*A few spoilers below*
Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years—summers included—completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises its graduates a future of sublime power and prestige, and that they can become anything or anyone they desire.
I liked seeing Ines’s growth over the three years at the Catherine House. I was invested in her right from the star, She was quite a refreshing character and seemed really unpredictable and effervescent. I love that she didn’t just blindly accept what was going on at Catherine House and over the years her queries still persisted.
I really loved that we got to learn a lot about some of the other students at the school as well. After Baby I didn’t think that Ines would be able to connect with anyone but I really appreciated her friend group and how they all looked out for each other. Sure the environment wasn’t particularly healthy but I thought they all coped pretty well under the circumstances.
I feel like there was a steady build up of tension and anticipation throughout the course of the storyline. Even though this was a relatively short book there were many different twists and turns that kept me guessing and wanting to read more. The twist with Theo was a nice surprise, I didn’t see that coming at all. I thought it was a little problematic that Ines was willing to go into this whole relationship with him just to break into the lab but in the end it seems like their goals were quite similar in a way. I had him pegged as a nice guy and to have that thrown in my face was fun!
I honestly didn’t know what was happening for the majority of the book in terms of what was actually happening at the school, I was kind of just along for the ride. The whole concept of the plasma and all the scientific explanations behind it went right over my head. That was the one thing I felt pulled me out of the story a little. I guess I just wasn’t interested in any explanations I as just here for the journey of this cultish school.
⭐️3/5 stars This was strange…
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