The name of the school’s on the van, but someone tried to paint over the words “for troubled girls.”

On Moira’s first night at the Castle School, another girl rattles off all the reasons her classmates are there - kleptomania, cutting, anorexia, depression, drug addiction and more. By the end of the book, each girl’s had a chapter telling you what led her to The Castle School. Moira’s convinced her mother sent her away because she was disappointed in her, for cutting class, losing all motivation to go to college, but most of all, for getting a tattoo.

When Moira and her roommate hear music late at night, they realize that the school may not be as isolated as it seems. They discover a second Castle School, but this one’s filled with boys.

The book hints at a bit of mystery with the two schools, but that ends up not being a big part of the story. Instead, it’s a story of all the reasons we have to live and all the ways we try to give up. It’s a story of the kind of pain that takes over a life and changes it forever. And it’s a sweet, sensitive story of damaged girls learning to care for each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

I am always one who enjoys reading stories of loss and grieving, and combined with the mystery that was happening here, this was an positive reading experience. The examinations of mental health were also well-written.

From the get-go, readers are drawn into the lives of Castle School students and their journey to recovery. As the book cover states, it’s for troubled girls but not in the way you’d first look at it. Castle School (for Troubled Girls) touches on sensitive topics, mental health, and relationships teenagers have and go through in their youthful years. 

The plot focused on Moira, the new girl at Castle School, which her parents sent her to as she assumes it’s because she got a tattoo and became out of hand after her best friend’s death. There are also chapters on the other girls and how they all ended up at Castle School, and thus making it a breeze to read as we’re not only getting the school from one perspective. 

Castle School took a unique approach into dealing with teenagers and what they’re going through. The school takes on only twelve students, no cell phones or other technology (yet you could reach a computer privilege once you’ve shown improvement), and it's situated remotely away from distractions. It wasn’t the cliche boarding school with strict teachers, uniforms, and an eerie atmosphere. Doctor Prince, the so-called headmaster and therapist, created an independent and safe environment for his students to get comfortable and reflect on what they’re going through. 

Our protagonist Moira has lost her best friend, Nathan, and acts out by sneaking out to his grave at night, ditching school, and getting a tattoo. Moira looks at the school as an institution since there’s a therapist and she isn’t used to their different methods of learning. It only becomes worse in Moira’s life when the lock on her window breaks and she sneaks off with Eleanor—her roommate—and they find another Castle School like theirs, but filled with boys. They have a Doctor Prince too and Moira is convinced they’re working together on an experiment and the students are their test subjects. 

Moira is so convinced on this ideology that she doesn’t realise she’s building it to distract her from facing her best friend’s death and accepting what happened. Once the other girls get involved and they head off to the boy’s castle at night, Moira realises what she has done. With the help of Randy, Doctor Prince’s son who lives in the castle, he gives her insight to the other castle but also makes her realise that it’s okay to grieve about a person’s death who was so close to you.

In a way, the author showed how escaping from our normal lives can create a new perspective for us. The other castle school wasn’t the only one that helped the girls but Dr. Prince too and his ways of teaching, even if it wasn't directly, but through having therapy sessions where he doesn’t ask all the questions. It took some time for Moira to open up about Nathan because she was so paranoid and constantly drank water to keep that lump in her throat at bay. The bonding of the girls helped, as well as breakfast discussions and independent learning. Not a lot of traditional methods were used because it gave the girls time to focus on other things. 

Realising the character development Moira goes through is unforgettable. From not even mentioning Nathan’s name, to openly talking about him and accepting what happened which wasn’t her fault. She doesn’t get over his death and he’s constantly mentioned throughout the story, but she does come to terms with what happened and moves forward. 

This book must be read with caution as it may be confronting to some readers. However, it’s a beautiful story written about the serious challenges that teenagers go through in their daily lives. Another amazing read which gladly receives all of the stars for its indulging writing and focusing on topics that should be crucial to have knowledge about in society.

A sweet and gentle exploration of grief and mental illness - THE CASTLE SCHOOL (FOR TROUBLED GIRLS) is a great read when you want to reflect.

This is one of the best books I have read so far this year! I have added to my library's most anticipated blog list. Just imagine if you took the, 12 Dancing Princesses modernized it, and added Girl Interrupted this is what you would get. This book is going to especially appeal to anyone who dealing with grief, the loss of a close friend of loved one. Just a really wonderful and well done read.

The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) follows Moira, a teen with a deep love for her dead best friend. She's not dealing with the situation healthily, so her parents send her to a castle in the middle-of-nowhere, Maine. There Moira meets Dr. Prince and eleven other girls with mental health issues who are receiving treatment.

From the get-go, you and Moira will be suspicious of everything about the Castle. Why is it in the middle of nowhere? Is it a school, a mental institution, or something else? Who exactly is Dr. Prince? Many things don't seem to fit, and the book's synopsis sells an idea of a weird place, with a sense of dread and mystery. But don't be fooled like I was, this is not a mystery/thriller. This is a story about accepting other people and yourself, learning to deal with grief, and getting rid of guilt.

Like I mentioned before, this book left me in a reading slump. And that's due to Nathan's plotline, Moira's best friend who died. At first, you're not sure what happened to him, but he's so present in Moira's life that he feels alive. But I started to see where his story was going, and minor spoiler, he dies of cancer. Everything related to cancer is a trigger for my health anxiety. I actively avoid reading books with this kind of plotline. Once I figured it out, I had to take it slow and not overwhelm my reading experience to make sure I could handle it.

Speaking of mental health, this theme is the main focus of the story. Moira is the POV you follow, but there are short chapters focusing on each of the girls at Castle School, their personal mental issues, and how they ended up at that place. I can't be sure this book's portrayal of mental illness is accurate since I'm not a psychiatrist, and I haven't been through almost all of their situations. However, it feels poignant and touching, and I believe it isn't too far from the truth.

Moira's so filled with guilt it's hard for her to see past it. She becomes reckless, her relationship with her mother deteriorates, all for this one deep friendship. And being able to love so much is truly a virtue. But it also leads to some dark times. At the end of the day, she wants to help everyone around her and do the right thing for them, except when it comes to her life and her decisions. She's so full of bullshit when she's analyzing her own life, but it's understandable, and it makes her fascinating and complex.

The last 20% of the book left me a mess. I'm not sure you'll feel the same effects, but I connected with Moira a lot, with her persistent guilt, lack of self-worth, and her messy relationship with her mother. I'm a sucker for complicated family dynamics, so the last portion of the book made the whole reading experience worth it.

The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) is a poignant portrayal of how mental health can be fragile, complex, and relies heavily on interpersonal relationships. This book isn't a mystery/thriller, don't be mistaken, but it's a profound journey through grief and guilt that will definitely impact you in some way.

I'm not sure I've ever read a book that painted a variety of mental health issues so truthfully. I'm not even sure if "mental health" is the correct way to describe some of these issues, but I figure it's adequate enough since they were at somewhat of a treatment center that provided therapy.

There are 12 girls in the Castle School, all with different crosses to bear - grief, alcoholism, ODD, cutting, anorexia - just to name a few. In this setting, these girls are given a sense of community and camaraderie as they unknowingly support each other by becoming friends.

It's kind of a tamer version of Girl, Interrupted with more focus on grief since the main character, Moira, is trying to figure out how to move forward after the death of her best friend. I really liked reading about Moira's self discovery when she gets to bottom of her feelings about going on after losing Nathan. I also loved that the author had a mini chapter on each girl spread throughout the book to explain how each of them came to be at the Castle School.

I do think there were a couple of parts that seemed to drag on a bit which is why this isn't a 5 star read, but it was definitely a solid book that I know I'll think about again, setting it firmly in 4 star territory.

The Castle School ( for Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel is a contemporary YA story featuring Moira, a teen grieving the death of her best and only friend, who is sent to a rather unusual school by her worried parents. The Castle School is in a remote part of Maine, and is home to Moira and eleven other students, girls who are dealing with issues of their own like addiction, anorexia, self harming behaviours and selective mutism. Each of these troubled girls has been sent to the school as a desperate last ditch attempt when other interventions have failed. It is clear that this is no ordinary school, and Moira struggles to trust the Principal, Dr Prince, the rest of his staff and the other girls and she feels like the experience is a punishment because of her behaviour since her friend died. When she hears music in the distance, then finds a way to break out of the castle, only to find another school nearby, catering to male students but run in a very different way , she begins to suspect that she and the rest of the girls may be part of some sinister experiment that Dr Price is running .
While I did enjoy the mystery aspect of this book, I was really fascinated by Moira and the other characters, and the way their issues manifested , the author showed great insight and sensitivity and I was very impressed with how much we got to learn about and feel for each of the characters ,despite being given only single chapters about each , scattered through the narrative of the book as a whole. While the book may have had less of a mystery feel that the description might suggest, I still enjoyed it very much.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the Publisher, all opinions are my own.

I went into this book expecting a mystery and it definitely became something so much more and bigger than that. Since I was expecting a mystery, the fact that I ended up feeling real emotions was powerful. This book helps to put big issues into a better perspective. The illinesses that people should just “get over”, the addictions, and the grief are so much bigger for people than others see. “This is what is” seems like a simple but powerful approach. The approach to showing and dealing with grief and the other struggles was amazing. I enjoyed this book way more than I expected. Highly recommend but tissues may be required if you have experienced loss recently.

Seventeen year old Moira Dreyfuss is struggling with grief and depression in the aftermath of her best friend’s death. Her concerned parents send her away from New York City to a school for troubled girls in Maine. There, Moira and the other eleven girls find adventure in an identical boys’ school across the woods, which they sneak out at night to visit. The other castle is a source of fun as well as a distraction from the girls’ problems, and the rules there are more lax, but all is not what it seems.
This book was closer to realistic fiction than I expected, but it was every bit as dark and psychological as advertised; I was very much satisfied. I would advise prefacing the book with trigger warnings, as topics like mental illness and trauma are intensely explored. The accurate portrayal of said topics stood out to me in particular. Struggles such as mental illness, neurodivergency, and addiction were well-represented; I saw my own experiences realistically reflected in characters with stories similar to my own.
Moira’s voice was strong and poignant, though very repetitive at times. As someone who has struggled with obsessive, I wondered if this was an intentional choice to illustrate the constant thought cycles. However this repetition was tedious for me as a reader.
Themes such as codependency and trust really stood out to me, as well as the depiction of how mental illness can distort your perception of reality. I was moved by Moira’s (both literal and metaphorical) journey towards trusting others and relying on her own strength.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3631888268

a heartwarming story of a girl living with and beyond her grief of losing her friend. This is both her story and the story of the other girls at the school and their hurts and healing

I would definitely recommend this book for teens to read, as they would probably see parts of themselves reflected in all of the characters. In terms of teen mental health and dealing with grief, this book was excellent. But the story aspect did not has as much depth as I was expecting. The girls sneak out and visit the boys school, but that was the extent of any action that takes place.

DNF

When I requested this I was under the impression this was a mystery/thriller and that was my main interest. While I have no problems with stories about grief and healing, this one in particular had too many personal triggers for me. After reading a chunk of it I was unable to find myself engaging with a story that had too many unmentioned triggers and wasn't what I thought it was.

I had no problems with the story itself. What I did read was good writing and I think the author described a grieving character very well. But I, personally, cannot get into this book. I think it'll be a great book for a lot of people and I hope they all really love it, but it's not for me.

DNF at 11%

Unfortunately, I do not think that this book is for me. I was highly intrigued by the premise, but once I began the book I had a really difficult time connecting to and caring about the characters.

I think that I would try reading it again in the future because I think the idea is sound, but right now, it's not for me.

The Castle School For Troubled Girls was different than I expected, but also really good.

Moira's best friend, Nathan, died from cancer and she's been acting out. She wouldn't go to school, was losing weight, snuck out often, and got a tattoo. Her parents decide to send her to The Castle School. The school is in the middle of nowhere and it really is a castle. There are only twelve girls there and the rules are extremely strict. School isn't structured at all, but there is a bedtime and therapy. They also don't allow clocks or cell phones. While there, Moria starts hearing music outside. She finds that the lock on her window is broken, so she and her roommate, Eleanor, sneak out to see what the sound is. What they find surprises them and they're not quite sure what's going on.

A huge part of the book is dealing with grief and depression. Dr. Prince works to get Moira to understand why she was sent to the school and that it's ok to move on after Nathan's death. Moira can't let him go and she feels guilty doing anything that he can't do. She doesn't want to make any other friends. It all feels like cheating on Nathan.

The girls are each there for different reasons. They all end up bonding with each other over time and I loved the friendships. But each girl needed a lot of help and the school doesn't always help everyone.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings: There are a lot of serious trigger topics in the book. Depression, cutting, stealing, parental issues, cancer, death, eating disorders, pulling out hair, addiction. I'm pretty sure there are other things I'm forgetting. Just know that this is a school for girls who need help for something in their lives.

While this one was a good story, it just wasn't my type of book. With it being categorized as a YA mystery/thriller, I was expecting it to be more along those lines. I was expecting some sort of mystery in it but this one just seemed to focus on the mental illnesses of the girls more so than adding a thrilling aspect to it. This was a DNF for me, it takes a lot for me to not finish a book but I am also a mood reader. I was in the mood for a thriller so this didn't live up. Maybe eventually I will go back and finish this one out. However, the book was very well written, it just wasn't something I was looking to read when I read the description of this one. I would say that this should be classified as YA fiction.

When Moira loses her best friend Nathan her senior year, her life just seems to stop. After months of skipping classes, failing tests, and sneaking out at night, Moira's mother sends her off to a boarding school in remote Maine: The Castle School. The school, run by Dr. Prince, involves almost no school that Moira recognizes, but it could be an opportunity for Moira to bond with her 11 classmates, if she can let herself move on.

I found this a really touching and atmospheric novel about teens and mental health, specifically the kinds of crises that can befall a teen girl. Different characters were revealed to be working with different issues, including eating disorders, self harm, addiction, selective mutism, and more. Because we had so many characters, these issues weren't always deeply explored, but the characters felt well-rounded and compassionately drawn. Moira's journey and acceptance of her grief was a bit pat for me, but I appreciated that the book showed us a relatively complete arc in her own mental health journey.

What I found disappointing was the way the book was described. I picked this up when looking for a YA mystery, and while the Castle School holds some secrets and a Gothic vibe, the mystery element completely dropped out of the second half of the book as it focused on Moira's therapy journey. Overall this is a good story well executed, just not what it says on the wrapper.

Honestly y’all, I don’t know what I’d do if my best friend died. I don’t even want to think about it, I know I’d do some kind of mad. So I completely understood the main character, Moira, when she talked about how empty she felt without her best friend, who died a while back. And I understood her acting out, which immediately placed me right in her shoes as the story started. I was immediately rooting for her.

That coupled with the fact that my relationship with my mother has always been complicated, I felt a connection to her. And the ending made me cry as well.

I think the synopsis misled me a little. I thought this book was about an adventure, something magical or mysterious, but it was more of a character study. It was more of Moira’s journey through accepting death and moving forward, learning that the people around you care about you, and that everything is not always as it seems. You have to accept life.

Throughout the book there are also these little chapters on the other girls in the Castle School, who each have their own problems like mental illness, addiction, and eating disorders, and each of them were told through their respective perspectives.

It wasn’t the kind of book I would usually read, but it was really interesting, and I’m happy I did! It was such a realistic approach to grief, depression and mental illness, and in my opinion it was so well handled. There’s so much that the author goes into in this book, I can’t even begin to explain. But it explains these heavy topics in a light, yet serious and understanding manner. She stays away from romanticizing these topics, but yet makes them easier to read about.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a character study through grief and pain. Anyone who wants a look into the life of a young girl going through not-therapy as she figures out how to move forward 💛 thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC of this book!!! It was lovely.

Let me start this review with a small warning: This book was entirely different from what I had expected it to be. I was in a mystery mood, and even more in a boarding school mystery mood, and I found this book on Netgalley. I was quite happy when I got the e-mail that my request was accepted and that I could start reading. However, this is NOT a mystery. It's something much better, hence my rating, but it might not be much better for everyone.

As a certified therapist this book touched me at my core. Quite often therapy and therapists in general are not being portrayed positively in media, especially not in media that targets young adults. However, in this book we finally get to see what a good therapist can accomplish. Or, maybe better phrased, how a good therapist can help their client to accomplish a lot. And yes, therapy hurts and it's not always fun, but if it's done well it works and it helps and it changes lives for the better.

And Moira, the heroine of this story, does need some nudges in the right direction and a hand helping her find her way back to life again. I don't want to spoil anything in this review of course, but Moira's journey is one of the most touching I've ever read. I think it portrays mourning and the complexity and difficulty of it in a brilliant way. We spend most of the book in Moira's head and not only do we discover her past with her, but we also get a glimpse of the future waiting for her after this adventure.

Although none of the girls are at this school without reason, this book really portrays them as girls. Not once does Sheinmel turn any of them into stereotypes, not once does she forget that these are people. In between Moira's journey we get a brief chapter on how each of the girls ended here, in this place. And all of those stories seemed real and respectful. All those twelve girls are just examples of how one can slowly lose oneself (and the ones you care about) and how it can happen to anyone.

If you're looking for a mystery or thriller, this is surely not your book. However, if you're looking for a touching read (I cried. A lot.) that really handles complex issues teenagers might deal with in a respectful and realistic way, this book is what you want and need.