Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A very feminist kind of storyline! Girl power was evident in this book.

The characters were well written and the writing style was one I really like.

Worth the read.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Philomenia belongs to the innovative Academy. A centre of excellence where she becomes 'better'. A perfect lady.
Along with her friends, she tries to do her best amidst feelings that things just aren't as right as they should be.
But she shouldn't criticize the men or the Academy. After all, they know best. Right?
Half feminist treaty, half prisoners of war this is one that will keep you guessing and keep you on your toes right until the last page. I can't wait for the sequel.

A feminist story following a group of girls at a finishing school, but with a twist. All of the girls are expected to be perfect young ladies, but when one of the girls mysteriously disappears – apparently sent home due to money concerns – the facade begins to crack and secrets are uncovered.

Very gripping, very surprising, and a great look at the different ways that women have been controlled by men in the past and continue to be shaped by them in the present. Also works well as a standalone which is satisfying – I am looking forward to reading the sequel, but the ending works quite well if you don’t want to carry on with the rest of the books in the series (trilogy? There are at least two more, not sure if there will be more announced in the future!).

Girls With Sharp Sticks is a phenomenal dystopian feminist read. Set in a deeply unsettling boarding school, it was what I wished The Handmaid’s Tale, Vox, and The Furies could have been! It's really compelling to be drawn into the shadowy truth behind the seemingly perfect Academy, and the worrying thing is that it feels completely believable. I thought it was a smart, readable look at the pressures girls are put under to become the 'perfect woman', and I will definitely be looking out for the sequel.

Innovations Academy is an exclusive boarding school for beautiful girls. They are taught how to be gracious, how to manage a household, and, most importantly of all, how to make men happy.
Then one of the students, Philomena 'Mena' Rhodes, discovers that there might be more to Innovations Academy than there seems, and that the girls' lives are more controlled than they realise.
What dark secrets lie within Innovations Academy?

In a few ways, Girls with Sharp Sticks reminded me of Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill - the way that the girls were controlled, and how angry that made me.
It was scary that I could totally imagine schools like Innovation Academy existing in real life, with men controlling how women should look and act.
My favourite thing about the book was the theme of friendship - Mena was very close to her fellow students, and I really liked that that they were all so supportive of each other. It was nice that there was no bitching or back-stabbing for a change.
I wanted to break into the school and rescue the girls myself. Especially Lennon Rose, who I wanted to hug and tell her that everything would be okay. I liked Mena too and thought she was a relatable protagonist.
The plot was good, but the first half suffered pace-wise for me. The second half when all the secrets started being revealed was a lot more interesting. However, I did have an inkling what the twist would be.
The writing style was engaging and easy to follow. I would read another book by the author if I got the chance.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

This was a read I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I do. The main characters, particularly Mena, were immensely relatable and heartwarming with their care for each other. The plot - not just the power to all the little girls that have ideas - is an interesting one with thrilling and mysterious elements that had me eager to find out the answers to. Suzanne Young's writing is immersive and easy to read. I read this book in less than 24 hours and I'm definitely interested in more in this world. Girls With Sharp Sticks ends with a suggestion of more and I really hope there is!

This is the first book I have read by Suzanne Young but it definitely won’t be the last, this book captured me more than I thought it would. It intrigued me but also horrified me in parts too.

The all –girls boarding school is like a teen version of Stepford Wives, where girls are taught how to be the ‘perfect woman’, they are told what to wear, what to think, how to act and to obey their man. Mena notices things aren’t quite right with this set up and vows to stop it happening, her and her friends bring girl power to the table.

“Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns” – Ain’t that the truth!

It was well written, a bit slow to start with but soon warmed up, good character development, I could not put it down and it is worrying that this kind of thing could happen. Bring on book 2 in the series.

This was such a good book. Mena was a great narrator and character along with the other girls at the academy. There were so many plot twists that kept me guessing until the end!

It took me a while to get into this but after a bit, I was hooked. This isn't high art but it's a fun and quick romp that reflects some issues that are prevalent in the real world today. The writing was fine and the characters were generally well developed. I don't know if i desperately want to continue with this series but it's a fun and quick read.

At first I was very unsure of this book because I was thoroughly confused yet the need to stop reading never occurred to me so I kept on reading and very glad that I did because I thoroughly enjoyed this book, however I have to take the confusion into consideration with this review.
This book was unlike a book I’ve read before, it’s not really something I usually go for so when I requested this book on netgalley it was down to some intrigue but mostly down to the beauty book cover, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this because artificial intelligence isn’t something that floats my boat and it was refreshing that there wasn’t exactly a romantic plot to book as I think that would have just ruined the message hidden for everyone to see.

Girls With Sharp Sticks was Rachel's pick for this time and even though I had heard of Suzanne Young before I was unaware of her new book coming out. I was, however, so happy that Rachel suggested this one as I loved this book so much and it is definitely up there in my favourite books of the year so far.

I think that one of the reasons why I loved this book so much as it knows how to carefully place, major revelations in the story which made me gasp. It has so many plot twists intertwined in the narrative that I was always guessing and I loved that. I can't wait to see where the story goes in the next book because I am so hyped about it.

I think this was one of the reasons why I raced through it, reading it in a couple of days because it kept me on my toes and I just wanted to know what happened. I also listened to the audiobook which kept me wanting to keep listening and reading to it.

One of the reasons why I was a little tentative about picking the book up was because of its dystopian nature. I, like, many people loved these books and although I don't read that many any more I still want to read interest and unique takes on the genre. Girls With Sharp Sticks is this interesting and unique take. The book also takes this to a new level, being really skin crawking and creepy at times if you really look into it which I liked, as it seems a bit weird to say that I enjoyed it.

Although I did love this book, I think that the characters do act quite naive but I do think that this is due to the nature of the story. While it did annoy me slightly I had to think that this was the purpose of the story so it did not overwhelmingly take away from the story and I still liked it. The characters are also really interesting and there is a minor character arc with LGBTQ+ people which I enjoyed.

The draw was mainly due to the plot which was so layered and fast-paced. Even though I had essays due in, I read the book ridiculously fast and I just had an overall good time reading it.

The Verdict:
Girl With Sharp Sticks is a unique YA book which deserves so much more love and attention.

An excellent premise, written solidly. The only issue is that it’s been done before with much better outcomes.

It's been years since I actually something Suzanne Young wrote. I've always wanted to read her Program series, but just never managed to. But the second I read the blurb for Girls with Sharp Sticks, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I even ordered it for the digital version of the library I'm working at. I could have borrowed it there, but then I saw it being up on NetGalley, almost a bit surprised that they put it online months after it was released. And yay, my request got accepted. Of course, I still had some books to read before that (I'm feeling really bad for lining them up on a pile, never finishing them close to their release date), but lucky me for getting sick and reading like a manic. That meant I could finally dive into the world of Innovations Academy.

That place is seriously messed up. You'll realize that the second your start reading this book. Girls learning how to be perfect, how to serve their future husband and always smiling, always training to be well-behaved around men. I wanted to puke, because at some point, the idea of that seriously messes with a girl's head. I don't know if that was Suzanne Young's goal by writing this book, but well done, because you get so super angry, you just want to scream, you want yourself to become one of the students at this academy so you can lead a revolte, a revenge team and an escape team.

Truth be told, I found Philomena quite naive in the beginning. And even later into the story, her thoughts still seemed so childish, she just swallowed up everything the men at the academy told her. I can see why that was, it wouldn't be the book it is if that hadn't been included, but it still made me mad. To me, it never really seemed like she had her own opinion. To me, it was like she adapted thoughts and wishes. Was it really her wish escaping the academy? I'm not so sure about that. At some point, she seemed to be angry about all of this happening to her and the other girls, but I didn't fully buy it.

And my biggest complain - why isn't there more Jackson? He was so damn cute! I adored him. I can see why his character might have been not as important to the first book in the series - I mean, there's still enough time for him to be super duper cute and charming -, but I really would have liked to see more encounters between him and Philomena. Because there was a lack of chemistry between the two of them. The reader got the impression they are supposed to fall in love, but something felt... Off. And I'm sad about that. I really like the idea of them ending up together, but I need more coming from both of them for that in order to happen.

It scared me to read about the mind-manipulating that has been going on at the academy. About girls disappearing. It was so thrilling, I turned the pages so quick, swallowed the words and was seeing it all acting out like a movie inside my head. I love when that happens. I can't even tell why I struggled moving forward after the first few pages. I'd read a bit and put the book aside again. Then, around twenty percent in, I think, I just couldn't put it down anymore. My poor eyes aren't thanking me exactly for reading with my phone in front of my face while it's pitch dark in the room, but well... A good story is worth that.

And it was a really good story, especially that plot twist toward the end, wow. On social media, it seemed to me that this was a book Suzanne Young was more than passionate about - this is something that's coming from deep within her heart, I guess. You can also tell by the dedication. I seriously can't wait for the second book in this series, reading more about the girl's friendship and finding out about what's to come. Too bad I still have to wait until March 2020. Maybe I will read The Porgram in the meantime, finally?!

Welcome to Innovations Academy, the boarding school that will help your daughter become her best self.

We will teach her to be a smart young girl, we will teach her lessons of life, and we we absolutely make sure that she will learn to keep her pretty little mouth shut!

Oh, you caught that last bit did you?

You see, here at Innovations Academy, we like to teach our girls, all 12 of them, that they are not important, worthy of anything and also that their opinion doesn't mean anything at all, They are just girls, and everyone knows that a woman's voice is so much better when it is not heard.

No we will teach them how to sew, we will give them proper vitamins every day, we will give them a balanced diet (we don't want them getting fat) and we will also schedule sports to tone up those flabby muscles!

The Guardians here can sometimes be a little "over-zealous" but don't you worry about that, I mean who needs to hear about any problems, not us Hahahaha.....no we have a special councillor here that the girls can speak to and make all of their problems disappear!!

Philomena, Mena for short is one of the 12 lucky girls that have been picked to go to this highly prestigious school, and she loves it here, for the most part, her friends are the best thing about the school, and she loves them fiercely.

They talk about things that normal teenagers do, boys, sex, kissing, but not in front of the teachers, talking about boys is strictly prohibited, they all know that their parents will allocate them a husband when they graduate.
They must learn to be beautiful, respectful, and to obey everything their husbands ask of them.

This little mind messer will keep you guessing right until the very end!

Loved this novel! Not what I was expecting with great twists to the story along the way which made it real page-turner. I just couldn’t put it down! Love the underlying message about today’s society.

Thank you Netgalley for my review copy.

I picked this out from a pile of ebooks and did not know what to expect. I definitely was surprised! Was guessing right up to the last chapter which was brilliant - it kept me reading and it was unexpected and shocking.

The characters are a little bland but their situation is probably why but Suzanne Young definitely knows how to keep a reader reading so kudos for that. Not too much action but a mystery unfolding book. Not a book that could keep you gripped for a one setting but enough to make you want to go back to it the next day.

5 Words: Control, manipulation, perfection, rebellion, life.

Content warnings: physical abuse, graphic violence, murder, PTSD, infertility, mental abuse and manipulation.

I have to admit that when I first picked up Girls with Sharp Sticks I had Expectations. It was promising to bring together some of my favoruite things: a boarding school setting, feminist themes, dystopian storyline. And this book blew my expectations out of the water.

Parts of this story had my toes curling. Parts of this story are terrifying. Parts of it broke my heart. And all of this is because of how scarily plausible the whole thing is. It's disturbing and compelling and I couldn't help but be fascinated by the world.

Mena was an excellent character - unreliable at times for Reasons, but a character who I loved reading about. I was rooting for her the whole time.

I really loved the questions this book posed about ownership, perfection, ethics, the standards people are held to, sexism... It's a bit of an issue book, all wrapped up in a gripping story.

I don't want to spoil the book, because you HAVE TO READ IT, but there was a twist that absolutely flabbergasting. This book kept me guessing. Once I got to the end the whole story felt different, and I know that when I reread it (and I will reread it) I'll see things in a new light and pick up on the clues that I may have missed.

So stop sleeping on this book. Go out and Read It because I need more people to talk about it with.

5/5 Wow. What an utterly fascinating, fantastic book. Even though the concept seemed very similar to Louise O'Neill's "Only Ever Yours", Suzanne Young's novel is the last word on the conviction that you *can* have two books (or more) about the same premise/idea/plot/setting -- what matters is how it's told, and the story itself. In that I'd say Young has outdone O'Neill.

I'm not going to rehash the plot since the blurb does that quite well. Suffice to say, this chilling, uplifting, troubling and extremely hopeful book is certainly one that will remain with the reader for a long time. The story is set it what could be our immediate future (or it could even be now), and questions what the role of women in society might become. One of the side characters in the book makes a mention of "let's make girls great again", which quite sums up what we are going to be reading about.

The writing is good, tension is perfect; and for a change the climax is not a let down. If I had a criticism, it would be that Mena's self-awareness might have come too easily given that she didn't really know anything else. Anyway, this book should be a compulsory read for young girls, boys, and everyone else, to understand a great deal about how gender plays out in our world. Actually, a great many adults would benefit from it too.

(Review copy from NetGalley)