From the publisher: “An American teenager joins an exclusive boarding school hidden deep in the Scottish countryside. New friendships blossom, but not everything is as it appears…
Page Whittaker has always been an outcast. And after the deadly incident that destroyed her single friendship at her old school, she needs a fresh start. When she receives a scholarship offer from Agathion College, an elite boarding school folded deep within the moors of Scotland, she doesn’t even consider turning it down.
Agathion is everything Page has ever wanted: a safe haven full of dusty books, steaming cups of tea and rigorous intellectual debate. For the first time in her life, Page has almost managed to make a close group of friends. Cyrus, Ren, Gideon, Lacey and Oak help her feel at home in Agathion’s halls—the only problem is, they’re all keeping secrets from her.
It seems Page’s perfect new school has dark roots—roots that stretch back to its crooked foundation, and an ancient clandestine society. Page quickly learns that not everyone at Agathion is who they say they are.
Least of all her new friends.”
For anyone liking their Dark Academia (very popular at the moment!), this is a book that should tick all the boxes. An outsider wanting to fit in, a strange isolated place of learning, odd academics, companions of different shades, sorcery, magic and ancient rituals. Not to mention stacks of revered books, mountains of food and copious cups of tea.
Really, though, it’s a story that’s about belonging – or a lack of it. Page desperately wants to find stability and safety in her life, after traumatic events earlier in her life (which are described and explained as the book progresses.) She is an outsider, with no friends, separated from her family and starting a new life in Agathion College. This does all sound rather unpleasant, although Lili makes Page a likeable enough character, albeit with a dark past, for which Page feels very guilty.
In terms of characterisation, generally they are what you expect – the good guys are good, the bad guys less good. It’s an enigmatic collection of misfits and reprobates, all locked away in an isolated school for students on their last chance (what could possibly go wrong?)
I soon realised that this is a book that has themes and ideas similar to that very-well known series, but given a contemporary makeover. This is something that is for more modern readers, perhaps. This is being marketed as a Young Adult novel, although I found it engaging enough for older readers like myself. Keeping with the times, there is an LBGTQ character, there is a trace of sex and same-sex relationships, but nothing too graphic, there is talk of periods and the sort of confusing feelings that teenagers experience, which should make the book relatable to many readers. It’s not off-putting, but it is partly what makes the book different. I was pleased that such details were not heralded as major issues but allowed to be gently nurtured as the plot progressed – we may finally be reaching a point where such details in novels are seen as just part of the general scheme of things, rather than something odd or unusual.
What surprised me most was the smatterings of Shakespeare quoted throughout and the emphasis on Ancient Roman and Greek philosophers and teachers at the beginning – Plato, Diogenes, Socrates are all mentioned. This raises the book up sharply into a novel that makes you think about wider issues – there’s a good dollop of philosophising debate which may make non-Classics readers want to know more, with lots of philosophical points to muse over there.
About halfway through there’s an intriguing twist, which rather turns the plot on its head. The book moves away from being about making friends and a gentle romantasy to something else more akin to a race against time and the resolution of ancient wrongs. The ending is good, although some throwaway comments at the end about what happens next seemed naïve and took the shine off a little for me.
Nevertheless, Unhallowed Halls is a good read in an increasingly crowded niche of the Fantasy genre, with lots of things regular Dark Academia readers will like (and perhaps expect!) and enough originality to make it stand out. I read it very quickly, as it quickly became an un-putdownable read.
© 2025 Mark Yon
Paperback | Titan Books
UNHALLOWED HALLS by Lili Wilkinson
February 2025 | 448 pages
ISBN: 978 1835 413 999
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Titan Books
