By Kaylie Seed
Content warning: drug use
Ellie Eaton’s debut novel The Divines is a rich coming-of-age story that follows Josephine (Joe while in school and Sephine in her adult life) as she navigates being a teenager at boarding school, and the impact that it has on her later in life. St. John the Divine is an all-girls boarding school, and readers will get just what that promises from this read. Mean girls and cliques rule the school; so does hazing and the girls’ desire to prove themselves to one another.
Eaton goes back and forth between Sephine in the present and Joe in the past, while entwining them together to show the reader just who Josephine really is. What is so fascinating about Josephine is how drastically she changes—it is clear to the reader that she is trying to distance herself from who she once was and who she is now by creating a clear divide in her past and present. Josephine will entertain the reader all throughout the story and they will want to know just who she truly is.
Eaton manages to give off an air of nonchalance and aloofness throughout the book which is quite impressive for a debut author. As a reader you will feel the teenage angst in the pages of The Divines, which may transport you back to your own teenage years. Eaton has taken traditional coming-of-age topics such as drug experimentation, sexuality, cliques, toxic friendships, and the need to belong, and goes even deeper into the darker parts of what it means to be a teenage girl. The Divines may not be a read for everyone, but those who do enjoy it will appreciate the dark, compelling narrative that is present throughout this fascinating read.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review!