(Spoiler free review)

Realistic yet an enthralling read.

The title does really give away a little bit of fairy tale ambience whereby the school is structured like a castle hence the glorious description of turrets and being stranded in the middle of the woods say it all. To put it more peculiar, this school is specifically built for troubled girls whose parents are finally at the end of their wits in curing their children. Well fret not, the mission of the Castle School is to ensure that every troubled girl has a second chance to find the better versions of themselves and here’s the odd, only 12 girls are admitted into the school.

We follow Moira, one of the troubled girls, who finds herself dreading at the thought of being sent and staying in a sullen atmosphere with strict rules that she must abide by. No Wi-Fi, no proper library, and they freaking have lights-out time. Sounds like a prison to her, not a castle. She wouldn’t be in this predicament if her best friend, Nathan, hadn’t succumbed to cancer. We get to see her life slowly falling apart after that.
Each problem faced by the girls is really intense and well-delivered by the author. The author managed to take us on a multifaceted view and psychological approach towards the backstory of how the girls first acquiring their problems, then struggling, fighting and surviving through them. Some problems are unable to stay still (ADHD), eating disorder (anorexia), refuse to talk (selective mutism), can’t resist the urge to pull out their hair (Trichotillomania), depression, flight risks, an OCD person, a kleptomaniac and others.

Paradoxically, with these brooding problems going on, these girls who think they are misfits to society slowly finding themselves intertwining a special friendship amongst them. Expect humour and warm fuzzy feeling coming your way. The excitement doesn’t end here though. Unbeknownst to Moira, she’s discovered another hidden castle but all boys. What has befuddled her is that why the boys are treated in a better and lively environment compared to the one she and the other girls living in? The mystery about having the two castles will be unveiled and the unexpected presence comes tumbling into Moira’s life making her all feverish will soon be declared. Such a poignant yet rivetingly beautiful story that makes you delve into friendship, family, and lastly the real struggles that'll make your knees wobble at the thought of them.

Moira is sent to The Castle School for Girls after a tumultuous period with her parents, where everything in her life is going wrong after her best friend Nathan dies.

The Castle School accepts only 12 girls and throughout the novel, we follow not only Moira’s journey, but each of the other residents as well.

I found this novel to be a well written path on recovery (in many different forms - loss, anorexia, self-harm, abandonment) and mental illness. The author does a fantastic job of producing a YA novel that isn’t in your face about the array of issues surrounding teens, and how you can forage friendships in the darkest of your own days.

THIS BOOK CONTAINS MAJOR TRIGGERS

I will list these triggers at the end of the review, as I try to do, but be aware that I will be discussing mental illnesses, eating disorders, addictions, and other potentially triggering topics. I will avoid details where possible, but the book is set in a school for “troubled girls”, so it may not be possible to avoid completely.

I have read one other book by this author (that I am aware of) - A Danger To Herself and Others - and boy, was that a ride. While attempting not to give away spoilers, I picked up on something relatively early on in that book, which was later confirmed, but it in NO WAY detracted from the overall beautiful, heart-wrenching majesty of the story. So once I knew that The Castle School was by the same author (which, admittedly, was AFTER I started reading it), I knew I was in for a time.

As I start writing this, I’m only about halfway through. I was past the point of no return on my way to work this morning when I realised I had forgotten my Kindle… but it’s ok. I have the Kindle app on my phone (and the NetGalley one as well come to think of it), so I will be able to read on my lunch break. Yay!

The first note I wrote while reading (this is still something that is new to me; taking notes as I read. Maybe if I had done that when I was studying…. NO! No what ifs). It wasn’t something I thought I would like - as a kid (and adult) I tend(ed) to inhale books, not putting them down for dinner let alone to write notes! (The skills I have developed of holding the book and being able to turn pages all with my non-dominant hand serve me well both eating and note-taking!) That said, I have started to enjoy it. It’s nice to have a scribble of thoughts of things I can look back on and solidify; a list I can use as a springboard when it comes to talking about the book to others. No-one else needs to see my scribble, 90% of the time it makes a little sense to me, but not always!

Okay, we’ll try that again!

The first note I wrote while reading this book was “this book has so much trivia, I love it!” Our main character has a habit of filling silences with trivia. ***** insert trivia*****

The premise is (so far), simple. Our main character, Moria, has been sent away to the Castle School. Following the death of her best friend, her parents are at their wits end, and decide she needs more help than they can give.

Moira is escorted to The Castle School by two bulky men - bodyguards, tasked with making sure she doesn’t run away - and lands in a place which is far different than she imagined. The Castle - a literal castle - somewhere (maybe) in Maine, is cold, damp, and dark. Her driver - son of the headmaster/doctor/owner of the school - tells her that it is after lights out, and that she needs to go to bed. Moira soon discovers that the school has an odd timetable - they don’t have a TIMEtable. The girls (there are 12) are woken, fed, ‘taught’, therapied, exercised and returned to bed without knowing what the time is, what the day is, or even where they are.

The other 12 girls have a mix of conditions. We get to know each girl briefly, and we get a little more information about them in between chapters, with a section of each girl and how/why she ended up at the school.

I won’t say much more, it’s too hard to rave without giving away important parts. Just know it is beautiful, and potentially triggering at the same time. I will note here that if you don’t like books which are ‘slice of life’ or you only read books which are filled with adventure, this is not that. I won’t say you won’t enjoy it, or should avoid it, because it IS SO GOOD.

Content Warnings: discussions of addiction, drugs, self hard (cutting mostly), OCD, assault, trichotillomania, death, dying, mental health, therapy, family issues, selective mutism, eating disorders, scars, inpatient. There are probably more, but just be aware going in that the author doesn’t hold back.

Overall Rating: FIVE STARS

The cover and blurb of this book tricked me. I went into this thinking it was a mystery (the blurb SAYS it's a mystery...) and... there was no mystery! I would have DNF'ed it from 25% if I would have known that there wasn't an actual mystery. So disappointed. I think I would have liked it better if I would have gone into it knowing that it wasn't a mystery and just a contemporary YA novel.

When Moira Dreyfuss's parents send her away to The Castle School (for troubled girls) she knows there is no way to change their minds. Her mother has given up on her and her father agrees with whatever her mother says. The Castle school houses 11 other girls who all have different issues. Life in the castle gets interesting when the lock on Moria's window breaks and she and her roommate Eleanore venture out into the woods. The two girls are shocked to find an exact replica of their castle but this one is housed with 12 teenage boys. But as Moria works through her pain she realizes the school is exactly what she needs to deal with the death of her best friend.

I want to congratulate the author for her realistic, objective approach to multiple mental illnesses young people carry on their shoulders bravely and her amazing characters whose names and tragic stories are already imprinted on my heart!

Those girls’ though fights, struggles to adjust in the real life, their pure pains, challenges they face shook me to my core.

Starting from grief, chronic depression, self-harm, eating disorders, loss of speech, trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder), alcoholism, drug addiction to PMS, we’re introduced so many different types of mental illness categories and those young hearts who are trying to survive as they have no idea how to deal with their pain.

Moira Dreyfuss just lost her best and only friend who got beaten by cancer. Her grief hold her back to live her life. She left her classes, giving up her college applications, fighting incessantly with her parents, having problems with her mother.

She thinks she can never please her so she’s punished by being sent to a boarding school for the troubled girls located in Maine but it is actually and literally a gothic castle in the middle of nowhere. And ironically Dr. Prince the highness of castle in charge of the place.

She reluctantly flies to Maine, welcomed by Randy ( later she finds out he’s Dr. Prince’s son, homeschooled, lived in the very same castle with them), driven to the place, accompanied to her dark, cold, isolated room without any plugs to charge her phone.

The place already gives her chills with its disturbing and isolated vibes, makes her thing she’s going to be prisoner and her parents punish her for not being the daughter they dreamed of.

Then she meets 11 other girls who suffer from different inner demons by showing different
ways to handle them.

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.

Those girls are also the MCs of the book. We read all of them’s back stories. We easily empathize with them, understanding their compelling fight, aching for their heartbreaks, suffer, sadness, despair.

Moira thinks the castle is a prison and Dr. Prince keeps his own secrets. He’s not reliable. He cannot cure her. She doesn’t need to be healed. She deals with guilt feelings about Nathan’s -her only best friend’s death.

Then one night she realizes the lock of her room window is broken and as she climbs down and walk around the castle, she discovers another castle at the south side belongs to the boys. But that castle is not dark, bleak, cold like the place they stayed. The boys seem like happy, dancing, cheering. They don’t look like they’re troubled ones as like the girls she connects at the north side.

What was the mystery behind the two castles?
And why Dr. Prince’s son Randy didn’t stay with the boys at the castle?

This is emotional, poignant, heartbreaking but also thought provoking, well written book with memorable characters and presents great psychological approach to those brave fighter/ survivor girls!

I enjoyed the conclusion. It’s about mental state, families, grief, true love, resentments, forgiveness, second chances.

It’s truly one of the best works of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sharing this incredible arc with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book is not at all what I thought it would be! I loved the one chapter pov changes and how I related to each character a little bit. I also cried at the end. Beautiful story and I hope the girls get the help they need.