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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Boarding school is one of my favorite settings for a book - the isolation of a small group of students who are coming of age gives a writer and a reader a lot to unpack! All Girls was no exception - we follow a diverse group of nine girls through a year at Atwater, a prestigious school with an image problem. As the school reckons with a sexual abuse lawsuit, the girls reckon with their own romantic/sexual experiences and their time at Atwater.
I enjoyed having a window into the lives of these girls - Layden dedicates a chapter to each girl's point of view, and we see figures from other chapters pop up in the context of friendships and classes. Each girl's circumstances are different but their struggles with identity fit together well. My only critique of the structure is that I wanted more from each girl - having each story at only one point in the year didn't let me know how they processed those experiences and grew from them. Other than that, I really enjoyed the novel - the writing felt real, and I could see my teenage self at Atwater being friends with these girls. The discussions of consent, power, and feminism sprinkled within the pages add depth to the book, making it more "literary fiction" than just a "boarding school drama".
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed having a window into the lives of these girls - Layden dedicates a chapter to each girl's point of view, and we see figures from other chapters pop up in the context of friendships and classes. Each girl's circumstances are different but their struggles with identity fit together well. My only critique of the structure is that I wanted more from each girl - having each story at only one point in the year didn't let me know how they processed those experiences and grew from them. Other than that, I really enjoyed the novel - the writing felt real, and I could see my teenage self at Atwater being friends with these girls. The discussions of consent, power, and feminism sprinkled within the pages add depth to the book, making it more "literary fiction" than just a "boarding school drama".
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
first read 2022
the venn diagram mia described had a third circle, overlapping the other two; a culture that takes and takes and takes from girls, all the while refusing to recognise them as whole people.
second read 2025
she never quite outran the desire at the core of the ask - someone to have a private world with, someone to tell our secrets to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship
Definitely a character sketch with a focus on how all girls may be in the same situation (boarding school, for instance), but each girl is so unique in her struggles, passions, and understandings of the world. I listened to this one over the course of a month, so I did feel some disconnect with characters as their stories got somewhat confused.
What a liked: the depth. The subtle nuances that resonated with each character really helped pin point their differences and passions. The writing was great.
What a liked: the depth. The subtle nuances that resonated with each character really helped pin point their differences and passions. The writing was great.
I think I might just be too old to enjoy this. For the first few chapters, I thought I was going to love it. However, there were too many POVs and I got confused and bored.
This was not what I was expecting. But, what an amazing read. I loved each girls POV ( although does get a little confusing if you’re not careful ). Each POV is like a mini story with a main plot running through the book. Each girl skims the surface of what life is like at a boarding school, their fears, dreams and their reactions to a rape allegation made by a former student years before. The girls are ambitious, driven and switched on to all around them. Emily Layden wrote 17/18 years olds brilliantly and believable. Would definitely recommend.
2.5 really. It was difficult to keep track of all the girls and figure out who the protagonist was/what the point of the book was
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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, Rape
emotional
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve always been a sucker for a book set in a boarding school. From Malory Towers to Hogwarts, something about these far removed fantasy worlds always resonated. When I ended up briefly attending boarding school myself it definitely did not live up to my expectations. But I still keep coming back to boarding school stories (see also: books set in Ivy League universities though alas I don’t think Harvard would want me). Atwater from the outset isn’t perfect, as the new students driving into campus find out from the posters plastered everywhere proclaiming that one of the staff is a rapist. But school goes on and life goes on and we watch the students deal with the repercussions of these accusations while also getting on with life at an elite boarding school. The story jumps between different students and I really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing things from a different girls perspective every chapter. I can see why some people might not like this though, as you don’t have much time to get to know each individual.
(Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review)
(Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review)