Description
Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this start to a thrilling, subversive near future series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young about a girls-only private high school that is far more than it appears to be.
Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardian, they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better. Obedient girls, free from arrogance or defiance. Free from troublesome opinions or individual interests.
But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back.
Bringing the trademark plot twists and high-octane drama that made The Program a bestselling and award-winning series, Suzanne Young launches a new series that confronts some of today’s most pressing ethical questions.
Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardian, they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better. Obedient girls, free from arrogance or defiance. Free from troublesome opinions or individual interests.
But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back.
Bringing the trademark plot twists and high-octane drama that made The Program a bestselling and award-winning series, Suzanne Young launches a new series that confronts some of today’s most pressing ethical questions.
Review
I was intrigued by the Westworld meets The Handmaid's Tale comparison in the book blurb and I was not disappointed. It's difficult to say more than that without spoilers.
Mena is the narrator of the story and we meet her as a student of the Innovations Academy, a finishing school maybe with a difference, think Stepford Wives. She enjoys the school and most of all her friends the other students. Except one of them is behaving a little strangely.
Mena has a vice for candy and this leads her to break the rules on a field trip. Whilst purchasing some candy she meets a young man - only briefly, but they form a friendship. It seems he may know more about the Academy than Mena does. His questions make her start to question why she is at the Academy and why her parents are too busy to talk with her and answer her questions. Instead every time she rings home she gets Eva - their live in personal assistant.
I found this book intriguing and disturbing and a lot deeper than it first appears. This is a YA novel and I found it to be scary in places so probably for the upper end of the age range. As the story unfolded I began to want to understand more about what was happening at the Academy, but I also began to fear for Mena and her friends.....
I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of the book for review.
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