Ratings2
Average rating3.5
“Carol Goodman’s Blythewood is reminiscent of both Harry Potter and The Diviners, but in a way that doesn’t distract from the entertaining story within."* After narrowly escaping death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, seventeen-year-old Avaline Hall is sent to Blythewood Academy, the elite girls’ boarding school in New York’s Hudson Valley that her mother attended years before. Ava hopes to solve the mystery of her mother’s death and its connection to the students who keep disappearing from Blythewood. But the school is not all that it appears . . . and neither is the handsome young man who saved Ava from the fire. What’s the meaning of the extraordinary powers Ava possesses? Who’s good and who’s evil? And who has the right to make that distinction? *review of Blythewood by Forever Young Adult
Featured Series
1 primary bookBlythewood is a 1-book series first released in 2013 with contributions by Carol Goodman.
Reviews with the most likes.
It's been a while since I've read a fantasy book set at a boarding school, and I realised I've missed it a lot. Blythewood did remind me of Harry Potter in so many ways, but I never once felt like it was the same story. Carol Goodman has created her own world with her own magic, inspired by traditional fairytales and Norse mythology.
I loved that the book was set in the early 20th century and I think the author did a good job at describing life back then. Our main protagonist, Ava, was a good narrator, but my favourite character was Sarah....
I definitely wasn't expecting Sarah to be the spy!!! That broke my heart, I loved Sarah! She was so kind to Ava! Oh, and the Titanic reference was brilliant, I literally gasped when Helen said her parents & Ava's grandmother were onboard the unsinkable Titanic. That was a great addition to the story, especially the way it tied in the ice giants.
I've already got the sequel waiting to be read on my shelf. I look forward to going back into Ava's magical world.