A review by katherineeweaver
Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier, Wendy Katzman

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a neighborhood drama about the college admissions process at a small private school. Chapters focus on three parents: Alicia, CEO of a tech company, Kelly, a nosy helicopter mom, and Maren, Alicia’s assistant with little else to her name but her daughter. All the moms want their daughters to get in ED to Stanford but there is only a spot for one student at the private school. There is money, gossip, and betrayal as these moms will go to any extreme to get their daughters admission, even if it involves a car accident.
I did see it coming that Bryan, Alicia’s husband, hit Winnie with the car, but I did not see Maren using a burner phone to craft a text. It was kind of disappointing that none of the girls got into Stanford and they basically lied about Winnie’s admission to get Alicia to own up. Winnie goes to Cal Berkeley, Kelly’s daughter enrolls in Tulane after a summer of wilderness therapy, and Brooke Stone forgoes colleges and writes a NYT bestseller telling all about her family drama whole her mom is in jail.
Fans of Big Little Lies or Little Fires Everywhere would enjoy. I could already see Nicole Kidman as Alicia and Reese as Maren. 
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