Another absolutely incredible book by Courtney Summers. The definition of "unputdownable". Loved, tore through, devoured.

A tangled web of faith, deceit, unknowns, and family. The Project is a story of two sisters that caught in a trauma filled world. Unable to navigate it on her own, big sister Bea finds refuge in a stranger. This leads her to a life without her sister.
Many twists and turns throughout this story. Some made hard to follow with the abrupt change of time and topic, sometimes in the middle of a storyline.
5-star story but gave it 4 because of the hard to follow changes.

Unfortunately anything I read from Summers will always be compared to Sadie, which was excellent, and this didn't quite measure up. I'd also argue this isn't technically YA, as the main character is 19, her sister is 25, everyone else is an adult. Wonder why this isn't marketed as New Adult, other than that designation doesn't seem to be taking off. This book is about cults & religion & their intersection and finding a sense of belonging with a (less than compelling) through line about sibling bonds, but I didn't feel like this story had anything new or fresh to say about any of these topics. Like in Sadie, the story is told in 2 timelines - Bea's sections, which are used to give background to Lo's main story, are told in 3rd person about a year before Lo's sections, which are in first person and present day. The sections for each sister are labled by time, but the transitions within the sections were really jarring with no textual separation, though hopefully that is a fault just in the eARC (read thanks to Netgalley!) text and won't be true in the print edition. I think the main problem was this story hinges on your ability as the reader to be really emotionally invested in Lo and Bea's story and it's outcome as they fall into and out of (maybe) The Unity Project, but I was never emotionally invested and never felt compelled to find out what was happening, because it all seemed inevitable or too convenient/unrealistic. I read through to the end to finish the eARC and not because I was invested in the story, and that's not how I want to feel about a Summers book. I'll will still booktalk this, because I'm very interested to hear teen reactions.

This book is stunning. It’s really well written, and the story is compelling. It’s perfect for older teens and anyone who is interested in true crime kinds of stories. I highly recommend it!

Courtney Summers has done it once again with another fantastic book. Much like Sadie, it is told from two points of view and switching timelines. I really like the set up of it because it gives us insight into both sides of this story and how both sisters could possible get involved with The Project. Summers also does a fantastic job of making the "bad" characters likable so that you can almost understand how people could get drawn in. If you enjoy a good mystery/thriller and especially if you like cult related fiction, then this is definitely the book for you!

The Project is a nuanced exploration of how and why people fall for charismatic leaders. Like Sadie, the book focuses on two sisters dealing with trauma and attempting to find their way back to one another. Lo, the younger sister, narrates the bulk of the book and is a compelling and multifaceted main character. In the second half of the book, however, there is a major shift in her character that I didn’t quite buy; I think Summers needed to do more to lay the groundwork for such a drastic change. For me, the book didn’t have the propulsive energy or emotional resonance of Sadie. Still, it’s an engaging and entertaining read, and I think teen readers will enjoy it.

I feel a little broken after finishing this book. Like this book borrowed a piece from me and didn’t put it back in the right way.

The Project from Courtney Summers was a devastating dive into cult life and a demonstration of how far a sister will go for the only family she has left.

Lo is an aspiring journalist and she knows that she can secure her roll in the company she works for if she write a compelling story about The Unity Project, the cult group who took her sister in and made Bea want to forget her.

Lev Warren, self proclaimed ear to God and leader of The Unity Project, has agreed to allow Lo entry to do her interview. But, why does everyone know who she is? And where is Bea? What happens if Lo finds herself feeling at home in The Unity Project?

There was so much to this story. So many layers. There were many times when I was second guessing my own opinions about where the story was going. There are things that aren’t explained, but in a way that doesn’t need to be explained. Because of the implication, you just “know.” As in your face as the subject matter of this book is, the book itself is very subtle. And that made it so incredible!

This is definitely the kind of book that if you were to read it a second or third time you would pick up on more little clues with each new read. And I definitely intend to.

3.5 stars. I’m really not sure how I feel about this book, so this rating is subject to change. I really liked the fact that The Project makes you question your own thinking repeatedly and it begs the question, “Are you likely to get caught up in a cult”. I liked the way it was done and I think it was quite genius. However, this was pretty much the only thing I liked. The pacing was weird, the POV changes were unnecessary and confusing most times, the characters didn’t have much depth, and there were plot points left off in ways I couldn’t understand.
The surge of emotions The Project made me feel can’t go uncredited, though, hence the rating.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for an ARC copy of The Project by Courtney Summers in exchange for an honest review.

Bea loses her parents to an awful car accident at the same time her sister is Lo is seriously hurt in that accident. Bea sends her sister to live with an aunt while Bea joins a cult called The Unity Project. Lo does everything in her power to find her sister in this cult. Even faking that she is going to join just to see her sister again.

I felt this book had an interesting story. I was really intrigued by the different members of this cult and their rules they must follow. Kept my interest.

Despite having 'Sadie' on my wish list since forever, The Project is my first read of Courtney Summers. The cover and synopsis caught my eye on Netgalley late last year. Did I see the word CULT? I'm in!

Summers' writing style flows wonderfully. Within the first few pages of The Project I was already invested in both sisters Bea and Lo and only a page later the intrigue began.

The story is told in two timelines, present first person by Lo and third person past tense through Bea. Pay attention to the dates on each chapter as there's a lot of jumping back and forth. Through these two opposing views we come to learn of The Unity Project run by Lev Warren. Is it a cult or are they just good people striving for a better world?

The Project is very much about Lo's character development, Summers puts the reader right there in her mind. Her grief, loneliness and confusion screams from the pages as she searches for a way to reconnect with Bea.
I was as lost as Lo when trying to ascertain the truth behind The Unity Project.
The characters in this novel are so convincing, they will twist your opinions back and forth throughout.

Lev was especially fascinating, Summers did a fantastic job creating the many facets of his persona. His dialogue was constant charisma throwing the reader off balance.

Whilst the plot itself was nothing too intricate and many readers will probably predict the end to The Project, the characters, their choices and the beautiful setting are what makes it so enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Project is one of my anticipated release of 2021. Summer’s books have been hit or miss for me, but the premise of this one had me very intrigued.
The way this story was told was very interesting. There are a few different points of view that tell the story. The first is Bea, told in third person, as her younger sister (Lo) is born. Then it flashes forward twelve years, still in Bea’s perspective, then forward again six more years, where the story changes to a first-person narrative, but now it’s Lo telling the story. This was a little bit confusing at first. The change from this person to first was abrupt and the jumps forward in time left me wondering who the story was following now and what had happened in the last six years. As the story went on, I ended up really enjoying the fact that the story was told this way. It continued to go back and forth between Lo’s present perspective and Bea’s perspective in the past. The way their stories ended up so similar, with one big difference, was absolutely fascinating.
I think both Bea and Lo were such compelling characters. Lo has so much anger in her, but still ends up on a similar path as Bea. Bea on the other hand, was filled with gratitude that led her to her downfall.
Overall, I don’t know that I would say I liked this book. It was an absolutely riveting story. One that I had to read in one sitting, staying up way past when I should have gone to bed of course. But it was filled with things that made me uncomfortable. There’s relationships with large age differences, not that this itself is bad, but the dynamics of the two relationships were gross (as was the intention, I think). I went into this book unsure what to expect and ended up sucked into the story and left with one question: What the fuck?

Courtney Summers follow up to her masterpiece 'Sadie' with another complex story about sisters driven apart by traumatic and heartbreaking circumstances. When Lo was a child she was in a car crash with her parents that killed them and left her in a coma and with a large facial scar. During this time her older sister Bea meets a man named Lev, the leader of a religious organisation known as The Unity Project. He gives her love, support, and a new family. Bea ends up leaving her sister and aunt behind to join him. Years later Lo is nineteen and working as an editor's assistant when' she witnesses the suicide of Jeremy Lewis, the son of her boss Arthur Lewis. He believes that The Unity Project is what ultimately killed him and this leads Lo down a road where she and The Project become entwined more deeper than she could have ever imagined.

Her search for her sister evolves into a story of how certain groups, or cults, pull people into their spaces and create situations that make it almost impossible to leave, physically and psychologically. Summers demonstrates how the most lonely, vulnerable and discarded are the most susceptible to the manipulations of charismatic and abusive figures. Through Bea's point of view the reader understands how beautiful the calling of loving community can be and how destructive it can be when it all falls apart.

Ultimately, it is The Unity Project that drives the sisters apart and brings them back together in unexpected ways. While not as emotionally heartbreaking as Sadie, The Project still carries the emotional weight to devastate.

Cults are insane. Lo and Bea Denham are sisters. After their parents died, Bea joined a special group called themselves The Unity Project and left Lo in the care of their great aunt.

Lo is just 19 and she's already lost so much. Abandoned by her sister, Lo is trying to survive. She has a dream to become a writer. Lucky for her she got a job at SVO magazine company as a founder Paul tindale's assistant.

Lo already has suspicious about the motive of the Unity Project from the beginning. They manipulated a lot of people and Lo feels like this is just an act to cover their organization which she believes is just a cult. One day, Lo witnesses a suicide at the train station. What interesting is when the boy jumps on the train tracks, he calls Lo her name and saying a passage that I believed from bible. Lo makes her own investigation about the boy and she finds out that the boy was the son of her boss' best friend. She took this opportunity to dig more about this Unity Project.

Her mission becomes so interesting and what she's facing is tragic. The story was written very well. It was told from Lo and Bea point of view. The transition between the past and present were okay but just a little confusing if you're not paying full attention. The characters are very interesting and Lo's character is kind of similar as Sadie from Sadie (CS previous book). This book also explores different aspects of cults which is very interesting.

Stimulating and complex story. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this copy of ARC with me in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Having loved Courtney Summers’ previous book, Sadie, I had pretty high expectations going into The Project, and Summers definitely delivered.

The Project follows the story of two sisters and each of their relationships with each other and The Unity Project, a group of religious followers of the mysterious Lev Warren, believed to be God’s redeemer. After a car crash that killed her parents and near-fatally injured her younger sister, Bea is desperate for God to save Lo. In this moment, she meets Lev Warren, and she goes with him to join The Unity Project in exchange for him saving Lo. Years later, Lo is on her own and hasn’t heard from Bea since the accident, despite her attempts to reach out to her. Following alternating timelines, we see Bea’s introduction to and new life with Lev and his community as well as Lo’s attempts years later to reconnect with her sister and release the secrets of The Unity Project, which she believes to be a cult.

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat in the best way. Starting with the prologue, you immediately feel for these two sisters and understand what a special relationship they have, before you quickly realize how much that bond has been broken after the traumatizing event they both went through. The two timelines give you just enough information before switching to the other perspective so that you are constantly wanting to figure out what will happen next. Every chapter has a new tidbit of information or an exciting moment so that the story never has a dull moment, and I frequently found myself questioning what was real or fake. Both of the main characters are fascinating. We get the story of The Unity Project from two perspectives: Bea’s utter faith and devotion as a new member as well as Lo’s hatred and disdain for the group that she feels is keeping her sister from her. This is a story about religion and cults and sisters and love and the extremes people are willing to go to when they have been beaten down by the world and those around them. This was an excellent story that I will be sure to recommend to readers.

This is my third Courtney Summers book, and the second that I have devoured during a Christmas season. Sometimes I come across an author that feels like a literary soulmate, and her style and voice suits me so perfectly. What I've read of hers have centered around grief and processing trauma, and she does so with a raw intensity that makes her work hard to put down. Heavy but rewarding, sometimes cathartic. I'll always recommend her books.

The project is the next novel by Courtney Summers but the first book I have read from her.
I was intrigued by the title and the plot, the story dives into the makings of a cult which I found was a pretty unusual topic.
I struggled to connect with the characters and the nonlinear timeline, I must say I got lost from one chapter to another. It seems the characters were in one place and then suddenly in a complete different one, it confused me a lot.
It was a quick and easy read though and I enjoyed the author’s writing.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book !

Great story and loved the slight romance. Really enjoyed the characters and how the plot moved and how the characters changed throughout the book. I would read this author again.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is very intriguing. I was very intrigued by it. In the middle, you may be a bit confused on why the things are the way they are, but you’ll be intrigued and want to know what happens next. The back and forth of times, where it goes from Bea and Lo, kind of confused a bit at first. But once you continue reading, you’ll get more used to the style and like it.

There is so much unexpected, that once you read it you’ll be like wow...this is such a good book. When I was reading in the beginning and the middle I was thinking of giving it a 3/3.5 stars, because it confused me a bit. But if your intrigued by this book, trust me just keep reading it’s worth it. It may not be the ending you wanted, because this isn’t a fairytale but definitely an unexpected, interesting ending.

All the characters were interesting in there own ways. The only thing is I wished Bea reached out to Lo when she was younger. The only thing is it’s on the edge being called in the “young adult” genre.

This is my first Courtney Summers book and I will say that I am a fan now. I thought this was such a great thriller, it had me wanting more and needing to know what was coming next. I really like the 2 perspectives and thought it brought another suspense factor. Overall, this was a wonderful thriller and I highly recommend

I am the biggest Courtney Summers fan. Every book she write, I have to read. I was so excited when I first saw this synopsis and it completely intrigued me.

This book was SO GOOD! The twists and turns were so well done. I totally was pulled right in to Lo’s world and couldn’t stop reading.

My only issue was closer to the end, I felt a few questions weren’t answered and I would like to learn a bit more about how everything was wrapped up.