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anyaemilie 's review for:
The Project
by Courtney Summers
Thank you to Wednesday Books (via NetGalley) for the ARC!
Content warnings:
Anyone who's read Courtney Summers before knows that her books are going to hurt. The Project is no different.
The Project follows two POVs and two timelines: It begins with Bea as a young girl, upset that she will have to share her parents' affection with a sister that has just been born. The baby sister, Lo, is in the ICU after having been born prematurely. Something their mother says to Bea becomes the thread that follows this story to its conclusion: being a sister is a promise that only Bea and Lo can make, and that only they can break.
We fast-forward to early 2018, when Lo is 19 years old. Her parents have died in a car accident that left Lo fighting for her life at 13, and has now left her with a prominent scar on her face. Her sister Bea has found something called The Unity Project and has seemingly left Lo to her own devices. Lo has an okay job and an apartment of her own, but she's not content just being someone's assistant. She wants to be a journalist. She wants to write about the man who stole her sister from her; Lev Warren is the the man who began The Unity Project and Lo wants to expose him as a cult leader she knows he is, rather than the man of God he claims to be.
The action really begins when Lo sees a young man at the train station. He knows who she is, thought she is sure she's never seen him in her life. And then he jumps in front of an oncoming train and Lo is thrown into the world of The Unity Project, even more desperate to find the sister who has abandoned her.
Lev Warren is an abusive man. There are small things in his behavior that show this, but neither Bea nor Lo realize it until they are already in his grasp. We see his behavior from both of their perspectives: he makes both of them feel special. He makes them both feel unique and loved and wanted. But seeing that he does the exact same thing to both of them really sheds light on the fact that he is using these young girls for his own motives.
It is not explicitly stated in the context of their relationships, but there is a huge age difference between Lev and both the girls. He is around 33 when he first has sex with an 18-year-old Bea, and he is 38 when Lo, just 19 years old, sleeps with him for the first time (both times it could be argued that he manipulated them into sleeping with him, but I'm not going to delve too deep into that). It is fascinating to see how, when this is seen from the perspective of Bea and Lo, it doesn't seem wrong. They seem to really enjoy their time with Lev and the don't think anything of the age difference. But that is part of Lev's abusive behavior. He is grooming these young girls and manipulating them to believe that he is the only good thing they have in the world. Summers does this really well without ever saying "Lev is abusing these girls and manipulating them." She just shows us what it's like to see that from Bea and Lo's perspectives and leaves the reader to figure out what's actually going on.
The Project is so well-written and affecting. It very deftly illustrates what it's like to be in an abusive relationship and how hard it is to get out once you're in. Summers shows that subtle shift from thinking you're in control of everything to realizing that you have no control at all. She shows how manipulative abusers can be and how they position themselves as the only good thing in your life. I think the fact that Lev thinks he can talk to God is a great metaphor for how an abuser feels in a relationship. Lev is the only one who really knows what God wants, so who are you to question him? The same in an abusive relationship: what right do you have to question the person who loves you more than anything and claims to want only the best for you?
Like Summers' other books, this one is not easy to read. It tackles tough subjects and hurts already-broken characters even more. But it is so worth reading
I am having more revelations about this book as I'm writing this review, and I could go on for a long time, but I think I'll stop here. If you've read this far, definitely check this book out! It releases February 2nd and is definitely worth a pre-order.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
physical abuse (hot water burns, burn with cautery pen), emotional manipulation, death, car accident, murder, drowning, significant age difference in an abusive relationshipAnyone who's read Courtney Summers before knows that her books are going to hurt. The Project is no different.
The Project follows two POVs and two timelines: It begins with Bea as a young girl, upset that she will have to share her parents' affection with a sister that has just been born. The baby sister, Lo, is in the ICU after having been born prematurely. Something their mother says to Bea becomes the thread that follows this story to its conclusion: being a sister is a promise that only Bea and Lo can make, and that only they can break.
We fast-forward to early 2018, when Lo is 19 years old. Her parents have died in a car accident that left Lo fighting for her life at 13, and has now left her with a prominent scar on her face. Her sister Bea has found something called The Unity Project and has seemingly left Lo to her own devices. Lo has an okay job and an apartment of her own, but she's not content just being someone's assistant. She wants to be a journalist. She wants to write about the man who stole her sister from her; Lev Warren is the the man who began The Unity Project and Lo wants to expose him as a cult leader she knows he is, rather than the man of God he claims to be.
The action really begins when Lo sees a young man at the train station. He knows who she is, thought she is sure she's never seen him in her life. And then he jumps in front of an oncoming train and Lo is thrown into the world of The Unity Project, even more desperate to find the sister who has abandoned her.
Spoiler
Though The Unity Project claims it is not a cult, that's exactly what it turns out to be. One of my favorite things about this book is that Summers addresses just how insidious and subtly manipulative cults can be. People on the outside always say things like, oh I would never fall for that. I am smart enough to realize that's a cult and I wouldn't be tricked like that. And that's exactly what Lo thinks at the beginning. She knows it's a cult, but after going in with the idea to write a profile that exposes all the terrible things The Unity Project does, Lo somehow finds herself on Lev's side, believing and defending him. Summers does this masterfully. It's so subtle that you hardly notice it. One moment Lo is arguing with Lev and sure she's going to expose his lies, and the next she is a believer of everything he touts.Lev Warren is an abusive man. There are small things in his behavior that show this, but neither Bea nor Lo realize it until they are already in his grasp. We see his behavior from both of their perspectives: he makes both of them feel special. He makes them both feel unique and loved and wanted. But seeing that he does the exact same thing to both of them really sheds light on the fact that he is using these young girls for his own motives.
It is not explicitly stated in the context of their relationships, but there is a huge age difference between Lev and both the girls. He is around 33 when he first has sex with an 18-year-old Bea, and he is 38 when Lo, just 19 years old, sleeps with him for the first time (both times it could be argued that he manipulated them into sleeping with him, but I'm not going to delve too deep into that). It is fascinating to see how, when this is seen from the perspective of Bea and Lo, it doesn't seem wrong. They seem to really enjoy their time with Lev and the don't think anything of the age difference. But that is part of Lev's abusive behavior. He is grooming these young girls and manipulating them to believe that he is the only good thing they have in the world. Summers does this really well without ever saying "Lev is abusing these girls and manipulating them." She just shows us what it's like to see that from Bea and Lo's perspectives and leaves the reader to figure out what's actually going on.
The Project is so well-written and affecting. It very deftly illustrates what it's like to be in an abusive relationship and how hard it is to get out once you're in. Summers shows that subtle shift from thinking you're in control of everything to realizing that you have no control at all. She shows how manipulative abusers can be and how they position themselves as the only good thing in your life. I think the fact that Lev thinks he can talk to God is a great metaphor for how an abuser feels in a relationship. Lev is the only one who really knows what God wants, so who are you to question him? The same in an abusive relationship: what right do you have to question the person who loves you more than anything and claims to want only the best for you?
Like Summers' other books, this one is not easy to read. It tackles tough subjects and hurts already-broken characters even more. But it is so worth reading
I am having more revelations about this book as I'm writing this review, and I could go on for a long time, but I think I'll stop here. If you've read this far, definitely check this book out! It releases February 2nd and is definitely worth a pre-order.