TEEN WIEBE (new)
*This is a review of an Advanced Readers Copy*
Based off of the summary alone, I had no idea what this book was about. It’s very jumbled and confusing. All I got was: creepy boarding school, competition, something mysterious is happening. And frankly, that was enough for me to want to read it. I have a love for stories set in creepy boarding schools… What I didn’t expect was how amazing the story was going to be.
The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant is definitely one of a kind. All we really know at the beginning is that Anne has been sent to this mysterious boarding school on an isolated island. She doesn’t know why she’s there or why everyone is obsessed with competition for the “Big V,” or valedictorian. That’s when things start to get weird. We’re thrown into this mystery involving the students, the faculty, and the competition and nothing feels right. The students are graded on everything they do. I mean everything, not just academics.
I wasn’t really sure where the story was going until all these elements aligned in my brain and I figured it out. All of it. I felt pretty proud of myself since the past few books I’ve read have completely baffled me. (And I didn’t feel that the main character was stupid since she figured it out pretty much after I did.) I really liked Anne as the main character. She was smart, nosy, and was determined to see things through to the end, to find every last detail. And the rest of the characters surprised me as well. Some had outcomes that I didn’t expect to see at all.
I was surprised at how well written the novel was. Like I said before, I didn’t really know what to expect. The whole story had the creepy mystique to it, but was surprisingly hilarious at other times. And the ending… oh my, the ending had the mother of all plot twists. I really wish I could go into detail because so much of the plot was crazy and awesome, but I really don’t want to spoil anything.
Overall, I enjoyed The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant much more than I expected to. I’ve been getting into stand-alones much more lately, but I’m so glad this has a sequel. I really can’t wait to read the rest of the novels and to see what becomes of Anne Merchant. Bravo, Joanna Wiebe. Bravo.
- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.