Blythewood, Carol Goodman
Blythewood, Carol Goodman
2 Rating(s)
List: $27.50 | Sale: $19.25
Club: $13.75

Blythewood

Author: Carol Goodman

Narrator: Leslie Bellair

Unabridged: 12 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2013


Synopsis

Welcome to Blythewood.  At seventeen, Avaline Hall has already buried her mother, survived a horrific factory fire, and escaped from an insane asylum. Now she’s on her way to Blythewood Academy, the elite boarding school in New York’s mist-shrouded Hudson Valley that her mother attended—and was expelled from. Though she’s afraid her high society classmates won’t accept a factory girl in their midst, Ava is desperate to unravel her family’s murky past, discover the identity of the father she’s never known, and perhaps finally understand her mother’s abrupt suicide. She’s also on the hunt for the identity of the mysterious boy who rescued her from the fire. And she suspects the answers she seeks lie at Blythewood.  But nothing could have prepared her for the dark secret of what Blythewood is, and what its students are being trained to do. Haunted by dreams of a winged boy and pursued by visions of a sinister man who breathes smoke, Ava isn’t sure if she’s losing her mind or getting closer to the truth. And the more rigorously Ava digs into the past, the more dangerous her present becomes.  Vivid and atmospheric, full of mystery and magic, this romantic page-turner by bestselling author Carol Goodman tells the story of a world on the brink of change and the girl who is the catalyst for it all.

About The Author

Carol Goodman is the author of The Lake of Dead Languages, The Seduction of Water, The Drowning Tree, The Ghost Orchid, The Sonnet Lover, The Night Villa and Arcadia Falls. Her work has appeared in such journals as The Greensboro Review, Literal Latte, Midwest Quarterly, New York Quarterly and Other Voices. After graduating from Vassar College, where she majored in Latin, she taught Latin for several years in Austin, Texas. She then received an M.F.A. in fiction from the New School University, where she now teaches writing. She has been nominated for the IMPAC award twice, the Simon & Schuster/Mary Higgins Clark award, the Nero Wolfe Award, and was awarded the 2003 Hammett Prize.  Her novels have been translated into ten languages. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Visit her at carolgoodman.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Heidi on September 06, 2023

Second book in a month featuring a world of Fae and human characters— and I really enjoyed this YA fantasy world and its heroine, Ava. I thought it was clever to use a few famous tragedies as backdrop to the ultimate battle of good vs evil, but in this book Prejudice becomes as much of an influence......more

Goodreads review by Wendy Darling on August 03, 2016

4.5 stars I love this so, so, so, so, much. PLEASE let there be a sequel soon! Full review is on the blog: [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Rhonda on December 03, 2013

Why on earth this isn't marketed as YA I don't know. It falls right in line with the I'm secretly from faerie and only I can (fill in the blank) because I have special powers. There are competing love interests, all romance, no sex, and a parent/family mystery that needs to be sorted before the prot......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on March 04, 2016

4.5 stars Set-up (adapted from Goodreads) Avaline Hall is not having a good year. When Blythewood begins, she is a poor factory girl that has recently lost her mother. Things get steadily worse for Ava for a while - a tragic fire and a mental institution among other set backs - but then Ava meets her......more

Goodreads review by Jessie Leigh on August 11, 2015

As a proud Blythian, Blytheus would approve of my reading this.......more


Quotes

Praise for Blythewood

"A beautifully evocative tale perfect for fans of Libba Bray and Tiffany Trent. First in a trilogy, Goodman's story is intriguing, romantic, eerie, and adventurous...a multifaceted and mature fantasy."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"...a beautifully told fantasy, ripe with magic, forbidden love and unspeakably dark forces...a journey well worth taking." —Kirkus"...a treat for lovers of the gothic." —Booklist
"Heavy in atmosphere with just enough romance, this novel is sure to find an appreciable following." —School Library Journal

“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.”—Forever Young Adult