Book title: The Hawthorne School
Author: Sylvie Perry
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: 7 December 2021
Review Date: 11 June 2021 on Goodreads

My thanks to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Sylvie Perry for an advance copy

Single mum Claudia has a 4 year old son Henry who is having troubles at pre-school. His unruly behaviour is testing both her and his teacher.

“Your son is not like any child I’ve ever taught before, and I’ve been teaching preschool for thirty years.”

Claudia's mother has recently passed away so Claudia feels totally alone when her neighbour Maggie befriends her and sings the praises of the private school which her daughter Violet attends and although Claudia thinks the tuition would be beyond her means they go to check it out.

She falls in love with the school at first sight. Henry is in awe with the school also and thinks Zelma, the school director is either a witch or a giant's wife. Henry is accepted into the school, with a reduced fee provided Claudia does some voluntary work at the school.

The Hawthorne school ideals:
1. Be cooperative.
2. Be loyal.
3. Be just.
4. Be self-controlled.
5. Be humble.
6. Be steady.

Claudia comes to realise that the school is the only stable support in her life. The reader comes to realise things are not as they seem, for Claudia it takes a while longer.

There is a possible love interest, spanish groundskeepers, nightworkers, moon gazing, Jabberwocky as well as Henry's father returning. This book kept my interest right through to the end.

This was creepy and atmospheric. I love creepy school stories! This was a great read that will be awesome for readers looking for something a little spooky in the fall!
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me shook! Literally!!
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As an ex elementary teacher and a new mother, this book gave me chills and Claudia the MC was very relatable.
Her anxiety in raising a kid whom people are quick to tag as difficult, her feelings about not being enough as a mother, her journey through which she needs validation about her parenting are all daily worries of I guess most mothers.
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The Hawthorne school, though a beautiful place to send her son “Henry” for education, is not as it seems as Claudia realizes day by day. Henry seems to be slipping from her grasp and the administration and educators all seem to be hiding something.
Who is G? What kind of school has no books or reading classes? Why are all the children including Henry always so calm at school, yet so very difficult to manage at home? What is the green smoothie Claudia gets very attached to at Hawthorne and why does everyone keep advocating its benefits?
You want the answers? Start reading! I hope you will enjoy the mystery as much as I did.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I enjoyed this book, from the moment I started reading I knew that something felt off about the Hawthorne School. While the book was a bit predictable, and didn't have the twist and turns I would have liked. I did enjoy the book without them. I will admit though, reading this book through the lens as someone who went to a Montessori elementary school was very interesting because the school didn't feel too abnormal to me at first.

This is the kind of book that doesn't necessarily surprise you in the way it intends to, but you enjoy it anyway. Sylvie Perry wins the award for creating the creepiest vibe possible, and the school setting was phenomenally chilling. I could have been obsessed with this book, but a few things feel flat for me - mostly character-wise. The setting, however, was superb.

First off, I must say that I love reading about cults and weird religions, so this story was right up my alley. The Hawthorne School promises that they are the perfect place for Henry, Claudia’s troubled son. It couldn’t be too good to be true… could it? Claudia enrolls Henry and finds herself becoming even more involved as a parent volunteer, but becoming part of the Hawthorne family is part of the school’s charm. Or is it?

Claudia Morgan is a struggling single mother. Her son, Henry, has serious behavioral problems and she is willing to do whatever she can to place him in the right school environment. This leads her to discover Hawthorne School, a beautiful private school known to be expensive and have a long waiting list. Claudia is pleased when they move her to the top of the list and let Henry attend for free as long as she performs volunteer work for the school. It all seems too good to be true and soon Claudia will discover what the Hawthorne School is really all about.

Overall, I found this to be a good book. It did move at a slow pace but that didn't deter my overall enjoyment of the book. I was very intrigued by the gothic school vibe.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Claudia Morgan is struggling. She is a single-parent barely making enough to send her young son, Henry, to pre-school. She is willing to do anything to provide him with the best start in life but when the pre-school start to have concerns over whether they are the best fit for him, due to his behavioural problems, it all feels hopeless.

Her salvation might lie just a short drive away. With acres of woodland surrounding it, Hawthorne School is a beautiful, peaceful, and secluded establishment. They provide their young charges with unlimited time outdoors and a vegan, organic, and gluten-free diet before they enter the classroom, which contains limited numbers and less academic strictness. The school also features a volunteer programme for Claudia to work at, in exchange for payment of tuition fees. In short, Hawthorne School feels like the perfect fit for their little family, and it seems to want them just as much as they want it.

I adore reading any book that features an isolated academic setting. It is one of my favourite fictional environments and I find them all endlessly fascinating to explore. Hawthorne School was no exception. The sprawling building and bordering woodland provided a wonderfully creepy and atmospheric setting. What occurred there felt too good to be true, for almost half of the book, and I enjoyed witnessing all the benefits of the programmes they run, before the darkness they were covering up became eventually exposed.

I wished, for much of the book, that we had more insight to the inner-workings of the school, as that is what I came here to read. We saw, from Claudia's perspective, a limited view and I constantly wanted to delve right into the heart of the children's studies and the adults' roles, as well as the minutiae of what occurred behind-the-scenes to keep it all running so smoothly.

From the cover and the synopsis it was made obvious that something was occurring there that should not have been. It took too long for Claudia to discover what this was, however, especially after the reader was already aware of something brewing right under her nose.

When more facts about the school were eventually delivered I found they only raised even more questions. Many of these were answered before the book's close but some remained even after the major mystery had been concluded.

It was a bizarre ending and perhaps not one I entirely appreciated, but I did have a fun time with this book and thought its construction of setting and character its strongest features.

I found that this was a good holiday read but I felt that it was very predictable. I felt that the main character was so naive to make snap decisions on the basis of very little. From the early chapters it was obvious to me that she was setting herself up for a fall. In someways the "fall' was actually worse than expected as the depth of the deceit was revealed.
Sorry, not for me!

When I read the description to The Hawthorne School I needed this ebook right then and there!
So thank you so much NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and author for this advanced ebook

The Gothic theme here was just outstanding! Talk about a wild crazy ride! This book was it!
This thriller was addicting and I couldn't put my Kindle down!
Thing's I loved most..... The creepy school vibes! I'm sucker for'em!
The writing couldn't have been any better! Amazing if you ask me!
Characters the were very well portrayed!

Thanks again for providing me with a chance to read this awesome, deeply, crazy ebook!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Hawthorne School seems too good to be true for single mother Claudia. A forest school with an emphasis on creativity, The Hawthorne School offers a sense of community to Claudia and her son Henry- but most importantly, it offers them a scholarship. But Claudia should know, that if it seems to be too good to be true, it usually is.

This book had such a creepy atmosphere, it was very gothic in nature. The author did a wonderful job setting the tone. The book is a thriller, with lots of secrets and a sprinkling of danger. I very much enjoyed it and would recommend it to any thriller lover.

I absolutely loved The Hawthorne School! I enjoyed it so much, I’ve told 4 friends about it since finishing it less than 24 hours ago. I love books that combine family drama, cult-like organizations, & creepy buildings; that’s exactly what this book entails! The characters were written extraordinarily well & the second half of the book was the perfect amount of mystery. I cannot wait to read more from Sylvie Perry!

Claudia, a single mom to extremely difficult Henry, has found support in The Hawthorne School. Embracing nature and letting children learn at their own pace, Henry's behavior at the school has vastly improved. He's eating better, not tantruming, and has become, basically, a much more likeable child. Claudia has finally found the place for them.

Or has she?

Between the creepy old lady director, the little green juice drinks, and the rules the school imposes not only on children but on parents as well, this is a recipe for disaster. Too bad Claudia is so desperate for acceptance that she misses EVERY SINGLE RED FLAG thrown in her face. Seriously, Claudia....you visit a school once and they say hey, come here for FREE? And what about the weird juice? Like....that's not a thing.

This was a fantastic, creepy, gothic, albeit somewhat predictable, psychological thriller. I quite enjoyed it and the ending. Those Night People really came through, huh?

I am a sucker for books that take place in creepy school environments so I was excited to read this one. The story was fast-paced, though somewhat predictable. It centers on Claudia, a single mom of 4-year-old Henry, who has gotten into trouble in school and seems to have behavioral problems. She comes across the prestigious Hawthorne School, and they are quick to not only move her up the waiting list, but let Henry attend for free as long as Claudia volunteers on her days off. She jumps at the chance but when she get there, everything is not as it seemed.

The creepy vibe of the book was well done and I could easily picture both the characters and the environment. While the book did move at a fast clip, I was very frustrated with Claudia for being so slow to figure things out, and to let everyone else push her around. She came off as naïve and overly trusting, which was a surprise based on the hardships she had faced to get to that point.

While I thought the twists were pretty easy to figure out, I still enjoyed seeing it all unfold. I thought the end was a little abrupt and wish that it had been drawn out a little rather than moving from a slow burn to a sudden climax.

All in all, though, I enjoyed the book and found it a fun read. I'd give it 3.5 stars and recommend it to those who like creepy school books as well as psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a slow burn waiting to explode into a fireball. Everywhere Claudia turns, she gets feedback that the Hawthorne school is perfect for her little boy. After another meeting with his preschool teacher, Claudia turns to the Hawthorne school to help her with her son.
She soon finds out that its not all what it seems at the school. The more she is around the school, the more she learns she can't ever leave.
I felt that the lead up to the conclusion of the book was delightfully delicious...the slow burn, the wanting to yell at the book. ...GIRL DON"T DO THAT!
However, the conclusion left a bit to be desired. I felt that it was rushed and did not have that slow burn quality. It was just over.
I wish I had more of an ending.
Overall good build up, quick conclusion.

Wow.

I've got to admit, I almost gave this one up. The conversations and all of the italics to emphasize words in what was seemingly every spoken really took me out of the story. Thr conversations sounded so forced and unnatural until about the tenth chapter. But after that, I was finally invested enough in the book that I started to notice the conversations less and less.

And that's when I got hooked. There's just something so intriguing about prep schools and cults and to combine them is a sure fire way to get my attention! The entire time, I could see the flags and I wanted to yell at Claudia to run or investigate but she just kept going for Henry's sake. As a mother, I can understand that. But what do you do when you're in over your head, especially when combined with your daily dose of Little Green? Do you run and pray they don't find you? But what to you do when the school seems to have ears and eyes everywhere and the ultimate sacrifice is death?

This was definitely a book I couldn't put down and I found myself wanting to read every chance I could. I'm so glad I didn't give it up because it had so many twists and turns to it and I never saw the ending coming the way it did. It makes you wonder if this isn't how some people become involved in cults; with false promises, praises, drugs, and threats. This book has it all and I loved it!

Special thanks to NetGalley, Sylvie Perry and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy of The Hawthorne School.

The story had such potential, a mysterious school accepting ‘difficult’ children. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to get invested. The story fell flat and the characters lacked substance.

This was an interesting book that had many great ideas and started off perfectly, but struggled a bit with the ending.

The story is about a single mom that is struggling with her lack of money and finding a good school for her son. She soon hears about The Hawthorne School and is pleased to find that not only will they cover tuition but that her son actually enjoys going there.

There's that saying "if it seems to good to be true it probably is" and that applies to this situation, as she starts to hear rumors about the school, that maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be.

The story was suspenseful and had a few good twists though I didn't love the ending. 4 out of 4.

The Hawthorne school is a very well written psychological thriller. I liked the writing style and the atmosphere.
I also liked how readers know what will happen from the beginning but despite this we are forced to see how Claudia, the main character , will end up trapped. I recommend it to lovers of psychological thrillers and to anyone who wants to read a book full of atmosphere.

The Hawthorne School is a psychological thriller about Claudia, a single mother and her four-year-old son Henry. Tired of hearing complaints from teachers about her son's behavior problems and not knowing what to do to control them, Claudia decides to enroll him in the unconventional Hawthorne School. But everything seemed too good to be true. Henry's behavior improved a lot and Claudia felt welcomed and supported by everyone at school, as if they were a family. As time goes by, Claudia and Henry become more and more committed to the school and when Claudia starts to notice strange things, it may be too late.

What I really liked about this book is that it is predictable. Which is a good thing in this case. From the first page, you already know what’s going to happen. But the main character does not. And we watch, anxious and helpless, Claudia becoming more and more entangled in the manipulation web created by the school.

Overall, it's a good book. the writing was very good and the description of the scenarios were so well done that I could imagine myself in those places. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. If you like thrillers and psychological thrillers, you will probably like this one.