Goodreads:
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.
As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.
My Review:
“‘It’s dangerous to leave girls unprotected,’ a professor told me once. ‘Especially pretty girls like you.”
This was such an intriguing and creepy read, I requested it on NetGalley because when I read the summary it sounded similar to Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill where there are girls who have been contained and have to remain obedient and ‘perfect’ for males. I’ve never read any of Suzanne Young’s other novels, however I enjoyed the writing style so I will definitely consider picking up some of her other books.
The pace was great, it kept me on edge and I was reading until the early morning desperate to know what would happen! The plot wasn’t predictable, I didn’t know what the ending would be like –whether happy or sad.
The main characters were the highlight of this book for me, their friendship was powerful and they truly cared for one another. I enjoyed reading the poem ‘Girls with Sharp Sticks’, this was inventive and rebellious and I could see it sparking a fire about their mistreatment and controlled lives. I wish that we’d seen more of Jackson and his side but that’s just a problem with first person narratives I guess. The villains were pretty straightforward, we found out who they were pretty early on and I was rooting for them to suffer! There was however, a twist that I didn’t see coming that was clever! This is explained more towards the end of the narrative and I enjoyed it a lot!
I’ve seen there will be a second instalment entitled ‘Girls with Razor Hearts’ which sounds like a pretty cool title and I will definitely be reading this in 2020 when it’s released.
Overall, this was a great read and kept me hooked! I’d recommend to fans of technology, feminism, friendships, revenge and romance.
5 out of 5 stars.
[Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK Children’s for giving me access to a copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!]
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