Katie Alender

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.

The Companion

Winner of the Edgar Award for Young Adult Fiction! 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 younger brother--seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated 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.

Oh this is good. It's creepy and, I would argue, one of Alender's best books to date (and this is coming from a Marie Antoinette: Serial Killer stan). I just don't understand what the dreams were, if they were real(ish) and also what the deal was with the lilies??? And also why is the mom no longer speaking--she got one dose of the complacency drugs, it should be out of her system. But overall, spooky, stressful, and serving gothic in the modern day.

Holly

Incredible and thrilling! I spent the entire night reading it. There was a plot twist but honestly I kinda saw it coming. There’s a lot of foreshadowing. I felt like Barrett shouldn’t have left her when things seemed odd. I feel like he should have been tied into the conclusion or been involved more in the suspense. He didn’t really affect the plot at all, in my opinion. I wonder why Margot never told him about the journal entries she found. I wish we had a more thorough resolution. I would like to see what happened right after Laura was arrested. Like that doctor Agatha was supposedly taken to all the time. Was he in on it? Was there ever a doctor? I wonder why Margot chose to call a stranger rather than Barrett. ALSO I think the tea was very suspicious the whole time. I wish she would have understood the situation sooner and tried to run for help instead of walking with Laura. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end. 

Olivia Gash

Maria Banning

Kept me interested from the beginning. Looking forward to reading her other books!

Winner of the Edgar Award for Young Adult Fiction! 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 younger brother--seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated 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.

Amanda Autumn Berrey

five stars!!

yes! loved this book from beginning to end i wasn’t bored once. it is so good. do yourself a favor and check it out

Kaley Catron

Okay so it’s 1 in the morning and I just finished this even though I really should be asleep. Honestly? I quite enjoyed it. I feel like I saw it coming the whole time but at the same time...I also didn’t see it coming? To be completely honest I feel like the whole book was like the Orphan movie but less demonic and the orphan wasn’t the crazy one...but over all I think it was very good!!

Steffi

i have to say, this exceeded my expectations. the first page of this book was unintentionally funny because the characters sounded so unrealistic, but once you ignore the first few pages, it gets so much better albeit predictable it was still a good book!

Jen Estrella

This was fun but the romance god why. Those chapters could have been focused on Agatha's story instead. I would have tolerated the romance more had there been some introspection on Margot's part (i.e., I'm at a vulnerable point in my life right now; that's why I'm having these feelings) vs the sudden character development that occurred in the end. I think it did end well. It's just that some chapters could have been devoted to the character development instead of the gothic elements/mystery. 

I had an issue with pacing too. It really meandered in the middle and then got rushed in the end. I need at least three more chapters for me to be properly satisfied with that epilogue. 

Oh well. I would still recommend this if you're just starting to get into the gothic horror genre.

Luna

i’m so happy to revisit an author i loved before and actually still like them?? i’m avoiding her more romance-y books to preserve my enjoyment but the spookiness + friendship in this is 10/10 amazing. ya thrillers are really coming through with the cute & satisfying endings

Jordan Robinson

Samantha Bass

I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Teen through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Full review on my blog (8/10) my link text

I've been on a thriller/horror kick recently, so when I received this book from Penguin Teen, I was jumping for joy! I really enjoyed this story and how it builds up on itself. We go from a somewhat calm beginning to terror filled mayhem and it was pretty epic!

For starters, poor Margot is suffering from nightmares after she is the sole survivor in a car crash that killed her entire family. After losing all her friends and no family to take her in, Margot ends up at a group home. Luckily, her father saved the life of Mr. Sutton, who wants to repay his debt by taking Margot in.

But Margot is not brought in selflessly - they want her to be a companion for Agatha, who has come down with a mysterious illness. Unable to talk, barely take care of herself, and generally absent from reality, Agatha isn't much of a bother. Weird things start happening in the house and Margot realizes that things aren't what they seem.

There were some moments in this book where I thought this was going to be a ghost story. If you're not into that, don't worry, it's not! But from the creepiness level of this book it was a strong possibility. Margot experiences some scary and weird things in the house and those experiences alone would have made me run screaming for the hills. I don't know why she didn't run on the first day!

Krystal Pollock

This was a fun read. I knew about half way in what was going on and where the story was going but it still had some great spooky type parts and it was entertaining enough to finish quickly!

The Companion

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