Thank you so much to NetGalley for my ARC of Campusland. I have very rarely done what I am doing with this book - not finishing. For me personally I just can't make myself pick it up to read. I understand the satire of the book and the commentary on the youth of America and the overall craziness that is going on in the world. There just weren't any likable characters for me to connect with or even unlikeable ones for me to see what was going to happen. I really hate to do this. I know that this author has spent so much time and effort to write a book and then someone like me says they can't finish. I apologize to the author now for any hard feelings.

When I started reading Campusland I really didn’t know where this story was going. We have a treasure trove of widely varied characters. From the rich, privileged Lulu Harris, to the small town professor,Eph, who has gone big time in taking a professorship at Devon University. Devon University is an elite level university that prides itself in its progressive, inclusive students and policies. For Eph, this academic school year quickly becomes pained by a litany of trumped up accusations that leave him fighting for his job survival. This story is both funny and infuriating. A genuine pleasure to read.

American literature professor Eph Russell feels more at home at Devon University, an elite Northeastern institution, than he ever did in his native Alabama. However, he’s about to find out that, while you can take the man out of Alabama, you can’t take Alabama out of the man. Other major characters include first-year student Lulu Harris, who is more interested in enlarging her social media following than in earning a degree, and progressive activist “Red” Wheeler, a professional student whose trust fund income ensures he can postpone graduation indefinitely. The action takes place over the course of one academic year.

This novel satirizes many of the current hot topics in academia. There’s something in the book to offend almost any reader, whether it be someone on the liberal/progressive side of the spectrum whose favorite causes are satirized or someone on the religious right who may be turned off by the often coarse language and sexual content. Readers from both sides of the spectrum who are willing to set aside their biases, as well as everyone in between, will find an entertaining novel that reflects the current zeitgeist.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I tried to read the entirety of this book. I generally adore books set at in a school-setting, whether that is college, high school or boarding school. I find them to be nostalgic for me at this point. Campusland was meant to be satire about the degree to which college (especially elite universities) are considering themselves "safe spaces" for free speech and winds up just being ill-informed propaganda. This book is basically tone-deaf to the social injustices that our young people are trying to sort out. Its one thing to actually be funny in dealing with these topics, it is another thing entirely when you miss this mark and are just mean-spirited and hateful. I would guess that most young people would be uncomfortable reading this book aloud to their peers. I honestly feel sorry for the copy editor that had to read this multiple times.
#Campusland #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

This just wasn't for me. I thought the premise was funny, there really is a lot of humor in the bureaucracy of academia. But there wasn't enough storyline and there was too much boomer whinging about not being able to say anything these days without offending someone.

2.5 STARS!!

This book wasn't for me, however, in all honesty I rather give it 3 stars for the authors work, and will encourage anyone else to give this read a try. We all have different likes and dislikes, so I leave it to other fans to judge for themselves.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Satire, about college campus and a lot of current issues. Funny, or maybe sad, because they are a little too true. Entertaining read, but don't read it if you just sent your first kid out the door to higher education.

Such a sharp, humorous view of today's elite collegiate world especially in light of the current admissions scandals.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

This book made me laugh out loud and was so cleverly written. It perfectly skewers the ridiculous PC world that dominates everything today, plus the stereotypes of the various religions, frat boys, party girls etc that we have all seen at university. Brilliant!

Ephraim Russell has been living the dream as an English professor at Devon University, teaching nineteenth-century literature to the privileged youth of New England’s wealthier families. He’s on the fast track to tenure, his popularity quotient on Rate My Professor is off the charts, and he has almost completely subdued the insecure little boy that he was back in Ashley, Alabama. The first indication Eph had that this year would not be like the previous ones was when one of his freshman – no, first year – students objected to his teaching Mark Twain, because there were inappropriate words in the story. Diversity committees met, campus organizers staged a disturbance during his class, and though Eph had no idea how it came about, first year student Lulu Harris tried to kiss him during office hours.

This was not one of my favorites. It could be that the university where I earned my teaching credential was too much like this one, and that was one of the most miserable years of my life. I didn’t find the book particularly funny; in fact, I found it to be kind of sad, for Eph and the administration and for the students.

First and foremost, I want to say kudos to Scott Johnston for writing a witty and funny satire about how overly sensitive kids have become in today's society. (Warning - if you are one of them, you will not like my review, so politely move on.)

I am a proud graduate of the University of Tennessee. Am I Ivy League? No. Can I run circles around many who are attending Ivy Leagues schools today? You bet your damn ass I can. Why? Because I learned how to wipe my own ass and not complain about the type of toilet paper I have to use or ask my butler how to do it. Much unlike the entitled brats this book highlights. I learned how to work hard for money and not expect a huge payday because I posted some dumb duck face photo on a social media site.

The storyline and writing in this book is really 4 stars. I gave it 3 stars because of how much I wanted to pull my hair out over the topics addressed. We have "triggers" now for classes so they can be "safe" environments? You have got to be kidding me. Don't become an English major if your skin is too sensitive to read Huck Finn or The Great Gatsby. Just like you don't walk into a bar if you are too offended to see a person drink alcohol. Do they need a "trigger warning" outside the bar? Warning - you may or may not see alcohol consumed, enter at your own risk. Now, you may read that and say, "Lindsey, don't you think you are being overly dramatic?" Well, yes I am. And that is exactly the overly inflated point Johnston is making in this book. Instead of focusing on what could be a world class education, these kids are jumping from social issue to issue depending on what floats their boat in the moment. Not truly putting any serious creed behind trying to make a change or even making a valid point. Gandhi said, "Be the change you would like to see in the world". Instead of being the change, kids are trying to see how big of a change they can make in the number of followers on their social media accounts (as if that means anything).

The scary point this book raises is how easy it is for someone to cry wolf and potentially ruin a person's career, all for their own gain in socialite class ranking. It's sick and takes away from those who have truly been assaulted. Yet, we all know this is happening and no one has the courage to come out and say it. Johnston sure did!! Now I get this is a work of fiction. However, everything Johnston is making fun of is very evident in the younger generations and in society today.

Did I laugh while reading this book? Absolutely. Is it witty and funny? Absolutely. Does it poke fun at our current political environment? You bet. Should you read this book if you are easily offended, have thin skin or believe everything needs to be "politically correct"? No way.

My thanks to Scott Johnston, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a close look at what it’s like to work as a professor at an elite college during today’s tumultuous times. I myself graduated from college 17 years ago so my memories of the experience are not the same as what it’s like now, apparently. This book was an eye-opening look at how social media and the various special interests that exist today can make teaching at, and even simply just attending, college much more complicated than it used to be.

The book is definitely satire, and I thought it was funny at times. But mainly it was just disturbing. I’m very glad my college days are behind me. I’d recommend this book for anyone who loves to read about college life, and who enjoys satire.

*thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for this honest review*

I loved this book! I have no idea how it got published in today's political climate, but I appreciate the author's authenticy in presenting the extremes to which our society (specifically our college campuses) have gone in the quest for racial and gender equality. Equality is important, and should be fought for. But in our social media-driven society, where most people have cameras on their iPhones and everyone is looking for their fifteen minutes of fame, the fight for equality can easily become a selfish pursuit. In Campusland, the author paints a vivid picture of the fictional Devon University, from the various campus interest groups who spend most of the book competing with one another for a piece of the action (and money), to the University President, who just wants everyone to like him. Devon could easily be any Ivy League university. I especially loved the protagonist, Ephraim, the hapless professor from Alabama who yearned to break free of his conservative southern roots, only to discover that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. This book held my attention, made me laugh-out-loud, and I even cheered when Ephraim finally finds his voice. Highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Often witty, sometimes hilarious and always thought provoking, Campusland is well worth reading. While said to be a satire, much of what occurs in the novel is totally believable. Set on the campus of an Ivy League college and with a cast of memorable characters, happenings come together to create the perfect storm. Perfectly paced and insightful, Campusland is a must read book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What’s not to love? Well-written, collegiate satire, with even paced frolics through a fictional(albeit realistic at times) university, with complicated and interesting characters, solid research, and excellent tension. Highly recommend

FYI, this book is the product of an ARC from Netgalley.

I'm struggling with writing this review. On the one hand, "Campusland" is a satire that pokes fun, tongue-in-cheek, of the various stakeholders in a university and the ways in which modern media depicts them, or is manipulated by them. The book follows spoiled rich girl Lulu Harris' efforts to draw attention to herself on campus, and how her efforts collide with those of various campus identity groups (women's groups, Diversity groups, etc.) Some of the characters are quite funny and some are very easy to imagine. (The frat boys in particular.)

On the other hand, "Campusland" is a satire of a college life written by someone who has very little experience of it. Yes, Scott Johnston is apparently an adjunct, but I honestly am struggling with the inaccuracies within this book. There's a complete lack of awareness of what the tenure process actually is (if there's such a system as is listed as here, I've never seen it, and I'm tenured), At one point, a professor is hired as an adjunct but there's no mention of the distinction between full-time and adjunct--the author uses the term only as a comparison between a permanent job at an elite school vs. a less long-range promise at a local school. In addition, the interaction with the students, while intended to be a satire of left-leaning student politics, just falls heinously flat. Satire has to be based on a reality to make a joke, and for anybody who has spent significant time in an actual campus, what's being parodied here appears to be just a conservative fantasy of college life, not jokes about the actual nature of college life. No,wild-eyed ladies are not parading around calling themselves "womyn," people are not roaming about making up gender terms for themselves (FYI, they're actually established terms, not crazy fantasies of the day), students are not barging into classrooms to set up professors, Title IX officers are not blatantly ignoring all evidence that contradicts their assumptions about an incident, and so forth. None of these things are in any way a regular feature of college life.

All in all, the book made some interesting points and was amusing at times, but I was just very frustrated about the lack of connection between the satire and the reality of college life.

This book just wasn't for me - I appreciate the chance to read and review it but sadly I never could get into it.

Campusland is way over the top satirical. It's witty and funny but so over the top, so in your face constant with the satire, that I'd had enough pretty early in the book and this is with me agreeing with a lot of the messages that the author seemed to be conveying. Despite being over the top and too much for me, some of the fictional characters base their actions on real life happenings. The politics in the book are true to life but there's just so much of it, with no relief in sight.

This book has gotten a lot of four and five stars so I suggest checking out some of those reviews before deciding not to read the book. My college years were many decades ago so I couldn't relate to much in the book. I did like the much maligned characters of Eph and is girlfriend, but they were about the only likeable characters for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Although, this wasnt a great fit for me, and not my typical read, I found myself enjoying it and really had a good chuckle In a few spots. Enjoyed the writing style.