Blurb:

We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms.

The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege.

It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly.

But Marta didn’t push her then, or – if you choose to believe me – at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened.

I’ve told this story as clearly as I could – as rationally as I’ve been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don’t regret what we did. And I would do it all again.

Review:

When I was little, I wanted to go to boarding school. I think if I’d have been able to read The Four I’d have changed my mind! Ellie Keel does a wonderful job of creating a really toxic atmosphere which makes The Four incredibly compelling. There are so many secrets and lies and I couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of them.

The titular “four” are Rose, Marta, Lloyd and Sam. They have joined High Realms for Sixth Form as scholarship students, and this immediately casts them as outsiders. The narrator of the whole novel is Rose, and whilst I did want to believe her version of events, it struck me that being young and naive, she may not be completely reliable. All four of the central characters have well constructed back stories and it was interesting to see how these influenced the way they behaved as events unfolded in this story. There are also a number of supporting characters, including teachers and fellow students. I didn’t find any of them particularly likeable, but this absolutely did not matter: they too are very well constructed and I often felt a visceral reaction to the way they behaved.

High Realms School is clearly a prestigious institution and the buildings in which the characters live and study are absolutely beautiful. Ellie Keel doesn’t give the reader long paragraphs of description, but she does describe the setting very well within the narrative. These descriptions made it very easy to picture the surroundings and drew me into the environment straight away.

The Four is extremely well plotted and the story is full of twists and turns. It’s actually very dark and Ellie Keel does not shy away from some very difficult and uncomfortable themes. This means the novel is quite difficult to read in places, but I was totally engaged the whole way through.

Ellie Keel is a very talented author and The Four is a very accomplished debut. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

The Four is available from Amazon.