The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring is a book that cannot be confined to a single genre. It takes place in 1978 at a boarding school in Argentina. The main characters are Mavi, a girl trying to run from her mother’s past by using her English skills to masquerade as a teacher, and Angel, a ghost from the 21st century. Mavi gets a job at the Varacco School because it is one of the few she could, but the school does interest her. Lots of local legends surround the school and its owner, Carmela Varacco. Most include the Others, ghosts that thrive off of the girls who attend the school. Angel is also a new resident of the school, and Angel doesn’t know these rules either, having only the supposed spirit guide, Charon, to help navigate the strange lore of the Varacco School.
First, you have to know that I read this thinking it would be an interesting historical fiction horror novel. That’s what Goodreads said, that’s what it appears to be. I was disappointed by this book overall. Way too much was going on at the same time here, and it was extremely hard to grasp who seemed to be the culprit of whatever current crime was being investigated at the school. It was all tied together, but by a weak plot. Don’t get me wrong, the beginning of this book had the makings to be great. Mavi was a decent character and Angel definitely made me curious. However, the ending completely ruined this for me.
I wouldn’t recommend this book, really to anyone. I’m not saying it was the worst book I’ve ever read, but I don’t think it was a good use of time to be reading this. Like I said before, this really has no genre it can be tied down to, and it was too confusing even for people with decent comprehension skills like myself.
Overall, I would give this book…
⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
The Fiction Feature 