TRIGGER WARNINGS: eating disorders, childhood trauma, bullying, gay panic, also wouldn't recommend to people with tokophobia

After many days of forgetting my earbuds at home and suffering in silence at work, I finally finished this! It was driving me BONKERS that I didn't finish this sooner. The whole mystery of what happened to Gerri Lake (please correct me if I spelled her name wrong, I didn't have a physical copy) kept me strung along through this narrative. It felt a bit long and dry at times, but the narrator really has a way with painting a picture with the words the author provided. I would love to see them work together again in the future! In some parts of the story were so well crafted, I could almost smell the cigarette smog and pre-teen/baby slut body spray. But in typical fashion of my reviews, my general thoughts include: Gerri didn't deserve this shit, Skipper sucks, Josephine sucks but grew so much on me, and I JUST WANNA KNOW HOW LAUREN IS, MY POOR BABY. Finally, I didn't realize that there would be graphic, embellished descriptions of pregnancy and childbirth. As someone who is horrified of the idea of pregnancy, this didn't do it for me and I really wish I could have skipped through it, but due to it being an ALC copy, the chapters weren't clearly separated/marked.

I wanted to love this book after reading the description. I listened and found the accents made the story much more enjoyable. This was one I definitely had to use headphones to listen as there is some colorful language and descriptions. I only got 25% into the book and had to stop as the situations are not something I can read about. It began leaning towards sexual abuse of young girls and descriptions of situations that the predatory coach would use. As a teacher and a parent, it is just something I have a difficult time separating reality from and causes too much anxiety and sadness. I know many will love the kitschy descriptions and varying timelines, I just was not able to continue. From what I read, there is some great character descriptions and settings, but it was too much for me. While I don't find it fair to judge a book because the story line was too much for me, I will be basing the star rating on the characters, dialogue, and setting. Thanks for the opportunity to review it.

The Divines are the girls of St. John the Divines, an elite English boarding school. The Divines were famous for their hair flipping, chain smoking and harassment of teachers. Josephine, now in her thirties, spent five years at the school and receives an invitation to the upcoming reunion of former students of the institution that was closed in disgrace with her graduating class. Now married with a daughter of her own and living in California, Josephine is undecided on whether or not to attend. She hasn’t even spoken to any of her former classmates in fifteen years. The invitation evokes a strong need, however, to reflect upon her time as a Divine. The story is told from multiple timeframes - as a student, as a newlywed and the present. As the memories surface , Josephine’s life begins to change: she begins having difficulties with her marriage, she can’t concentrate on her work and most importantly her self identity is challenged.

I enjoyed reading this book. The character development was excellent. I appreciated the insight Josephine gleamed from others when they spoke of how she was perceived while at school. Where the book excels to me, however, is in observing Josephine’s personal insight into her true identity as the book progresses. On a more critical note, while I found the antics of The Divines were at times humorous, there was also evidence that some of these girls could be unkind to the point of bullying. The way they treated the staff and town’s residents was abhorrent, strongly suggestive of a pretentious upbringing likely fuelled by their time at the school. As a result, I found the characters were not likeable - a must have for me in order to be fully invested in a book. Additionally, the story felt a little long in parts and I found myself wanting to return to Josephine’s current storyline.

I listened to the audiobook edition of the book which was narrated by Imogen Church who gives a very good performance. I appreciated her ability to voice several characters and found her pacing to be excellent. I listened to the book at my usual 1.25x speed which I found to be comfortable. I would not hesitate to recommend the audiobook format to those readers who enjoy this format.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for the honest review provided here.

This is a coming-of-age story like no other and it does not make my want to send my granddaughter to a private boarding school. The girls of St. John the Divine are cruel to one another. They are cruel elitists. Told by a graduate of the school, Josephine, it looks back on her time as a “Divine”. Now married and living in the US she had pushed the school to the back of her mind until her honeymoon when she and her husband stopped by to visit. Josephine has reason to regret her actions which she thought led to the death of her roommate. She’s haunted by them, and as she says “ I was a teenager, self-obsessed, too caught up in my own narrative to care about anyone but myself.” While all of the characters, including the adults were unlikable, the audiobook made it impossible to put down. With great voice change and pace, Imogen Church has created a listening experience that will remain with me for a long

The Divines is a compelling story of a woman as she revisits her boarding school past and slowly unravels. Eaton writes sharply about, among other things, friendships, sexuality, and class divides between "The Divines" who attend St. John the Divine boarding school and the nearby "townies". Overall, the book is an interesting look at how our pasts shape who we are and how we think about our past, present, and future.

This was not necessarily an enjoyable read, but I do not think it is supposed to be. I really enjoyed the coming of age story and the overarching theme how our perceptions and memories of a childhood experience changes as we grow into adults.

I love a boarding school novel and this one has all the drama and angst. The divines are a group of girls who attend an exclusive private boarding school and personally have all the privilege associated with this. Despite this privilege, the girls are full of insecurity and cliques and the sort of problems common to teenage girls.
The protagonist, Josephine, is especially uncomfortable in her own skin, having difficulty seeing in herself what others see. Her roommate is an outcast who was a figure skater, which separated her from the other girls. A tragic event happens close to the time the school is merging with another, rival school.
The story is told with a dual timeline, alternating between the school days and years later when Jo is an adult, married and a mother. Her relationship to her past is much more important to her current life than she realizes.
I enjoyed the story, although there were characters who would have been fun to know more about following their time as students. I really enjoyed Imogen Church as the narrator. She adds an additional atmosphere to the story.
Fun read. 3/5 stars
#TheDivines #NetGalley #ImogenChurch #HarperAudio

Ellie Eaton has written a fine debut here. I was incredibly compelled by the story at hand and found all of the characters insufferable and haughty, in the way that self-important teenagers and adults are. While some folks may consider that a turn-off, I found it awfully entertaining. You're not meant to like anyone here, and once you accept that and strap yourself in for the ride, it's a fun time.

I really appreciated the fact that the book explores how we construct narratives around our pasts, making ourselves important and central in moments where we are neither. We create versions of ourselves, over and over, to suit our needs and the needs of others. The Divines at the center of the novel have been told that they are supreme, in big ways and small ways, for their entire lives. As such, they are awful people in adolescence and adulthood. They have made themselves into madonnas as the rest of the world looks on, bewildered. They are deluded. That's a fascinating starting point.

Imogen Church is a spectacular narrator; in a book about class divides, Divines and townies, she carries the differentiating voices and tones incredibly well. If you want a posh voice in your ear for several hours, serving you a maddening main character — to say the least — absolutely go with the audiobook. You won't be disappointed.

However, there are issues here, hence the rating. For one, the structure of the novel is a big failing. I don't think the portions of the book that were set in Jo's adulthood were necessary to the narrative the majority of the time (until the two time periods more clearly intersected at the very end, really). It felt like I was receiving superfluous information about her marriage and professional life, humdrum details that the average reader would not find interesting. It feels as if the split between timelines was an attempt to make the construction of the story more complex, rather than the split being in service of the larger plot. It may have seemed less intriguing if the novel had been more straightforward and had mostly or entirely been from teenage Jo's point of view, but I believe it would have been stronger for it.

Additionally, Jo's friendship with Lauren — a large portion of the teenage parts of the story — is not resolved at all in her adulthood. This is a bit perplexing considering the culmination reached at the end of the earlier timeline. Lauren is perhaps the most likable character in the entire book, so it's disappointing to not have her appear at all in the later years. Because things are left completely unresolved, one wonders why this wrinkle was added so late in the book to begin with.

Lastly, there are some thriller elements at play in the book that I really don't enjoy. There's two "twists" of sorts. The first really affects your view of the story, and I imagine it'll really turn off some readers. I personally saw it coming, so it wasn't as much of a bother. What was, though, was the reflection on the event in the later timeline, because one character's reaction seemed so absurd. The second feels a bit cheap and highly unrealistic. It's as if this was aiming to be three-quarters literary, one-quarter light thriller/dark academia, which is a mix that doesn't work. Like the structural issues, I think this would have been a stronger novel if it had stayed in the literary realm.

I will warn anyone interested in this book that:

1) It is not dark academia. The characters give off a "think they're better than you, but are actually completely unremarkable to the point of dullness" sort of air. There are no conspiracies, no large mysteries. Don't go into this with different expectations; you'll be disappointed.

2) As I've already stated, nearly every character in this novel is unlikable, in both timelines. If you need someone to root for while reading, this is not the story for you.

3) The teenage portion of the novel is set in the late nineties, which means that there are homophobic and fatphobic insults. The latter, in particular, come up quite a lot when describing a character. It's also worth noting that the teenage portions are still narrated from the main character's present perspective, and she doesn't comment on this at all; in fact, it almost seems as if she agrees with the sentiments.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Ellie Eaton's work in the future; I think she has a deft hand and the potential to write a story that's perfect for me.

I am currently still trying to finish this book but I am afraid it will end up being a DNF for me. While I tried to make myself enjoy the book, the main character Josephine is just so unlikable it is unreal. I love her husband and a friend she makes while in boarding school and found storylines involving them so much more enjoyable to listen to. I took a break from this book, listened to two other audiobooks that were great to recharge my tank and am trying to give this one a go again. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for an audiobook arc of this book - and, I will start by saying that the narrator of this book was fantastic to listen to and I thought it was very well read.

Unfortunately, I found this book a little hard to enjoy - the main character is unlikeable and that makes it hard for me to root for them, and even if I was, if felt like she had no character arc or growth at all. I won't delve in to her much as I don't want to spoil anything, but she when she was younger, she was a complete follower and was probably worse than some of the lead bullies. Then, as an adult, she is obsessed with the past, but won't share anything with her husband. It was a lot to continue from her perspective.

The story pace was also quite slow for me - I found that about the first 70% didn't have a lot of story bulk and was basically just boarding school girls bullying one particular girl and the ending felt unsatisfying all over (except for one character who has clearly done well for herself, but they still gave her a final ending I didn't want).

I did enjoy the jumping of timelines to keep the anticipation and the book was well written, I just didn't love the plot or characters.

Overall, this isn't a bad book. I've seen it labelled as dark academia but I don't think this really fits as it's not as dark as it could be. I found the narrator to be unreliable at times, obviously the book is Josephine's remembering twenty years later and they may not be accurate.

There were a few plotlines that I felt should have been expanded more on. The article about the gymnasts and Gerry's skating coach possibly assaulting her were probably the biggest ones and they were not really talked about. This book mentions assault and abuse and body image but never really goes too far into these topics. I didn't love Josephine as she remembers herself being as a teenager, she was selfish and irresponsible and I know that's the point but she really could have made some better choices. She also felt odd as an adult, I adored her husband but I didn't feel her adoration towards him as much as I wanted. I did like the aspects of Josephine's fears surrounding sending her daughter to school because of what she experienced, I just wish there was some closure to that, I know the daughter is only four but their relationship felt strained.

I liked Lauren the best of all the characters, honestly I was hoping we'd meet Lauren as an adult instead of another character mentioning her in passing. Lauren was spunky and fun and she deserved the absolute world. Lauren and Josephine's relationship felt a lot more like love than any other characters in the novel. Some people might say that Lauren felt a bit standoffish or rude at times but she is a teenager who has to go to school, work to help with bills, and care for her sick mother and she's trying to relate to an overprivileged rich girl who couldn't possibly know anything about her world. Perhaps this is why she wanted to hear all those stories about the Divine girls, hearing their meaningless little problems believing nothing else exists outside their little bubble. Other than her mother's sickness and her father's hinted alcoholism, her home life isn't brought up too often, more that it is Josephine's assumptions of what her home life must be like based on her financial standing. Very much wish there had been more of Lauren in the end. I also really liked Gerry, and I really wish that the book delved more into her. I felt like we didn't know her, we only knew Josephine's impressions of her, which was the point, I know, but still. She was a really good character, who had honest compassion for people and she really didn't deserve the torment she received from the other girls.
The book also contained lovely descriptions, everything was very detailed. The audiobook narrator was also very fun and engaging, she did some really good voices.

Overall, I would give this a solid 3/5.

This was a well written book that drew me in and yet was also a difficult read given the subject matter. Spoiled entitled teenaged girls at an elite boarding school that valued money and peerage more than morals and decent values…gee what can possibly go wrong? There are no warm fuzzies here, and yet I highly recommend it. Can we ever escape our past? It makes us who we are in, but what happens when we revisit our past and it is not what we remember it to be? And then what happens when you start to recall what really happened? We meet Josephine and join her on a journey that toggles between her time in the 1990’s at an exclusive private school and present day life. The private school she attended taught more than what was in the text books. It taught them to be mean vicious cruel young women and that she who has the most wins. Basically not the kind of person anyone should aspire to be or want to be befriend. Years later on a visit to her former school with her husband Josephine (main character) is met dealing with all kinds of emotions and memories. She encounters a local person in front of what used to be the school and is verbally assaulted with vile language and is spit at. Her husband us stunned and his desire to know why she was met with such hostility helps to foster her path down memory lane, begrudgingly. She and her classmates were truly despicable and their behavior and attitude were fostered at the school as if the norm. Their disdain for the people and town in which they lived was palpable and heinous. It is not an easy book to listen to and I found at times I needed to take a break from it.It tackles entitlement, the financial divide, creating your own identity when expected to be just like everyone else, sexuality, friendships both real and forced fake ones, going along to get along and so much more. It was an emotional difficult listen, but one that was well worth my time. The narration was good and will draw you in from the start.

Narrator is absolutely wonderful but the audio kept stopping, going in and out and I finally had to DNF. Too frustrating, and I did not hold out much hope for the story.

I absolutely loved this book! For me, it was the most accurate coming-of-age story I've ever read. I really liked how honest and crass the main character was about everything. It's NOT a murder mystery, it's more of a character study but it is written in an entertaining and captivating manner. It's presented in a way that leaves much to the reader's own interpretation, especially the ending. The narrative is split into two timelines, Jo's life as a teen in 1990s England in a town divided by class and her reflection on those years as an adult living in the USA. This lets us experience the events of her last year at the school right along with her and also lets us reflect on them as we see how deeply they impact her life as she ages. I don't think any of the characters were likeable but that actually added to my enjoyment of the story.

Well, I get the hype! The Divines by Ellie Eaton is a coming-of-age with a slight undercurrent of mystery. The plot unfolds through the narration of both teenage and adult Josephine as she recounts, and then revisits, her time in an exclusive boarding school in the 1990s. This book would not typically be one of my favorites due to the lack of a big twist or culmination (at least the kind I had expected at the beginning.) Yet, it is one of the most relatable stories I've finished in a long time. To me, the conclusion made Josephine one of the most relatable characters I've found as an adult. Did the past really happen the way we remember it? Were others' perceptions of us as teenagers accurate? What happens when we take control of the narrative from those who were in power so long ago? I judge books by if they keep me engaged, if they make my jaw drop and if they make me want to discuss it immediately. This book definitely kept me engaged (Imogen Church's narration is excellent) and I'm so excited to discuss it! While my jaw didn't drop at any point, I think in this case, it's what makes the book so relatable and even slightly therapeutic.
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was an easy listen. Jumping back and forth between past and present, it delves into a mystery at a prestigious girls' boarding school. I always enjoy stories told in the first person because I enjoy the mystery of the storytelling: Is this narrator unreliable? This book gets to the truth of the potential cruelty between teen girls. While an entertaining read, it didn't stand out to me among other "girls boarding school type" books.

A woman obsessed with her past at a all girls boarding school in England during the 1990s. While recounting the things that happened inside the school that lead to the clossure of the institution, she resignifies one of the most traumatic experiences she had in her life. These memories, at some point, threaten her present as a mother and wife.

Deeply humane with a lot of humor, all the characters and the odd situations that they find themselves in, are highly relatable.
I truly believe that this book is going to be a success. And I hope it does.
The writing is impecable and Josephine, the protagonist and narrator, cynicism is hysterical.

The book deals with universal themes such as female identity, sexual awakening, friendship and how we deal with trauma.

I liked the narrator a lot, although I'm not sure if I like how she does male characters voices. She makes them sound dumb and unappealing.
I think that is a book that I would highly recommend.

Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook.

I greatly enjoyed "The Devines" and the narrator, Imogen Church, definitely added to the experience. I highly recommend the audiobook.

This is a story showing the dark side of coming of age in a prestigious all girls boarding school. It has undertones that remind me of "My Dark Vanessa" and "Mean Girls".

Although Jo was not a particularly likable character, I don't believe she is meant to be. By the end I think it highlighted how traumas /mistakes/moments in our past can really effect you even decades later, especially when we refuse to open up and work through them. I think the use of the duel time-line narrative really helped bring this story together.

I was surprised in some of the directions the book went. In the beginning I thought there would be more mystery / development regarding the photos the girls were finding. And though not critical to the plot, the resolution to that portion of the book felt like just a footnote and was hear say at that so you could not fully confirm if it was accurate.

Overall, it was a great read.

I didn’t have much expectations for this one. It was a good drama story. I kind of thought there’d be a huge twist. But i was not expecting the ending. I feel like this was a story expressing how stressful school and your peers can be and how hugely things in childhood can impact your life. I felt bad for the main character. She felt traumatized by what happened at her school and it largely impacted her & if the adults would have been more forthcoming with information her life may have been different. It shows how much privilege can effect a person. The people in this story were so self involved that they didn’t see outside of themselves. And cared too much what others thought. I feel like this was a coming of age story.

The audio narrator was great but i had a hard time with the audio. At times it sounded almost robotic or like something with the audio was messed up and after most chapters it would just stop playing. I’d have to restart.

The Divines is about Josephine who used to attend a boarding school for girls in England called St John the Divine. Even though Josephine hasn’t seen any of the Divines for 15 years, a visit to the area causes her to start obsessing about her time at the boarding school and the disturbing events leading up to its closure. The story alternates between the present-day and the 1990s.

I have been processing my thoughts about this book for a couple of days. I have mixed feelings about it. I feel that it was fairly well-written and had great character development but at the same time, I did not like the characters. I don't see that as a bad thing with this book. I knew the characters weren't going to be likable when I read the synopsis of the book. The fact that the author made the characters so unlikeable is one cue to me that they were well-developed. Their personalities were quite fleshed out and they weren’t pretty. The world-building in the past in this story was much more interesting than the present but I believe that's how it was supposed to be until towards the end of the book.

This is the ultimate mean girls’ story which I do not normally enjoy reading about, but this book was compelling enough to keep me listening all the way to the end. The narrator was wonderful and really added life to these characters. I did not love this story but it was intriguing enough to say I sort of liked it. The Divines is one of those books that are hard to appreciate unless you get to the end. The ending makes the book worthwhile and I can say that without feeling like I’m telling you whether you’ll be satisfied with it.