You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
An alright enough American YA thriller, though to a non-American, non-elite education-type person, utterly baffling at times. Think Mean Girls updated a full of the scions of the super rich thinking about getting into college whether they deserve to or not. Plus murder, of course.
I liked that while Olivia wasn't from the same world as the other rich bitch girls, she still proved that being rich and being a bitch don't have to come together. Everyone is hyper-aware of their horribleness, but who cares when Harvard/Yale ECT beckon and only take the most ruthless of them all? I also liked that there's a romance element, but it's just a bit of a side thing. The ending epilogue segment, post-murderer reveal, did feel a tiny bit overlong.
One for fans of teenage airhead (intelligence does not equal wisdom here at all) thrillers with a very post-COVID, modern-tech-infused tone.
I liked that while Olivia wasn't from the same world as the other rich bitch girls, she still proved that being rich and being a bitch don't have to come together. Everyone is hyper-aware of their horribleness, but who cares when Harvard/Yale ECT beckon and only take the most ruthless of them all? I also liked that there's a romance element, but it's just a bit of a side thing
Spoiler
and doesn't have an "I forgive your betrayal because I love you!!1!" HEA; girl can and does make it on her ownOne for fans of teenage airhead (intelligence does not equal wisdom here at all) thrillers with a very post-COVID, modern-tech-infused tone.
I was able to read this ebook through NetGalley!
The Ivies by Alexa Donne is a fast-paced mystery set at a boarding school... does that sound familiar? I know that there are lots of books similar to this (People Like Us by Dana Mele, STAGS by MA Bennet, or the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson), but the central idea is: what will people do to get accepted to an Ivy League college? Definitely different.. and relevant, considering the 2019 Varsity Blues scandal. You do have to suspend some disbelief, and there are a few trite storylines (inappropriate relationships, adults only being present when it's helpful, many terrible humans all in one place), but I think it was better than People Like Us and One of Us is Lying.. but not quite as fun as Truly Devious.
The Ivies by Alexa Donne is a fast-paced mystery set at a boarding school... does that sound familiar? I know that there are lots of books similar to this (People Like Us by Dana Mele, STAGS by MA Bennet, or the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson), but the central idea is: what will people do to get accepted to an Ivy League college? Definitely different.. and relevant, considering the 2019 Varsity Blues scandal. You do have to suspend some disbelief, and there are a few trite storylines (inappropriate relationships, adults only being present when it's helpful, many terrible humans all in one place), but I think it was better than People Like Us and One of Us is Lying.. but not quite as fun as Truly Devious.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
It had me hooked until the NYE party. Then it all went downhill. That ending was horrible.
This book will make you think that maybe you’re the killer.
The Ivies is a wonderful mix of Do Revenge, Mean Girls, and The Plastics.
Definitely recommend to fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder as long as you’re okay that she doesn’t end up with the love interest. Ethan broke my heart and I was so mad at him you would’ve thought he betrayed me personally.
Now, watch me send my ED applications to Harvard and solve a murder all while I distrust my entire friend group like a girl boss.
The Ivies is a wonderful mix of Do Revenge, Mean Girls, and The Plastics.
Definitely recommend to fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder as long as you’re okay that she doesn’t end up with the love interest. Ethan broke my heart and I was so mad at him you would’ve thought he betrayed me personally.
Now, watch me send my ED applications to Harvard and solve a murder all while I distrust my entire friend group like a girl boss.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an entertaining and fast-paced YA thriller set in the hallowed halls of a fictional and bougie Massachusetts boarding school. Alexa Donne's prose is clean and succinct, but this novel was also full of common tropes about high school students. The Ivies of the title refers to both the Ivy League but also the name of the popular girls clique at the fictional Clafin Academy. The novel's narrator is the typical "fish out of water" Olivia Winters, who is the lone scholarship student in the Ivies' clique. That said, Olivia also has her fair share of bad deeds, and I think the novel tries to paint her as nicer and more sympathetic than she is; I found her downright irritating and impulsive at times. Donne definitely wrote a novel that's on trend, and I think she captures well just how ruthless high school girls can be.
For those who liked this book, I also highly recommend Jessica Goodman's high school thrillers/mysteries They Wish They Were Us and They'll Never Catch Us! Ironically, Goodman and I were classmates at Penn.
3.5 stars
For those who liked this book, I also highly recommend Jessica Goodman's high school thrillers/mysteries They Wish They Were Us and They'll Never Catch Us! Ironically, Goodman and I were classmates at Penn.
3.5 stars
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes