Dark Companion

By: Marta Acosta

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

Orphaned at the age of six, Jane Williams has grown up in a series of foster homes, learning to survive in the shadows of life. Through hard work and determination, she manages to win a scholarship to the exclusive Birch Grove Academy. There, for the first time, Jane finds herself accepted by a group of friends. She even starts tutoring the headmistress’s gorgeous son, Lucien. Things seem too good to be true. They are.

The more she learns about Birch Grove’s recent past, the more Jane comes to suspect that there is something sinister going on. Why did the wife of a popular teacher kill herself? What happened to the former scholarship student, whose place Jane took? Why does Lucien’s brother, Jack, seem to dislike her so much?

As Jane begins to piece together the answers to the puzzle, she must find out why she was brought to Birch Grove - and what she would risk to stay there.

©2012 Marta Acosta (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

a true teen novel

Entertaining. Simple. Teen adventure. It was a good interlude between heavier longer novels. I liked it well enough.

A terrific reinvention of Jane Eyre for modern tim

What did you love best about Dark Companion?

Really interesting concept and well though out charaters.

What other book might you compare Dark Companion to and why?

It has hints of Jane Eyre but is it's own story

Have you listened to any of Kate Reading’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Kate is a new narrator for me but I really liked her work in this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were moments of laughter and tears, that is the sign of a great connection with the book.

Any additional comments?

Loved this book!! Really great story with such depth. Jane is a great character. I loved her strength and intelligence. She is kinda dumb about boys but I give her major props for getting herself out of a bad situation. She uses her brains and willpower to take her out of a very bad place.

Jane can be rather serious and is delightfully balanced with flighty Mary Violet and snarky Jack. Loved the whole dynamic! Such great humor and storytelling. I laughed out loud several times.

There was the usual teenage angst about boys and bad choices. Fortunately that passes rather quickly. It was annoying to see such a strong character be so self-doubting. But that is life, take someone out of the world they know and they are bound to try and change to fit into their new surroundings.

It was easy to pick up references to Jane Eyre but it isn’t a heavy retelling. Really nicely done. It also references many classic paranormal books. Each chapter start with a different quote the aptly fits.

There are still several unanswered questions at the end of the book. I really hope that this is a beginning to a series. I would definitely be into reading more.