The Magpie Society: One For Sorrow ~ Zoe Sugg & Amy McCulloch

One For Sorrow is the first instalment in the new YA gothic thriller series The Magpie Society written by Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch (Alward). This book follows the life and students at the ominous Illumen Hall, a stereotypical English boarding school. Full of deep heritage and a mysterious secret society.

Last term the school was rocked by the devastating death of another pupil. Lola was found dead on the beach below the cliffs. Did she fall? Jump? Or is this something far more sinister? Still reeling in the events of the previous term, students of Illumen Hall try to continue school life as normal as possible. That is until a new podcast is released picking apart the police investigation, ending the fatal first episode with ‘I know who killed Lola’…

Written in two perspectives we gain an insight into both Ivy and Audrey. Ivy, written by Zoe, has been at Illumen Hall since Year 7 and is loved by everyone. Audrey, written by Amy, has only just arrived at the school after moving from Georgia, America. The two girls end up sharing a room and find it hard to put their differences aside. 

I read this book very quickly in two sittings which didn’t shock me as this is definitely in my preferred genres to read. The plot flowed rather nicely and I was eager to know what was going to happen next. Having read their previous works, One For Sorrow feels like a much more mature read.  Although I guessed a few of the plot points along the way the overall twist did keep me guessing and turning page after page.

I’ve read quite a few reviews that have absolutely slated this book which I think is somewhat unjust. I honestly believe some just don’t like it because it is written by someone like ‘Zoella’. I guess you can’t please everyone but I do not think that this book if half as bad as some reviews have made out.

I think it is fascinating that the majority of this book was written in lockdown with neither girls being able to see each other during the writing process other than on zoom. If you didn’t know that the girls had solely written their perspectives, you’d think they would have written is completely together due to it blending so seamlessly. 

The ending left me with many an unanswered question but definitely in a good way. There is still so much to learn about ‘The Magpie Society’ and I am looking forward to the second instalment Two For Joy which is due to be released in 2021. One For Sorrow gets a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star rating from me.

M🌸