Fiction Friday (134)

 

 

My continuing examination of YA books continues with this novel that was released earlier this year. I read as a choice for a Teen Book Club selection after seeing how well-reviewed it was. It was certainly different than most of what I choose to read, and though I didn't love it, I did enjoy it.

The Project by Courtney Summers

(Wednesday Books, 2021)

Lo is lost. At 19, she is alone in the world and angry at the circumstances that have brought her to where she is. After her parents died in a car accident, in which she was severely injured, Lo's sister Bea is drawn into a community known as The Unity Project. The Project calls on members to abandon their lives before in order to live the path of God. For Bea, that means leaving her sister.

The hole left in Lo's life manifests in anger and suspicion of The Project. Working for a respected journalist, Lo wants nothing more than to expose The Project as a fraud. After a curious incident in which a member leaps in front of train before her eyes, Lo is more driven than ever to bring down The Project. However, in order to do that, she has to get closer to it than she ever wished to, and potentially falling under the spell The Project's leader Lev tends to have over his followers. She soon discovers that the seeking answers uncovers more mysteries than truth.

This one took me a little while to get into, but by the last half, it was thoroughly compelling. Though labeled YA, I'm not sure I would call this book YA. With the exception of the main character being 19, there is really nothing that links this book to that label. I'm not even sure the themes would be of particular interest to teens, though certainly appeal to a slightly older audience.