The way that Josephine eventually gained insight. I would not hesitate to recommend the audiobook format to those readers who enjoy this format. I listened to the book at my usual 1.25x speed which I found to be comfortable. I appreciated her ability to voice several characters and found her pacing to be excellent. I listened to the audiobook edition of the book which was narrated by Imogen Church who gives a very good performance. Additionally, the story felt a little long in parts and I found myself wanting to return to Josephine’s current storyline. As a result, I found the characters were not likeable – a must have for me in order to be fully invested in a book. The way they treated the staff and town’s residents was abhorrent, strongly suggestive of a pretentious upbringing likely fuelled by their time at the school. On a more critical note, while I found the antics of The Divines were at times humorous, there was also evidence that some of these girls could be unkind to the point of bullying. Where the book excels to me, however, is in observing Josephine’s personal insight into her true identity as the book progresses. I appreciated the insight Josephine gleamed from others when they spoke of how she was perceived while at school. As the memories surface, Josephine’s life begins to change: she begins having difficulties with her marriage, she can’t concentrate on her work and most importantly her self identity is challenged. The story is told from multiple timeframes – as a student, as a newlywed and the present. 
The invitation evokes a strong need, however, to reflect upon her time as a Divine. She hasn’t even spoken to any of her former classmates in fifteen years. Now married with a daughter of her own and living in California, Josephine is undecided on whether or not to attend. Josephine, now in her thirties, spent five years at the school and receives an invitation to the upcoming reunion of former students of the institution that was closed in disgrace with her graduating class.
The Divines were famous for their hair flipping, chain smoking and harassment of teachers.
John the Divines, an elite English boarding school. Happy Publication Day to The Divines by Ellie Eaton! This book is a powerful look at what happens when one woman reflects upon her time spent in an English boarding school as her twentieth reunion approaches.
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