The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant

(3.5 stars for plot but rounded up for the compulsion I felt to keep reading at 2am.)

Anne Merchant is a mortician's daughter, so she's used to a bit of spooky atmosphere and people acting strangely, but when she is suddenly fortunate enough to be sent to a private school in Maine, she realizes that there's something else going on. Unsure whether she's in a boarding school, reform school or insane asylum, she tries to find out why everyone is keeping secrets from her and why there are all these strange rules.

Anne finds it hard to make friends, veiled in levels of secrecy and distrust as everyone is, but eventually starts piecing together something resembling a normal life. At least, as far as "normal" goes in a place called Wormwood Island. But then maybe fitting in is overrated.

Hints are dropped from the beginning (Wormwood Island, anyone?) and the occasional "oops" in conversation (most people don't refer to others as "mortals"). Between those and Ben's increasingly obvious hints, I was surprised at how obtuse Anne was, especially given her tendency to look closer. (Mind you, Ben found it very easy to tell Teddy what she knew, immediately after telling her to say nothing.)

It's been a while since this particular plot was used, so at least it's a little original. It's worth noting that, as many others have discovered before, the villagers soon realize that they've given the devil a foothold and he's using it to drag more people into his domain.

I enjoyed this book! It kept me guessing throughout & surprised me with all the twists and turns. I think it will appeal to older teens who like paranormal books. I am looking forward to the next installment!

Kept me guessing and definitely ends on a note that keeps you wanting more. Will read the next in the series.

It was Sunday after church, and I was looking for something to read. I casually picked up my kindle and selected this book. WOW...I literally could not put this book down after that! Seriously, while eating dinner with the family it was on the table and I could not help but continue the story. Every time I tried to set it down it ended up right back in my hands until I finished it that evening.

There seems to be a mix of reviews about this book. I can only speak from my experience and say that I loved the Gothic creepy feel to the book. I felt the author did a fabulous job of keeping the secrets of this school a mystery. It kind of reminded me of a modern day "Turning of the Screw" in a very good way. I loved many of the characters, and there were some of the expected regulars to show up; you can't have a boarding school without the mandatory group of mean girls. However, there were many more well rounded characters with fascinating twists.

I cannot wait for the next book in this series to become available. It is one that I will be waiting for with baited breath.

Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy with hopes of creating a new life for herself. No longer will she be known as the daughter of the mortician, she has the opportunity to completely revamp her life. And that's exactly what she's going to do. What she doesn't expect is that the school is full of wealthy teenagers who have one goal in mind: to become the class valedictorian. It's this concept that is literally fought over by every single student in the school, except for a guy named Pilot. Each student has a Guardian and a "strength" of sorts that basically dictates her life. Anne is assigned her Guardian, a creepy man named Teddy who announces that her "strength" is seduction which means that she is being graded on how she seduces people to win the title of valedictorian. Anne freaks out and rejects her strength which brings her to what Teddy calls her "second strength" - find out more about a person/place/thing.

The first half of this book was confusing as heck. I'll be completely honest with you. There were several times where I felt like putting it down because I had no idea what was going on. The whole concept of the story was definitely interesting, but I felt like the story was going nowhere. But, as always, I kept pushing and thank goodness I did because the second half of the book was amazing, mind blowing, and definitely worth reading. The second half clears up so much of the confusion and so many things are revealed and things just keep getting thrown your way it's freaking awesome.

The one thing that lacked a bit was the romance. I felt like it was a bit underdeveloped when in comparison to the intricate plot that was taking place. Ben and Anne just seem to have this connection from the start and the relationship goes from there. Throughout the whole story, Ben keeps pushing Anne away only to succumb to the feelings in the end. To me, it all felt weird and I just didn't see them as a couple in my mind. Hopefully in the future books, their relationship will appeal a bit more to me? I did think that their first meeting was definitely interesting and well quirky. ;)

Just a quick warning, there will be some small spoilers in the paragraph, but I have to talk about the really freaking amazingly developed plot. I'll try to keep it low key :) So...the plot. The second half of the book is where things speed up. Cania Christy is not some normal school, it's a special school for special people. I loved how the history of the school was built off of the Faustian Contract (spoiler). Once that's revealed and you are enlightened with the truth, everything makes sense. I understood why students fought for the title of valedictorian, I understood why Anne's father "paid" so much to send her there, everything just makes so much sense. Okay, I'm done, if I keep going I'll ruin even more.

The ending was...how do we say this? A tad bit frustrating. After the epic "battle" scene, Anne meets up again with Teddy and he's just saying a bunch of these things that make no sense whatsoever, but you're so compelled to learn more, you want to learn more but guess what? You don't cause the story ends right there before anything else happens. You learn some interesting incomplete facts and then the story ends. Come on!! I have to say that it's a pretty good cliffhanger because I definitely want to read the second book to see what happens, but to end so abruptly my heart...

So...definitely read it. The first half might be a bit torturous and confusing and hard to get through, but I promise you guys the ending is definitely worth it so don't give up!!

This book is incredible! There were more twists and turns in the story than I can count! I was constantly guessing where the author would take me next. The characters were believable and fantastic The outstanding mix of paranormal mystery and young romance keeps you engaged. I couldn't stop reading once I started. The reader wants to be friends with the bold heroine and sweet romantic lead. I strongly recommend this book for fans of YA paranormal books. I am holding my breath anticipating the sequel! I truly can't wait to see what happens next.

This book blew me away!

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant isn't what you think it will be. You start off the book believing one thing and finish it completely floored and confused -- but in a good way!

I am in love with all of the characters; both the main ones and the not. I am fascinated with the idea of the "big V" and the entire creepy private school and how it is run.. and by who/what it is run..

I am ecstatic for book two to come out and I plan to recommend this book to everyone I know.

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant fell flat for me because it combined a few YA tropes that I'm just not a huge fan of. For example, Anne is a bit of a special snowflake who seems too caught up in boys' opinions of her. I didn't like how she shamed her classmates a "skanks," and yet was very enthusiastic about the idea that boys found her attractive. Overall, neither the plot nor characterizations pulled me into this book.