The mystery takes place at Atwater Academy, a girls' boarding school in Connecticut. In 1995 when an 18-yr old senior had sex with her accomplished art instructor, she was expelled and he kept his job. Some 25 years later, the injustice is being publicized all over campus by a mysteriously well-connected, tech savvy prankster.

Author Emily Layden introduces us to a cross section of the student body, but apropos of the title too numerous for me to keep track of: Lauren the anxious OCD freshman from upstate NY and her beautiful roommate Bryce, wholesome frizzy-haired junior Abby and her tattooist roommate Bella, Asian swimmers Celeste and Josie, innocent Chloe and her socially confident roommate Brie, dancers Sloane and Blake who have nothing to do with each other, Mia the artsy crusading newsletter devotee and Louisa her anti-social editor, multi-racial beauty Olivia who is funny and charming and dating Emma from the swimteam, self-important Addison, anxious Macy, athletic Kyla, Anjali, Tia, Jade... There is a focus on some of the students which held my interest, as did the modern day debate over imbalance of power in staff-student relationships.

All Girls tells the story of the girls attending Atwater, a private all-girls boarding school in Connecticut, during the school year of 2015-2016. As the girls approach Atwater for the first day of school, they pass by signs on the side of the road attesting that a rapist is employed at the school though the rapist's identity is not revealed. Each chapter focuses on an event from the year and is told from one of the students' perspectives. For example, move-in day is viewed through Lauren Triplett's eyes, a freshman moving into Atwater for the first time, while prom is told by Emma, a queer senior student. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the students whose perspectives were shared, but found it difficult to connect with the students over the course of the book. While characters we had met before would be mentioned in passing, we never got to peek into their heads again. Thus, it was hard to follow a character's trajectory and see any meaningful development.

Additionally, I liked how each chapter ended with an email or some form of alternate communication (a memo, for example) that allowed us to see what was going on at Atwater from an administrative view. There was some momentum, however, that was lost by the end of the book, because while the book begins with the questions of who is the victim and who is the assaulter, that information is shared well before the end of the book, and the end kind of slowly petered out.

Overall, I wouldn't say that this book is a "must-read." It wasn't bad, either, and overall was an okay read. If you enjoy an ensemble cast and the opportunity to fleetingly be in a character's body, then you will like this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my free ARC of this book.

I think this book is more of a 3.5-3.75 but it is very impressive read for a debut novel. One of the best parts of this novel is the writing in general. Layden provides many a poignant moment in this novel, whether it be in dialogue, in inner monologue, or (and this is my favorite) in between the lines, in the quiet moments where words are left unsaid. She does a great world of building this boarding school world and pulling the reader into it. While you were able to picture each classroom, dorm apartment, and pathway on campus in detail, my favorite bits of world building was the traditions and hierarchy of the institution itself. Whether we follow a freshman or senior, we are often learning the ins and outs of Atwater through the experience of each scene. What's so great about this is that the reader almost feels as though they've been granted access to the secret club, the exclusive group that is Atwater. We are privy to information most young girls exempt from the private school world wish to know. The one drawback from this novel I have was the characters, or really the sheer amount of them. I need to disclose first that I love traveling around a novel from character to character. I love vignette style writing where we get a story from each person with zero promise that they will be revisited. I think a writers ability to build this many lives for a reader is a remarkable feat, something I could never accomplish as I struggle to even flush out two characters in detail. So I have to hand it to Emily Layden for being able to create this amazing web of girls for us to peek in on every 20 pages or so. What I will say is that, while I managed to learn almost every girl and their relationship to one another over time, it just became a bit complicated at certain points. While I understand each girls story had a purpose to show the intricacies of sexuality, consent, power dynamics, coming of age, justice, feminism, etc., at some point it began to feel just a tiny bit taxing, like putting the pieces together had become a chore. I think she could have accomplished the same message and magnitude with even a few less characters. On the other hand, their stories and all their themes as stated above were each interesting and touching in their own way. The last tiny gripe I have with the novel is the ending chapter. While it was fitting to have it on Graduation Day, I felt like the resolution was almost cut short. Like Layden was running out of document room and tried to find a faster way to wrap up everything we had read so far. Like I said, the setting and ceremony was the perfect way to end the novel, but it was not executed perfectly with the prose. Altogether, I enjoyed the read, even though the slow beginning caused things to finally pick up in the second third of the novel or so.

Life in a boarding school in some houses is a time honored tradition. Such is the case of many of girls we meet in this novel. It is a struggle to find your voice, and keep it being heard. Four years of discovery and experimentation. Bad haircuts, makeup mistakes, wardrobe disasters,classes so tough they to you of sleep. It is all here with a backdrop of scandal thrown in for good measure. The young girls here are savvy, sometimes funny, always entertaining.

As girls approach Atwater Academy, a prestigious Connecticut boarding school, signs along the road warn them that "A rapist works here". Emily Layden describes a year in the life of nine students at the school which has the cloud of a past sexual assault hanging over it. The girls come from all different backgrounds and range from freshmen to seniors Much backstory information is given about some of them. I generally enjoy books with multiple viewpoints but here each girl has only one chapter. I sometimes had difficulty remembering names and how the girls connected one to another. I might have been better to focus on only five or six and have multiple chapters on each. I also questioned the school's handling of the sexual assault after so many years. In ways it was a major part of the story and in others it just didn't seem to be such a big deal. Having attended a women's college many years ago and having taught at private schools I know the importance such rituals have. Overall I enjoyed this book.

This novel, told in multiple viewpoints, gives insight into the lives of multiple students at an all girls school where a former student is accusing a teacher of a rape that happened two decades previously. Through these different viewpoints, we are granted access into the minds of young women from various backgrounds and how they handle the pressures of trying to fit in at this school while simultaneously trying to unravel the mysterious circumstances that happened to someone their age 20 years previously.

I really enjoyed the Atwater school setting and the brief glimpses into the way that administration was handling the public relations of this incident. This book also touches on eating disorders, LGBTQ+ issues, and the pressure put on teens today through social media and everyday life.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this book in exchange for an honest review.

My only criticism is that I wished there was more of a wrap up at the end to close up some of the stories started in each narrator’s chapter. I would have liked a “where are they now” scene since I was very invested in a few of the narrators. I feel that some of the impact of the book got lost with so many narrators and too many lose ties that remained at the end.

All Girls is a coming of age story about a group of friends at the Atwater boarding school. The girls struggle with all of the typical angst of being a teenager. Family, friendship, school authority, and past secrets of the school come into play. Well-written and entertaining - I think it would make a good beach read.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Raise you’re hand if you went to an all girls school for high school! I did and honestly I think it really influenced my rating on this story.

At it’s core All Girls is a coming of age story that takes place at a prestigious all girls boarding school. Set in 2015 but highly influenced by events that occurred at the school in 1995, this book gave me all the nostalgia. I even texted my high school group chat about this book because so many of the actions and attitudes in this book were to a T what we use to do/say.

Okay, back to the book. All Girls is really more like short stories than a full fledge novel. Each section is told through a different girls perspective, and while I enjoyed getting to intimately know each of the girls, there are ALOT of characters to remember. Each girl’s parts though end up end up describing and adding onto the same main topic: what really happened in 1995 when a student claimed her teacher raped her. They also all lead up to the bigger theme of, what do boarding schools do to protect their students from assault.

If I’m being honest, I really loved getting to know each girl and seeing the events transpire from their perspective. It allows for such an intimate relationships with a multitude of girls and given their distinctive and interesting back stories, it’s hard to imagine only seeing these events from 1 or 2 narrators instead. But the mass amounts of characters you need to remember ultimately brought my rating down a star, since I found myself having to stop and refocus who we were reading about.

This is really an incredible debut that tackles some of the hard questions many campuses, both high school and university, are facing today with the ‘Me Too’ movement. We also get a look into what ‘consent’ looked at not just in the present day but also back in 1995, and Layden does a great job of comparing societies reactions and handling of these situations.

If you are looking for a good book that handles the topic of sexual assault and what schools are doing in the ‘Me Too’ movement, or if you also went to either a boarding school of an all girls high school than give this book a try. If you don’t enjoy books that have a ton of main character to keep track of than you’ll want to pass on All Girls.


All Girls comes out February 16, 2021. Huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my advanced copy for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

I really enjoyed this book!

TW: violence, sexual assault

All Girls follows the lives of teenage girls as they navigate the world of their elite private school. The girls are figuring out who they are while the hold their school accountable for its past mistreatment of inappropriate relationships between students and teachers.

I absolutely love any kind of campus novel and Layden did a great job capturing the essence of an East Coast girl's boarding school.

Didn't love this. The writing was phenomenal--immersive and energizing--but the 'plot' wasn't really there. Which might be fine, but the marketing of the book suggested there would be forward momentum, or even a mystery element. As many other readers have said, I felt like the jump from POV for each chapter was jarring and made it hard to fully engage with the book--it kept taking me out. Also, the number of characters (and their oh-so-white blue-blood names, for the most part) made it VERY hard to keep track. This book had a slightly problematic relationship with race in this way--the majority of the characters are white, which makes sense given the setting, but the characters of color--particularly the Black characters Olivia and Jade--aren't given POV chapters, and some of the ways they're depicted are...iffy. (For instance, there's a moment where Jade's character insists she's a shoo-in for an Ivy, given that she's "black AND [her] mom's a single parent." I get the humor, such as it is, (and I'm a white lady too, so I can't fully speak to this), but this seems jarring coming from a white author...

This young adult new novel is a new setting and a new slice of growing up for All Girls. Coming of age - ambitions - friendships - hidden scandal - initiations - leaving home - joining a new group - panic attacks; All Girls at a New England prep school for girls. Lots going on, just like a busy teen. Thank you #NetGalley#StMartinsPress#All Girls

This is very much the kind of book I love and while I did enjoy plenty about All Girls, there was also a lot I didn't like about it... Leaving me with some kind of mixed feelings!

The book follows nine girls who attend Atwater Prep, a private girls high school in New England. A former student accused a male teacher of raping her some years earlier and instead of the teacher being fired, the girl is forced out of the school. Now, the higher ups at Atwater are trying to figure out how to deal with the accusation (which has recently been made public) while keeping their reputation, while the students are navigating their own high school experiences in this me-too era.

The first chapter follows Lauren, a freshman just arriving at Atwater, and trying to find her place amongst a group of strangers. From there, we meet various other girls in different grades and with very differing backgrounds. I started off really enjoying the book and loved meeting the various students, but after a couple chapters, it just became too many characters for me. In addition to the nine girls the chapters are focused on, we meet many of their friends and even people from their lives before Atwater, and I had such a tough time remembering who was who, even after I had read an entire chapter about them.

I did enjoy learning about Atwater's traditions, why many of the girls chose to attend the school, and how they interacted with each other. As someone who went to a public high school, I can't imagine being on my own at boarding school at age 14 and was very intrigued to see how these girls found various ways of assimilating into the school. I just wish the book had a bit more focus and that I could have spent a bit more time getting to know a few of the girls really well instead of so many of them at a surface level.

Still, I would certainly read another book from this author because I loved her writing style. In some ways, she reminds me of Meg Wolitzer in her ability to showcase various female perspectives. Personally, I think All Girls would have greatly benefited from choosing three or four of the girls to focus on and alternating chapters about each of them.

This book was fantastic!

Set in an all girls boarding school, the book weaves together the perspective of so many students as a plotline of secrets and scandal ensue.

The book was excellent. I loved the writing and the characters. The author did a deft job of realism from a variety of voices.

You will not be disappointed in this book.

I received an ARC of Lana's War in exchange for an honest review. This is a World War II story but is different from most other historical fiction books about World War II. This was a quick read and the story actually takes place over just a few months time. Lana joins the resistance movement after she witnesses the murder of her husband by the Gestapo. While the book is about Lana's activities with the resistance movement it is also a love story. Lana moves to Nice and becomes part of society and socializes with German officers. It gives you a different perspective of the war and how other parts of France were during the war.

ALL GIRLS
BY EMILY LAYDEN

I loved the premise of this novel called, "All Girls," written by Emily Layden. I grew up in a quaint New England small town that featured a famous prep school called, Phillips Exeter Academy. In fact, my father, worked building the five story brick library. After the school library was completed when I was older I used the library in High School and could find any book that I was looking for under the sun. It had everything imaginable. That was before electronic books. I would spend time there after school and on week-ends doing research for what we called back then term paper's. My Grandfather on my mother's side worked there as a security guard after he retired from a career in the Navy. So I am very enthusiastic about Boarding schools that are prestigious and often promise Ivy League Colleges. I was so excited to receive my ARC of "All Girls," with a setting in Connecticut, which is also set in New England but the difference is that this fictional boarding school is exclusively all girls not co-ed like my world famous elite school in the town that I grew up in.

Sadly, this book "All Girls," had nine different individual girl's points of view. I found myself taking notes because just as I was getting invested in one character it would change to a different girl's character and a different point of view. Also this was supposed to be based on a former student from the 1990's allegations of sexual misconduct from her former instructor.

This formatting definitely did not work for me and as much as I wanted to love this novel there were just too many character's and I can't in good conscious say that I enjoyed it. The Net Galley synopsis didn't indicate that this story would be told from nine different point's of view. If it did I never would have requested it. It was nothing like "The Secret History," or "My Dark Vanessa," which is the most recent one that I loved and really distinctly illuminated sexual misconduct as a central theme that was the central theme throughout the novel. In "My Dark Vanessa," I felt that I could connect to the two main character's in such a intimate way it was like I was part of their lives. Other reviewer's mentioned that they felt as if "All Girls," might work better as using the nine different character's as a book of short stories linked together and I wholeheartedly agree. It saddens me quite a bit when I don't give a novel a glowing review because I know in my heart that each Author's published work is a labor of love and very precious to them and I do respect that and support them. I really did go into this novel with high hopes and wanted to love it. Maybe it will appeal to an audience and I wish Emily Layden my sincere best wishes for success with, "All Girls."

Publication Date: February 16, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Emily Layden and St. Martin's Press for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AllGirls #EmilyLayden #StMartin'sPress #NetGalley

DNF @ 39% - this is not a thriller about unsupervised teens, as I thought. It is more a character introspective of an all girls boarding school. I might have continued reading even so, but the narration felt very removed from the characters and story, and then the POV was constantly changing so I never felt connected enough to care about what happened and continue reading.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I struggled with this one. Some parts were interesting, but there were too many characters. It made it hard to feel connected to any of them. I enjoy stories with multiple points of view, but this would have been better if the author had chosen to focus on just two of three of the girls. At times, it felt more like a novella collection with a thread weaving them together. And, the writing style made me feel like I listening to someone narrate a story vs. pulling me in and making me a part of the story. It seemed like the author wasn't quite sure where to go with the story, which made it somewhat dry and without the drama or mystery I'd expected to find.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.

I enjoyed some aspects of this book such as the creative plot and storyline. But to be honest there were way too many characters. I could not keep them all straight and it was a lot to take in. I love a book with a few different POVs but when there’s over six it becomes a little to much.

I was intrigued by the different characters' perspectives within this book, but I would have enjoyed it more had it been focused on one or two of the girls. I thought the first chapter was dynamic, but after that it didn't particularly hold my interest. I didn't connect well with this book for some reason.

I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this book as an overall story, but I did enjoy reading the different girl’s stories. It almost read as short stories but about different girls at the same school. Every time I started to get interested in a girl and her story, it would move to someone else which was a bit frustrating to me. I was never able to settle into a comfortable read because I kept having to start over with a new storyline. I did like how it showed how all the students have their own insecurities, which are not always apparent to the other girls. Overall, it wasn’t something that I would want to read again.