Girls With Sharp Sticks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young 


G👀dreads

From New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young comes the start of a thrilling, subversive new series about a girls-only boarding school with a terrifying secret and the friends who will stop at nothing to protect each other.
Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardian, they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better. Obedient girls, free from arrogance or defiance. Free from troublesome opinions or individual interests.

But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back.

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

The How/Why: Not my go-to genres. YA and Sci Fi... Down the rabbit hole: While listening to The Spellbook the narrator, Caitlin Davies, was so good I looked up other books she's narrated. Mostly Fantasy that look similar to The Spellbook, but then this one jumped off the page at me. I checked it out and found this quote: 

Copy/paste from my FB page:

Apparently girls in this Academy are taught to be perfect submissive daughters and wives.
Apparently one of the girls altered the poem.
Apparently these girls are extremely protective of each other.
𝓘𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓐𝓬𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓸 𝓟𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓲 - when I first read it I thought it was a father's love letter to his daughter! *Fight back, have a razor heart, they will fear you, they will revere you, they will run from you, because you belong to no one.*
I don't usually read YA but I've added it to my TBR list that stretches from here far beyond the Rural Colorado setting.
"Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns."

Apologies to my TBR list that this one jumped the line but I'm so curious about it I had to queue it up next. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

🎉 Overall Enjoyment? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel? Yes ➕ This is Book 1 of 3. Book 2 is now on my TBR and you know how I don't like to be sucked into a series! 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes 

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: DɇaṪh, Vi0lɇncɇ, AbŲsɇ, MiŞoǥyny.
Rated as moderate for Young Adult.

🌶 Spice? No

🌪 Plot Twist? YES 🌪☂☈

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ On Day 1: *Oh*My* 😱😬

This book was published in 2019. Where have I been?

Not my go-to genres but... Don’t let the YA label fool you. Yes, it’s about young girls and yes, it’s written to be appropriate for young adults, but HOLY WOW. It had this not-so-young-adult riveted. If you have a young teen I think it would be a good mother-daughter or father-daughter read.
I also don't typically gravitate towards Sci Fi books because they are usually too unrealistic for me. This one felt more terrifyingly possible! 

Bottom Line – Skip to the End - Never agree to Impulse Control Therapy! 
/The End

Backing up - Forget academics, this “Academy” is like elevated Charm School run by crazy mad scientists. Obedience, perfect attitude, and the right look (hair, makeup, clothing) were the goals of the investors. 

I have to say I figured out what was going on early on, however that did not distract from the story. I have a feeling you are supposed to see through the facade. It added another element of anticipation as the girls were unraveling their own mystery.

These girls were not competitive with each other, as you might expect in a teen private school-like environment. They were very protective of each other, which in some cases got them into deep trouble with the Guardian and the Professors.  

My heart ached for these young ladies being manipulated into someone else’s vision of perfection. Subservient and submissive until they became self-aware, and then look out!  Girls with Sharp Sticks can become Girls with Razor Hearts! 

I won't say more because it would be spoilers.
I will say, although I don't like getting sucked into a series, I have added Book 2 to my TBR. Yes, I thought it was that good. 

🎧 Narrator: Caitlin Davies 👍

🎧10.35 hours 🕮 400 pages


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