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I'm going to admit right here that I decided to read Private because I was looking for more series like Pretty Little Liars. Weirdly, there aren't actually a ton of YA mystery/suspense books out there (or not as many as you might assume anyway). Because I was looking for a YA mystery, Private #1 was a bit disappointing. I'm sure the mystery part comes in later since it was definitely hinted at in this book, but no actual mystery shows up here in the first book. That is sort of unfortunate because it means that there isn't a lot to "hook" the reader in Private #1. I've seen a lot of reviews here on Goodreads that indicate disappointment in the series and numerous comments on those reviews saying "Wait! It gets better later!" That's all fine and good, but honestly, the fun should start right at the beginning.
The first book of the Private series, also called Private centers on Reed Brennan, a high school sophomore who is transferring to a swanky boarding school called Easton Academy. She hates her hometown and she hates her home, so boarding school is supposed to be a fresh start. At Easton, Reed eschews the company of her fellow sophomores and instead attempts to join the coolest clique in school. Noelle, Ariana, Kiran, and Taylor are all upperclassmen Billings Girls, meaning that they live in the best dorm on campus and rule the school. Reed also lusts after a senior boy named Thomas - though the Billings Girls seem to have an issue with this. If Reed is going to make it at Easton Academy she's going to have to study - and party - hard.
All in all,Private wasn't horrible, but at this point I definitely think the weakest link is Reed. Even though boarding schools don't interest me overly much (I think that once you've been to college, boarding school pretty much loses its appeal - it's basically college lite), I'd be down to read a book about a clique that asserts some sort of mysterious influence over a school. I just wish we had a more interesting character to be our guide at Easton Academy than Reed. Reed is at times a boring and irritating character. Reed has a rough homelife, which is fine/whatever, and it's useful because it creates a reason for her to want to be at boarding school as well as adding some necessary angst into her life (can you really have a book about teenagers without lots of angst?). Other facets of her personality and her motivations are a bit more murky. On the one hand, Reed is presented as "strong" - she talks back to a teacher in front of the entire class, she asserts herself with the other sophomores, and she ocassionally stands up to Thomas - but on the other hand, she is a complete doormat, especially with the Billings Girls. It wouldn't be so much of an issue, except for the fact that her behavior is presented as if it's supposed to be relatable and completely understandable and it really is not at all. Reed's need to be "in" with the popular crowd and to be with the cool senior is actually quite pathetic. If the book in any way acknowledged this I might be ok with reading about it, but it just doesn't. I guess a comparable character in YA would be Jenny from [a:Cecily von Ziegesar|12665|Cecily von Ziegesar|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1197412886p2/12665.jpg]'s series who also is a "normal" "poor" girl who's just striving to be a part of the popular crowd. Jenny works as a character because she really is quite young and naive (at first) and it's obvious to the reader why she thinks being in the cool clique is necessary. With Reed, it just doesn't make a lot of sense. As a reader I didn't really understand Reed's need to be one of the Billings Girls and why she would willingly endure their hazing and nasty treatment. I'm hoping that some of these characters are redeemed in further books, but it's not off to a promising start. At the very least, I hope something interesting actually happens, because that will go a long way in making me forget about the characters (ha). I gave Private 3 stars, but if we had half-ratings, I might have gone for a 2.5. Here's to hoping that the next book will be better or at least more interesting.
The first book of the Private series, also called Private centers on Reed Brennan, a high school sophomore who is transferring to a swanky boarding school called Easton Academy. She hates her hometown and she hates her home, so boarding school is supposed to be a fresh start. At Easton, Reed eschews the company of her fellow sophomores and instead attempts to join the coolest clique in school. Noelle, Ariana, Kiran, and Taylor are all upperclassmen Billings Girls, meaning that they live in the best dorm on campus and rule the school. Reed also lusts after a senior boy named Thomas - though the Billings Girls seem to have an issue with this. If Reed is going to make it at Easton Academy she's going to have to study - and party - hard.
All in all,Private wasn't horrible, but at this point I definitely think the weakest link is Reed. Even though boarding schools don't interest me overly much (I think that once you've been to college, boarding school pretty much loses its appeal - it's basically college lite), I'd be down to read a book about a clique that asserts some sort of mysterious influence over a school. I just wish we had a more interesting character to be our guide at Easton Academy than Reed. Reed is at times a boring and irritating character. Reed has a rough homelife, which is fine/whatever, and it's useful because it creates a reason for her to want to be at boarding school as well as adding some necessary angst into her life (can you really have a book about teenagers without lots of angst?). Other facets of her personality and her motivations are a bit more murky. On the one hand, Reed is presented as "strong" - she talks back to a teacher in front of the entire class, she asserts herself with the other sophomores, and she ocassionally stands up to Thomas - but on the other hand, she is a complete doormat, especially with the Billings Girls. It wouldn't be so much of an issue, except for the fact that her behavior is presented as if it's supposed to be relatable and completely understandable and it really is not at all. Reed's need to be "in" with the popular crowd and to be with the cool senior is actually quite pathetic. If the book in any way acknowledged this I might be ok with reading about it, but it just doesn't. I guess a comparable character in YA would be Jenny from [a:Cecily von Ziegesar|12665|Cecily von Ziegesar|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1197412886p2/12665.jpg]'s series who also is a "normal" "poor" girl who's just striving to be a part of the popular crowd. Jenny works as a character because she really is quite young and naive (at first) and it's obvious to the reader why she thinks being in the cool clique is necessary. With Reed, it just doesn't make a lot of sense. As a reader I didn't really understand Reed's need to be one of the Billings Girls and why she would willingly endure their hazing and nasty treatment. I'm hoping that some of these characters are redeemed in further books, but it's not off to a promising start. At the very least, I hope something interesting actually happens, because that will go a long way in making me forget about the characters (ha). I gave Private 3 stars, but if we had half-ratings, I might have gone for a 2.5. Here's to hoping that the next book will be better or at least more interesting.