The Fountain Book Review
The Fountain by Suzy Vadori, is a book new to the scene. In this Young Adult novel Ava Marshall moves across the country to attend her parents’ boarding high school, St Augustus. After losing her mother at an early age she feels the need to be closer to her. Her father is furiously against her attending. However, her desire to be on a better swim team eventually wins him over.
Once she’s there she meets Courtney, a girl bent on destroying her chances of making it onto the team, discovers a strange alumni past and woods forbidden to students. Courtney’s family seems to be intertwined with her own. Their parents all went to school together.
One day as Ava is walking through the woods, she comes across a wishing fountain. Ava wishes that St. Augustus had never heard of Courtney or her family.
When her wish comes true, there’s a lot of questions about how Courtney’s family attending St Augustus has had such a large effect on Ava’s life. There does not seem to be a linear reasoning for these changes.
At the beginning of the novel Ava’s father is an engineer, but after her wish he never attended college.There’s a strange teacher, Mrs. Kirk, that seems to know more about the mystical events. She meets Ethan, another alumni kid, and together they try to piece together parts of the past. It even turns out that Ethan’s dad and Ava’s mom have a unique history.
Apart from the main mystery of the book Ava is also brought into a new world. She had grown up with a boyfriend, Lucas, that she had been inseparable with since childhood. They are extremely close and being away from him for the first time is hard. Ava also starts to develop feelings for Ethan who she instantly feels a connection to. She also is named swim team captain, a role originally meant for Courtney. She’s not used to being in such a prominent position. She’s has to deal with new teachers and starting a new school.
Her aunt and grandmother also live close to campus she starts to develop a closer relationship with both of them. She even finds out some interesting events in her grandmothers past. She meets her roommate Julie, a popular but nice cheerleader. Rhoda, a girl reportedly run out of school by Courtney, who now is happily living down the hall. Ava has to face the choice of whether or not to bring Courtney back. Overall The Fountain is a teen fantasy probably best for 12-14 years old. It uses a fantasy setting that differs from other novels in the genre. Check it out today.
