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Havoc
Win a free print copy of this book!
23 days and 15:24:22
25 copies available
U.S. only
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
132 people are currently reading
9472 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Wait
7 books302 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 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.
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.
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
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
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!
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
June 19, 2025
Havoc offers an atmospheric setting with the boarding school particularly well described, creating a strong sense of place. However, the multiple perspectives dilute the emotional impact. While some characters, like Louise, stand out, others lack depth, making it hard to stay fully engaged. The humor felt a bit forced, and the central mysteries were predictable. Overall, a decent read but one I probably could have missed out on.
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!
July 25, 2025
Actual rating: 4.5
This was a very fun read that I devoured. It has just enough humor to not be overwhelming, and the presence of it compliments the story (which doesn't happen with a lot of “funny” books). The Cold War-obsessed headmistress was by far the funniest part of the book. The mystery with Matthew was very well written. It balanced tying into the main storyline while being its own thing. As much as I hate rushed romances, with Matthew being so impulsive, him randomly proposing made sense. I loved Louise and Ida's friendship and how it developed. Also, Louise was amazing. I wish George (the man James Halliwell) is faxing, was incorporated better. He should’ve responded or at least showed up in the story, even for a bit.
This was a very fun read that I devoured. It has just enough humor to not be overwhelming, and the presence of it compliments the story (which doesn't happen with a lot of “funny” books). The Cold War-obsessed headmistress was by far the funniest part of the book. The mystery with Matthew was very well written. It balanced tying into the main storyline while being its own thing. As much as I hate rushed romances, with Matthew being so impulsive, him randomly proposing made sense. I loved Louise and Ida's friendship and how it developed. Also, Louise was amazing. I wish George (the man James Halliwell) is faxing, was incorporated better. He should’ve responded or at least showed up in the story, even for a bit.
July 5, 2025
Ida finds herself at a remote boarding school that is decidedly odd. Why she's there is something of a mystery, as is the reason behind weird spasm shown by various girls. Something is up at this school and through perspectives from the girls and faculty, Havoc slowly reveals a fascinating story. Thanks to riverrun and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Our grip on reality is more fragile than we'd like to accept. When I went through a phase of reading a lot about schizophrenia, I came to appreciate how tenuous our understanding of the world and ourselves is. We don't necessarily understand the brain and all its capable of that well, nor necessarily how it affects our bodies and our perception. Usually, we don't have to think about this too much nor worry too much about whether anything might set us off. But if your right arm were to suddenly start twitching and spasming, that would be concerning, wouldn't it. Especially if the person sitting next to you is developing the same symptom. Are you both being poisoned, perhaps? Are you going mad? Narratives around what is usually considered mass hysteria, or mass psychogenic illness, can sometimes fall on the wrong side of a blurry line, where they go for easy answers. In Havoc, Rebecca Wait takes a situation ripe for exploitation, a messy girls' boarding school, and turns it into a story that shows not just gentleness towards its characters but also a desire to understand what is behind events such as psychogenic illness or conversion disorder.
Ida arrives at St. Anne's not so much because she really wants to be there, but because she no longer wants to be at home. We're not immediately told why, but as we get to see St. Anne's through her eyes it becomes very clear that this school is odd, extremely so. Are there ghost? Do some of the buildings seem to trap its inhabitants? Did Ida's roommate throw a previously roommate out of a window? And are the nuclear fire drills really necessary? All of that is strange enough, but when one student begins to develop odd spasms, which then spread to her classmates, everything becomes decidedly weirder. Havoc is told largely through Ida's perspective, but it is enriched with chapters from Eleanor's perspective, a teacher at the school, and letters from a local medical resident to his former colleague, trying to figure out what is happening at the school. Out of these three stories, Wait braids together a narrative about belonging, love, isolation, and both the strength and fragility of our minds. I think I enjoyed Ida's storyline the most, because of the development we see in her and the way Wait continued to surprise me with her. The doctor's storyline however, entirely told through letters, was also really touching.
One thing I really enjoyed about Havoc was how Rebecca Wait captured the insanity that is being a teenage girl surrounded by other teenage girls. I went to a mixed high school, but nonetheless got some experience of the intensity of that time. It is not all bad though. Within that intensity, deep bonds can develop and you can be encouraged to become more truthful about who you really are. It can also make you do silly things though. That mix, at once so genuine and high on hormones, is difficult to capture without somehow making fun of it, but Wait manages it. There are legitimately funny moments in Havoc, which are just so out of left field that you can't help but laugh. Wait has a knack, I think, for characterisation that works itself out largely through showing. We get to know Ida through her actions and then, occasionally, when she reveals herself through speech, we get to reconsider what we know about her. I really enjoy getting to work at it in this way and there are major pay-offs to it throughout Havoc. I'm definitely going to look around for more by Wait!
Havoc is a great book, full of well-earned twists and turns, told in intriguing ways. It is a book about girlhood, about the pressures of family and the world, but also about the unhinged chaos of teenagehood.
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
Our grip on reality is more fragile than we'd like to accept. When I went through a phase of reading a lot about schizophrenia, I came to appreciate how tenuous our understanding of the world and ourselves is. We don't necessarily understand the brain and all its capable of that well, nor necessarily how it affects our bodies and our perception. Usually, we don't have to think about this too much nor worry too much about whether anything might set us off. But if your right arm were to suddenly start twitching and spasming, that would be concerning, wouldn't it. Especially if the person sitting next to you is developing the same symptom. Are you both being poisoned, perhaps? Are you going mad? Narratives around what is usually considered mass hysteria, or mass psychogenic illness, can sometimes fall on the wrong side of a blurry line, where they go for easy answers. In Havoc, Rebecca Wait takes a situation ripe for exploitation, a messy girls' boarding school, and turns it into a story that shows not just gentleness towards its characters but also a desire to understand what is behind events such as psychogenic illness or conversion disorder.
Ida arrives at St. Anne's not so much because she really wants to be there, but because she no longer wants to be at home. We're not immediately told why, but as we get to see St. Anne's through her eyes it becomes very clear that this school is odd, extremely so. Are there ghost? Do some of the buildings seem to trap its inhabitants? Did Ida's roommate throw a previously roommate out of a window? And are the nuclear fire drills really necessary? All of that is strange enough, but when one student begins to develop odd spasms, which then spread to her classmates, everything becomes decidedly weirder. Havoc is told largely through Ida's perspective, but it is enriched with chapters from Eleanor's perspective, a teacher at the school, and letters from a local medical resident to his former colleague, trying to figure out what is happening at the school. Out of these three stories, Wait braids together a narrative about belonging, love, isolation, and both the strength and fragility of our minds. I think I enjoyed Ida's storyline the most, because of the development we see in her and the way Wait continued to surprise me with her. The doctor's storyline however, entirely told through letters, was also really touching.
One thing I really enjoyed about Havoc was how Rebecca Wait captured the insanity that is being a teenage girl surrounded by other teenage girls. I went to a mixed high school, but nonetheless got some experience of the intensity of that time. It is not all bad though. Within that intensity, deep bonds can develop and you can be encouraged to become more truthful about who you really are. It can also make you do silly things though. That mix, at once so genuine and high on hormones, is difficult to capture without somehow making fun of it, but Wait manages it. There are legitimately funny moments in Havoc, which are just so out of left field that you can't help but laugh. Wait has a knack, I think, for characterisation that works itself out largely through showing. We get to know Ida through her actions and then, occasionally, when she reveals herself through speech, we get to reconsider what we know about her. I really enjoy getting to work at it in this way and there are major pay-offs to it throughout Havoc. I'm definitely going to look around for more by Wait!
Havoc is a great book, full of well-earned twists and turns, told in intriguing ways. It is a book about girlhood, about the pressures of family and the world, but also about the unhinged chaos of teenagehood.
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
June 24, 2025
Dark, mordant, sparkling 1980’s boarding school with a wonderful cast of misfits
Oh this was utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it, even though the ending was satisfying and excellent. Spat out back in 2025, forced to leave the company of Ida, Louise, Elinor, Doctor Halliwell, nuclear Armageddon obsessed Miss Christie and all I’m slumped and disconsolate.
Wait’s tale of a very substandard fee paying girls’ boarding school whose nearest geographical neighbour is Roedean (which St Anne’s is patently NOT) reminds the reader of several other, wonderfully written, equally quirky tales of fervid adolescence. Such as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, shades of Shirley Jackson, Oh Caledonia. This is mainly a school, where it seems, parents want to get rid of their annoying daughters, don’t care too much about standards, but do like the cachet of private education for their troublesome little angels or demons.
Ida, 16, living in a small island community off the coast of Scotland, with her depressed mother and cross, stroppy younger sister, is bullied and despised, through being tarred by her mothers’ shameful past. We will discover what this is, later. Ida, who is quiet, and generally eager to please, secretly applies to a whole raft of boarding schools for scholarships as far away as possible. St Anne’s accept her with more than open arms, and things are clearly far from conventional right from the start.
Ida is roomed with Louise, a girl with a history of some violence, desperate to be expelled – hence her increasingly antisocial behaviour.
Elinor is the geography teacher, who seems to be an archetypical spinster, disappointed and ashamed after a failed love affair. She too has been room paired with a bossier, stroppier person, the classics teacher Vera
A mysterious malady – or possibly several – strikes down one pupil after after another. Foul play of some kind, or at least some profound indication of unhygienic or environmental malpractice is suspected, bringing in investigations by the police, local medical officers, journalists, governors and parliamentarians.
Matters medical and investigative are handled by the one way correspondence of neurological consultant James Halliwell a caring, suffer fools not at all gladly, witty delight, desperately trying to get outside clarification and guidance from a former colleague.
Although the subject matter is often quite dark, the light touch – and wonderful WIT is a sheer delight. Though this is scattered throughout there are a couple of extended standouts, one, the Open Day and the performance of a complex dramatic piece, which doesn’t exactly go smoothly, and the other the minutes of a complex meeting between various administrative chiefs, trying to disentangle all matters medical
Though bereft to have finished this, highly recommend read, I have gratefully discovered Wait is NOT a debut novelist and there is a back catalogue to explore.
Oh this was utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it, even though the ending was satisfying and excellent. Spat out back in 2025, forced to leave the company of Ida, Louise, Elinor, Doctor Halliwell, nuclear Armageddon obsessed Miss Christie and all I’m slumped and disconsolate.
Wait’s tale of a very substandard fee paying girls’ boarding school whose nearest geographical neighbour is Roedean (which St Anne’s is patently NOT) reminds the reader of several other, wonderfully written, equally quirky tales of fervid adolescence. Such as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, shades of Shirley Jackson, Oh Caledonia. This is mainly a school, where it seems, parents want to get rid of their annoying daughters, don’t care too much about standards, but do like the cachet of private education for their troublesome little angels or demons.
Ida, 16, living in a small island community off the coast of Scotland, with her depressed mother and cross, stroppy younger sister, is bullied and despised, through being tarred by her mothers’ shameful past. We will discover what this is, later. Ida, who is quiet, and generally eager to please, secretly applies to a whole raft of boarding schools for scholarships as far away as possible. St Anne’s accept her with more than open arms, and things are clearly far from conventional right from the start.
Ida is roomed with Louise, a girl with a history of some violence, desperate to be expelled – hence her increasingly antisocial behaviour.
Elinor is the geography teacher, who seems to be an archetypical spinster, disappointed and ashamed after a failed love affair. She too has been room paired with a bossier, stroppier person, the classics teacher Vera
A mysterious malady – or possibly several – strikes down one pupil after after another. Foul play of some kind, or at least some profound indication of unhygienic or environmental malpractice is suspected, bringing in investigations by the police, local medical officers, journalists, governors and parliamentarians.
Matters medical and investigative are handled by the one way correspondence of neurological consultant James Halliwell a caring, suffer fools not at all gladly, witty delight, desperately trying to get outside clarification and guidance from a former colleague.
Although the subject matter is often quite dark, the light touch – and wonderful WIT is a sheer delight. Though this is scattered throughout there are a couple of extended standouts, one, the Open Day and the performance of a complex dramatic piece, which doesn’t exactly go smoothly, and the other the minutes of a complex meeting between various administrative chiefs, trying to disentangle all matters medical
Though bereft to have finished this, highly recommend read, I have gratefully discovered Wait is NOT a debut novelist and there is a back catalogue to explore.
July 23, 2025
1984. Desperate to get away from her tainted family, Ida Campbell manages to get herself a scholarship place at St Anne's, an obscure girls' boarding school high on cliffs overlooking the English Channel. Somewhat surprised when she actually turns up at the failing establishment, the eccentric, nuclear-war-obsessed Headmistress decides to place Ida in the only space available... with the infamous Louise Adler, whose prodigious reputation for mayhem and anarchy makes her a challenging prospect as a room mate.
Meanwhile, geography teacher Eleanor Alston is facing another tedious year teaching girls who have little thirst for learning. Haunted by her only love affair that went badly wrong, and mulling over a less than shining career that has died in the shabby halls of St Anne's, she sees little to look forward to. However, the arrival of a new male teacher, Matthew Langfield, soon gives her a distraction from her own problems. Setting tongues wagging amongst the girls, and female staff, Eleanor is certain there is something not quite right about the story he has told them about his past...
Set against a fabulously imagined, cliff-top girls' boarding school setting, which channels Malory Towers by way of a decidedly dark version of St Trinian's, Rebecca Wait hits her literary stride once again with the compelling Havoc.
Told in three strands, the story follows the equally bizarre perspectives of sixth-former Ida, from the pupil side; and teacher Eleanor, viewing events from the staff side; plus the letters of neurologist James Halliwell to a former colleague, which become more significant as the story progresses. Without giving too much away, Wait spins a mesmerising tale about Ida's quest to fit in at a place where she hopes to be free of her past; Elizabeth's search for purpose as she tries to get to the truth about enigmatic Matthew; and the piece de resistance of the whole novel, which concerns a strange malady that begins to afflict the pupils.
Hysteria is the name of the game, as the three strands twist sinuously around each other, and Wait fills them out with a delicious dark vein of humour that plays beautifully against the minutiae of school life, the odd-ball collection of staff members, and the cracking dynamic between Ida and Louise (what a pair, I loved them both, and the way their relationship developed). The mystery of the disturbing ailment provides a heavy-weight puzzle to be solved (and plenty of emotional heft too), with a minor strain in the thread about what Ida is running from.
Wait sports wonderfully with popular culture and political references appropriate to the era, particularly with the fear about nuclear war that nibbled at the public conscience in the mid 1980's (that 1984 Threads drama still haunts me), the Brighton bombings, and Louise's perturbing selection of reading material.
I knew I was going to love this one before I even opened the cover, and I was right. Absolutely fabulous from start to finish!
Meanwhile, geography teacher Eleanor Alston is facing another tedious year teaching girls who have little thirst for learning. Haunted by her only love affair that went badly wrong, and mulling over a less than shining career that has died in the shabby halls of St Anne's, she sees little to look forward to. However, the arrival of a new male teacher, Matthew Langfield, soon gives her a distraction from her own problems. Setting tongues wagging amongst the girls, and female staff, Eleanor is certain there is something not quite right about the story he has told them about his past...
Set against a fabulously imagined, cliff-top girls' boarding school setting, which channels Malory Towers by way of a decidedly dark version of St Trinian's, Rebecca Wait hits her literary stride once again with the compelling Havoc.
Told in three strands, the story follows the equally bizarre perspectives of sixth-former Ida, from the pupil side; and teacher Eleanor, viewing events from the staff side; plus the letters of neurologist James Halliwell to a former colleague, which become more significant as the story progresses. Without giving too much away, Wait spins a mesmerising tale about Ida's quest to fit in at a place where she hopes to be free of her past; Elizabeth's search for purpose as she tries to get to the truth about enigmatic Matthew; and the piece de resistance of the whole novel, which concerns a strange malady that begins to afflict the pupils.
Hysteria is the name of the game, as the three strands twist sinuously around each other, and Wait fills them out with a delicious dark vein of humour that plays beautifully against the minutiae of school life, the odd-ball collection of staff members, and the cracking dynamic between Ida and Louise (what a pair, I loved them both, and the way their relationship developed). The mystery of the disturbing ailment provides a heavy-weight puzzle to be solved (and plenty of emotional heft too), with a minor strain in the thread about what Ida is running from.
Wait sports wonderfully with popular culture and political references appropriate to the era, particularly with the fear about nuclear war that nibbled at the public conscience in the mid 1980's (that 1984 Threads drama still haunts me), the Brighton bombings, and Louise's perturbing selection of reading material.
I knew I was going to love this one before I even opened the cover, and I was right. Absolutely fabulous from start to finish!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Jan. 20, 2026
Rebecca Wait’s witty and dark new novel, “Cry Havoc: A Novel” is sharp, creative and uniquely fun. Set in the 1980s at a decrepit girls’ boarding school in England, “Havoc” is a mystery that had me laughing, crying and cheering.
Ida is sixteen years old and desperately wants to escape her manipulative, narcissistic mother, who doesn’t even bat an eye when Ida applies, and is accepted to, a relatively unknown boarding school in England. Even though her roommate, Louise, seems to be a budding sociopath destined to destroy the school and everyone in it, Ida is grateful to be away from home and finally finds herself settling in among most of her peers. Until the day a popular girl, Diana, collapses to the ground during class, her body seizing, leaving her in the hospital with an undiagnosed illness that the doctors can’t seem to figure out. Then, slowly, more members of the student body start acting strangely, with body parts uncontrollably twitching. There is talk of the girls being poisoned, which is almost confirmed when a new teacher is arrested, but it seems something else might be at play and it becomes imperative that the solution is uncovered before more girls fall ill, and the school falls once and for all into financial ruin.
“Havoc” has two protagonists; one being Ida, the new transfer student and the other Eleanor, the school’s geography teacher, and the chapters alternate between the two women so the mysterious illness can be examined from both sides. Is it poisoning? If so, by who and why? Are the students “faking” it? If so, why is Diana, the first student afflicted, so terribly sick? I loved hearing both perspectives, as medical professionals try and sort out the truth of it all.
Wait’s writing is clever and engaging. Her chapters flow smoothly and she crafts a delicious mystery that I couldn’t wait to uncover! She inputs twists and turns at just the right moments, disguising what’s really going on until the final chapters, engaging readers in a guessing game that provides utter delight and satisfaction when the truth is revealed.
I haven’t read any of Wait’s previous novels, but I love the dark, mysterious illness plotline of “Havoc” and the falling-down English boarding school setting added the perfect element, so I was intrigued from the start. Now that Wait has caught my interest, I will be keeping an eye on her future works and I hope they are as captivating and enthralling as “Cry Havoc: A Novel”.
Expected publication date: Jan. 20, 2026
Rebecca Wait’s witty and dark new novel, “Cry Havoc: A Novel” is sharp, creative and uniquely fun. Set in the 1980s at a decrepit girls’ boarding school in England, “Havoc” is a mystery that had me laughing, crying and cheering.
Ida is sixteen years old and desperately wants to escape her manipulative, narcissistic mother, who doesn’t even bat an eye when Ida applies, and is accepted to, a relatively unknown boarding school in England. Even though her roommate, Louise, seems to be a budding sociopath destined to destroy the school and everyone in it, Ida is grateful to be away from home and finally finds herself settling in among most of her peers. Until the day a popular girl, Diana, collapses to the ground during class, her body seizing, leaving her in the hospital with an undiagnosed illness that the doctors can’t seem to figure out. Then, slowly, more members of the student body start acting strangely, with body parts uncontrollably twitching. There is talk of the girls being poisoned, which is almost confirmed when a new teacher is arrested, but it seems something else might be at play and it becomes imperative that the solution is uncovered before more girls fall ill, and the school falls once and for all into financial ruin.
“Havoc” has two protagonists; one being Ida, the new transfer student and the other Eleanor, the school’s geography teacher, and the chapters alternate between the two women so the mysterious illness can be examined from both sides. Is it poisoning? If so, by who and why? Are the students “faking” it? If so, why is Diana, the first student afflicted, so terribly sick? I loved hearing both perspectives, as medical professionals try and sort out the truth of it all.
Wait’s writing is clever and engaging. Her chapters flow smoothly and she crafts a delicious mystery that I couldn’t wait to uncover! She inputs twists and turns at just the right moments, disguising what’s really going on until the final chapters, engaging readers in a guessing game that provides utter delight and satisfaction when the truth is revealed.
I haven’t read any of Wait’s previous novels, but I love the dark, mysterious illness plotline of “Havoc” and the falling-down English boarding school setting added the perfect element, so I was intrigued from the start. Now that Wait has caught my interest, I will be keeping an eye on her future works and I hope they are as captivating and enthralling as “Cry Havoc: A Novel”.
June 4, 2025
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.
I really enjoyed 'I'm Sorry You Feel That Way' by the author, so was excited to be able to read her new novel.
Set in a failing girl's boarding school, St Anne's, in the 1980's, with the threat of nuclear war in the background, we meet Ida who is trying to escape her family's poor reputation, following her mother's disgraceful behaviour. Ida manages to get accepted into St Anne's, and therefore can leave the tiny Scottish Island where she lives, in search of a fresh start.
Alongside Ida's point of view, we also have Eleanor's, who is a Geography teacher. Both view points are definitely needed. Especially as there are a load of side-quest stories happening simultaneously! Including Ida's relationship with her mother and sister, Ida's relationship with the notorious Louise (a pupil at the school), Eleanor's history with her ex-partner, the new teacher Matthew, the head-teacher's obsession with nuclear war, and whether the school will make it another year.
Then the biggest story, within all of these other stories and themes, is that some of the girls are going down with a mystery illness which is causing havoc within the school. We also get the viewpoints of two doctors involved in the case.
The book was enjoyable, and an easy read, that progressed really nicely. It was reminiscent of Rachel Joyce's style of story-telling, which I am a big fan of. Everything was wrapped up a bit too nicely in the end for my liking, and some of the side-quest stories were a bit unnecessary, hence the 4 star rating.
Otherwise, a really enjoyable, easy read. I especially loved Ida and Louise's relationship, and the imagery of the school was prominent.
I really enjoyed 'I'm Sorry You Feel That Way' by the author, so was excited to be able to read her new novel.
Set in a failing girl's boarding school, St Anne's, in the 1980's, with the threat of nuclear war in the background, we meet Ida who is trying to escape her family's poor reputation, following her mother's disgraceful behaviour. Ida manages to get accepted into St Anne's, and therefore can leave the tiny Scottish Island where she lives, in search of a fresh start.
Alongside Ida's point of view, we also have Eleanor's, who is a Geography teacher. Both view points are definitely needed. Especially as there are a load of side-quest stories happening simultaneously! Including Ida's relationship with her mother and sister, Ida's relationship with the notorious Louise (a pupil at the school), Eleanor's history with her ex-partner, the new teacher Matthew, the head-teacher's obsession with nuclear war, and whether the school will make it another year.
Then the biggest story, within all of these other stories and themes, is that some of the girls are going down with a mystery illness which is causing havoc within the school. We also get the viewpoints of two doctors involved in the case.
The book was enjoyable, and an easy read, that progressed really nicely. It was reminiscent of Rachel Joyce's style of story-telling, which I am a big fan of. Everything was wrapped up a bit too nicely in the end for my liking, and some of the side-quest stories were a bit unnecessary, hence the 4 star rating.
Otherwise, a really enjoyable, easy read. I especially loved Ida and Louise's relationship, and the imagery of the school was prominent.
October 14, 2025
I loved I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait, so I was intrigued to read her latest book, Havoc. And this story set in a 1980s run-down girls boarding school proved to be both intriguing and hugely funny.
Ida Campbell is a scholarship girl who joins the Sixth Form hoping to escape from a complicated family. Eleanor Alston is a geography teacher at the school, a somewhat sad figure still recovering from an ill-fated love affair. There’s a nuclear war obsessed head mistress, a newly arrived male teacher who catches Eleanor’s eye but is not being entirely truthful about his past - and a school full of some “interesting” teenage girls……
Then one pupil is struck with a mysterious illness, and as girl after girl starts displaying strange symptoms, the quest to understand why begins. Have they been poisoned - or is something else to blame?
Told from both Ida and Eleanor’s perspective, as well as through fax correspondence from the neurologist trying to get to the bottom of everything, it is an entertaining combination of boarding school shenanigans and the tension around the search for a diagnosis for the girls.
As someone who was at an all girls boarding school in the 1980s (and who really was was made to listen to the Radio 4 Today programme over breakfast to educate us on current affairs) this book certainly struck a chord with me! From an eclectic group of staff and teenage girls’ relationships when they are together 24/7 to 1980s cultural references, it all adds to a book that cleverly weaves the mystery with Eleanor and Ida’s interesting backstories - and yet has you laughing throughout. The result is a hugely entertaining read.
Ida Campbell is a scholarship girl who joins the Sixth Form hoping to escape from a complicated family. Eleanor Alston is a geography teacher at the school, a somewhat sad figure still recovering from an ill-fated love affair. There’s a nuclear war obsessed head mistress, a newly arrived male teacher who catches Eleanor’s eye but is not being entirely truthful about his past - and a school full of some “interesting” teenage girls……
Then one pupil is struck with a mysterious illness, and as girl after girl starts displaying strange symptoms, the quest to understand why begins. Have they been poisoned - or is something else to blame?
Told from both Ida and Eleanor’s perspective, as well as through fax correspondence from the neurologist trying to get to the bottom of everything, it is an entertaining combination of boarding school shenanigans and the tension around the search for a diagnosis for the girls.
As someone who was at an all girls boarding school in the 1980s (and who really was was made to listen to the Radio 4 Today programme over breakfast to educate us on current affairs) this book certainly struck a chord with me! From an eclectic group of staff and teenage girls’ relationships when they are together 24/7 to 1980s cultural references, it all adds to a book that cleverly weaves the mystery with Eleanor and Ida’s interesting backstories - and yet has you laughing throughout. The result is a hugely entertaining read.
December 5, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
I volunteered to read this book solely because I listened to a podcast called Hysterical that has a similar storyline (although the podcast describes true events). I was hoping this would be a fun read along the same lines, but I had a really hard time getting into this book.
Some parts just crawled, and I found it really difficult to remain interested. There’s a weird quirkiness about the school that we sadly never get to fully explore, and I feel like if this book had leaned more into the quirkiness and humor, it might be more interesting. I also felt that the idea to set it in the 1980s was strange, as the whole story just screams a 1940s-1960s time period instead. The POV changes between Ida and Eleanor really interfere with the flow of the book. Instead of staying interested in the various storylines, it is almost a disappointment when the POV changes and you are back in another stale section that isn’t needed.
The reveal of “the thing” regarding Ida and her mother is revealed so slowly and so in pieces that it is impossible to remain fully interested in it, and it’s never fully explained either. Also, the relationship between Louise and Ida is so strange and kind of shoehorned into the twitches and tics storyline and it seems like the writer forgot about their storyline together for a good portion of the book. And speaking of the twitches and tics storyline…where did that go?
One good thing – I would have absolutely killed to be in the audience for that play. It sounds absolutely amazing and insane.
I volunteered to read this book solely because I listened to a podcast called Hysterical that has a similar storyline (although the podcast describes true events). I was hoping this would be a fun read along the same lines, but I had a really hard time getting into this book.
Some parts just crawled, and I found it really difficult to remain interested. There’s a weird quirkiness about the school that we sadly never get to fully explore, and I feel like if this book had leaned more into the quirkiness and humor, it might be more interesting. I also felt that the idea to set it in the 1980s was strange, as the whole story just screams a 1940s-1960s time period instead. The POV changes between Ida and Eleanor really interfere with the flow of the book. Instead of staying interested in the various storylines, it is almost a disappointment when the POV changes and you are back in another stale section that isn’t needed.
The reveal of “the thing” regarding Ida and her mother is revealed so slowly and so in pieces that it is impossible to remain fully interested in it, and it’s never fully explained either. Also, the relationship between Louise and Ida is so strange and kind of shoehorned into the twitches and tics storyline and it seems like the writer forgot about their storyline together for a good portion of the book. And speaking of the twitches and tics storyline…where did that go?
One good thing – I would have absolutely killed to be in the audience for that play. It sounds absolutely amazing and insane.
November 17, 2025
Cry Havoc really caught my attention because I love stories set in the United Kingdom. I also liked that the story takes place in a boarding school, and that dry, peculiar humor that only the British have. But it wasn't a book that I loved completely.
The novel follows Ida, who arrives at a rather run-down boarding school, fleeing a family scandal. There she encounters a group of eccentric, chaotic, and somewhat unpredictable girls, and a new teacher who is clearly hiding something. Amid gossip, minor mischief, and increasingly strange situations, a portrait emerges of a place where strange things happen...
I didn´t feel like the book managed to sustain the intrigue it promised at the beginning. There were moments when I did enjoy the vibe of the boarding school, the chaotic scenes among teenagers, and that feeling of being in a world that is absurd but also very human. The story has pov-jumps that allow you to see what is happening from another perspective, but honestly, I found the beginning slow, and I feel that several ideas were not fully developed.
It's a book with a lot of personality and a setting that I love, but I didn't end up loving it. Ideal if you like weird, chaotic, and very British stories, although you might not expect a super neat execution. It was a 2.5 stars.
The novel follows Ida, who arrives at a rather run-down boarding school, fleeing a family scandal. There she encounters a group of eccentric, chaotic, and somewhat unpredictable girls, and a new teacher who is clearly hiding something. Amid gossip, minor mischief, and increasingly strange situations, a portrait emerges of a place where strange things happen...
I didn´t feel like the book managed to sustain the intrigue it promised at the beginning. There were moments when I did enjoy the vibe of the boarding school, the chaotic scenes among teenagers, and that feeling of being in a world that is absurd but also very human. The story has pov-jumps that allow you to see what is happening from another perspective, but honestly, I found the beginning slow, and I feel that several ideas were not fully developed.
It's a book with a lot of personality and a setting that I love, but I didn't end up loving it. Ideal if you like weird, chaotic, and very British stories, although you might not expect a super neat execution. It was a 2.5 stars.
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