The Project by Courtney Summers

The Project book summary:

The Project is by Courtney Summers and is published by Wednesday books. This book follows Lo who works at a magazine. She’s been on her own for a long time. Her parents died a while back and so did her aunt. Her sister Bea joined The Unity Project after the death of their parents and they haven’t seen each other since. That’s okay because Lo learned a long time ago how to take care of herself. But once a man comes into her job claiming that The Unity Project killed his son, Lo starts to question everything. Bea has been in the back of her mind for a while now but now that the project is being brought up a flood of memories flood her. She misses her sister, Bea, but is there a reason why Bea abandoned her?

What I thought about The Project:

The Project is a recent book by Courtney Summers that deals with sisters who were once close. But once Lo finds out that something has gone awry with The Unity Project she has to make sure that she’s able to find her sister. I’m so excited that I was able to request this book off of Netgalley! This in no way affects my review of the book. I do have to say that this was a bit of an impulse request. For one it’s by Courtney Summers! I’ve only read one of her books and that was Sadie but I do want to get into more of her books. So, I’ll probably be getting other books she’s written here soon!

I’m not sure why but I always enjoy a book that deals with cults. Yes, I get that this book isn’t an accurate representation of how people get sucked into these sorts of things, but this is a topic that has always caught my attention. It makes me wonder how exactly people get talked into these sorts of things and how it affects their morals when they join. What makes them turn a blind eye when something questionable happens?

Characters

I get that sisters aren’t always going to be close. There are sisters who are just toxic for each other or something happens that drives a wedge through them. But I can’t help but to wish that the sisters in this book were actually close. Coming from someone who doesn’t have a sister and always imagines them being super close it’s something that I love reading about. It always makes me wonder if I had a sister then what would we be like?

So, we mostly get the perspective through Lo but we do get some perspectives from Bea. Through most of the book I actually really like Lo’s perspective. She’s a strong-willed woman that really has been given all of the wrong cards in life. She started life struggling and in recent events, she hasn’t been given the best life. Despite being given the raw end of the deal in life she doesn’t play the victim. This is what I truly love about her and what made me realize how strong she really is. There are a couple of parts of the book where she stands up for herself really well which makes me like her even more. I had a feeling that she would be the type of person who is passive and just lets things bounce off without really telling others what they are doing is wrong.

I won’t go into details but Lo eventually does do something in the book that really pisses me off because it’s so stupid and completely against how she really felt. Honestly, there hasn’t been a book that has made me so angry and sad all at the same time. Reading through Bea’s perspective made me feel this way too though. But I think I felt more sad for Bea than angry.

The Plot of The Project

So, the plot of The Project is actually really good. It keeps your attention throughout the whole book. Courtney Summers does a great job evoking multiple feelings out of you with the plot. From the very beginning, the way that the book is written grabs your attention and actually keeps you there. The fact that I didn’t really lose interest in the storyline made the book so much better.

As I stated before the book brings out so many emotions and actually gets you rooting for Lo to making you want to slap her in the face for being so stupid at times. I really can’t wait to read more books by Courtney Summers!

What do you guys think about books that deal with cults?

If you like this review then you might like Amelia Unabridged.