What do you think?
Rate this book
Havoc
Fleeing Scotland in the wake of family disgrace, 16-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls' boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of the bomb, St Anne's seems like a refuge to Ida. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new room-mate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast.
Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.
And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida's scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?
Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.
And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida's scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?
394 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 3, 2025
134 people are currently reading
11650 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Wait
6 books311 followersRebecca Wait is the author of five novels, most recently Havoc.
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way was a book of the year for The Times, Guardian, Express, Good Housekeeping and BBC Culture, and was shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize.
Our Fathers, received widespread acclaim and was a Guardian book of the year and a thriller of the month for Waterstones.
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way was a book of the year for The Times, Guardian, Express, Good Housekeeping and BBC Culture, and was shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize.
Our Fathers, received widespread acclaim and was a Guardian book of the year and a thriller of the month for Waterstones.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
November 4, 2025
ARC for review. To be published January 20, 2026.
4 stars
First off, this appears to be the American debut of a book first published in the UK, where it was just called HAVOC. Second, this book contains a staging of one excellent play. Six stars for the play.
Ida has a really good reason to leave her home in Scotland to attend St. Ann’s, a low rent girls’ boarding school, even though we don’t learn that reason until late in the boom. Teacher Eleanor was left by her fiancé, but there’s a new male teacher at the school who might prove interesting. And why are so many of the girls having fits? Come visit this English school in the 1980s to get the answers.
At one point one of the girls makes a comment like, “if you looked at us, you couldn’t tell what decade we were from” or something similar and I kept forgetting this book was set when Duran Duran existed, and not in the 1930s. This was witty and had some great characters. I love a good boarding school book (I’ve said a hundred times what utter crap I would have been at boarding school and how my fellow students would have all hated me by the end of day three) so this was perfect for me. Recommended. A YA could read and enjoy this, but it’s not a YA book. I don’t think. Unless I missed it.
4 stars
First off, this appears to be the American debut of a book first published in the UK, where it was just called HAVOC. Second, this book contains a staging of one excellent play. Six stars for the play.
Ida has a really good reason to leave her home in Scotland to attend St. Ann’s, a low rent girls’ boarding school, even though we don’t learn that reason until late in the boom. Teacher Eleanor was left by her fiancé, but there’s a new male teacher at the school who might prove interesting. And why are so many of the girls having fits? Come visit this English school in the 1980s to get the answers.
At one point one of the girls makes a comment like, “if you looked at us, you couldn’t tell what decade we were from” or something similar and I kept forgetting this book was set when Duran Duran existed, and not in the 1930s. This was witty and had some great characters. I love a good boarding school book (I’ve said a hundred times what utter crap I would have been at boarding school and how my fellow students would have all hated me by the end of day three) so this was perfect for me. Recommended. A YA could read and enjoy this, but it’s not a YA book. I don’t think. Unless I missed it.
May 18, 2025
A fun story revolving around chaos at a girl's boarding school.
Call me crazy, but I have such a soft spot for boarding school stories. I don't know what it is - maybe the comradery, or the idea of an extended sleepover. I feel like the bonds are always tighter, and there's something about living at school that is such a foreign concept to me that I love reading about it.
So this story was another enjoyable read, particularly with the chaos at this school. It's falling apart and in serious danger of closure - particularly when the girls start developing a twitching sickness.
That's not going to work for our protagonist, Ida, who is fleeing from shameful circumstances and merciless bullying. She needs the school to stay open, since it's now her refuge.
The story here alternates between the views of Ida and Eleanor, one of the teachers. This gives us a more rounded view of what's happening at the school, and multiple seats from which to view the chaos.
I enjoyed how unhinged things were, so it was easy to travel along at a cracking pace. There's also the mystery of what is really happening to these girls, and it does add an emotional element that gives the story a bit of heart.
This was a really fun reading experience, and I'd happily read more tales of this school, though it all wrapped up neatly so I don't see that happening. The characters were great and well-suited to this tale, and I would easily recommend this for people looking for a little chaos in their reading life.
With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC
Call me crazy, but I have such a soft spot for boarding school stories. I don't know what it is - maybe the comradery, or the idea of an extended sleepover. I feel like the bonds are always tighter, and there's something about living at school that is such a foreign concept to me that I love reading about it.
So this story was another enjoyable read, particularly with the chaos at this school. It's falling apart and in serious danger of closure - particularly when the girls start developing a twitching sickness.
That's not going to work for our protagonist, Ida, who is fleeing from shameful circumstances and merciless bullying. She needs the school to stay open, since it's now her refuge.
The story here alternates between the views of Ida and Eleanor, one of the teachers. This gives us a more rounded view of what's happening at the school, and multiple seats from which to view the chaos.
I enjoyed how unhinged things were, so it was easy to travel along at a cracking pace. There's also the mystery of what is really happening to these girls, and it does add an emotional element that gives the story a bit of heart.
This was a really fun reading experience, and I'd happily read more tales of this school, though it all wrapped up neatly so I don't see that happening. The characters were great and well-suited to this tale, and I would easily recommend this for people looking for a little chaos in their reading life.
With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC
October 19, 2025
3 / 5 Stars
This book had really interesting concepts but a flat execution for my tastes. In “Cry Havoc,” in an attempt to flee a family scandal, Ida joins a decrepit girl’s boarding school. She is roommates with Louise, who is known for pushing a girl out of a window (it was the first floor) and lighting another girl on fire (it was an accident and the girl is fine). Simultaneously to Ida’s arrival, the school gets a new history teacher – he’s a man (an unattractive one as they keep mentioning) and he seems to have a secret. Oh and the students randomly start to convulse and jerk their limbs without any real explanation. If that wasn’t enough, they are constantly practicing nuclear drills in case they get bombed during the Cold War. What a time to be alive.
You will probably like this book if you like:
👩🏫 Books set in 1980s in English
🎒 Girl’s boarding school setting
👩🏫 Dual POV (Ida who is a student and Eleanor who is a teacher)
🎒 Absurdist humor
👩🏫 Mysterious illness
🎒 Lots of secrets
This book is definitely dark (illness, death, impending sense of death via a nuclear war, you get the gist), but it has a ton of absurdist humor. To me, the humor was akin to the British “Office” – a ton of wacky people doing wacky stuff in very everyday settings. Humor is so subjective, I think the concepts were funnier than the execution. The idea of a play gone horrible wrong during a parent’s week is super funny. The execution was eh. The idea of reading very literal minutes from a meeting so you read all of the bickering is very funny. The execution was eh. Again, humor is subjective so I think others may find it very funny.
I liked that there were so many mysterious elements. What caused Ida to want to leave home? What is the new male teacher’s deal? What is causing the convulsions? I thought all of the mysteries would draw me in, but honestly, I was bored reading this book. I can’t even give you a good reason why, but I felt myself constantly checking how much was left in the book. Even the different POVs and reading faxes from the doctor interspersed between the chapters should have kept me engaged, but it just didn’t.
While this was not my British, 1980s cup of tea, I hope this finds the right audience and folks love it.
Thank you Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: January 20, 2026
_______________________
Pre-Read Thoughts: “Humorous dark academia” feels like an oxymoron but I’m ready to be proven wrong. I love books set at boarding schools. It feels like there’s always so much mischief. And make it a English boarding school in the 1980s and I’m very much in.
This book had really interesting concepts but a flat execution for my tastes. In “Cry Havoc,” in an attempt to flee a family scandal, Ida joins a decrepit girl’s boarding school. She is roommates with Louise, who is known for pushing a girl out of a window (it was the first floor) and lighting another girl on fire (it was an accident and the girl is fine). Simultaneously to Ida’s arrival, the school gets a new history teacher – he’s a man (an unattractive one as they keep mentioning) and he seems to have a secret. Oh and the students randomly start to convulse and jerk their limbs without any real explanation. If that wasn’t enough, they are constantly practicing nuclear drills in case they get bombed during the Cold War. What a time to be alive.
You will probably like this book if you like:
👩🏫 Books set in 1980s in English
🎒 Girl’s boarding school setting
👩🏫 Dual POV (Ida who is a student and Eleanor who is a teacher)
🎒 Absurdist humor
👩🏫 Mysterious illness
🎒 Lots of secrets
This book is definitely dark (illness, death, impending sense of death via a nuclear war, you get the gist), but it has a ton of absurdist humor. To me, the humor was akin to the British “Office” – a ton of wacky people doing wacky stuff in very everyday settings. Humor is so subjective, I think the concepts were funnier than the execution. The idea of a play gone horrible wrong during a parent’s week is super funny. The execution was eh. The idea of reading very literal minutes from a meeting so you read all of the bickering is very funny. The execution was eh. Again, humor is subjective so I think others may find it very funny.
I liked that there were so many mysterious elements. What caused Ida to want to leave home? What is the new male teacher’s deal? What is causing the convulsions? I thought all of the mysteries would draw me in, but honestly, I was bored reading this book. I can’t even give you a good reason why, but I felt myself constantly checking how much was left in the book. Even the different POVs and reading faxes from the doctor interspersed between the chapters should have kept me engaged, but it just didn’t.
While this was not my British, 1980s cup of tea, I hope this finds the right audience and folks love it.
Thank you Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: January 20, 2026
_______________________
Pre-Read Thoughts: “Humorous dark academia” feels like an oxymoron but I’m ready to be proven wrong. I love books set at boarding schools. It feels like there’s always so much mischief. And make it a English boarding school in the 1980s and I’m very much in.
July 21, 2025
You all know I love a clever, witty book. Well I’ve found a new favourite.
I loved Rebecca Wait’s novel I’m Sorry You Feel That Way published in 2022, and so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of her latest novel Havoc, published earlier this month.
Havoc is a similarly witty, warm and hugely entertaining novel, this time set in a crumbling all girls’ boarding school on the south coast of England in 1984. Margaret Thatcher is at the peak of her powers, a nuclear attack on Britain is feared to be imminent and private education in prestigious all girls’ boarding schools is, well, a bit slapdash, not least in St Anne’s, a boarding school of last resort for wealthy parents of girls.
Ida arrives in Lower Sixth (penultimate year of school) with a secret she’s hiding, desperate to get away from her family in Scotland. She is housed with Louise, an outsider at the school, perceived as a weirdo. Not long after Ida’s arrival, some of the girls at school begin to develop tremors and seizures, their limbs flailing against their will. What on earth is going on and how is this going to end for Ida and Louise and the staff at St Anne’s?
This isn’t dark academia as such, it’s much more tongue in cheek, but those who like coming of age novels set in boarding schools will relish this. A touch of Agatha Christie, a smidge of St Trinians, a dash of Derry Girls, a literary flourish here and there, I loved Havoc and its cast of madcap characters. A thoroughly satisfying, quintessentially British Bildungsroman that made me laugh out loud quite a few times. I can’t fault the writing, it’s magnificent and it was so much fun to read. 5/5 ⭐️
Huge thanks for @elaineganbooks @hachetteireland @quercusbooks for the #gifted proof copy that arrived with a gorgeous Havoc notebook, pen and letter from the author (swipe to read). Incidents in the book were inspired by real-life events - fascinating 😮!
I loved Rebecca Wait’s novel I’m Sorry You Feel That Way published in 2022, and so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of her latest novel Havoc, published earlier this month.
Havoc is a similarly witty, warm and hugely entertaining novel, this time set in a crumbling all girls’ boarding school on the south coast of England in 1984. Margaret Thatcher is at the peak of her powers, a nuclear attack on Britain is feared to be imminent and private education in prestigious all girls’ boarding schools is, well, a bit slapdash, not least in St Anne’s, a boarding school of last resort for wealthy parents of girls.
Ida arrives in Lower Sixth (penultimate year of school) with a secret she’s hiding, desperate to get away from her family in Scotland. She is housed with Louise, an outsider at the school, perceived as a weirdo. Not long after Ida’s arrival, some of the girls at school begin to develop tremors and seizures, their limbs flailing against their will. What on earth is going on and how is this going to end for Ida and Louise and the staff at St Anne’s?
This isn’t dark academia as such, it’s much more tongue in cheek, but those who like coming of age novels set in boarding schools will relish this. A touch of Agatha Christie, a smidge of St Trinians, a dash of Derry Girls, a literary flourish here and there, I loved Havoc and its cast of madcap characters. A thoroughly satisfying, quintessentially British Bildungsroman that made me laugh out loud quite a few times. I can’t fault the writing, it’s magnificent and it was so much fun to read. 5/5 ⭐️
Huge thanks for @elaineganbooks @hachetteireland @quercusbooks for the #gifted proof copy that arrived with a gorgeous Havoc notebook, pen and letter from the author (swipe to read). Incidents in the book were inspired by real-life events - fascinating 😮!
October 28, 2025
This is a boarding school story written for adults, with none of the YA trappings (and for me, that’s a positive). One of the protagonists is a teenage girl so it’s not like we don’t get that perspective, but it’s not written in that YA way, if that makes sense.
Ida flees a toxic home life and ends up in a boarding school where neglectful parents shunt off their unwanted daughters to, seemingly the only girl who’s glad to be there. The other main character is one of her teachers, middle-aged Eleanor, who has been at the school for decades hiding away from the world. The plot revolves around an outbreak of (not really a spoiler imo but just in case…). At first I thought the book was a bit low effort because I’d bet money Wait came across that one podcast from last year about a real-life outbreak of among girls at a US high school, that’s how closely it seemed to follow that particular story, but in the end I think it added enough nuance and an original enough plot to make it worth it.
It was a great mix of humour and emotional hits; don’t think I’ll necessarily want to re-read it, but I really enjoyed it. I read one of Wait’s early novels a while ago and she seems to have come into her own as a writer since then, good for her.
Ida flees a toxic home life and ends up in a boarding school where neglectful parents shunt off their unwanted daughters to, seemingly the only girl who’s glad to be there. The other main character is one of her teachers, middle-aged Eleanor, who has been at the school for decades hiding away from the world. The plot revolves around an outbreak of (not really a spoiler imo but just in case…). At first I thought the book was a bit low effort because I’d bet money Wait came across that one podcast from last year about a real-life outbreak of among girls at a US high school, that’s how closely it seemed to follow that particular story, but in the end I think it added enough nuance and an original enough plot to make it worth it.
It was a great mix of humour and emotional hits; don’t think I’ll necessarily want to re-read it, but I really enjoyed it. I read one of Wait’s early novels a while ago and she seems to have come into her own as a writer since then, good for her.
September 28, 2025
this was so funny & ridiculous, and I had a great time. finished it a few days ago and have read another book since then, so unable to give my full thoughts (as they are no longer with us), but I can say that this was such a fun, wild ride and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE
August 6, 2025
A girl’s boarding school is a situation ripe for a sinister story and Rebecca Wait has created the perfect recipe for just that with her latest book. She starts with a compelling protagonist - 16-year-old Ida - who is coming to the English coast after getting a scholarship to St Anne’s. Next is the secret Ida is trying to escape: a scandal involving her family that brought shame and suspicion into her life. Next is the school building: an old, dilapidated manor house that looks like it could fall down at any moment.. Then is the angry and confrontational roommate who promises to make Ida’s life miserable. You can’t have a boarding school without teachers, so she adds in a Headmistress preparing them for the Cold War, a long-serving geography teacher, and a mysterious new history teacher who seems to be hiding something. Then she adds the piece-de-resistance, a mysterious illness that quickly spreads through the school. Sprinkle in some dark comedy, emotional moments and fascinating characters and you’ve got the recipe for a book that you won’t be able to put down.
Atmospheric, labyrinthine, witty and dark, Havoc is an unforgettable tragicomedy. While I have most of Wait’s books, this was my first time reading one of them and I am so mad at myself for sleeping on her for so long. Magnificently written, cleverly choreographed, multi-layered and complex, this haunting story had me enrapt from start to finish. Wait had me completely immersed, transporting me to the nostalgia of the 80s and reminding me what it was like to be an angst-ridden 16-year-old girl again. The characters are richly drawn and relatable, allowing me to step inside the story and feel invested in the outcome. A sense of dread permeates the pages and the whole story thrums with helplessness and fear. As the illness spreads the story feels increasingly chaotic and unpredictable, which sometimes makes things feel a little confusing. There were times I felt certain I knew where the story was headed while at others I had no idea, but Wait played me for a fool at every step, taking it in completely unexpected directions and making me fall for her expertly-placed red herrings.
Ida is a great protagonist. She’s complicated, flawed and fierce, but also insecure and vulnerable. It really did feel like stepping back into my 16-year-old self’s shoes and I couldn’t wait to leave. Louise was my favourite character. She’s delightfully unhinged, kind of scary and maybe a psychopath. But then she peels back the mask she wears and allows Ida and the reader to see who she really is. I noticed that Ms. Wait seems to have created a cast of outcasts for this book. Ida and Louise are both outcasts, and so were the other two characters that really stood out to me: Eleanor, the sad geography teacher who has taught at the school for twenty years, and Matthew, the new teacher who screamed ‘dodgy’. I always find these kinds of characters more fascinating than the perfect or popular crowd, and I loved that Wait made all of her characters feel so nuanced.
Haunting, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining, this is a must-read.
Atmospheric, labyrinthine, witty and dark, Havoc is an unforgettable tragicomedy. While I have most of Wait’s books, this was my first time reading one of them and I am so mad at myself for sleeping on her for so long. Magnificently written, cleverly choreographed, multi-layered and complex, this haunting story had me enrapt from start to finish. Wait had me completely immersed, transporting me to the nostalgia of the 80s and reminding me what it was like to be an angst-ridden 16-year-old girl again. The characters are richly drawn and relatable, allowing me to step inside the story and feel invested in the outcome. A sense of dread permeates the pages and the whole story thrums with helplessness and fear. As the illness spreads the story feels increasingly chaotic and unpredictable, which sometimes makes things feel a little confusing. There were times I felt certain I knew where the story was headed while at others I had no idea, but Wait played me for a fool at every step, taking it in completely unexpected directions and making me fall for her expertly-placed red herrings.
Ida is a great protagonist. She’s complicated, flawed and fierce, but also insecure and vulnerable. It really did feel like stepping back into my 16-year-old self’s shoes and I couldn’t wait to leave. Louise was my favourite character. She’s delightfully unhinged, kind of scary and maybe a psychopath. But then she peels back the mask she wears and allows Ida and the reader to see who she really is. I noticed that Ms. Wait seems to have created a cast of outcasts for this book. Ida and Louise are both outcasts, and so were the other two characters that really stood out to me: Eleanor, the sad geography teacher who has taught at the school for twenty years, and Matthew, the new teacher who screamed ‘dodgy’. I always find these kinds of characters more fascinating than the perfect or popular crowd, and I loved that Wait made all of her characters feel so nuanced.
Haunting, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining, this is a must-read.
August 26, 2025
I should have liked this book but did not.
Why should I have liked it? I like St Trinians, Ealing comedy films, I have taught in a boarding school, I have been a resident tutor in a senior girls' boarding house, I have taught 'Z for Zachariah' and I have spent much time on the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. So I bought it.
But the book just annoyed me as it did not know what its key focus was. It starts off as potentially a great YA book - in fact series - about a crazed and decaying boarding school and returns to that idea in the last chapter. It's strength is in the school physical setting, weird girls and staff. The key plot point is exceptional.
But it drifts from its strength to tedious fax messages, a gay doctor relationship (did we really need this woke addition?), too much of staff lives and too much conversation - a sin of modern novels where they seems to be writing the script for a fim rather than crafting a novel. In other words the novel became progressively unclear as to its focus and has far too many substories. Novels need a central character or two - in the middle of the book it was not clear as to who was or was not the lead.
The book needed a lot more editing starting with a sharpened focus on lead characters and presumed readers. The author should rewrite this book as the start of a YA series - it has the potential to be huge as a crazed, decaying boarding school series is a market not yet covered by authors.
But I found this book overall tedious albeit with occasional wonderful bits of humour, scene setting and some of the charcters created.
Why should I have liked it? I like St Trinians, Ealing comedy films, I have taught in a boarding school, I have been a resident tutor in a senior girls' boarding house, I have taught 'Z for Zachariah' and I have spent much time on the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. So I bought it.
But the book just annoyed me as it did not know what its key focus was. It starts off as potentially a great YA book - in fact series - about a crazed and decaying boarding school and returns to that idea in the last chapter. It's strength is in the school physical setting, weird girls and staff. The key plot point is exceptional.
But it drifts from its strength to tedious fax messages, a gay doctor relationship (did we really need this woke addition?), too much of staff lives and too much conversation - a sin of modern novels where they seems to be writing the script for a fim rather than crafting a novel. In other words the novel became progressively unclear as to its focus and has far too many substories. Novels need a central character or two - in the middle of the book it was not clear as to who was or was not the lead.
The book needed a lot more editing starting with a sharpened focus on lead characters and presumed readers. The author should rewrite this book as the start of a YA series - it has the potential to be huge as a crazed, decaying boarding school series is a market not yet covered by authors.
But I found this book overall tedious albeit with occasional wonderful bits of humour, scene setting and some of the charcters created.
June 7, 2025
I do love the febrile atmosphere generated in girls boarding schools stories. Scottish island girl Ida, sends herself to a boarding school near (in geography alone) to Roedean. This school has little academic aspiration (aside from training for nuclear war) and is housed in buildings near collapse.
In this setting the reader is thrown every example of the torture of adolescence within the popular cliques, the troubled, the quirky, the disrupters and a host of also ran teachers and disaffected parents. Add to the mix an epidemic of mystery illness and incompetent male medics and you really have a story!
I found it engaging and familiar (I was at a girls boarding school a decade before the timeline of this narrative) where emotional neglect and terrible food were also the order of the day. Wait captures brilliantly that constant suffocating insecurity of wondering who is the most unhinged.
As I read I kept thinking of the erudite Suzanne O'Sullivan, neurologist, who writes brilliantly about many things including mass psychosomatic illness. I noticed in the author's acknowledgements that she mentioned O'Sullivan's work. Similarly I thought about Ysenda Maxtone Graham's book on Girls Boarding Schools which the author also acknowledges. I added to this echoes of Elspeth Barker (O'Caledonia) and Shirley Jackson (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)
Really enjoyed apart from thinking the ending of the book lingered too long.
With thanks to #NetGalley and #Quercus for the opportunity to read and review
In this setting the reader is thrown every example of the torture of adolescence within the popular cliques, the troubled, the quirky, the disrupters and a host of also ran teachers and disaffected parents. Add to the mix an epidemic of mystery illness and incompetent male medics and you really have a story!
I found it engaging and familiar (I was at a girls boarding school a decade before the timeline of this narrative) where emotional neglect and terrible food were also the order of the day. Wait captures brilliantly that constant suffocating insecurity of wondering who is the most unhinged.
As I read I kept thinking of the erudite Suzanne O'Sullivan, neurologist, who writes brilliantly about many things including mass psychosomatic illness. I noticed in the author's acknowledgements that she mentioned O'Sullivan's work. Similarly I thought about Ysenda Maxtone Graham's book on Girls Boarding Schools which the author also acknowledges. I added to this echoes of Elspeth Barker (O'Caledonia) and Shirley Jackson (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)
Really enjoyed apart from thinking the ending of the book lingered too long.
With thanks to #NetGalley and #Quercus for the opportunity to read and review
February 6, 2026
this tickled my particular sense of humour
January 24, 2026
Enjoyed this a lot, didn’t know where it was going or what was going to happen, but an amusing read
September 1, 2025
Absolutely loved this boarding school based book. The perfect combination of funny, mysterious and tragic.
June 19, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Riverrun for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I can't explain how much I love Rebecca's books - Our Fathers was a particular favourite, and I was thrilled to get a copy of her new one. But sadly it didn't live up to my expectations.
This felt like it was lacking Rebecca's voice. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it and I will continue to love her books but this felt more...I don't know how to explain it. Her other books, I have loved them and they felt very unique, very much in her style, a bit left-field. This one felt more mainstream I suppose, more classic, and whilst I haven't got a problem with that, I did find myself missing that spark that she normally has.
Whilst there can be deviations, generally speaking, you can tell a book is by a certain author because they have a certain style that they carry through with them, even if they change genres. But if I didn't now this was one of Rebecca's, I don't think I'd have guessed it because it felt completely different.
What Rebecca does do really well is depict dysfunctional but very real families and characters.
I didn't think this was up to the standard of her previous books. It felt a bit flat. Her others are so full of feeling, but this one, for me anyway, seemed to stay on the surface instead of delving deep.
I wasn't really sure what it was meant to be. A family depiction? Toxic friendship? Dark academia? A psychological thriller? A mystery?
I can't say I didn't enjoy it, because I did, I think. I finished it in a day, it was easy to read, smooth to read. Interesting premise and well created characters. But it lacked anything that I relate to Rebecca Wait as a writer. And for that I was quite disappointed. Her others book...I still think about them long after reading them, but I think this one will be quite easy to forget about.
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
DON'T READ ANY MORE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE GIRLS AND THEIR SICKNESS
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
What I did like though was the inclusion of conversion disorder (not known as Functional Neurological Disorder) and non-epileptic seizures, which is a diagnosis I have and it's something I struggle from hugely, but it was a real delight (in a weird morbid way) to see it depicted in a book.
I can't explain how much I love Rebecca's books - Our Fathers was a particular favourite, and I was thrilled to get a copy of her new one. But sadly it didn't live up to my expectations.
This felt like it was lacking Rebecca's voice. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it and I will continue to love her books but this felt more...I don't know how to explain it. Her other books, I have loved them and they felt very unique, very much in her style, a bit left-field. This one felt more mainstream I suppose, more classic, and whilst I haven't got a problem with that, I did find myself missing that spark that she normally has.
Whilst there can be deviations, generally speaking, you can tell a book is by a certain author because they have a certain style that they carry through with them, even if they change genres. But if I didn't now this was one of Rebecca's, I don't think I'd have guessed it because it felt completely different.
What Rebecca does do really well is depict dysfunctional but very real families and characters.
I didn't think this was up to the standard of her previous books. It felt a bit flat. Her others are so full of feeling, but this one, for me anyway, seemed to stay on the surface instead of delving deep.
I wasn't really sure what it was meant to be. A family depiction? Toxic friendship? Dark academia? A psychological thriller? A mystery?
I can't say I didn't enjoy it, because I did, I think. I finished it in a day, it was easy to read, smooth to read. Interesting premise and well created characters. But it lacked anything that I relate to Rebecca Wait as a writer. And for that I was quite disappointed. Her others book...I still think about them long after reading them, but I think this one will be quite easy to forget about.
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
DON'T READ ANY MORE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE GIRLS AND THEIR SICKNESS
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
***SPOILERS***
What I did like though was the inclusion of conversion disorder (not known as Functional Neurological Disorder) and non-epileptic seizures, which is a diagnosis I have and it's something I struggle from hugely, but it was a real delight (in a weird morbid way) to see it depicted in a book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2025
I was so excited to see Rebecca Wait has a new book coming out! All of her previous works have been outstanding and I love the way she creates characters that feel truly human. So it’s truly an understatement to say I’m disappointed this one didn’t hit the same highs for me.
While Wait’s previous books mostly focus on intimate family scenes (+ a cult), this book has a larger cast and I think that’s one of the elements that didn’t work for me. Everything felt too thin because our time was stretched between students, teachers, doctors… and that intimacy/connection through POV wasn’t present for me the way it had been in Wait’s previous books. I didn’t feel emotional pull the same way.
I couldn’t connect to Ida as a character. Louise was deeply compelling but we didn’t spend much time with her perspective. I didn’t feel invested at all in Eleanor’s or the doctor’s POV. I didn’t really understand why the Eleanor/Anthony and Eleanor/Matthew threads were given as much airtime as they were. Apart from Louise, I didn’t find the characters all that interesting, in general.
The sense of place, however, was expertly done. I could vividly picture the school and the nearby town. The claustrophobic feel of the story enhanced this greatly!
Humour in books is so subjective, but I found the ‘banter’ with the teachers forced and overcooked. In this vein, there was a ‘cozy English mystery’ feel to the story with setting, plot, dialogue that just didn’t work for me. The two mysteries at the core of the story were predictable. I kept hoping that it would deviate from the telegraphed path, but both of the explanations (the medical mystery and Ida’s backstory) were just so underwhelming.
The writing was solid, but, for me, this wasn’t the strongest showcase of Wait’s storytelling and characterization. I’d still recommend this book for the writing and for readers who enjoy the decrepit boarding school setting.
I was privileged to have my request to review this book approved by Quercus Books on NetGalley.
While Wait’s previous books mostly focus on intimate family scenes (+ a cult), this book has a larger cast and I think that’s one of the elements that didn’t work for me. Everything felt too thin because our time was stretched between students, teachers, doctors… and that intimacy/connection through POV wasn’t present for me the way it had been in Wait’s previous books. I didn’t feel emotional pull the same way.
I couldn’t connect to Ida as a character. Louise was deeply compelling but we didn’t spend much time with her perspective. I didn’t feel invested at all in Eleanor’s or the doctor’s POV. I didn’t really understand why the Eleanor/Anthony and Eleanor/Matthew threads were given as much airtime as they were. Apart from Louise, I didn’t find the characters all that interesting, in general.
The sense of place, however, was expertly done. I could vividly picture the school and the nearby town. The claustrophobic feel of the story enhanced this greatly!
Humour in books is so subjective, but I found the ‘banter’ with the teachers forced and overcooked. In this vein, there was a ‘cozy English mystery’ feel to the story with setting, plot, dialogue that just didn’t work for me. The two mysteries at the core of the story were predictable. I kept hoping that it would deviate from the telegraphed path, but both of the explanations (the medical mystery and Ida’s backstory) were just so underwhelming.
The writing was solid, but, for me, this wasn’t the strongest showcase of Wait’s storytelling and characterization. I’d still recommend this book for the writing and for readers who enjoy the decrepit boarding school setting.
I was privileged to have my request to review this book approved by Quercus Books on NetGalley.
August 22, 2025
4.5
This was SO much fun!
This was SO much fun!
June 30, 2025
This was one of the funniest books I’ve read in ages. After not liking Rebecca Wait’s last book, I wasn’t too sure how I’d feel about this one but it sounded intriguing. And it is! A great read. Thanks so much to Quercus for my copy, it’s out on Thursday!
December 17, 2025
I read a quote somewhere that described this book as "St. Trinian's on steroids" and picked it up on that basis but I'm sad to report that it was almost the antithesis of that statement. The first word that comes to my mind to describe this rambling and unfocused story is "tedious".
This author loves a literary device and deploys them liberally throughout this novel to presumably bore the reader to death. If it wasn't pages and pages of faxes between doctors that were somehow both truncated and overly descriptive, it was interminable boring letters between boring characters giving overly descriptive dull backstories. I can't decide if I hated the lengthy transcript of the minutes of a meeting of doctors or the painfully long line by line description of an everything-goes-wrong awful school play more.
The lack of a definite protagonist and the switching perspectives took away any narrative tension that may have built up over the story and I felt that the conclusion to the main mystery at the heart of the narrative was ultimately quite anticlimactic.
There was definitely potential to the setting and the story - a crumbling girls boarding school on the edge of collapse, a staff of quirky teachers, a handful of students with 'bad girl' reputations, a new and mysterious male teacher and a strange disease - but it felt like the drama behind each of these elements needed to be ramped up a few notches to make the story compelling. Even the eventual revelation of Ida's family scandal backstory was just more sad and depressing than it was intriguing.
Aside from what's mentioned above, my other bugbear with this novel was that the characters were mostly boring or under explored. Among the students, Ida and Louise are the only two of any interest with all the others coming off as giggling teen girl stereotypes but we don't learn a whole lot about either of them even then. Among the adult characters, I couldn't have cared less about Eleanor even though she is arguably the novel's second main character. She is so flat and uninteresting and is only bested in this capacity by the new male teacher whose name I can't even remember he left so small an impression despite his not so unimportant role in the story.
On a final note (and something I find I can't leave alone), it really irritated me that the author seemed to be unable to use any other phrase besides "character said" after any dialogue, even in the case of questions, a character never "asked" or "wondered" for example, it was always "said". Drove me nuts!
This author loves a literary device and deploys them liberally throughout this novel to presumably bore the reader to death. If it wasn't pages and pages of faxes between doctors that were somehow both truncated and overly descriptive, it was interminable boring letters between boring characters giving overly descriptive dull backstories. I can't decide if I hated the lengthy transcript of the minutes of a meeting of doctors or the painfully long line by line description of an everything-goes-wrong awful school play more.
The lack of a definite protagonist and the switching perspectives took away any narrative tension that may have built up over the story and I felt that the conclusion to the main mystery at the heart of the narrative was ultimately quite anticlimactic.
There was definitely potential to the setting and the story - a crumbling girls boarding school on the edge of collapse, a staff of quirky teachers, a handful of students with 'bad girl' reputations, a new and mysterious male teacher and a strange disease - but it felt like the drama behind each of these elements needed to be ramped up a few notches to make the story compelling. Even the eventual revelation of Ida's family scandal backstory was just more sad and depressing than it was intriguing.
Aside from what's mentioned above, my other bugbear with this novel was that the characters were mostly boring or under explored. Among the students, Ida and Louise are the only two of any interest with all the others coming off as giggling teen girl stereotypes but we don't learn a whole lot about either of them even then. Among the adult characters, I couldn't have cared less about Eleanor even though she is arguably the novel's second main character. She is so flat and uninteresting and is only bested in this capacity by the new male teacher whose name I can't even remember he left so small an impression despite his not so unimportant role in the story.
On a final note (and something I find I can't leave alone), it really irritated me that the author seemed to be unable to use any other phrase besides "character said" after any dialogue, even in the case of questions, a character never "asked" or "wondered" for example, it was always "said". Drove me nuts!
January 18, 2026
Thank you to Goodreads and Harper Perennial for the uncorrected proof! (“Uncorrected” is an overstatement, I think I caught all of one typo, which is impressive compared to some *finished* books I’ve read). This was so much fun, will be recommending to everyone I know! Heartfelt and humorous (it is rare for me to laugh out loud while reading, and this book managed that feat!). The comparison to Derry Girls in the synopsis isn’t off at all! Kept picturing Miss Christie as Sister Michael, then having to remind myself this isn’t a Catholic school. Writing style reminded me at times of Lemony Snicket or The Name of This Book is Secret. Ida and Louise are unforgettable characters. Loved the references to popular novels of the time, it really helps to remind you of how modern an era this was instead of feeling like the distant past, like “oh yeah, they would’ve been reading Stephen King, just like me”. I think that’s all of my scattered thoughts compiled! Without including any spoilers, of course.
Review of advance copy
Published in 2025 in the UK as Havoc, this is an amusing, dark academia-ish mystery.
I love a boarding school setting with a mystery and unsettling vibes and in general this delivered. Main problem for me is that it was dark enough or amusing enough, both sat in the middle so didn't spark me as brilliant in either area. Lots to work with here and wish it had gone even darker with dryer and darker humour. Unfortunately it ended up feeling more YA than I anticipated so whilst I liked and enjoyed it, I didnt love it as hoped.
I love a boarding school setting with a mystery and unsettling vibes and in general this delivered. Main problem for me is that it was dark enough or amusing enough, both sat in the middle so didn't spark me as brilliant in either area. Lots to work with here and wish it had gone even darker with dryer and darker humour. Unfortunately it ended up feeling more YA than I anticipated so whilst I liked and enjoyed it, I didnt love it as hoped.
February 3, 2026
Such an entertaining novel; I love Rebecca Wait’s humor. She is very clever in showing how teenage girls can find silly rumors just as dramatic as actual tragedy, and how little society tends to think of girls in general. My favorite quote:
‘In fact, if you looked at every muddle throughout history, I think you’d find the vast majority had as their root cause a group of boys, or rather men, being ridiculous.’
(How very timely.)
I enjoyed not knowing where the story was going and the fact that it didn’t go anywhere in the end. Still, I would have appreciated a bit more depth, I think.
‘In fact, if you looked at every muddle throughout history, I think you’d find the vast majority had as their root cause a group of boys, or rather men, being ridiculous.’
(How very timely.)
I enjoyed not knowing where the story was going and the fact that it didn’t go anywhere in the end. Still, I would have appreciated a bit more depth, I think.
February 10, 2026
I enjoyed the multiple POVs that move between Ida, the doctors and the teachers. There's an eccentric sprinkle of humor surrounding some of the darker aspects of the all girls boarding school. It adds to the mystery of trying to unravel what is afflicting the students.
The author provides a mix of young girl chaos and medical mystery. My nerdy side was more drawn to the weird symptoms and the way the doctors were approaching the research, especially for this era. Intriguing to say the least. I recommend this novel to those who enjoy mysteries set in dark academia with a medical flair.
The author provides a mix of young girl chaos and medical mystery. My nerdy side was more drawn to the weird symptoms and the way the doctors were approaching the research, especially for this era. Intriguing to say the least. I recommend this novel to those who enjoy mysteries set in dark academia with a medical flair.
Read
January 6, 2026Funny, intelligent and races along. I had read the non-fiction book that inspired one element of the storyline and had a sense of deja vu because of that but that was not a problem - it's good to see this explored in fiction. Great, well-delineated chracters, and the headmistress being called Miss Christie was a minor delight. Who doesn't love a boarding school setting?
September 25, 2025
An entertaining boarding school story for adults. A quick read with some stereotypical schooly characters. Fun if you want some nostalgic 80s English boarding school antics.
December 27, 2025
I found this very entertaining, very funny, and I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t particularly moved by it and I wonder whether it’ll stay with me.
December 28, 2025
Really really enjoyed this. Gave me the joy of the old Enid blyton boarding school books which I loved, had some genuinely laugh out loud moments and was also quite touching.
Would recommend
Would recommend
January 18, 2026
Genuinely laughed out loud several times, wonderful wee book
January 29, 2026
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Not quite sure what I think about this book.
Not quite sure what I think about this book.
February 14, 2026
Full review coming
August 24, 2025
4.5 stars. A thoroughly entertaining plot and the author has a fantastically wry way with words which sets the book apart. Highly recommended.
December 24, 2025
Really funny and engaging. There was enough intrigue to keep me turning pages. There were plenty of witty women in this book. Their dry asides were sometimes very similar and got a bit wearing, and the teenagers occasionally came out with fairly adult sounding remarks. The mystery was underwhelming in the end, but I did thoroughly enjoy this!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews