This wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it's still a very good book. I assumed The Castle School (for troubled girls) would be a thriller, but it's really more serious contemporary fiction about mental health with a slight mystery element.

Moira has been acting out since the death of her best friend and getting a tattoo is the last straw for her Jewish parents. They announce they are sending her to a boarding school where she and the other girls will get therapy and a chance to heal. But things seem strange to Moira, they have little to no contact with the outside world, and then they discover another school through the woods where there are only boys. (See why it sounded like a thriller?)

But there's really not that much tension or mystery. Instead this follows the journey of a girl grieving and in pain, alongside other girls with their own struggles. It gently tackles issues of mental health and trauma, offering not only the external, diagnosed perspective but also the internal one and complicated reasons for things. I thought it was a really beautiful book about pain and healing and overcoming your own biases. Note that there is semi-graphic material dealing with a variety of issues involving different girls including depression, self-harm, disordered eating, addiction, grief, pulling out hair (I know there's a term for this, but don't recall it), running away from home, and cancer. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When I picked it up I had no expectations other than that of reading a light YA boarding school story, so I knew nothing about either the plot or characters going in, and man, was I so pleasantly surprised by it all!
The characters are well developed and full of hidden layers, and even though the story is centred on the main character and her story towards recovery (as we see everything through her first-person perspective) I really appreciated how we still got to see a little deeper into all the other girls through their focus chapters.
Needless to say, the mental health representation in here is astounding, and even though I personally cannot talk to the accuracy of most of it, I definitely felt close to all the girls and their issues felt even more real as they strayed from stereotypes and were thus still very relatable to some degree. At the very least, it contributes to opening up a conversation about destigmatizing mental health issues, which is something that I always love to see in books.
The portrayal of grief and especially its consequences, both for those directly involved, like the protagonist, and those around them, i.e. her immediate family, was very well done and it was amazing to see how it progressed and developed together with Moira's own little adventures at the school.
As far as the plot is concerned, I felt it was really well structured and it managed to keep the pacing just right. Indeed, considering the heavy subject matter (see trigger warnings if you need them) this book could have been really difficult to get through otherwise, but the mystery/thriller aspect perfectly managed to balance all of that out and make the book super engaging as well as quick to get through. This is certainly one of those books that will keep you up all night reading because you just need to read one more chapter!
All in all, it was a great read for me, with perfect pacing and perfect length and I would 100% recommend it even to people that don't generally pick up contemporaries, like me.

3/5 stars. - To Be Released in March 2021.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The Castle School follows Moira and eleven other girls who have been sent to a literal castle in the middle of the woods in Maine. All of the girls are struggling issues, such as self-harm and addiction. Moira's best friend has died and she has been struggling to cope with this reality. Her parents send her off to Castle School under the care of Dr. Prince to help Moira. The novel examines Moira's pain and anger over a semester as Castle School. She's skeptical of Dr. Prince and his methods, especially when she discovers they aren't truly alone in the woods. I wouldn't not really classify this a a mystery or thriller but more of a journey of healing and acceptance.

I kept waiting for something ominous to happen but it felt like the story just kind of went on. It didn’t seem to have much of a specific point to me. It was not necessarily a bad story, just not what I had expected and not really my cup of tea.

While this book was not what I expected, it turned out to be exactly what I wanted. Using a fairy tale reimagining to explore grief, mental health, and the troubles of growing up is a difficult thing to balance, but The Castle School manages to teach and entertain at the same time. I even grew to understand Moira by the end, even though I started off the story not liking her.

The book deals with grief and other mental illnesses in a superb way. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in a day. I loved the characters and the struggle at the center of the story.

Wow. This book gives us a lot to unpack. The main focus of this book is mental health. Moira is sent to a boarding school, that is basically a rehab center. There are eleven other girls there, and each one has a different reason they were sent there. When Moira arrives at The Castle School she has a "not like the other girls" mentality which annoys me quite a bit, but that I can understand in this case. Her first day at the school, another girl introduces her to the other by listing their name as well as their respective disorder (for lack of a better term). This was done in extremely poor taste. It completely destroyed any depth to the side characters, and it seemed as if their whole existence/ purpose to the book was the label they were given. Also it seemed rather gross to me for other reasons I'm struggling to put to words.

Moira was very combative, and not super likable in the beginning. However, seeing her grow through the story was very refreshing. She is obviously the most well written character in the book. I really loved that she threw random facts of trivia throughout the story, it was a nice quirk of hers. I do love how the story ended and by the end really adored her. She has a lot of redeeming qualities that were hidden away for a good portion of the book.

I did not realize this book was a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I think that was a great idea to tie into the book as I love a good retelling. However, in this case the fairytale aspect was beaten into my head, and I think it was overdone. With a more obscure fairytale I think they should have let it go with subtle hints to a possible tie in. If people missed that aspect of the story because of less obviousness, no harm, no foul. It was a drawback for sure.

Overall this was a decent YA. If you like YA in general give it a try. If you are triggered easily this may not be the book for you.

Picture a school-esque atmosphere for teen girls suffering from such issues as depression, suicide attempts, anorexia, drug addiction, and more. It’s not so much a school, but an atmosphere to bond with your peers, to find a healthier way to cope with life’s stressors and break the cycle of bad habits. Moira has lost her best friend, her only friend, really, and she’s depressed. Though, as she tells it, she’s at the school for getting a tattoo. Stuck in a castle in Maine of all places, in the middle of nowhere, with the good Dr. Prince, she’s discovered they aren’t so isolated after all. Now that she can hang out at night with the guys, this place may not be so bad after all.

“What if I cry until I’m drowning, like Alice in Wonderland?”
Moira needs to cry, but she knows once she starts, it won’t stop. As you get older, you realize that crying can make things feel better. It doesn’t solve your problems, but it’s cathartic. “There was a type of crying that was invisible, that happened beneath the surface.” As you can see, Moira is incredibly insightful, and she’s in a lot of pain. I liked how she related to the other girls in some way, be it great or small. While the story is primarily in Moira’s POV, each girl gets a chapter to show what brought them here.

I expected this to be more of a mystery/thriller regarding what the doctors were hiding. It’s definitely neither genre, and I feel the blurb is misleading in that aspect. Sheinmel did a wonderful job letting us see the hurt, pain, and struggles the characters were going through. I finished the book with a small pile of tissues by my side but a wonderfully warm feeling inside. Nicely done. Thank you, Sourcebooks Fire, for sending this along.

this book was great but the description is not exactly a great insight on what you are getting in the book. this is not about a girl who is facing a mystery, it is more about a girl who is facing her grief. it was still good, just was not what I thought I was getting into

**I received this book in exchange of an honest review.

When I first read the blurb for the book, I thought spooky dark academia with possible mystery. That is not the story that I read. While there was slight disappointment, this book is much bigger than that.

Moira was sent to the Castle School when her parents didn't know what else to do with her. Losing her best friend and coping with his absence was not going well. Moira was failing out of school, hardly eating, and constantly drinking water to ease the lump in her throat. At the Castle School, she meets other girls with "troubles." While each of these girls struggles to be what their parents think they should be, they're also struggling with their own issues. Self harm, alcoholism, addiction, select mutism, and many other mental illnesses are present in the pages.

This book does such a wonderful job of showing the girls as they cope with their troubles and learn to rely on each other for friendship and support. I loved seeing the growth in each of them. The writing lends itself to feeling like you know Moira and want to see her leave the castle whole.

I definitely recommend this book for any high school library collection.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me an ARC through NetGalley.

This book was an interesting examination of grief but ultimately it was a let down for me because the synopsis made it seem like there was a mystery or perhaps paranormal aspect to the school, when there wasn’t. So because of that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I probably could have if I went into it with a clearer idea of where the story was going. I kept waiting for mystery elements to pop up, these “secrets of the school “ and they never really arrived.

If you’re looking for a look inside a character going through griefs head you’ll probably enjoy this book more than I did, but even considering my wrong assumption about what type of story this was, it was well written and full of interesting characters so I can’t knock the star rating down too far.

This book is a beautifully written heartfelt tale about a girl dealing with her grief and the loss of her best friend. This book is so good and written so well. The author really put a lot of thought into mental illness and it definitely shows. This book wasn’t what I was expecting at all but I really enjoyed it. It helped me to look at the grief I’m experiencing myself in a new way. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

This book was not what I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be some dark twisted thriller, but it wasn't. Not to say that the story wasn't good, I still enjoyed it. Just a little disappointed, as it definitely feels like it's marketed as a mystery/thriller. It's a lot heavier than that - very emotional.

“The Castle School” was such an engaging book, and way too easy to slip into—in a good way when it comes to the writing but a bad way when one has a child and work and other such things. I really liked the journey that the main character, Moira, went through. Her mind and vision broadened throughout the book and with it, her understanding and ours increased in scope. Both the reader and the character gained insight at the same time, and the sense of clarity that descends on someone after a long journey struggling emotionally was beautifully conveyed in the pacing of the book. There is something very powerful when a heavy topic such a grief is approached in a hands-off sort of way, without any long winded (or even short!) explanations. The ending wasn’t too perfect, just heart-warming with the hints of major work that still needs to be done long after we turn the last page, and that makes it all the more realistic (and important).

Unfortunately this book wasn't my cup of tea. I found the writing wasn't engaging for me, I couldn't really gel with the characters and the book wasn't what I was expecting at all (not necessarily a bad thing but probably didn't help). erall, I think YA is becoming even more hit and miss for me as I get older so I would still recommend this book for its intended audience.

DNFed pretty fast. The idea for the story was great but the writing made it fall short for me. A lot of the verbiage was awkward & I felt really confused.

I’m rating it a 2 stars for the unique concept. I just wish it was fleshed out a bit better. I might try again when the physical copy comes out.

I was excited to start reading this one when Netgalley finally approved me for it. I honestly wasn’t expecting this book to turn out the way it did from the cover and description. About halfway through I thought I had a good idea of how the book was going to end and then it takes a complete turn. The author does a good job of touching on mental illness and grief.

Triggers: Self-harm, abuse, alcoholism, anxiety, anger issues, body shaming, bullying, death, depression, eating disorder, death, depression

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favourite books of last year was a book by this author so I was excited to read another from them. And this was equally as hard hitting and meaningful. From grief, eating disorders to PMS and addiction, it's heartbreaking what some of these girls have to deal with no matter how relatable. This is the most emotional and poignant book I might read all year. And that's saying a lot. Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this. All opinions are my own.

I went into this book expecting a thriller suspense read with rich private school girls behaving badly, more of a gossip girl story but their book is the complete opposite . This is a story of grief , lost, a honest look at mental illness , friendship and healing .
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This story follow Moira and 11 others girl send off to The Castle School by their parents in a desire to get them help . Moira is reeling from The death of her best friends and can’t seem to understand why a single tattoo got her shipped but as she but as she try to figure out what the school and it’s leader is all about , she comes face to face with her struggles and realizes that her parents were trying to save her .
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The story is told from the POV of Moira but there we were one chapter each dedicated to the another girls giving you a glimpse into their lives so we can know their story . It was an ok read, there were something I felt were unnecessary but it was ok.

While, I think this book was definitely not in the correct genre or what I thought it was going to be, I have to admit it was a well written, emotional rollercoaster. It’s not a thriller or a mystery, but instead a more fiction, with a great glimpse into mental health disorders. It was phenomenally written, with amazing character development, and really emotional and powerful to read. I would highly recommend to those who are looking for a powerful, emotional, and educational (in many ways) book!

Will make sure to buzz around platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!