Flu Review - The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Anna Jackson  | Comments (0)

By the description of this book I was expecting less depth and more action, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. I'm not sure what I was expecting - maybe more of a thriller with a backdrop of emotional dysfunction? Anyway, whatever I was expecting, The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) was not it. But it was SO MUCH MORE!

While I may not have picked up the book knowing I was going to be wrestling with my own demons of grief, I definitely appreciated the subtle (and also "in your face") therapy sessions that filled many a page. The absolutely beautiful, empathetic, and realistic views of girls with trauma and mental illness was refreshingly honest, yet brought almost a different point of view to the topic of mental health in teens. And unlike most YA tear-jerkers, this one followed up the "kid with cancer" trope by dealing with the very real and horrific aftermath that so many teens face - the death of a friend isn't something easily overcome.

Overall, I cannot say enough good about this book. As someone who lost a friend (not to cancer, but to a house fire) when I was 13, I feel like this book reopened some old wounds, but was such a balm, that I feel like they might heal better than ever now. I highly recommend!

By Anna