This book is a fast paced read with some good themes.

Pokes fun at the "problems" of the super rich and how they micromanage their children and try to one up each other.
Now that their kids are seniors at an elite private school, the race for who gets into the best ivy school is on!

The book is written mostly from the adults' point of view, with an occasional glimpse about the opinion of the teens.

It would have been nice to hear more from the actual teenagers themselves.
I was really rooting for Maren for 3/4 of the book and actually felt sorry for her.

In the end however, too many things just fall into place perfectly. Too perfectly. Maren was also a little deceptive and self righteous, but gets far more than she deserved in my opinion.

I would have liked to see a more realistic ending.

Thank you for this arc copy of this book. It wasn't; my type of book but others may like it. I did enjoy the cover picture though.

This book was wild. I am in the education field myself and I had no idea how cut throat college admission process was for these elite/Ivy plus colleges. The moms in this book are CRAZY.

This was an entertaining audiobook. It kept me at the edge of my seat. From the beginning I was looking forward to Maren's sweet revenge and the ending made me quite satisfied.

I adored this book! A fictional take on the Felicity Huffman/Lori Loughlin college scandal was incredibly captivating and the audiobook narration added a great perspective.

Sometimes you just need some petty rich woman drama and this will certainly deliver.
The 3 POVs in this novel were a little confusing at first but quickly became more discernible as the book went on.
The lengths these woman would go to just to get their kids into the perfect college was completely unrelatable and yet really fun. It explores the immense pressure upper echelon kids face in academics as well as the privilege they have in their corner compared to kids without their wealth.
My only gripe is that it all wrapped up a little too neatly but overall I would absolutely recommend it. I binged the whole thing in less than a day.
Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and clearly inspired by the Varsity Blues scandal.

This was such a fascinating look at the cutthroat admissions process and how important it is to get into the right school. The lengths these parents went to for their children's future was astounding and while I never went through anything similar, as recent news stories show, it does happen. The story kept me reading well into the night and the ending was not at all what I expected but I really enjoyed it.

This book was so interesting. Mothers behaving badly in order to get their children into college. It reminded me of Real Housewives with some current events. I really enjoyed it,.

Can sum up this book with: When a parent's dreams for the child's future goes too far. Really cleverly written and solidly entertaining and twisty. Definitely would recommend if you like dark contemporaries!

This book was surprisingly good!! It kept me guessing and had fantastic twists! Marins backstory was amazing and I definitely didn’t see that coming. There was character growth and a lot of reality built in to this book which I appreciated. Highly recommend!

WOW. Just wow. As a teacher I love reading books that surround PTA moms, kids in classes, etc. I have read several books about what parents will do to get their kids into college, but this one is DARK and I AM HERE FOR IT. The information placed into each page was perfectly timed--like a bomb waiting to explode in each POV. And speaking of POV, I thoroughly enjoyed this story unfolding from several POVs, and the fact that NO ONE knew what was going on.

Trigger warning for those suffering from trauma of sexual assault; rape is a big plot point of this story.

I received an advance copy; all thoughts are my own.

I’m always here for a friend/ family drama! I really liked their backstories and the plot. I would deff recommend if this one sounds up your alley

✨Book Review & Challenge✨

@jessisreadingbetweenthewines tagged me in the #booksandblooms challenge and I noticed that my very first shasta daisies were blooming yesterday; perfect timing! Shasta daisies are my absolute favorite garden flower and mine get CRAZY in the summer. I must have the most optimal spot in the world for them because they look like a bush of daisies mid-summer. I couldn’t love it more!

QOTD: What’s the last book that you looked forward to every time you got to pick it up? You thought about it while you weren’t able to read it? And you did everything you possibly could to get to read it as quickly as possible?

AOTD: Girls With Bright Futures

First off, thank you @netgalley and @recordedbooks for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Why the heck did I wait so long?! Oh wait, I know...I put too many audiobooks on my library holds and the time sensitivity tends to dominate. 🤷🏼‍♀️ This is something I need to figure out how to juggle for my NetGalley reads because I should have read this sooner!!

I went into this book relatively blind other than the fact that I knew it reminded people of the celebrity college admissions scandals. I think that’s the way to go with this read.

All the characters are so, so well developed and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next! This book tackles multiple serious topics and does it eloquently. DO NOT sleep on this one!

Audiobook specifics: Mia Barron was the narrator and she did a smokin’ job. Her cadence and inflection were spot on and she has a pleasant voice for the ears.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Tagging some friends for this challenge, but consider yourself tagged if you’re reading this!
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#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecommendation #bookrecs #booklover #audiobooks #audiobookstagram #audiobook #audiobooksofinstagram #audiobooklove #audiobookreview #audiobookreviews #audiobookrecommendation #audiobookreviewer #audiobooksrock #audiobooknarrator #readersofinstagram #readersofig #readersgonnaread #avidreader #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #booksandbloomschallenge #booksandflowers #flowersandbooks

Girls With Bright Futures is a good book and I recommend highly for a fan of Maria Semple’s “Where’d ya go Bernadette” or “Today will be Different”.

The story is funny and dramatic, as most of the characters have definitively “first world problems”. Think, elite private school kids from mega-successful families competing with humble upper middle class families. From elementary to Top US Ivy Leagues, these characters and their parents duke it out for a variety of different reasons. The attitude and spunk of these characters is alluring and the idiocy and melodrama of others is hilariously entertaining. 3/5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I had such high hopes for this story but I found it overall boring. I didn’t finish the audio but maybe one day I will be in the mood for this type of book.

After watching the news, reading Admissions by Julie Buxbaum, then reading this synopsis, I kind of expected more of the same ol’ same ol’. Much to my surprise, this book was so much more. Though the basis of the book covers private school mothers and the lengths they would go to secure their child’s spot at THE Ivy League school, the story line goes so much deeper. Coming from a small town public school, this capture my attention and every new development sunk its hold deeper on my desire to listen. If Real Housewives, or any other momma drama shows are your thing, this book is for you. Thank you Netgalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* 4.5 Really got into this book! kinda reminded me of high school big little lies. This book had a lot going on but really liked it!

Wealth and class stories usually linger either in New York City or Los Angeles. It’s where we expect them. For most people, Seattle is that place Grey’s Anatomy takes place or where it rains all of the time (it doesn’t). As postcard-worthy as this city nestled into the mountains is, it’s important not to forget all of the major companies who also make their home here and its effect on the local economy. And where there are class struggles, futures at stake, you can always count on elite private school parents ready to murder to make sure their kid ends up in an Ivy League. I wish I was kidding.

In Girls with Bright Futures, Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman craft a story around three women, not unlike Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Alicia is a powerful CEO with celebrity status and an endless amount of financial resources; Maren has been Alicia’s personal assistant for over a decade and makes enough to support her and her daughter, but not enough to afford health insurance let alone college; and Kelly, who fits somewhere in the middle economically, but is an alum of Stanford — where the daughters of these three women have their sights set on the one spot promised for an Elliot Bay Academy student.

Similar to the genre of thriller where women will do anything to get a baby, these women (and even some of the men) are willing to do anything to make sure their child’s future looks the way they (the parent) imagined it would. What remains a consistent trope in fiction and reality is the complete disregard for what the child actually wants. What Girls with Bright Futures does a great job doing, though, is demonstrating the physical and emotional toll of having to live up to what can seem like impossible expectations. Of not having any say in your own life. This fear of loss of control seems to be pushing the women forward as they try to fight to give their child the best chance. There’s a transference of high school anxieties the parents have hung onto that they set on the shoulders of their daughters and can’t help but returning to that same cut-throat, Mean Girl mindset.

For fans of Big Little Lies and The Undoing, Girls Burn Brighter is a sinister, entertaining, and timely college admissions thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook of.

Remember the recent college admission scandal? To what lengths would you go to get your child into an Ivy League university? This book was a scandalous yet riveting read about how far some parents will go. Although a fiction, it read like reality and was easy to imagine.

The book starts off with a police officer showing up at Maren’s house to relay the news that her daughter is in hospital after a hit and run. To complicate matters, it could’ve been intentional because of her daughter Winnie’s application to attend Stanford. The plot then moves back in time to six weeks before early admission cut off date to Stanford. The reader learns that there are at least three students vying for one coveted entrance spot to Stanford. I say students, but really it is parent driven and these parents will stop at nothing to get their child in.

This was a phenomenal story and stellar audiobook performance. Once I got into the book, I had such a hard time putting it down. I know that sounds cliché but it’s true! The characters were carved out three dimensional beings, and I understood each and every one of them, even if there were a few unlikeable ones. I got where they were coming from. If anyone has ever experienced the competition between families when a child is looking at universities, one will be able to empathize with these characters. I also thought the writing delved into the emotional experiences of some of the characters very well. It was an emotional read for me and at times left me sad and raw. The ending was satisfying and I enjoyed the epilogue. A fabulous reading experience for me and I recommend to others looking for a women’s fiction with many layers of plot and some mystery.

A gracious thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Big Little Lies meets the College Admission Scandal in this timely, split-perspective thriller.

This book followed, primarily, three different mothers whose daughters attended the same school and were hopeful of also attending the same college, afterwards. The problem in their way was Stanford's limited acceptance. The solution was that doors could be opened with the contents of one's wallet.

Due to the multitude of perspectives, I found this a very intriguing insight to how differing individuals reacted to the barriers in their paths and also the wider implications these may have. College acceptance was portrayed here as heavily skewed towards the affluent members of societies, who had money to pave the way of their beloved offspring's success, despite their actual academic downfalls. Others had legacy to do the work for them, and each generation waltzed where they pleased with only the resource of a good last name to aid them. For those not so lucky as to be born with these privileges, hard-work and one's own merit had to be good enough. And, often, it was not.

This made for an absolutely infuriating read and I can only imagine how heart-wrenching it must feel for any individual who has faced these closed doors only to witness them open for another clearly less deserving. I thought the subject was broached with honesty but also sensitivity and included a cover of all angles.

Alongside this focus was another even more emotional in nature and it intertwined with the primary plot to deliver a raw and honest insight to modern America, with the struggles many families face when wealth and academic acumen have such a high importance placed upon them.

Applying to post secondary school can be stressful and this novel brings it to the ultimate level. When Stanford announces they are only saving one spot for an elite Prep school in Seattle, it sends people into a frenzy. Well, it sends some mothers into a frenzy.

Alicia is married to her slimy husband and she is determined to do anything it takes to make sure their daughter Brooke gets that one spot. Money is no object and Alicia is a public figure and famous in the tech world. There are so many strings for her to pull so there should be no problem. Except that Winnie, Alicia's personal assistant, Maren's daughter is also applying. Brooke grew up with Winnie; they are best friends and Alicia has encouraged Winnie who is a better student academically than Brooke. Plus Alicia has been paying for Winnie's schooling. Now Winnie is competition.

Kelly and her husband are both alumni of Stanford so they have an in for their daughter Krissie. Kelly always knows all the gossip so she can use her knowledge to make sure Krissie has a chance.

The rivalry is fierce for these rich, entitled women who are willing to scheme, manipulate, and lie to get what they obviously deserve. Tensions are already high with rumours and conniving when there's an accident. What happened and is it connected to the admissions?

The writing is good, especially for a novel with two authors. I loved the multiple points of view from the three Mothers. I also loved Maren and Winnie's story. It was well developed and moved along well. It would have been great if the other characters were developed similarly. I felt the first part of the novel dragged a little in creating the tension around the admissions. It was also frustrating because some of the characters were annoying and I just wanted to move on.

If you enjoy books that end with everything tied up in a nice bow then this will work for you. I didn't mind most of it, but a little intrigue at the end with a book like this, I think would have been more fitting.

Mia Barron narrated the audio and did a stellar job. I liked that she changed her voice for the different characters and used inflections to create the story she was telling.

Overall a great debut novel and I would read more from these authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the audio.

Bookworm Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🌱