. Readers who enjoyed Sheinmel's other books might enjoy, along with those looking for books similar to Kathleen Glasgow's Girl in Pieces.

I'm adding a star because the depiction of why the girls were at Castle School feels very real and might resonate with readers. However, the school itself? and the methods used to "heal"? Sorry. BIG no. While some might have been helped by Dr. Prince, to pretend that most could be there for a mere semester is just wrong. Surely several of the girls should have been there for longer? At least two years for some. But no, not here.

eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

The first half of this book was very intriguing. As the main character progressed, the book did more telling the reader and less showing what was going on. I know some teens will benefit from this direct approach provided they are invested in Moira’s path before they get to the info dumps.

I have read two other books by this author and although one was just an okay read, I figured why not read a third book.

This book was different than I expected as on netgalley it says “dark psychological contemporary”. To me, there was nothing dark or psychological about it. I think that is where part of my disconnect was with this story.

When it came to the characters, Moira is the MC and has the biggest point-of-view. The plot is mostly about her journey through grief from the loss of her best friend. It was interesting to read about her from start to finish. She goes through a lot of development along the way even if she questions the headmaster’s motives. I wouldn’t say I fully connected to her but it didn’t lessen my likeness for her.

There are other chapters about each girl who attends this school and covers how each one got there. I thought this was a nice touch since when they are first introduced we are told about what brought them there. Each one is dealing with a different issue. I like this added bonus but I also wish we got more from them throughout the plot. A few of the girls are more major than others but it just wasn’t enough for me.

One thing I like about this author is that she talks about mental health. In this day and age our mental health is more important than ever. I like seeing it discussed in YA books and I hope there will be a lot more books about it.

Overall, it was a good book. I didn’t fully connect to the story but I appreciate what the author wrote about and can see many enjoying this book.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and I would like to thank Ms. Alyssa Sheinmel, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the chance to read this in exchange for a fair review.

I found Castle School to be a very interesting read. I honestly felt for many of the characters Sheinmel incorporated in this novel and found myself learning a few things as a therapist in training. Castle School was very different from what I expected and that was an absolute good thing. Instead of the gossip and dark secrets that one would get from most boarding school novels, Castle School went a more therapeutic route, exploring the inner workings of those struggling with mental health issues. For those looking for a more sinister vibe, you won’t find that here, but IMO that doesn’t take away from the novel once you get into it. Castle School involves a group of young teenagers sent to a therapy school to get help with their individual issues. One of the girls, Moira, accepts going, but retains her barriers as she believes she is sent due to "skipping class", not being the daughter her mother wants and handling the tragic situation of her best friend in her own way.

Sheinmel breaks down several mental health issues to where one doesn’t need a Masters in psychology to comprehend. I understood Moira’s reluctance to let anyone close to her, the way that she got into her head and wanted to think the worst of most adults. I understood Halsey’s drinking, Raina’s lack of desire to speak, Eleanor’s desire to self-harm. I understood Dr. Bert Prince and his therapeutic method. I understood that I wanted to cry at times when truths were revealed, whether it was Moira realizing the depths of her mother's emotions, her acceptance of what happened to her best friend and how she saw the world. I can appreciate Sheinmel's approach to therapy, mental health, internalizing and being angry as a teen. In taking the more realistic and honest approach of issues not always being crystal clear, especially in regards to grief, Castle School (for Troubled Girls) is definitely a recommendation for me.