Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I don't know what it is about books like these, but I always end up enjoying them despite not being able to relate to them at all. I didn't even think of trying for Ivy League when I was in high school and while I always did my best in school, I wasn't exactly competitive in my grades. Yet I found this story to be very entertaining and I bet a lot of people who have or are going to apply into Ivy League schools will find the story extremely relateable.

I always like to get my negatives out of the way first, but I feel like a lot of my negatives just come with this particular genre. And since I read that this is supposed to be a satire, I feel like I can allow the clichés that pop up in the story. Even the one element I really had a problem with-- the cop sharing information about the investigation to the main character-- I can sort of ignore because that's just what happens in these stories. Any time I got annoyed by a cliché, I reminded myself that it was probably on purpose. I guess the only big negative is that it mentions Covid as something that happened but was already cleared up. That sort of thing sadly dates this book in a way that it could have avoided if Covid wasn't mentioned.

Like I said, I never tried for Ivy League so I can't personally say if any of what was portrayed would hold true, but it feels believable. And despite my personal distaste for reading lots of swearing, something about the way this was written made it feel conversational and how real people might talk. The mystery was good and I didn't want to stop reading until I came to the end.

Overall, I thought this to be a very enjoyable book. I think teens will love it and those trying for an Ivy League school will relate to all the struggle and stress depicted in the book. As for people like me, I think they'll still be fascinated by this world of high-stakes academia.

Wow! These mean girls are out for blood when it comes to college acceptance into the Ivies. They will take down anyone who stands in their way. But when two Ivies get in to Harvard and “steal” the spot from one of their “friends,” it’s a vicious fight to the end. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader wondering until the last page is turned. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

I loved this book. A perfect YA tale of college admission scandal, ripped from the headlines really, follows Olivia as a scholarship student at Caflin in Massachusetts. After the death of her roommate, she must exonerate herself and find out who the true killer is. Definitely a must-read that I finished in less than 24 hours (as it’s the perfect pace and is hard to put down).