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beckyremillard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Racism, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
I have to agree with the statement in the article from near the end but I think the obsession with Ivy League admissions is partly the students and partly the parents. It's gotten WAY out of control. I mean an Ivy League diploma depending on what you plan to do means almost nothing, and if you're not rich and don't get enough finical aid you're saddled with more debt when you could have gotten the same quality of education at certain state schools without all the debt. We need to stop this nonsense.
Overall a good book!
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Toxic friendship, Classism, Grief, Sexism, Infidelity, Cursing, Racism, and Gun violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship
phantastic's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
No one is absolutely good, no one is absolutely evil, and people are always hiding parts of themselves from others. The characters are deeply flawed, and yet that’s what makes them realistic.
The Ivies does its job well, and I’ll certainly be left reflecting for a long time.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Cursing, Classism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Incest, Gun violence, Rape, Eating disorder, Outing, and Homophobia
onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Where this fell apart for me was the ending; both the motivation of the killer, and the way the reveal was set up, just didn't make sense to me.
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Infidelity
myleesimm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Eating disorder, Racism, Homophobia, Outing, Murder, and Gun violence
sniggy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
1. the writing
it felt kind of forced to like connect with modern audiences. there were some weird words and phrases .
2. the plot
just like what!!???!??!? the plot was interesting to say the least. there were loads of things that were left unexplained. the things that were explained were just not explained well at all.
3. the love interest
what was happening with Ethan, i have no idea. like he was helping Olivia figure things out and then suddenly he was into Harvard and had been test taking for Emma's scam business. didn't like his character at all.
4. predictability
many of the subplots were predictable for me. like there was no surprise aspect at all.
5. the murderer
the motive was terrible. like did not make sense at all why that happened. mc was saying throughout the book that it's always the boyfriend and guess what? IT WAS THE BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!
6. Olivia
Olivia's character was bland. it was giving pick me energy. saying things like 'i will never fit in' 'i will never be one of them' i'm not like them' like just shut up!!!
7.the names
the first thing i look at in a book is names. the names in this book were so basic. eg: Olivia, Avery, Sierra, Ethan, Paul, Emma, Tyler.
8. NOTHING HAPPENED!
also nothing happened. in most murder mysteries there are so many twists and turns but i felt like nothing really was happening. usually in books like these, there is so much information that you forget but not in this. all the 'MC almost getting killed' part was also bland and felt forced.
9. tropes
plus, all the basic murder mystery tropes were there.
10. just a me thing
covid-19 was mentioned in this. like its not a bad thing but it was kind of just glossed over. i think i just don't like it when authors put real life events into books.
apart from all that negativity i think the story was really fun and interesting and an out of the box idea.
Graphic: Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Outing, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Classism, Gun violence, Outing, and Sexual assault
isabella_ramensky's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
I am a little younger than the girls in this book and go to school in America so I related to them on a lot of levels. College stuff and whatnot.
A lot of the plot twists were predictable but not in a bad way, in a everything fits together way. And figuring it out was fun.
I thought some of the slang fell a bit flat. Considering the author is older than her characters it makes sense though. mostly I laughed and cringed a tad when something felt off. only happened a few times though.
SPOILERS BELOW:
On that note though, I got while reading that he mentioned Emma being strangled and it was a little infuriating watching Olivia not notice. I feel like she did that a lot which makes sense as a character thing I guess but still.
Also I ended up loving Avery (which I didn’t expect) even though her getting away unscathed and going to Princeton annoyed me so much.
I was pretty disappointed in what happened with Ethan. I mean I guess that was the point but I really liked how he and Olivia worked together. I mean he was a little cringy and the Harry Potter line was weird considering the age of the characters. Nobody talks about it super much.
I wasn’t super satisfied with Tyler’s motives and confession either. Not sure why, but something was missing. <spoiler end>
Also, I liked Olivia and the detective’s conversations.
Overall I really liked this book.
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Racism, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Gun violence, Outing, Incest, and Eating disorder
cepbreed's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Songs:
- Bang Bang Bang Bang - Sohodolls
- Are You Satisfied? - Marina and the Diamonds
- Teacher’s Pet - Melanie Martinez
- Boarding School - Lana Del Rey (unreleased)
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Incest
rexreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Bullying
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse
Minor: Gun violence
thesaltiestlibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A lot of thoughts are swirling around my head, and I'm not even sure where to start. Let's break it down. So you have this private school, Claflin, in Massachusetts. Sounds swanky, right? It's also cutthroat. Only a few students every year are admitted into Ivy League schools.
You know what, no, I'm going off. I can't stand it. I grew up poor and didn't even think I'd ever have the chance to go to college. But I did, because I worked my ass off in full-time online courses for two years WHILE I took care of my grandmother so my parents could work. Those online grades got me scholarships to the campus I eventually attended, and yes, I think it's good for people to study what they're passionate about. But we need to stop pushing the "college is the only option" narrative on teenagers. It's unrealistic with the way things are run right now. Education is becoming a privilege, which is absolutely not what it actually is. I can teach myself the same physics for free at the library that someone shells out $100,000 for at a college that equates in the long run to buying brand-name toothpaste: no one cares in the real world, it holds no actual sway, and is swindling you out of money you can spend on the same damn thing somewhere else.
This book didn't deliver on the narrative that it could have. We got rich people problems running amok, terrible people being terrible, and no real discourse on how education elitism is poisoning the post-secondary tracts that should ultimately be free or HIGHLY reduced in-state. The whole motive in this book was so ludicrous that I very nearly stopped reading at the 89% mark. Private school is a sham, Ivy Leagues mean nothing, and standardized testing only measures your ability to take a test and memorize crap.
The writing was fine, I couldn't have cared less about any of the characters, and the narrator was no more innocent or lovable than the nearest Fannie Mae CEO. Nothing about these people was redeemable. No one tried to redeem themselves in any capacity. The only reason I'm not more pissy is that this actually had structure and plot that held me. Olivia's whole "we're not the same, sis" attitude got old FAST, and I can't believe she was surprised at her friends' horrible actions.
The reason I AM pissy is the lack of indictment on college scandal and the price of education. If Donne had just taken that extra step, THE IVIES would have been absolutely scathing. But we got a run-of-the-mill YA mystery that actually left me feeling that Donne approves of the current state of affairs. If you're looking for the next Holly Jackson, this ain't it. If you're looking for societal commentary, it's not here. This book is a reflection of Ivy Leagues: promises a whole bunch and delivers only disappointment and a time commitment you can't get back.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Drug use, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Incest and Homophobia