This book has something for everyone. It took me a while to get through, because each section is about a different girl at Atwater (and, honestly, I wish I’d had a reference yearbook to keep them straight), so it kind of felt like e.g. Orientation, Fall Fest, & Field Trip were so unique that I could leave off for a bit between them.
I loved all the references to boarding school life, the traditions, cliques, classes, housing... I never went to boarding school but this book reminded me of my sorority days. I liked that it followed one year in the life at the school and that each girl was going through her own sh*t - everything from battling eating disorders, questioning sexuality, and dealing with parents & friend drama. The ongoing issue of sexual misconduct kept a connectivity going, but I wanted a more clearly painted picture of these girls and their relationships and, while the switch with each section gave the ability to address a lot of topics, it also left me feeling disconnected at times.
I’d definitely recommend this book, though, specifically to fans of boarding schools and coming-of-age stories.

Twenty years ago a high school student at Atwood Girls School accused a teacher of rape. It was swept under the rug at the time and has been brought back out into the open in the form of a lawsuit. This book was uniquely written with each chapter following a school event and singling out one girl, each grappling with different issues, even while trying to figure out the mystery of the past. A different type of coming of age story, one that unfortunately left me unsatisfied at its conclusion.

From my 12-year-old daughter:
The plot for this book sounded so exciting, but unfortunately I was extremely disappointed with the execution and found parts of this boring and confusing.

This book follows the perspective of nine girls attending a prestigious boarding school, Atwater, and their lives over the course of one year. Each chapter begins with the third person perspective of a different girl, showing the affects of Atwater on its students. The book begins at the end of summer, when the girls are just beginning to arrive at the school. This year when they get there, however, a scandal from the past is brought back up to the surface, threatening the public image of the school and rocking the lives of the girls who attend. Although this was marketed as being about the scandal, it focuses more on the girls' lives with the scandal lurking over them ominously in the background.

The first character who we follow is Lauren. I found her to be very boring and thought that the characterization for her was done poorly. I didn't understand why she mattered to the overall story, and if you asked me now to tell you something about her, I wouldn't be able to come up with anything. The second character we followed was Macy, who I personally thought was actually quite interesting and relatable, as there was a bigger focus on her character. But again, I don't understand why she was important to the story. The third character who we followed was Louisa, who I found to be most like myself. I thought that there was a good focus on both her character and on the scandal, and I believe that unlike most of the other characters, her perspective was actually important to the story. The fourth character who we followed was Chloe, who I still know absolutely nothing about because the entire chapter was focused on Ring Dares, which weren't explained well, and the Fall Fest. The fifth character who we followed was Celeste, who I found to be odd, yet interesting, but I didn't see the point of adding her to the story. The sixth character who we followed was Abby, who I liked because I feel like her story took place at an interesting part of the plot and her characterization was done nicely. The seventh character who we followed was Sloane, who I feel like the only reason why we got her perspective was because the author wanted to show us her backstory and why she acted the way she did, but her perspective honestly felt like one of the most pointless. The eighth character who we followed was Emma, and I had mixed opinions on this chapter. I do feel like the idea of this chapter was interesting, since Olivia had been mentioned so many times before, so I believe that the idea was to show what she was like from the view of her girlfriend, who didn't see her as perfect. But although I liked Emma, I feel like it would have made more sense to just have put this chapter from Olivia's perspective. And we never [ even really got to see what their relationship was like, since this chapter was focused on their breakup. (hide spoiler)] And the last character who we followed was Bryce, who I personally didn't find interesting, but I can see why her perspective was necessary.

Based on how many characters there were, I had many issues with this story. First of all, it felt like the author couldn't figure out whether she wanted to make each chapter focused on the plot or on the characters, and ended up alternating between at random points. I would have much preferred if this story focused on the effects of the scandal on the girls, or on the scandal itself, but it ended up landing somewhere in between. Also, I feel like each chapter could have been its own short story, since none of the perspectives seemed connected at all and it felt like the author picked random characters to talk about. Nearly every single one of the perspectives felt pointless, and they all made me question why this specific character was picked to tell this story. In fact, some of the girls' perspectives didn't focus on the character or the scandal, so they just seemed random. Not just that, but there were so many characters continuously being introduced, some of which even had similar names, that it ended up being confusing. I feel like it would have made more sense to just have the perspectives of Louisa and Bryce, and maybe add in the perspective of Mia, who I feel like we could have gained so much if we had seen the story from her point of view. Another problem with the characters was that although the flashbacks they had were interesting, they all seemed a bit random and like the author was trying to tell the story mainly through these flashbacks, especially Sloane's chapter. I feel like this book would have been interesting if it was just a short story collection of all of the girls' pasts, not attempting to connect them to one another or an overarching plot. And my last problem with the characters is that there was never any good closure at the end of their chapter, but instead of feeling ominous, it just felt unresolved. A problem that I had with the story as a whole was that the pacing seemed weird, since there was absolutely no climax, and the amount of emotion you felt stayed the same the entire time. There was honestly not really a plot at all, and even though in theory it was a good idea to show the effects of the scandal on the characters, it just felt like the author attempted to go through with this idea and ended up getting confused on what she was trying to do. This book was too complicated and not explained well enough, and it seemed like the author was trying to do so many things that not everything was done to its fullest potential.

But even though I did have many problems with this story, there were a couple of things that I liked. The first is the writing style, which took me a while to get into, but I did end up liking. The second is the mood and setting of the book, which felt well done and extremely thought out. The setting in this book honestly reminded me of the school from "Her Royal Highness" by Rachel Hawkins, but gloomier, which I enjoyed.

Overall, I do believe that this book had an intriguing and original idea, but was done with bad execution and ended up being quite forgettable.

Give me all of the prep school books you have! This is a favorite genre of mine - everything from Prep to The Secret History. I'll take it. So, when given the chance to get my hands on an early copy of All Girls by Emily Layden, you can bet I was thinking, "Gimme, gimme, gimme."

This book takes readers to Atwater - a prestigious all girls' boarding school in Connecticut. As with many books of this genre, behind the monied halls lie secrets. And, in this case (MINOR SPOILER) allegations of sexual assault that the administration wants silenced.

A challenge with this one is that there are nine narrative voices - making it hard to really connect with any one girl's story. Still, for lovers of this genre, it's another book to add to the shelf.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing a copy of this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This was not for me, I found it boring and wasn’t interested. I didn’t find the characters or storyline very enticing, nothing drew me in or made me want to keep reading.

Some of the best character development I have ever read. This book follows multiple girls at an all girls boarding school. As is typical with boarding schools in books, they are pretty much all rich and well off. However, this boarding school is fraught with scandal from the very beginning. I didn’t love this book. I loved the story and idea but there were far too many narrating characters for this story. I think it would have been a far more pleasurable read for me had the author stuck with one narrator and just still included the incredibly detailed descriptions of the other characters.

I started this book with great hopes but it turned out to be average at best. Too many characters and too many storylines made it difficult if not impossible to tie everything together. I just quit caring about what was happening and had to for e myself to finish

This book surprised me in so many ways. I went into it expected the typical boarding school setting, following a students through a crisis, and I was pleasantly surprised at the approach the author took instead to tell her story.

The book follows 9 students perspectives throughout the school year, centered around the school, a controversy with a past case of inappropriate behavior between a student and teacher and the disagreement on how the situation was handled. The book explores the evolution of American's definition of acceptable behavior, the mindset of a teen girl in 2020 as it relates to stress, appropriate behavior, and empowerment. What was interesting for me is you only hear the perspective of each character once, making the novel less about the characters themselves, and more about what they represent and are experiencing on a broader scale.

This was like nothing I have read before, and for me, it was impactful and though provoking.

Unfortunately I put down this book at 33%. I normally love coming of age stories, especially revolving around a boarding school and scandal but at 1/3 through the book I was not interested in any of the charcaters and nothing was happening. A lot of unnecessary description and repetition. Thanks for the opportunity to early read. I do not post reviews of books I have not finished.

The plot of this book SOLD me! A prestigious all girls boarding school, ambitious young woman, and a mystery/scandal that’s resurfacing after a few years. I couldn’t wait to get into this book. But unfortunately there were too many POV’s that I got lost, and at times I kept thinking “when are we gonna find out who did it!” And it was a slow burn, and even slower with the stories of each and every single girl.

Either way the plot was amazing, I know this book will make an amazing tv series for sure! Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

For fans of boarding school drama and the #metoo movement, this book is for you! The narrative style doesn't feature any one single main character which I found to be very interesting!

This book did what it needed to do for me. It transported me to a boarding school in the midst of a scandal. I felt like maybe there were just too many characters but at the same time, I found all of those characters necessary for the plot and they all played a role. There are mentions of sexual assault so beware of that if you find that triggering.

I loved the gossip girl premise of life at an all girls boarding school. The story had so much promise but with so many characters, it felt like a bunch of short stories tied together instead of one novel.

Great character development, the short story lines were great, but I didn’t get that LOVE IT feeling. Overall the book was good, not great.

I wish I could say, “you have to read this book!” but I can’t. It’s also not one I feel like I have to dissuade you from reading. Personally, I didn’t think it was particularly good or bad; it was just okay.

Picture this: We’re at a prestigious 4-year boarding school in Connecticut. We’re following 9 girls as they start their academic year unlike any other as a rape allegation resurfaces against one of the male teachers and a student that attended the school 20 years earlier.

I appreciate the conversation this tried to have about how women are rarely believed when they speak out about their sexual assault and the lengths schools will go to save their prestigious names, even if it means letting a rapist teach at their schools.

Unfortunately, the way it was written took away from the impact.

In each section of the book, we’re following one of the nine girls, and the way the story was priced together made it feel like I was reading 9 short stories rather than one cohesive story. There were just so many characters in such a short amount of time that I couldn’t find myself really caring for any of them. I even found myself forgetting most of their names as I was reading the book, which makes me wonder if the characters weren’t interesting enough for me to remember. Or maybe I just have a horrible memory.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

All Girls has so many elements that I love: boarding school, scandal, smart female protagonists, sexual misconduct, told in a literary fashion. However, to bill this as a mystery is to set us up for disappointment. There isn't really a present antagonist, or much sense of imminent danger, short of expulsion, for the girls. There's definitely the feeling that this wants to be The Secret History, but it doesn't quite reach that level.

I had a tough time getting into this book. The writing was fabulous and the beginning was really captivating. The signs and the mysterious rapist were intriguing and I wanted to know more. However after the initial reveal its barely touched upon again and only in vague concepts, nothing that really drives the story forward more.

On top of that, we are introduced to a wide variety of characters who are loosely connected to each other. Each chapter seemingly brings someone new to the plot which makes it hard to connect and get invested in any character.

Overall the story has a lot of potential but it seems like it could have used some more work. I couldn't really get into the book enough to want to read it.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of All Girls. I was only able to give this book a rating of two stars. The author tried to formulate a complex, multi- faceted novel but instead it resulted in a series of short stories that were loosely tied together. The setting is an all-girls school which is facing an allegation of covering up a sexual assault. The author should have focused on this single issue rather than taking the reader down a rabbit hole which muddled the premise of the story. There are too many issues, viewpoints and characters presented in All Girls. The storylines exist in isolation rather than in tandem which just does not work.

There are many things to like about this book. But I have to admit a bias - it tells the story of girls at a boarding school which is one of my favorite settings. It tells the story from multiple points of view, which is my favorite way of hearing the story. So it would take a lot for me not to love this book.

I was really interested in this story, and found the mystery to be fascinating. I loved how the girls all had different backgrounds and personalities.

This was a really good read and I look forward to more books by this author.

I’m a sucker for a good boarding school story, and this debut novel delivered. The author has a way of capturing the inner thoughts and behavior of teenage girls. This novel explored the themes of sexuality, consent, desire, friendship, anxiety, and more. I didn’t think any of the characters were stereotypical. I enjoyed the differing viewpoints, although sometimes I would become attached to a character, and then the chapter would end and it would be about another character. ⁣
This was a worthy debut novel, and I look forward to the author’s next work.

I live for a good story that takes place at an elite boarding school. I have always been enthralled with the idea of attending a boarding school. I grew up in the MIdwest and attended a boring public high school. I was thrilled to be given an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher for All Girls! This book takes place at an all girls boarding school, Atwater, in Connecticut.

The book opens with signs being placed along the road to the school saying there is a rapist on staff. The reader meets Lauren, a freshman, who is moving in to the dorm. Lauren's story gives us some background that an alum from the 90s is accusing a staff member of rape and that the school did nothing about it at the time and continues to sweep it under the rug. From there each chapter follows a different girl's POV and interspersed are emails and reports from the administration alluding to the lawsuit from the alum. I enjoy stories that are told from differing POVs, but it threw me off in this book because I was not expecting it. It did take me out of the story a bit and I never felt connected to the characters because there were so many voices. I wish it had followed Lauren and maybe an upperclasswoman for the events that occur.

As someone who was a teen and then young twentysomething in the 1990s this gave me a lot to think about in regards to how we were taught to deal with rape culture. It was still put on the females then to know their surroundings, etc. I am glad that is changing to address that boys must also be responsible for their behavior.

Overall if you enjoy stories set on the back drop of a boarding school you will like All Girls. I look forward to more books from Emily Layden.