In order to keep an eye on her half-sister, Shaylee, Julia Farentino takes a job at an elite boarding school in Oregon known for turning wayward kids around. Julia is suspicious of the school, because she knows of one student who disappeared, and has never been found. Soon she uncovers disturbing information about previous students.
I thought this was just okay. It’s hard to like Shaylee, who is really a little brat at the beginning, and therefore it’s a little difficult to understand why Jules would go to the lengths she does, and why she’s so quick to suspect the school of wrongdoing. One missing student doesn’t really seem to be enough. Not to mention how quickly she gets hired as a teacher at such a specialty school, with a seemingly minimal background check and no experience with troubled kids. Not to mention the cowboy cop/P.I. who is suddenly qualified as well. There’s a little bit of heat between Jules and Cooper, but nothing special. And you’re just supposed to take for granted that they’ve never gotten over each other.
I’ve seen other reviews that refer to the story as a "mish mash", and they’re pretty spot on. The problems at the school end up being so out there that they’re unbelievable. And frankly, the surprise ending wasn’t much of a surprise.
