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Publishes in USA
Feb 2, 2021
352 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
From Courtney Summers, the New York Times bestselling author of the 2019 Edgar Award Winner and breakout hit, Sadie, comes a sensational follow-up -- another pulls-no-punches thriller about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister from a cult.
"The Unity Project saved my life."
Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo's sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there's more to the group than meets the eye. She's spent the last six years of her life trying―and failing―to prove it.
"The Unity Project murdered my son."
When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its charismatic and mysterious leader, Lev Warren, he proposes a deal: if she can prove the worst of her suspicions about The Unity Project, she may expose them. If she can't, she must finally leave them alone.
But as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members, and spends more time with Lev, it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her―to the point she can no longer tell what's real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren...but now she doesn't know if she can afford not to.
Welcome to The Unity Project.
"The beauty of the story lies in its focus on the downtrodden, the vulnerable, and the earnest, expressed with an enormous amount of empathy...A powerful, suspenseful, and heartbreaking thriller about identity, sisterhood, and belonging." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Summers creates and sustains almost unbearable tension, exploring sacrifice, loss, forgiveness, miracles, surrender, grief, and lies...A gripping, flawless psychological thriller ready to leave readers shattered." - School Library Journal (starred review)
"[A] deeply disconcerting investigative thriller that seems unassuming but worms under the skin and into the mind...Winding questions of faith and sacrifice into an already fibrous plot, Summers presents a rich offering that lingers even as it shocks." - Booklist (starred review)
"Alternating Lo and Bea's viewpoints and moving around in time, Summers makes effective use of each character's limited knowledge, creating a twisty plot that's full of hooks." - Publishers Weekly
"This book is brave and raw and exciting and wise—wise about girls and women, weakness and strength, and the bittersweet beauty of being human." - Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood Series
"Masterful and devastating. The Project welcomes you into its world with the warmth of a minister and peels back the psychology of its characters—joiners and questioners alike—with a precision only Courtney Summers is capable of. Trust me: there is no flaw in The Project." - Somaiya Daud, international bestselling author of Mirage and Court of Lions
"Courtney Summers has done it again: Broke my heart and pieced it back together in unexpected ways. The Project is a beautiful, thrilling testament to love. It takes a compelling deep dive into what makes people want to belong and you'll leave it gasping for air. This book is a baptism for your soul." - Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know and The Way You Make Me Feel
This information about The Project shown above was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Courtney Summers lives and writes in Canada. Her first book was published in 2008, when she was 22. Her newest novel, Sadie, is a New York Times bestseller, Edgar Award Winner, John Spray Mystery Award Winner, Odyssey Award winner, Audie Award winner, received six starred reviews, appeared on over 30 Best of 2018 lists and was the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Runner-Up for Best YA Fiction with over 21,000 votes. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times, is the founder of #ToTheGirls, a 2015 worldwide trending hashtag, and in 2016, she was named one of Flare Magazine's 60 under 30.
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