I read a lot and finding a book that is very different from the usual popular novels is not always easy. This one is definitely different and stood out from the crowd (mostly) in a good way.
Catherine House is a private 3-year college. Students who attend Catherine House enjoy the benefit of free tuition, free room and board, and the promise of graduating as part of a prestigious and successful group of alumni that includes famous authors and Supreme Court Justices. Catherine House is especially known for its secret “plasm” experimentation, something that can somehow repair and heal broken things, even as only a select few actually know what it might really be capable of. However, once you enter the gates, unless you flunk out, you do not get to leave at all for the three years. You don’t get to have any contact with the outside world — no phone calls, letters, photographs, memories of home. If you misbehave, you are sent to the Tower for reconditioning. And students don’t always return from the Tower.
Ines is one of the students who is accepted into Catherine House, although she’s not 100% sure why. By her junior year of high school, she had run away from home after being caught up in some not to savory incidents. She abuses alcohol to a degree where it’s sometimes hard to understand how she is still alive through this book. And she is in danger of flunking out — and having no where to go but, she fears, jail — after ditching class and studying so little during her first semester. But Ines is desperate to stay at Catherine House, and she’s desperate to learn more about plasm and the school’s secrets.
I liked the Gothic-elements in this book: The campus, the old-school traditions, the elements of secrecy. The author is extremely descriptive for the entire book, and while other authors are not very successful in writing with this kind of descriptive detail without causing the reader to start skimming, this author did it so that it added to the ambiance of the setting and drew out the characters in a way where I wanted even more. While none of the characters are particularly likable, I don’t think you have to love all the characters in a book to enjoy the book itself. The characters fit this book, and sweet and sassy characters just wouldn’t have worked here.
Without giving much away, my biggest problem was the ending. I was with the author and loving the book until the last 30 pages or so. There was a lot of build up to that point, but the actual conclusion left me wanting something even bigger to happen and was a bit of a letdown. Even so, I enjoyed the rest of the book so much, it was still worth reading.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Custom House in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.