The Companion

4.3

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Author(s)

Katie Alender

Publisher

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

12+

Release Date

August 25, 2020

ISBN

978-0399545917

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The other orphans say Margot is lucky. Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family. Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night. And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate. But it wasn't luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was handpicked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha--and getting to know her handsome older brother--seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated, gothic house begins playing tricks on Margot’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons . . . and herself. Margot’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

The Companion

September 07, 2020 (Updated: September 09, 2020)

Overall rating

4.3

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Everyone thinks Margot is lucky. She's the sole survivor of a horrific car crash that killed her family. While at a group home, she keeps the other girls up by screaming all night. Then she's 'chosen' to be the companion of Agatha, a girl that lives at a remote estate. Only things aren't what they seem. Sure, Agatha is quiet and almost zombie-like and the house is very old and expensive. But something isn't quiet right. Maybe things aren't so lucky after all.

What worked: This is one creepy, psychological terror novel that has you guessing what might really be going on inside the huge estate. Also what is reality vs. dreams.

I really love Alender's novels. She has a talent for showing psychological horror that is scarier than usual horror stories. And THE COMPANION is just as creepy! There's Gothic aspects where spooky ancestral paintings could come right out of a horror movie.

Margot is an orphan who isn't sure why everyone insists she's so 'lucky'. When she first meets the Suttons, the couple that take her in, they seem almost too 'perfect'. But little by little Margot catches glimpses of a 'truth' that puts her nightmares to shame. I really liked how Margot tries to fit in and help Agatha and the Suttons. And when their son shows up, there's some chemistry between them. Margot almost accepts that maybe she might fit in or at least handle being a companion to Agatha, but things happen that have her question her own sanity.

Twists and turns throughout. Surprises that took me off-guard on what really might be going on around Margot and even Agatha.

Creepy, suspenseful tale where a so-called lucky survivor finds that reality might be more painful than her nightmares. Another winning novel by Katie Alender.

Good Points

1. Creepy, psychological terror

Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 889 reviews

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Claustrophobic, creepy and haunting

November 13, 2020

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5.0

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Margot is the survivor of a devastating accident in which her entire family drowns in their car. She is taken in by the family of a lawyer, a former colleague of her dad's who owes her father his life. They live on an enormous, isolated family estate. She is asked to be a companion to their daughter, Agatha, a vivacious 16-year-old girl who has inexplicably become catatonic. Laura, Agatha's mother has very strict codes of behavior in general and in how Margot relates to Agatha. The house is remote and completely cut off from the outside world, no cell service, no wi-fi and a long way from the nearest town. Margot starts to sense that things are not as they seem. The author is very skillful in creating an unsettling, foreboding and claustrophobic atmosphere. The reader is on edge throughout. The Companion feels like classic gothic horror, although it is set in the present day. It's a perfect haunting, creepy thriller and I read it in two days.