The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by: Joanna Wiebe {ARC Review +Giveaway}

Title: The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant
Author: Joanna Wiebe
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Shelves: Young Adult, Paranormal
Recommended for Fans Of: Caroline B. Cooney, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Publication Date: January 14th, 2014

Source: BenBella Books for review
Format: Physical ARC
Buy through BenBella Books!

Synopsis: The daughter of a poor funeral director, and a dead bi-polar mother, Anne Merchant finds herself on the mysterious and eerie island off the coast of Maine, where she is forced to attend the elite boarding school, Cania Christy. But Cania Christy isn't your ordinary boarding school. At Cania Christy, all the students seem to be perfect, without blemish and without ruin, and strange things happen all the time. Not to mention the cutthroat and ice-cold fierceness of what the students call "The Big V", otherwise known as the race to become the top, the supreme, the dominant valedictorian. What Anne doesn't know is that some people will do whatever it takes to ensure their spot in the games, and the truth behind the mist, the sinister veil of Cania Christy might be the only thing that will destroy Anne, once and for all. 

Review: First off, a HUGE thank you to Jennifer at BenBella Books for sending me this ARC copy for review! The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant. Beguiling, exhilarating and FIERCE. I loved every minute of it. It's been a long time since I've read any boarding school book, let alone one THIS GOOD, so this was me the entire time:

Characters: One of the things I loved best about this book was the characters, mainly Anne, the protagonist. Anne was truly, your typical teenage girl! She was sarcastic, smart, funny, and most importantly, she was genuine. She didn't pretend not to like Ben, the so-called "bad boy" like many female characters are reputed to be like in books. Anne stood up for herself against her enemies, and she knew what she needed to do. A character such as Anne is something really refreshing to see in YA literature.

Plot: The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant was a complete and utter THRILL RIDE. Plot twist, after plot twist, Joanna knows how to keep a reader in suspense and shock. There were so many secrets revealed and I did not seem a single one of them coming my way. This wasn't a book where the reader will be able to guess the ending right away. Oh, no. The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant will keep you guessing until the very end. The eerie, otherworldly feeling Joanna creates in The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant just adds so much depth into this book, and perfectly suits the plot. You won't be able to put this book down.

Writing: Joanna's writing style rings of Stephen King's gift of horror and Katie McGarry's daring and intense romance. The scenes flow smoothly and the writing is practically flawless.

Conclusion: Part romance and part paranormal thriller, Joanna Wiebe weaves a 5 star tale of desperation, competition and the darkness of love and death.

******GIVEAWAY*******

One lucky winner will receive an ARC of The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant! Enter below for your chance to win!

Rules of Entry:

1) Don't cheat with your entries. I always check.

2) The ARC will be sent out to the winner at the publisher's discretion

3) The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email, or I will be forced to pick a new winner.

4) U.S. and CANADA ONLY PLEASE!

5) Good luck!

*UPDATE: THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE A FINISHED COPY INSTEAD OF AN ARC SINCE THE BOOK RELEASES SOON;) *

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