Though it wasn’t her debut, 2018’s Sadie was the novel that put Courtney Summers on the map for me and made me an easy fan. Since then I’ve been eagerly awaiting her follow-up and three years later it’s here. Unfortunately – and I can’t believe I’m starting a sentence with that word – The Project just didn’t live up to expectations for me.

Alternating narration between two sisters, Lo, an assistant at an up and coming magazine, and Bea, the older sister who sought solace in The Unity Project after the death of their parents, the story dives into the world of this group – and its leader. To the world The Unity Project looks like a fantastic community outreach program, but Lo knows there’s more to it that lurks beneath the surface. When a distraught father runs into the magazine’s office one day convinced that the Project is directly to blame for his son’s death, Lo takes it upon herself to dig into the group. And, if she’s being honest, try to find the sister she hasn’t seen in years.

Past/present timelines, a mysterious cult, The Project had my name written all over it. I read this in December and just one month later – four weeks later – I’m having a hard time remembering details. Once the secret baby plot was introduced I started skimming and didn’t stop until I had reached the end of the book. I’m left questioning my high praise of Sadie now. This is such a lackluster, BLAH review that I hate to even call it a mini-review – more like a handful of thoughts – but I’m so disappointed with The Project. It was such a highly anticipated read for me and fell flat. I do know the book will find its fans, but there was nothing special here; it was so middle of the road, like a made-for-tv movie.

First off, I'm throwing out a question about whether I would classify this as YA book-I think after reviewing it that I would be more inclined to view this as a New Adult.

Everything about this book was perfectly fine, but with all the hype surrounding it, I had pretty high expectations for a gripping thriller about a cult. But what I read was a bit of a letdown if I am completely honest. The writing was what I would expect from Summers, but the plot just seemed a bit sparse.

Overall, I just didn't find anything terribly thrilling about this thriller.

After reading the synopsis of The Project, I thought it would be the perfect book for me. I was really excited to finally read it but unfortunately, it didn't fully live up to my expectations.

Firstly, it took me a while to get into the story. I didn't immediately understand who the characters are and how they are connected to each other. Once I'd gotten into the book though, I began to really enjoy it. I liked learning about "The Project" and the people behind it and could barely put the book down anymore. Around the 70% mark however, the story began to get a bit boring. Since this book was supposed to be a thriller, I had expected it to be more gripping and a lot more suspenseful than it ultimately was. Up until the very last part of the story, none of the things that happened were exciting or shocking which was a bit of a bummer. Overall though, I still enjoyed The Project and if you're actually very interested in religion and cults, I think you'll definitely enjoy this book more than I did.

Lo has been alone ever since her parents died and her sister joined The Unity Project. The Unity Project does a lot of good things for the communities it serves, but Lo believes some secrets need to be revealed. She has spent six years trying to uncover these secrets. After a man comes to Lo’s job and claims The Unity Project was responsible for his son’s death, Lo decides that now is the time to expose the group and get her sister back. What secrets will Lo uncover? Will she stay a skeptic or become a believer?

The Project is a stand-alone realistic fiction story that explores the turmoil of a family member isolating themselves after joining a cult. The description of the book piqued my interest, but the execution of the storyline was lackluster. There was a constant change to alternate time periods and I found my attention needing to be pulled back in constantly. Overall it was enjoyable, but I don’t consider it as a must-read choice.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this compelling book

oh my word where to start....bea and lo are sisters...but their lives are about to take an horrendous turn when their parents are killed in a car accident. lo is critically injured but eventually survives with horrific injuries

but during this time bea finds the unity project....and the very charismatic leader lev warren...

and from that day onwards life was never the same again for either sister

a compelling and deeply disturbing read, but it keeps you hooked right to the end

The Project is my second book by this author (my first was Sadie). This is a mystery/thriller about a cult called The Project.

It is being promoted as a YA thriller. But the main character is 19. And her sister is older (there are some chapters where the sister is 19 and now she is 25ish). It just did not feel YA at all to me. I was shocked when I was done to see that this was being marketed as YA. It is also not a romance, although there is a tiny bit of romance in this book.

The narrators are Lo (19- 1st person POV) and her sister Bea (25 in the present -3rd person POV). This book has no chapters. But it is divided into 5 parts. The POVs are indicated with new dates listed (ex October 2017).

I didn't love that the book didn't have chapters. I think that it would have been much easier to follow with chapters. It is a bit confusing at times to have the different dates appear throughout the book (without even a new page).

The book mostly takes place in 2017 and 2018. But it goes all over the place. And we get scenes from the past. I didn't love the scenes from the past. But it did give us some info that we needed.

Lo lives in a small town called Morel (an hour from NYC by train). She works as an assistant for Paul. But she wants to be a writer.

The beginning did not capture my attention like I hoped that it would. But the more that we got Lo's 1st person POV in the present (2017) the more I found the book captivated me. Unfortunately I was less interested in Bea's chapters.

I was very fascinated by Lev (he runs The Project). He was a great character.


There were definitely also some things that did interest me to do with the sisters. This book is not a light read. It deals with some serious topics. Lo had a difficult childhood. And she has a complex relationship with her sister.


Overall, it was an interesting story, but I just wanted more.

The Project is, in my opinion, a victim of its own publicity. It's been touted as a chilling YA thriller about a cult and two sisters.*

Well, it is a novel about a cult. And, maybe it's because this is a YA novel, the cult is sad but it is definitely not the stuff of dark thriller territory and while there's lots of talk about being sisters, the sisters' only real interactions happen before the novel begins.

If I hadn't been led to expect a dark YA thriller, I would have said The Project is Courtney Summers's unsuccessful attempt to ease her way into writing adult thrillers, and if she'd write adults who aren't dead, evil, or idiots, she'd have better luck with it.

As a YA thriller, The Project lacks teeth, as its "scare" is that cults are bad. Duh. As for the rest, the bond between Bea and Lo feels as insubstantial as the story around it.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an eArc in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating**

I was really excited for this one after reading and loving Sadie. A murderous cult with a squeaky clean front splitting sisters sounded like a great Suspense novel. Unfortunately, I was incredibly bored with this one. I ended up DNFing at 50% and skimming the end.

Lo Denham dreams of being a journalist. She finally gets the chance to start her career when she’s offered the opportunity of an exclusive interview with Lev, the charismatic but secretive leader of The Unity Project. Lo’s sister, Bea, joined the project years before, allowing Lo to also find out what happened to her. But as she uncovers more secrets, she realizes she’s in more danger than she ever thought.

To start with, keeping the timeline straight was difficult. EVERY chapter took place in a different year than the one before it and it can be a chapter where Lo is narrating or Bea. While this gives the reader additional perspective, it’s really jarring switching both narrator and the time at once. It’s not even like it’s one year for Lo and one year for Bea. It takes place over the course of about 5 years. Trying to reconstruct the timeline in your head as you read made it that much more difficult to understand the events of the plot, as well as causing the pace to drag to a crawl.

Without spoiling anything, this went exactly where I expected it to go. The ending was exactly what I expected. And the plot was JUST getting started 50% in, which is too far in to be just getting to the plot in the synopsis. I was just really disappointed with this after Sadie was so great.

⭐️⭐️/5 stars

Maybe this book just wasn't for me. I didn't find it compelling at all. I was so excited to read this after reading Sadie. I see the connections in subject matter of sisters, but I was bored and I HATE politics in books that I'm reading.

Ohters seem to love it, so maybe it's just me. I appreciate the content as far as how people are so easily fooled into joining cults when they are hurting and need someone, and people out to scam people are just waiting for those hurting people. It's horrible.

Waking up in the hospital, after the car accident killed her parents and left her near death, Lo realizes she has lost her sister as well. Bea has given herself to The Unity Project, her sacrifice bring her sister back from the dead.
Lev Warren leads the Unity Project. He claims he is not a prophet, but God's redeemer. He speaks of a world cleansed of their sin by giving back and repenting. His love is a gift to you, but if you take it you have to give up your past. Bea felt his love, and gave herself to him, never to see Lo again.
Six years later, still no word from Bea, Lo hasn't given up. She's closer then ever to getting her sister back, and her life. All she has to do is confront Lev. All Lev wants to do is let her into his love, forever...

The Project is a complex and thought provoking story about a cult and its followers. When I think of cults I think dark thoughts, mass deaths and rooms of children fathered by one man. This story is not that version. Its about a girl who lost her sister to a cult, and how she was determined to get her back.
I admit I wanted it to be darker, but was satisfied with the story. I could feel the attraction to Lev, the love of his family and freedom of release. For a minute I was ready to give in to himself. The appeal of it all is so powerful. But then you realize he is just a man, not God, and collects weak people to make himself feel better.
The end was not as powerful as it could have been, for the message the story is trying to send. But it was satisfying. This a book that makes you take notes, highlight quotes, and think about for a few days.

This book was insane. I read it in one night and my jaw was on the floor almost the entire time. It left me feeling empty when I was finished, my heart broke for the main characters and I absolutely loved it. Courtney Summers is quickly becoming a queen who can do no wrong, imo,

I ended up not really caring for this book unfortunately. I haven't read any of the author's previous books, but I've heard great things about them. I felt very confused to start, about what exactly what happening, and who the characters were. It didn't really clear up as I read, and it ended up being way too much cult philosophy rather than a suspenseful plot. I was tired of hearing Lev's thoughts way before the end of the book. Overall, it just fell flat for me.

Courtney Summers has done it again. She has produced a one-of-a-kind story that makes your skin crawl and your stomach churn. Just not in ways you were expecting.

From the beginning, I was hooked on this story. The writing is superb and the plot is twisted and intriguing. Really, though, this is a character-driven story that explores not just the surface level of a cult, but trauma, pain, loss, and so much more.

If you liked Sadie, there’s a good chance you’ll like this, too. It has the same dark markings and a story woven through the (complicated) bonds of sisterhood.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a high-action thriller, this isn’t it. This is an emotional story that will leave you guessing and breathless, but the plot itself is a little slow. The switches between POVs are sometimes abrupt, too, lending this to be a little bit harder of a story to fully get wrapped up in.

Particularly when the main character Lo starts making some seeming out of character choices.

In many ways, this book is a comment on some very real things about the world we live in, including how we idolize people, deal with trauma, and treat the victims of trauma.

I can definitely understand where there would be some mixed feelings for this book. It’s certainly not for everyone.

Overall, I highly enjoyed it and was left slightly nauseated, but I did not love it as much as Sadie. Summers' writing style is always a full five stars for me, though.

I finished The Project by Courtney Summers... yesterday? Monday? Idk I’ve lost track of time, but what I DO know is that no one wrecks me like Summers does 🥲😂🥺

I went into The Project without fully knowing what the story would be about—I just knew I needed to read it after falling in love with Sadie a couple years ago. It becomes clear pretty quickly that the main focus is on two sisters, who are (for lack of a better word) estranged due to a tragedy (cw for death of parents, car accidents) and, well, a cult.

The story is told through POVs from both sisters (first and third person) and in different timeframes. Each sister has her own beliefs, loyalties and convictions, and I loved seeing how these things warped and changed as the story evolved.

Summers did a fabulous job of writing the main antagonist—he seemed like a true believer, haunted by his past and the state of the world. (The Trump administration is mentioned in the story, and there’s a definite link between that and how/why the cult was formed.)

There were moments where I found my certainty wavering about whether The Project was really a cult or just a charitable organization. There’s always that question of how any reasonable person ends up in a cult, and Summers tackles it beautifully. Emotional manipulation, careful lies, well-hidden sociopathy... the list goes on, and to see it happening to the sisters was devastating.

The Project releases Feb. 9 (it was such a joy to realize that the Trump admin would be a thing of the past when the majority of people are reading this one 😂) and I recommend picking it up if you’re looking for characters to break your heart!

This book is so very hard to review because, I loved it. I hated it. I couldn't read it fast enough and I wanted to make it last forever.

I was horrified by it. I was fascinated. Disgusted and yet, hopeful. So many emotions. Summers seems to be a master lately at bringing out all the feels and, you can't go wrong with that now can you?

This book though. It will definitely mess with you in all the worst ways possible. It will also mess with you in all the best ways as well.

Again, you are going to hate it. And also love it.

Truly a master at manipulation, Summers has done it again with a breakout book that will keep you on your toes, turning the pages and completely engrossed in what will happen next.

This book will grip you and you will see just how easy it is to be led into a cult
Fascinating and disturbing ,great writing and story telling
I have to admit to overlooking this was a YA but that didn’t matter,the story is for all!

The Project doesn't shy away from dark places or shimmering bits of false hope—like that the cult leader in the book offers. It isn't for the faint of heart, but the unique storytelling kept me turning the pages late at night.

This book examines family, trauma, loss, and love so eloquently.

Lo Denham is a survivor, but she doesn't care for people to know that detail about her.

After surviving a horrific car accident that killed both her parents, Lo was left fighting for her life and branded with a very large and visible scar on her face. She not only lost her parents that day, but her sister, Bea, seemingly abandoned her to join a strange organization with a cult-like following called The Unity Project. For years Lo has tried to get in touch with Bea, but she's met with opposition and barriers each and every time. Searching for the truth behind The Unity Project and it's charismatic and magnetic leader, Lev Warren, Lo is convinced that the Project is a front for dark and nefarious things. However, when she's given the opportunity to get an insider's look into The Project, she finds herself being pulled in to Lev's orbit.

What is The Unity Project? Who is Lev Warren? Where is Bea? Lo is determined to find answers to these questions... but what is she willing to do and how far will she go to get them?

This is my #1 book of 2020 thus far. I doubt there will be any others that can take that spot.

Excellent book for fans of Courtney Summers. She continues her intense and emotional writing, but manages to still tell a story different from all her others. Anyone who enjoyed Sadie, Cracked Up To Be, or any dark stories that examine relationships are bound to find something in this book. Also a great title for people as they age out of YA.

After a bit of a slow start, this book hooked me immediately, and putting it down wasn’t an option. I had to see what happened next. Parts of it are very emotional and ripped my heart out, so be prepared. It’s a compelling, addictive read you’ll still be thinking about days after finishing.
This book is filled with grief but bound together by determination and hope, by mere grit and love. The characters are vivid, authentic, and real.