The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel
Moira’s parents are sending her to a reclusive? all-girls boarding school in the middle-of-nowhere-Maine. Regardless of what they say, she knows this is a punishment for all the trouble she’s caused them since the death of her best friend, Nathan. At The Castle School, Moira and 11 other girls are isolated from the rest of the world, and expected to talk everything out with Dr. Prince, the strange headmaster. Moira isn’t interested in making new friends. At night, she hears strange music from the woods, and then she discovers the lock on her window is broken. She and her roommate, Eleanor sneak out and find out they aren’t that isolated after all. There is a second, very different Castle School, only it’s filled with boys. Moira starts to suspect the doctors running the schools are hiding something, like a secret experiment on troubled teens. Through it all, Moira learns she can’t run from her grief, and discovers the real reason why her parents sent her away.
From first glance, I was expecting a dark mystery or thriller novel, but this book really focuses more on themes of recovery. Because I went in with the wrong idea, it did take me a while to get into the story and understand where it was going. I really enjoyed how many representations of different mental illnesses and other struggles so many people, especially teen girls, deal with were present in this story. I really enjoyed that we got a chapter from each of the girls, explaining their backgrounds and inner motivations. It was very insightful to think about what others go through. Moira’s experience with grief and blame was very authentic and I loved reading how she progressed overtime. I can’t speak for some of the issues discussed since I have never personally experienced them, but what I am familiar with felt accurately represented and important. This book wasn’t what I was expecting, but I still really enjoyed it, especially the dark academia vibes from the setting and the mental health discussions. Please check out the Content Warnings before you read this, as it is a very intense and heavy story sometimes!
Rating: 3.8/5
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