The Hook:
In 1950s Vermont, four girls at Idlewild Hall
bond over dark rumors about the supposedly
haunted girls’ school. When one of them disappears,
the school seems even more frightening.
In 2014, journalist Fiona Sheridan investigates
the disappearance of her older sister twenty years
ago-and discovers that she was not the first
girl to go missing at Idlewild.
My impressions:
This was such a lovely book, I put several of the
author’s other books on my reading list after
finishing it. Idlewild was such a living, breathing
entity in the book, it felt like a true old-fashioned
Gothic. I loved the tense, atmospheric tone, and
the characters were gripping and sympathetic.
One of my favorite things about this book is
that it leaves ambiguity around how much-if
any-supernatural forces are influencing the
plot until very near the end. In true gothic
fashion, we are allowed to question the
reliability of the characters, and that serves to
increase the overall tension.
If you’re looking for a great gothic to read
as Halloween gets closer, this is the perfect
thing. Great for fans of Nora Ren Suma, I
highly recommend this read-
Happy Reading!
Kat Pollock 