Hi Again!

This year and for much of last year I was super obsessed with reading mystery, thriller, and suspense. It was the majority of what I read. That feeling has continued into this year (with sprinklings of romance, middle grade, and many other things as well). I was cleaning up my bookcases recently and gathering books for an unhaul when I found my copy of the Ivies. I really really wanted to read this book and even pre-ordered it but somehow between the move and the shuffle of books upon settling in, I just never got to it. So when I was cleaning, I pulled it from the shelf and moved it to my TBR cart. I was able to find a copy of the audiobook on Libby and I borrowed it right away so I could listen/read whenever. I ended up flying through this book and really enjoying myself! So let’s get into it!

SPOILERS AHEAD

A group of five high school girls have spent their entire high school career working very hard to make sure they all go to the Ivy League college of choice. While they do work hard on their courses their hard work is a lot of plotting to take out the competition for their choice schools. For example, they do things like change people’s class schedules which makes them lose out on something that would have been amazing for their college apps. But now in senior year with early decision apps out of the way, all they can truly do is wait. Each girl in the Ivies was supposed to apply to a different school so they could all have a shot at an Ivy League college but Emma really is not super interested in the school she was supposed to apply to and has secretly applied to Harvard (Avery who is kinda like Regina George was supposed to apply to Harvard). Emma learns she got into Harvard but she has to keep it a secret, meanwhile, Avery did not get in despite being a legacy shoe in. Now Avery is out for blood to find out who else from their school got in and Emma has to help with this witch hunt but what if this witch hunt leads to more than one trader in the group?

I absolutely loved this book, once I picked it up I could not put it down. This story had everything I wanted. We had a group of mean girls, an elite high school with hopefuls for elite colleges, and lots and lots of drama/suspense and mystery. There were so many times when I was reading that I was on the edge of my seat worried someone might get caught by someone else or end up dead. I will definitely be keeping this book on my shelves and I am very hopeful we get more of this type of book from the author in the near future!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ivies! It was engaging from beginning to the end and at no point did the plot lull for me. The characters were kinda the worst but in the best way. I predicted the villain extremely early, maybe by sheer luck.

My biggest gripes with this book were about the villain, their revelation and the character resolution.

The reveal of the villain took Olivia a hair too long to figure out given the circumstances around the clues. I also thought the villain’s motivations were lacking. I wanted there to be a deeper layer and there just wasn’t. The character resolution was a realistic one, but I didn’t find it satisfying. That being said, it left me thinking about it for days after the fact, so the realism of created an effective ending, just not what I would have preferred.

Overall, I would recommend this book for readers who like media like Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars.

a nail-bitingly suspenseful boarding school thriller, with all the elements i enjoy about the mystery-dark academia genre. thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's/Crown Books for Young Readers for the e-ARC.

I enjoyed this book very much! The setting was engaging and the plot was very fast-paced. Sometimes the events happened too quickly and I felt like I was skipping around some; the killer also became apparent to me somewhat early in the novel. But overall I did like it and enjoy reading it.

I unfortunately DNF'd this book because there was too much swearing for my taste, especially because I was anticipating a YA book. There are 8 F-bombs in the first 2 chapters alone. Every other sentence felt like F-this and F-ing-sh@3 that. I get it she wants to create crass characters, just wished it was done a bit more creatively.

I really wanted to love it because it's an amazing concept, and I really like the author (I watch her videos all the time and am still subscribed to her on YouTube) But this book missed the mark for me based on excessive language distracting from the plot. Occasional swearing is ok, this was just overboard for me. I'd still give another one of her books a shot in the future.

This book was a fun one, but I found it to be too predictable.

The characters were fun but I didn't feel like they were fleshed out enough for my liking.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. I found it to be fun and compelling and it definitely kept my attention for its entirety.

If you're looking for a light and fun thriller I'd definitely recommend picking this up for something easy and entertaining.

The writing just wasn't up to par. I recently read another boarding school book that was well written so it doesn't help. It's a pass for me!

My students actually recommended this one to me. I had decided to skip it, though I loved Donne's previous books, simply because the genre is not one I typically read in. But a few of my students convinced me to pick it up when they were done with it for independent reading, and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I got hooked!

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.***

This was such an enjoyable read! Although in the end it was predictable, it still kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the story, and I simply couldn't stop reading. I can highly recommend this one!

It's no secret that I really like books that are centered around boarding/private schools and are school-based in general. Then you add in competition and murder. It's a perfection combination for a fun read.

There were a lot of cliche things all throughout the book. Stereotypes galore. Of course there has to be at least one scholarship kid. Naturally, the scholarship kid always "wins."

I hated that they all applied to an Ivy even if it wasn't their first choice Ivy just to ensure that they got into an Ivy regardless and so they weren't all competing with each other.

In the end, it was still cutthroat. They ended up competing any way. Then the ending . . . the twists and turns set it up to be obvious, and then it was just a letdown.

So I can say I liked <u>The Ivies</u> for what it is on the surface. Otherwise, it wasn't anything to really talk about at length's end.

I knew this was YA but I didn’t realize how young it was. I’m not a huge fan of YA but sometimes I read one that doesn’t feel young and this one was not one of those. This was my mistake for requesting. Also the writing wasn’t strong.

It's a decent murder mystery, and I actually have to admit, I totally had the killer wrong up until the last few chapters. Though the ending is a little cheesy for my liking, it was still an engrossing story with interesting characters and good drama.

I loved this! It was such a fun, dark and twisty ride. The whole book was full of backstabbing, juicy gossip, and of course, murder. A really great read for fans of Karen McManus! I've definitely recommended it to my book club girls!

The Ivies is perfect for YA fans of authors like Karen McManus or Jessica Goodman.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alexa Donne takes the concept of competition for college acceptances in an elite, private high school and draws it out to the last degree. When I say the methods Donne's 5 main characters take as they vying for spots in five different Ivy League colleges are extreme, I mean nothing less.

As someone who works in a high school environment, I am familiar with the stress and outbursts (both good and bad) that come with college decision letters, and the cut throat nature of these characters makes for some intense moments. Thankfully the measures taken in the novel are fiction and not normally seen in a regular school year. I will note however, Donne makes some excellent points about the reality of family wealth and power within the private school circle. Also how diversity and financial stability play very real roles in enrollment decisions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for my copy of this novel.

My students are going to love this one! I have lots of mystery and thriller lovers in my high school and this one, with the school setting, is going to be a favorite.

The Ivies By Alexa Donne is a thriller about students who will do anything to get into the school they covet. Anything necessary which might also include murder. This is creepy a page turner. Happy reading!

This was a really good dark academia read. Strong character development and lots of good storyline.

Kind of dark but really enjoy

4.5/5

The Ivies was a thrilling read that gripped my heart and wouldn't let go until I'd turned the last page.
So, The Ivies is out! I got the chance to read it early for review.
The Ivies is a YA contemporary thriller built around college admissions and how killer they can be.
The book opens up on early decision day, a day when colleges admit some students early. And the students at Claflin Academy are ready to burst over these decisions. For some getting into one of these Ivy League colleges makes or breaks their life. And you really feel that atmosphere as you're reading. You almost take it on for yourself as you read Olivia going through her day. At first, we aren't totally sure why she's nervous, and I loved reading that tension.
Each member of the ivies group was assigned a college by leader of the pack, Avery, and Olivia wasn't assigned to a school that announcing early decisions the day the book starts.
But she's freaking out because she went ahead and applied to Harvard in secret. As in Avery's school.
And when Avery doesn't get in Olivia is relieved because she thinks there's no way that Harvard would take her over Avery—except they did.
Olivia hides that best she can through the rest of the book, which is an amazing source of tension alongside the main plot. Because the day after ED day someone winds up dead. For the sake of spoilers I won't be saying who dies, but boi oh boi I loved reading up to the murder. The tension was great, I think it was the strongest thing in the book. The constant wondering and guessing on what's going on and who done it. Oof, I loved it.
So, the tension was great, best part of the book.
Next favorite is our main character, Olivia!
Olivia is an aspiring journalist, which makes her a great character to follow in a thriller I think. She makes smart decisions as she's investigating—I love a smart main character yo. She doesn't get ideas and revelations out of nowhere, making connections that seem like they came out of left field, Olivia is smart, and she earns her keep as a journalist. Are some of her decisions crazy? Yeah,but they fit with her character. So I'd say that's smart. Good writing at least.
She goes on investigating and I really liked reading this part of the book, I liked reading all of it to be honest. I think my favorite was leading up to the murder because I was so wrapped up in who was getting killed, and then finding out who killed the student was just under that. It was still amazing though.
The twists in this book were really good, I didn't see too many of them coming, I did guess a few but that's fun sometimes. Kinda give me cool dective vibes. The final twists of the book I didn't see coming, and I will say that I didn't guess the murderer. Which is fine, I'll catch the next one in the next thriller I read!
Description wise, it was pretty good. Reading about Olivia's feelings was very real, her building anxiety and terror as she's questioning her friends and wondering if she could be the next one killed. I would have loved some more descriptions, but I'm just a description lover haha. One other thing I would have liked more of is seeing Olivia's home life. Seeing where she came from and just how set apart she is from the rest of the school. I think when she was with her mom for a bit over winter break could have been a great time to add some of that in, but that may not have been included for one of a million reasons. Length of the book, pacing, keeping up with the building tension. Either way, it didn't bug me too much, but it would have been nice.
Any way you look at it, I really loved reading The Ivies. I think it's a great book to get someone into thrillers (if they don't mind language and underage drinking.) Great book. Can't wait for the next one Alexa is writing.

I have read many books set in boarding schools with ambitious teens and The Ivies does not set itself apart from the pack.