Slow building story with a punch. Author uses an interesting technique of hinting at what's coming while letting the story play out. Sometimes that can be obnoxious, but I thought it worked well in this case. It amped up the tension and kept me turning pages to an ending that made me go "wow."

S.T.A.G.S. is a fast-paced YA thriller where students are invited to the popular clique's weekend away. Little do they know, the weekend theme of huntin, shootin, and fishin is actually referring to the outcasts they invited. The story is filled with suspense and well-developed characters. If you're looking for an excited new YA mystery, this is the one for you!

TL;DR – There was way too much clumsy foreshadowing. The plot wasn’t as exciting as it initially sounded. Characters were just…meh. Pass.

I had pretty high hopes for this book. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I have a strangely specific passion for books about unique boarding schools. This book also sounded like it had some Hunger Games elements to it so I was all in. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the writing was up to par the entire time and the plot was a little weak.

The way the book is written, Greer is essentially narrating the events to the reader. She drops a lot of “hints” throughout the book as to what is actually happening. But instead of creating suspense, as maybe the author hoped, it destroys it and becomes more than a little annoying. There is a time and a place to use foreshadowing effectively, but it was just too heavy-handed in this book–not at all subtle and definitely overkill. Greer keeps referencing how the weekend ends and she makes it seem like a really big deal. By the time we actually get to that point, I was a little let down. It almost didn’t seem like as big a deal as Greer had made it out to be throughout the book.

Like I said earlier, the plot was intriguing to me going in, but once I was actually in the book, it started to make less sense. I understand how the entire plot comes together in the end, but it still seems a little bit of a stretch–just not very believable. I’m not saying that every plot has to be super believable, but in this case, a believable plot would have made the book seem a lot more interesting. I don’t want to get too much into it because of spoilers, but I feel like this same plot could have been done in a much more intriguing and clever way.

The characters themselves were just okay. I don’t really feel like any of them were fully fleshed-out, not even Greer. That made it hard to really care for any of them. It didn’t really matter to me if they made it out alive or not. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if Greer hadn’t been the object of a certain character’s affections. The author made it seem like he might like someone else at the beginning and I think following through with that would have been a lot more unexpected and interesting. And wouldn’t have had a huge impact on the story line.

Overall, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book. There were so many parts of it that just dragged. I was really hoping this book would be so much better than it was.

Overall Rating: 2
Language: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: None

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

M.A. Bennett’s debut YA coming of age thriller is set against the background of a prestigious religious boarding school-St. Aiden the Great aka S.T.A.G.S. Heavily character driven, the driving force of this story is Greer McDonald. Greer, a Manchester girl with a snarky attitude and a public school education, decides on a lark to apply at a very prestigious school rather them be forced to stay with an aunt while her father is away on an extended business trip. Surprisingly, she is accepted and begins her journey only to discover that there are those who don’t want her there and will do anything to get her to leave.

S.T.A.G.S. is interesting enough to hold your attention without bringing much to the table. Think of Heathers meets Lord of the Flies meets Gossip Girl. A rather straightforward 80s horror style plotline that offers little in anticipation as it’s fairly easy to figure out the intent from the beginning. Bennett pretty much kills the suspense with the first line of the book. A fair majority of the story’s appeal has to do with the heroine. Told exclusively from her own point of view, Greer’s inner monologue and sarcastic exchanges with those around her amuses the as the reader follows her on her adventure as she deals with classism, the dangers of an overly technological society, and her own prejudices.

The premise behind S.T.A.G.S. is nothing new. The old war of the classes between the scholarship, minority, and the nouveau riche students (referred to as savages) whom the elites (referred to as Medievals) feel don’t belong at their posh private school and who are singled out and broken either in spirit or body. Or both. Centuries-old traditions inbred into the education of spoiled rich kids whose boredom with life creates a vacuum of sorts where each generation attempts to excel beyond those that came before them.

The story starts out slow and unremarkable as Bennet sets the stage with an in-depth analysis of the school, its faculty and the students. Greer is a chatty girl who tends to go off on tangents when it comes to the mundane while staying remarkably reserved on what I deemed important. Bennett keeps the story flowing on an even keel while indiscriminately flashing us with bits of the outrageous and ridiculousness.

“The servers, likely women from the village, are referred to as dinner bags.”

An invite to a weekend of ‘huntin, fishin, and shootin’ from Greer’s crush (and tormentor) is where the real story begins. Like every 80s/90s horror movie, everyone must have shouted out DON’T GO when reading this scene. We know what is going to happen and Bennett makes sure we know as Greer channels a 19th century English Lit teacher and begins to describe her feelings and the trip. Plenty of purple prose and atmospheric descriptors paints a dramatic picture as she and her two fellow outcasts, Chanel and Shafeen, travel to Longcross Hall, home of the very wealthy de Warlencourt family.

As the story progresses, the pace picks up considerably as does the acts of violence but none of the drama we were promised. Our villain offers Greer an explanation for his actions and while you can certainly understand pieces of it (I refer to the overabundance of technology that commands our lives) the main takeaway is that the rich do as they please because they can. The predictability of the motivations and subsequent results is disappointing. While Greer holds her own against the Medievals despite some of her more oh so teenage moments it’s not because Greer is exceptionally brilliant or crafty, but more because Bennett has written it this way. The ending leaves us with more questions than answers and the feeling there may be a sequel to come.

Overall, S.T.A.G.S. isn’t bad, it’s just not the dramatic and suspenseful thriller you are promised.

GRADE: C-

I'm not British and I've never been to private school. That being said, I had to go through a lot of "What does this mean in my American school system" before I fully managed to immerse myself in this story. And, it was a really good story. The whole "we're hunting humans" angle has been done in a wide variety of media, but I liked how Bennett created a sort of desperate aristocratic mania surrounding change and used that as the baseline for the story. The three main characters, Greer, Nel, and Shafeen are outliers at STAGS and become targets for an old tradition that essentially boils down to "rich people suck".

The thing about STAGS is that it's a good book. The characters are fun, the action is enjoyable, and the atmosphere is wonderfully dark, but the whole underlying issue, that of unchecked privilege, seemed to complex by the end of the book. It was like Bennett developed and teased this great issue, placing critique and criticism on it, but closed out with "just be more inclusive guys even though they'll never go away unless we stop them. Which we didn't." The ending of STAGS seemed to undercut all the build up before it and that what was upsetting to me. There was so many great things in this book, but it just ended up being tainted because of how the novel closed out which prevented me from giving this a full five stars. But, if your looking for a good twisty ride about England's upper class and all their issues, I'd pick this up in a heartbeat.

Contains spoilers.

STAGS was a fun, young adult mystery/suspense with plenty of promise yet a lackluster delivery. I loved the premise of the story: young Greer is granted a scholarship to a posh boarding school for the privileged, only to discover that the most popular aristocratic students are really preying on those in the student body they deem as lesser humans. When Greer and a few other students are invited on a weekend getaway to one of the popular student's estates, Greer and her friends slowly begin to realize that they are in mortal danger and have to figure out a way to survive the weekend. Along the way, Greer and her friends discover decades-old secrets that have had far-reaching effects on everyone who has ever attended the boarding school.

The book wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I would probably sum the whole thing up in one word: meh. I never felt like the story took off until the last 1/4 or so and it seemed to take way too long to finally get to that point. There seemed to be too many details and unnecessary elements in the story which ended up bogging things down and contributing to an unsatisfactory ending.

Most of the characters were pretty two- dimensional and the ones that were more fleshed out were difficult to relate to, including Greer. The ending has left things open to a continuing series which I would consider reading, if only to see whether or not the author can explain things more sufficiently.

S.T.A.G.S. By M. A. Bennett is a very unique and thrilling Young Adult book. Greer MacDonald along with another girl and a boy are invited to a weekend of huntin' shootin' fishin' with the school elite. Nothing is what it seems, which kept me reading until the end. There is some animal issues that bothered me, but I recommend this book for all who love a good thriller.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

'STAGS' was a very enjoyable YA mystery/thriller. Although I know almost nothing about the boarding school experience, with STAGS I was transported into the privileged world of St. Adain the Great. Greer is lucky to be accepted to STAGS, a school for the children of extremely wealthy parents who are paying for their children to live in this idyllic setting and receive a world-class education. However, Greer soon realizes that she doesn't fit in among the privileged students at STAGS. Desperate to make friends, she accepts an invitation for a weekend of 'huntin', shootin', and fishin'. It becomes clear that there is something sinister going on, and with some new friends, Greer is determined to get to the bottom of it.

There were a few questions that I had early on in the book, but happily these were resolved by the end and I didn't feel like there were any loose ends left hanging. I did find the constant references to films a little annoying; maybe film buffs (I am not) would enjoy these but it didn't add anything to my enjoyment or understanding of the book.

Overall a solid YA mystery/thriller that I would be very happy to purchase for our school library.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was nice and the story flows really well, however it is not perfect. The ending gives me chills and it’s definitely an open-ending one, so I really need to know what would happen next!

3.5 Stars

M. A. Bennett’s S.T.A.G.S is a flawed, interesting psychological thriller

S.T.A.G.S., by M. A. Bennett, Delacorte Press, Jan. 30, 2018, Hardcover, $18.99 (young adult)

If you’re in the mood for a young adult psychological thriller featuring the socially elite, then S.T.A.G.S. might be a good option.

Greer MacDonald was happy at her old school, but when the opportunity to attend St. Aidan the Great School, aka STAGS, came up, it was a no brainer. The prestigious school hearkens back to the Middle Ages and caters to some of the greatest bloodlines in Europe.

Greer is excited to make a go of STAGS, but from the beginning she’s treated as an outsider. At a school where tradition is valued above all else, a scholarship student sticks out like a sore thumb.

Greer quickly finds herself at the mercy of the Medievals — the teenagers who seemingly rule the school. Though they mostly act like Greer is invisible, she’s not immune to their mockery as well.

With all their supposed hatred, Greer can’t help but be surprised when the Medievals send her an invitation to an exclusive weekend retreat at the private family estate of their unofficial leader, Henry de Warlencourt.

Greer should never have accepted the invitation. She should have seen who the Medievals were from the beginning. But she never could have guessed how far these supposed bastions of society were willing to take their little game of “huntin’ shootin’ fishin’.”

Reading S.T.A.G.S. is like watching a train wreck: You know nothing good can come of what’s happening, and yet you can’t look away, either.

It’s a little hard to imagine why Greer wants to be accepted by the Medievals. She’s openly disgusted by their behavior, and yet she’s still intrigued. The opulence and wasteful way in which the teens take advantage of it is distasteful from the start. I had a hard time feeling anything but contempt for them from the beginning.

Greer comes across as a smart but incredibly naïve young woman who finds her voice in just the nick of time. The two teens who join her at the retreat are equally flawed but likeable enough.

Though some elements of S.T.A.G.S. are completely predictable, author M.A. Bennett still manages to provide enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.

So here's the thing; S.T.A.G.S by M.A. Bennett is a good book, not a great one.  While it is a quick and uncomplicated read, it did hold my interest for the entirety of the story.  My issue with it was that is was oh so very predictable.  There was absolutely nothing about the plot that I didn't see coming.  Nothing surprised me in the story at all.  In fact, as I completed the book all I felt was vindication because I pretty much predicted everything that happened right until the final page.

None of the characters are truly likable, or unlikable for that matter.  Not even the so-called 'medievals'.  I, for the life of me cannot understand the overwhelming need of everyone in the story to conform to the status quo.  I don't understand the point of caring about the opinion of someone who means nothing to you.  My lack of understanding doesn't even come from my no longer being a teenager either, because I had this mindset when I was one.  So I don't get why Greer and company would all of a sudden accept invitations to a weekend away with people who have essentially humiliated them and done everything they could to make their lives miserable.  I just don't get it and I don't think I ever will.

Strangely enough there were some very good philosophical arguments on why the medievals believed what they believe.  The arguments were well made and well thought out.  It's such a shame that I think those reasons were simply being used as a justification to be a bunch of a**holes more than anything.  It was more of 'let's find a justification for our behaviour' so it seems that we have a legitimate reason for doing what we do.  Rather than this is my philosophy, so let's have it shape my behaviour.  Because let's face it, the whole weekend away has been going on for a long time; much longer than the issues that Henry was so against.

If you are looking for looking for a quick read that will hold your attention, then S.T.A.G.S by M.A. Bennett is one you should give a try.  Just keep in mind that your probably not going to have any 'aha' moments while reading it.

It's hard for everyone to live through the youth years isn't it? A great read about wanting to fit in with the pricks you don't like.

I usually enjoy boarding school/secret society type books especially if I think (or know) someone is going to die. A ride along with kids hoping to measure up to the kids who rule the school. We all just want to fit in and be accepted by those who convince us they are better. Lots of excitement and suspense.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. Even though the narrator, Greer, lets the reader know right from the beginning that a murder occurs because she has to endure some terrible things, the story manages to unfold with quite a bit of excitement, uncertainty, and suspense. We know that the group of "Medievals" who invite Greer and the others to their palatial estate for the weekend are not going to treat them well. We know that Harry is going to turn out to be a villain and perhaps meet a bad end. But knowing all of that did not hurt my enjoyment of the story at all.
Greer was a great character. She was self-deprecating, funny, and easy to identify with. When she made stupid decisions she would even say to the reader, "I know it sounds dumb--I don't know what I was thinking!"
The story has an ominous, foreboding feel and I had a hard time putting the book down. As Greer and the other chosen few Chanel and Shafeen "hunt" with the fabulously rich and privileged, the plot became more intriguing.
I also enjoyed all of Greer's film references. Although the author did a great job with the setting and descriptions, adding in a comparison to various films helped cement the scene in my mind.
I did feel as though the last bit was a little too easy. I did not understand why Greer, Shafeen, and Chanel did not immediately call the police, when they had a phone as well as irrefutable video evidence of what really occurred. I also felt like when they finally told an adult, they were a little too trusting considering they has just experienced how truly pervasive the "hunting cult" proved to be. And I saw the ending coming as soon as the new transfer student started talking to Greer.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but the denouement and epilogue could have been done a little bit better in my opinion. Overall, though, this was good book.

I could not really get into this book. The is not drawing me and getting tired of reading it. Guess the book is not meant for me. Sorry

Greer is excited to receive a scholarship to attend the prestigious boarding school, STAGS. However, throughout the first semester she is ignored. Until, the hot popular rich, Henry invites her and several others to enjoy shootin', huntin' and fishin' at his estate. Once there, Greer begins noticing that the popular crowd is acting strange. She is desperate to be accepted, but who knows if she is the hunter or the hunted.

I loved this novel. It was completely compelling. The ending was a bit clunky and strange. However, that is forgivable because the rest of the novel was stellar. The characters were interesting and well-developed. I would even be interested in a sequel.

I tried reading this book but sadly I wasn't feeling this book. I found it interesting with the kids being rich and I knew that people were going to die. Sadly I had to DNF this book .

S.T.A.G.S is a Young Adult psychological thriller. Greer MacDonald is a scholarship student at a very elite private school. She mostly keeps to herself until she is invited to a weekend away with the Medievals, the most popular clique in school. The theme of the weekend is Huntin, Shootin, Fishin. Greer soon realizes that it is not animals they will be Huntin, Shootin and Fishin but her and the other outcasts from school. This was a quick read and I mostly enjoyed it but I would have liked a little more suspense for a psychological thriller.

Greer is attending STAGS through a scholarship. Her father produces wildlife films and her mother left when she was a young girl. STAGS is filled with rich entitled kids who follow the rules set by a group of 6 kids known to everyone as the Medievals. Feeling like an outcast Greer jumps at the opportunity to attend a weekend with the Medievals, hoping that she will make friends with the elite trend setters.

Unfortunately the weekend is not all that it seems...the Medievals are hiding a deadly secret and it seems its been going on for generations. Can they stop them from continuing their deadly games or is it much bigger than any of them even imagine?

This debut YA psychological thriller is sure to entertain readers well beyond its YA target audience. Peer pressure is a difficult thing and the Medievals do it with finesse, from turning their noses up at technology, and the air of secrecy surrounding them they make everyone want to be them. Well developed characters and lots of plot twists and turns keep you engaged. The ending was superb.

A very thrilling concept that was poorly executed. The characters were all very flat and the mystery/suspense was muddled. The antagonists were bad because they were bored rich kids. The protagonist was a scholarship student who related EVERYTHING to movie references (this got really old since it didn't bring anything to the story).

As soon as I find out there’s a book about boarding school to read, I’m there. I’m just a little bit spurred on by the fact I went to boarding school myself at the age of 11 (encouraged by reading books by Enid Blyton, in fact), and so I’ll eat up any book on the subject. Harry Potter was quite a thing, after all.
S.T.A.G.S. is far from being Hogwarts, however.
The main character, Greer, is at a prestigious private school (St. Aidan The Great School, which doesn’t in real life exist), on scholarship, among many wealthy kids from aristocracy. She feels out of place and is both somehow reluctant and desperate to fit in.
She gets invited on a fancy ‘hunting, shooting, fishing’ weekend by the top group of kids at the school, known as the Medievals, and led by the dashing but snobbish and rather repugnant Henry de Warlencourt.
Greer is both blown away by the lifestyle of these wealthy young elites, who are used to being tended on by servants, and somehow as if they are grooming her to be one of them, along with two other ‘Savages’ like her. The whole weekend is filled with fine foods, and the activities of Old, (the hunt, shooting pheasant, and fishing), and connection to the outside world is abandoned. The three of these invited students suddenly seem like the hunted and the weekend turns very sour.
While the story was exciting to read in general, I have good things to say about this book and few misgivings. The premise of these three invitees being trapped with these Medievals, these kids who are sometimes so nauseating (and I’ve met some of them in my past) is spot on, and becomes frightening. The hunt and the shoot can be hard to stomach (I am dead set against these antiquated ‘sports of Old) and can’t stand the glee taken by the wealthy in thinking that these pasttimes that connect them to the past should be glorified. But I really relished how the author depicted life in the stately home, and loved how Bennett also wrote about Greer’s connection to
her father through watching old movies together (especially since I’m a film buff).
The ending was pretty clever and wound tightly in a neat bow, and overall this is a entertaining read. I think especially so for American readers, since this is highly ‘British’ in its approach and plot.
While this is already out in the UK, thank you for the early release from NetGalley for the book here in the US.