The Society for Soulless Girls

July 17, 2023
Steven (The Exact Opposite of Okay) spins a supernatural mystery in this dark academia Jekyll & Hyde retelling. Northumberland, England’s Carvell Academy of Arts has finally reopened after four unsolved student murders in the North Tower forced the college’s closure a decade ago. Freshman Lottie Fitzwilliam, a relentlessly positive field hockey player, is determined to research one of the deaths—that of a family friend. When she discovers she’s been sleepwalking to the North Tower, however, she worries that there’s something paranormal afoot. Meanwhile, Lottie’s prickly roommate Alice Wolfe—a philosophy student who struggles to manage her anger—discovers and performs a
ritual meant to expunge her violent thoughts and impulses, then blacks out. The next day, a student turns up dead. Fearing she may be the cause, Alice—joined by Lottie and Hafsah al-Hadi, a classmate whom she learns also performed the ritual—endeavors to investigate the murders and find a solution. Though the conclusion feels rushed, Alice and Lottie’s antithetical personalities and tentative courtship are evocatively described, and the gothic atmosphere inspires thrills and chills. Alice and Lottie read as white; Hafsah cues as having Middle Eastern heritage. Ages 12–up.