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abby23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
“I want to be proud of this place, but I’m also afraid it’s all I’ll ever be.”
I loved this book because I don’t care about the plot. It captures the girlhood of girls’ school better than anything I’ve ever encountered, and it made me cry.
I loved this book because I don’t care about the plot. It captures the girlhood of girls’ school better than anything I’ve ever encountered, and it made me cry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Eating disorder, Racism, and Mental illness
serendipitysbooks's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All Girls is a novel set in a girls boarding school in Connecticut. The novel spans an academic year in which issues relating to a rape allegation by a former student against a staff member are always close to the surface.
I have something of a fascination with boarding schools so this novel ticked that box for me. The structure of the novel, where each section is tied to a major event on the school calendar, from Orientation and Initiation, through Fall Fest and Vespers, and ending with Senior Prank and Commencement, helped immerse me in the school world. Each section is told from the perspective of a different girl, which allows the author to explore the school experience of freshmen, seniors, and the years in between. This approach also allows the author to offer glimpses of many different aspects of school life - one girl runs, another plays hockey, one is on the school newspaper, some are popular, others outsiders - as well as touch on many issues faced by girls in their high school years. Plus of course the author can offer readers many different opinions of and reactions to the rape allegation. The downside of this approach - breadth vs depth if you will - is that readers don’t get to know any of the characters especially well nor see them change over the course of the school year.
I typically enjoy epistolary novels, and while this book isn’t one it does include an epistolary element at the end of each section - typically an email from the school administration relating to the rape allegations. I really enjoyed reading these since they cleverly highlighted the way the school was most concerned about its reputation and being seen to respond appropriately, rather than being honest, upfront, seriously examining its own culture, providing meaningful support, and actually taking all and any action to prevent any more sexual assaults.
While I enjoyed this book I was a little underwhelmed by the ending. The rape case wrapped up satisfactorily and the school year ended, but it is hard to say how much impact any of it had. The story seemed to peter out rather than leaving me with a big message or memorable scene. Possibly that was the point.
I have something of a fascination with boarding schools so this novel ticked that box for me. The structure of the novel, where each section is tied to a major event on the school calendar, from Orientation and Initiation, through Fall Fest and Vespers, and ending with Senior Prank and Commencement, helped immerse me in the school world. Each section is told from the perspective of a different girl, which allows the author to explore the school experience of freshmen, seniors, and the years in between. This approach also allows the author to offer glimpses of many different aspects of school life - one girl runs, another plays hockey, one is on the school newspaper, some are popular, others outsiders - as well as touch on many issues faced by girls in their high school years. Plus of course the author can offer readers many different opinions of and reactions to the rape allegation. The downside of this approach - breadth vs depth if you will - is that readers don’t get to know any of the characters especially well nor see them change over the course of the school year.
I typically enjoy epistolary novels, and while this book isn’t one it does include an epistolary element at the end of each section - typically an email from the school administration relating to the rape allegations. I really enjoyed reading these since they cleverly highlighted the way the school was most concerned about its reputation and being seen to respond appropriately, rather than being honest, upfront, seriously examining its own culture, providing meaningful support, and actually taking all and any action to prevent any more sexual assaults.
While I enjoyed this book I was a little underwhelmed by the ending. The rape case wrapped up satisfactorily and the school year ended, but it is hard to say how much impact any of it had. The story seemed to peter out rather than leaving me with a big message or memorable scene. Possibly that was the point.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
emilylandry's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Self harm and Eating disorder
sm_moon's review
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
hannamurman's review
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I like the concept of this book. But it wasn’t written the way I thought it would be. The main character in this book is the boarding school itself. Jumping from so many different girls’ perspective from different friend groups and grades, over the span of a year, it just got a bit boring at the end. All of the characters have similarities, they are all written in the same kind of way and soon you forget who’s who. And I guess I expected it to be more about sexual assault and victim blaming but that really wasn’t the focus of the book. The focus were these teenage girls at an all girls school where a scandal happened and how they looked at it and experienced it. That’s still really interesting and unique but just not what I was expecting. At the end of it all I was just kinda done and wanted the book to be over. I will however praise how well the author managed to portray the experience of teenage girls today, that was at times spot on!
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
jcrawford31's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
katiekat13's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
rishel's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
alylentz's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really liked the structure of this, and the way all of the different narrators kept you moving quickly through the book and gave a wider view of the school as an institution and how different people viewed it. The only downside of this is that it lacks a satisfying conclusion and seems to just end, because the institution will long outlive them and their effect on it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
emileereadsbooks's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thanks to Goodreads and St. Martins Press for this title I won in a giveaway.
This debut novel walks through a school year at an all girl's boarding school that starts off with a reminder of a sexual abuse scandal that happened there 25 years before. Each of the 9 chapters are perspectives from 9 different students at the school, and after the first few it felt like a lot of storylines to hold and keep track of. Not to mention all the characters and how they puzzle together. I felt like this book kept skimming the surface of something powerful and interesting, but then we would move to the next girl's POV and I was left wanting more of certain storylines.
This debut novel walks through a school year at an all girl's boarding school that starts off with a reminder of a sexual abuse scandal that happened there 25 years before. Each of the 9 chapters are perspectives from 9 different students at the school, and after the first few it felt like a lot of storylines to hold and keep track of. Not to mention all the characters and how they puzzle together. I felt like this book kept skimming the surface of something powerful and interesting, but then we would move to the next girl's POV and I was left wanting more of certain storylines.
This book also does something that is a bookish pet peeve of mine, it plays with time in a way that takes away from the plot. It would say for instance: in 30 years she would reflect and then she would understand why this impacted her so deeply. I feel like that is a cop out and a disservice to exploring the feelings of the character in the moment.
This book has been spoken of some as a mystery, and I would say if that's what you are coming to this book looking for, you will be disappointed. I think this book is a mystery in the way every book is a mystery, because you are waiting to find out where the plot goes. This should only be classified as a YA coming of age story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Mental illness