RATING: ★★★★★
TITLE: The Companion
AUTHOR: Katie Alender
RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2020
PUBLISHER: Putnam, Penguin Teen
GENRE(S): YA Contemporary Thriller
Thank you to Penguin Teen, Putnam Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.
BLURB:
The other orphans say Margot is lucky.
Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family.
Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night.
And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate.
But it wasn’t luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was handpicked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha–and getting to know her handsome older brother–seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated, gothic house begins playing tricks on Margot’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons . . . and herself.
Margot’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.
This was absolutely everything I wanted it to be! This was creepy and haunting and fantastic.
When Margot’s whole family dies in a tragic and horrific accident, leaving her the only survivor, she becomes an orphan. After a small bout in a group home, she is taken in by a wealthy family, whose patriarch knew Margot’s father. Margot is confused as to why she is brought into the giant estate home until she meets Agatha, the invalid daughter of the Suttons. She is to live there and be companion to the girl.
Margot is creeped out by Agatha at first, but soon becomes familiar with her needs and her condition. And Agatha’s mother Laura becomes almost like a friend to Margot, who is so desperate for love that she will happily go along with all the strange care guides for the practically catatonic Agatha. But it isn’t just Agatha and Laura whom she meets, but Barrett, the Sutton’s teenage son who comes home from school a few weeks into Margot’s stay. She is drawn in by this sweet and caring boy.
It seems that just as she is accepting her place in the Sutton home that things start to change. And Margot can no longer turn a blind eye to the way things are done around the house and the way that Laura will not tolerate being questioned about her methods. Agatha is trying to communicate with Margot, Barrett is quickly sent away again and Laura isn’t acting as kind to her as she once was. Margot is fighting to figure out what is going on before it’s too late.
The suspense in this book is like a clock ticking and the longer it ticks, the louder it gets. And Margot may not fully comprehend what is going on until it is too late to do anything about it. The pacing in the book was great, but I can recognize that in any other book, I would have totally been yelling at the girl wondering when she was going to open her eyes and see what going on. But, in this, it was perfect. Everything is set up to keep you guessing. You are left to wonder who to trust and it is WONDERFUL from beginning to end.
This was absolutely a book that I knew from very early on I was going to really appreciate. But, I ended up not only appreciating but loving it.
feather bound books 