Lo Denham is working at a very popular investigative magazine as an assistant and while the job had seemed like a dream come true when she was only a teenager, now she’s starting to become more and more discontented with the non-existent chances of advancing in her career. She wants more than anything to be a writer and after witnessing a tragic event, she also has the perfect story in mind. She’s going to expose the Unity Project and its charismatic leader, Lev Warren. There’s only one problem – Lev Warren hadn’t done an interview in ages after his organisation was branded a cult by the press. Lo isn’t about to give up though as her vendetta against the Unity Project is deeply personal. Her sister, Bea, left her behind in order to join the group and never looked back. Lo is determined to find once and for all whether the Unity Project is really a cult that drives people away from their families or a humanitarian organisation like their leader claims. What she will soon discover is that nothing is black and white, especially when it concerns the Unity Project.
Author Courtney Summers challenges stereotypes by not depicting cult members as a mass of broken, susceptible, weak-minded people. Instead she humanises them; most of them are idealists looking for meaning, for a good cause to follow and something that’s greater than them and the world they live in. Some of them have pasts that taught them they aren’t worthy of love and acceptance which left them with this enormous need to be seen and validated. And those traits, even though they aren’t inherently bad, make them unquestionably vulnerable to someone as charming and as good at reading people as Lev Warren. He becomes an anchor to the Unity Project members by seeing and accepting them, giving them a cause, showing them that they could have everything they ever wanted including paradise on Earth. Paradise has a price though and with time, Lev becomes more of a merciless god and less of a benefactor for those who aren’t willing to make the sacrifices he requires.
Although the book focuses heavily on The Unity Project and Lev’s personality is so intense and vibrant that it repeatedly overshadows everything else, at its core, The Project is a story about sisterhood. It starts with a promise between sisters, one that only they can break and their connection remains important even when they go on without seeing each other for years. No matter how hard Lev wants to encourage that sense of belonging within his group, there’s nothing that can replace that sisterly bond, not even a new-found family promising redemption. The parallels and the alternating perspectives between past and present leave a long-lasting impression on the reader regarding the powerful connection between Bea and Lo. The clashing perspectives Bea and Lo have on the motivations behind Lev’s project are thoroughly inspected, so much so that the readers will be able to understand where they are coming from regardless of the side they are on. Sometimes the lines blur so much that the readers will undoubtably wonder what it takes for a sceptic to turn into a believer.
This is a beautifully-written, compelling book about the lengths to which someone will go in order not to lose their sense of belonging. It’s full of twists and turns, keeping its readers guessing until the very end. The characterisation is masterfully done and so empathetic that the reader will find it almost impossible not to sympathise with the characters even if they are seemingly going down the wrong path. It’s a tour de force, unflinchingly posing uncomfortable questions and forcing its readers to dig deep into themselves in order to find the answers.
The Project is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of February 2nd 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
“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 next pulls-no-punches thriller from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author Courtney Summers, about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister from a cult.
