I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I really enjoyed this story! It was on my shelf for a little while until I decided to read it, and then I was bummed out because I waited so long! To me it is a mix of The Help and Gossip Girl and so much more! I loved the mother/daughter story lines, the racial plot twists and the conflicts between class. This story has so many plot lines but they are pulled together beautifully in a very timely story. It is worth the hype!

A cute, lighthearted tale ..... nothing that’ll keep you up all night with, but definitely worth the read! - loved the Southern hook! Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity

I couldn’t really get into this book. It’s well written, but I just didn’t relate to the characters or story.

Such an important story! I thought Rush would be a gossip girl type story set in a sorority house in the south, but it's so much more than that! If you liked The Help, then definitely check this one out!

I have to admit- I loved Rush, which follows the lives of several women, both young and old, through the rush process of the Alpha Delta Beta house at Ole Miss's college campus. It is told through alternating points of view of several characters: Cali, the freshman at Ole Miss who does not come from a "legacy" background, or money, but who is sweet, and loved by many; Wilda, a former Alpha Delta Beta, and now mom of an Ole Miss freshman, who takes on a role on the Rush Advisory board, after being talked into it by the wealthy and status-hungry Lilith, the President of Alpha Delta Beta, whose daughter is rooming with Wilda's; and Miss Pearl, the beloved housekeeper of Alpha Delta Beta who is a "second mother" to the girls who reside there. Rush not only provides an interesting look at the Greek rush system, but also the relationships of the women in this story, and all-in-all, was a wonderful read. Thanks to Net Galley and St Martins Press who provided me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

lessons upon lessons. Who knew that a book would show so much. (I kid) This is a great read about Greek Life. This book draws you into each character. You find yourself laughing, crying and everything in between!

An inside look at southern sororities -- absolutely fascinating, particularly since it gives us several points of view, and emphasizes the stakes these different types of people have in maintaining the status quo. Very well written and an engaging story.

This book was very good. Great look at the pressures of sorority life, sometimes by alumni of the sorority. Also, it gives a look at racism, the effect it can have on our loved ones. This book is also about change, finding onself and standing up for what is right. I cannot say enough about Ms. Pearl. What a gem, she has the correct name. The character development was astounding and this was evident throughout the book. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not effect my opinion of this book nor my review.

At first glance, you might pick up <i>Rush</i> thinking it’s a light piece of fluff for summer reading at the beach. That was pretty much my initial expectation. And <i>Rush</i> is, in fact, an entertaining view of the lives of a few young women as they start their college careers on one of the biggest campuses in the American South – the University of Mississippi, aka Ole Miss, in Oxford, Mississippi.

The book is actually titled after an event that dominates the early chapters of Lisa Patton’s latest offering. The event, otherwise known as “rush”, is one that is steeped in tradition as hundreds and hundreds of young women participate in the process of meeting the sisters of various sororities to determine if they would be a good fit for each other. Along the way there is everything from the drama of mother-daughter dynamics and exorbitant amounts of money spent on dorm room décor to the test of values and beginnings of true friendships.

After each of the main characters, and a bit of their backstory, is introduced, Patton starts to reveal much deeper and thought-provoking themes. These include racism, elitism, family, and sisterhood, not to mention the issue of dedicated workers surviving on minimal wages and lack of health insurance.

At times, it was hard for me to believe this story is set in current times. Perhaps this was, in part, because there are strong elements of nostalgia and tradition. But as Patton describes in her personal notes at the end of <i>Rush</i>, this work was founded on many of her own experiences and observations of these issues in today’s world.

Underneath all that entertaining fluff, Patton has created a book of substance. She has not only created fictional characters with courage and strong voices committed to addressing these issues but also given her readers food for thought and perhaps inspiration to do so as well.


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you first to NetGalley for this book. I had been anxiously awaiting this title and it did not disappoint. I will say when I started to read Rush, I was very uncomfortable and it was slow going. I am always uncomfortable with overt disregard for any human but especially disregard based upon race. Every word I read just reminded me that this book was not set in the 1950"s but in 2016. I think that the part that made me most angry and uncomfortable is the fact that this is still happening in our country in this time. But after a few chapters it started clicking and I read the most of the book in one day.
This is the story of southern sororities. And set in one of the schools with the richest history of sorority and fraternity life. The best part to me of this story is what I see with my high schooler and his friends. Kids these days do not look at race the same as they have in previous generations. This generation is a more equal, non-biased group of people. If only one sorority or fraternity reads this and moves towards taking care of the people that take care of them then this has definitely been worth it. Thanks so much to Lisa Patton for writing about this timely topic in such a great way.

I was thrilled to receive Rush as an ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. I am a southern who was also in a sorority. We did not have houses at my university so I was interested in the behind the scenes look at house life. The author did a fantastic job making the reader feel like they were there. I enjoyed the very different 3 points of view in the book. She tackled big issues...race, wealth, class, mother/daughter relationships...and still made it entertaining. I loved every page and would recommend it to my friends.
The BEST part of the book was Lisa’s reason for writing. It gave the book heart and meaning and made it more than a novel. Thank you Lisa!

I'm not sure if it is because I have two high schoolers, and we've been thinking all about college lately, but once I picked up Rush, I could not put it down. I finished this riveting story in two quick days.

The whole behind the scenes story line of the rush process was intriguing, then when you throw in a rich (literally and figuratively) story line too, you have a winner. The story is much deeper than just the process, and tackles very relevant topics too.

I would highly recommend this to all of my friends.

Good read. A fascinating peek behind the curtain of sorority life on a major college campus in the South. The haves and the have nots are clearly represented along with old ways of thinking and how easy it is to maintain the status quo without realizing it.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy of this book. This was my first book from author Lisa Patton. I was expecting a fluffy story about sorority life in the south, I got so much more than that. Patton delivered a social commentary on the secrets of sorority life, the underpaid people who work to keep the houses running and the girls happy. Cooks, housemothers, and maintenance men that can’t afford healthcare yet take care of hundreds of girls who pay thousands of dollar a year in dues and buy special wardrobes just for Rush. It was compelling and thought-provoking and I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to reading another Lisa Patton book in the future.

I was hoping to really love this book because this is one of my favorite tropes right now. However, I couldn't find my footing and really get into it. I struggled with connecting and that makes me so sad. I am going to go back to it a bit later.

3.5 STARS

I had to keep reminding myself that this was set in 2016. There were times that I felt like I was back in the dark ages. I felt like Pearl was 100 years old, not 44 (same age as me), with the way she talked about her babies. Rush takes place in the South at Ole Miss and I realize there is racism everywhere but it seemed like we were back in the times of segregation. This is a book that not everyone is going to love. The talk of racism is not a topic that everyone can handle. Lisa Patton takes a topic that is not easy and turns it into a story that teaches lessons, opens eyes, and gives a history lesson all in one.

The story is told from many different perspectives. It is easy to follow and know who is telling their story. I loved hearing about the college life from different POVs. Each character had their own opinions and it was interesting to learn how they viewed college, rushing, their families, and the south. Cali and Ellie are my favorites. They took what could have been a horrible situation and changed their town, their families, and their college experiences.

Rush is a book that will empower our youth, open the reader's eyes to changes that must be made in the world, and tell a story that will stay with you.

To many readers, I'm sure a comparison to The Help would be a selling point. But to me, both The Help and Rush are reductive and regressive, fundamentally conservative in a way that makes me very uncomfortable (there's some strange both-sides-ism going on in Rush, in particular—I nearly DNFed the book after one particularly galling instance, but forced myself to keep going, which I dearly regret), and ultimately center around a narrative of white women somehow rescuing a nurturing black woman. It's time to subvert and move past these types of played out, old-fashioned Southern storylines. This was a very disappointing read.

I was quickly connected to the story of a sorority rush in Mississippi, centering on Ellie and Cali, and the staff of the house. Pearl is a housekeeper, but so much more as a confidante of the girls in the House, hoping to make a better life for herself. As the rush begins, interference by Lilith Whitmore, a mom of one of the pledges, unveils the racism that still exists. A good read, with a good storyline and appealing characters.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC of Rush. I recently heard about this book, and I'm glad I did. I loved this book. The characters were believable and well done. This was especially difficult, because the author had characters with different ages, backgrounds, etc, but pulled them all of with a believable manner that made you feel you knew them. Some of the sorority realities bugged me to no end, but I have no doubt this happens...and many times it's the parents that are causing the problems. (I sure hope the next generation stops this practice.) This story was funny, heartwarming and touched on so many levels: racism, marriage, parents, the entitled, and those who think they're stuck in their life patterns. Loved this book.

A fun read, well-written, displaced some of my sorority girl stereotypes/preconceptions, although perhaps a little heavy-handed in its conclusion.