Seton Girls is a compelling coming-of-age story that captures the essence of friendship, ambition, and the unique challenges of growing up as a Black girl in a prestigious all-girls school.

An interesting and well-written novel that deals with the difficult topic of insidious misogyny. While reading, I was invested, but when I would put this book down, I did not feel compelled to pick it back up. The pacing is a bit wonky, and the main character is quite forgettable. The side characters, however, are deeply compelling.

This was fascinating!! I adored this story and the friendships throughout the story! I really enjoyed this one! The writing was a lot of fun and I liked it!

I went into this with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised by the story. I thought the premisse was executed very well and I enjoyed following the characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me an ARC!
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Unfortunately I DNFed this, it just didn’t catch my attention and maybe I’ll get into it again when I’m in the perfect headspace to give this another try! But I would buy and recommend this to others definitely!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC! I loved this one so much, it was such a wonderful read. I really enjoyed all the twists and the tense thriller vibes that the author had going. I was rooting for the main character so much throughout the book and I can't wait to see what else this author does!

This novel hit a lot of issues and problems that women and girls face set in a school that gave me Friday Night Lights vibes, but veered into a twisty with the smart and insight of Dear White People. Seton Academic Prep has a 13 year streak and says the reason is always the Seton’s girls.
Wow, this book was an interesting debut that really delved into how much how a group of girls had the power to change everything and expose this perfect world the football team and school has constructed for them.

This was definitely a fast paced YA read where I couldn’t see what was going to happen for awhile. Kind of Friday Night Lights where a prep school who lives and dies by football is suddenly under attack as one of the legendary Seton Girls levels a shocking allegation against the golden boys. A story of female empowerment amidst the boys will be boys mentality and the #metoo movement. Solid read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! It was incredibly well done and I loved the plot.

Seton Girls has a bit of mystery, a bit of contemporary, and a whole lot of beautiful writing. I knew SA was going to be a part of this book, but it took me a while to figure out how. I think the revelations came a bit too late and I wanted more "girl power resolution, stick it to the man" at the end, but I also think the book accurately portrayed how people with privilege (specifically white privilege) get away with crimes (specifically crimes against women). The plot honestly was a bit too convoluted and boring at the same time--weird how that happened. It was the character relationships that kept me coming back. We have a "girl on the outside" with our main character and the friendships she forms are truly beautiful. It did seem like sometimes the author had the teenage characters say philosophical things just to make them sound smart, and when you really looked at what they were saying, it didn't make much sense.

I had to get all my thoughts out, and they make it look like I didn't particularly like this book--but I did! The story kept me reading, kept me guessing, and kept me thinking. Sure, certain aspects could have been better, but all in all, this debut novel is a win for this author in my opinion.

TWs: physical assault, sexual assault, underage drinking and drug use, bullying, harassment. If you are at all bothered by sexual assault/harassment, do not read this book.

That being said, this book is absolutely amazing. I usually don't go for books like this one, and I fully thought that I would DNF, but this book was written so well with a gripping mystery that I just couldn't stop.

The blurb for this story is a little misleading. While the book does center around Seton's football team, the main character is Aly, the editor-in-chief for the Seton newspaper and girlfriend to next year's Varsity quarterback, J. She gets drawn into the main plot through Britt, who is a member of the four-girl clique that dominates the school after Britt has a falling out with said clique. As the story goes on we learn about why Britt left the clique, and exactly how Seton has kept their undefeated streak.

The execution of this story is unlike anything I've ever read before. There are two "narrations" in this book: one is a first-person narration from Aly, and the other is a third-person narration from various characters in the past. The reader learns information at a different pace than Aly, and it's amazing when all the information finally clicks into place and we know exactly what's going on, but Aly still doesn't. Chekhov's gun is loaded and ready, and the author wields it expertly throughout this book.

I really can't say anything else without spoiling, but I really really encourage reading this book if you like mysteries. I came in expecting nothing and I received *everything*.

Really loved this one! I loveeee books set in elite academia and have loved the trend of challenge the norms of these predominantly white schools. Fans of Truly Devious, A Study in Charlotte, A Good GIrl's Guide to Murder will enjoy this one.

Seton Girls by Charlene Thomas is an absolute must read/must listen. This book takes on tough themes -- privilege, race, sexual assault -- in such a thought provoking manner. Thomas is sensitive in portrayal of these issues. Seton Girls follows Aly and J who are Black and are bussed in to attend Seton High. Aly is editor of the school newspaper. J is about to be quarterback. Seton High never loses a game and hasn't in years. The secret sauce is the girls who goes to Seton. Aly is about to uncover what exactly is going on and blow the whole lid off Seton's underbelly.

The audiobook of Charlene Thomas's Seton Girls is narrated by Kacie Rogers. It is 8 hours and 32 minutes unabridged. I did listen to it slightly sped up but not SUPER sped up at 2x or anything. I found that the audiobook was well narrated. Kacie Rogers has a voice that is easy to listen to and not get sidetracked while reading the story. The pacing makes sense and I never felt like it was too slow. I look forward to reading more by Charlene Thomas -- particularly via audiobook. Check this book out for a harrowing look at the underbelly of high school sports, but also solid friendships between young women. This is such a smart, sharp book.

Seton Girls is an interesting and important story but it doesn't really feel like it makes a HUGE impact. It was a ton of fun and I enjoyed it, but it felt like it had the opportunity to make a larger impact.

Seton Girls posits itself as Dear White People meets Friday Night Lights which is more or less not accurate. Seton Girls, in the end, tells an important story, but does not offer anything significant to these narratives.

This book was very hard to get into at first both between the way it jumps between the past and the presence and how certain chapters focus on characters outside of the main character. You have vague idea of what's going to unfold but it's kept at a distance for the first quarter of the book. I think some of the repetitive feeling chapters at the beginning with them attending parties could've been cut. I know it was to build an idea of how these character's relationships were everything in the reader's mind but most of these friendships felt shallow regardless. And though this book carries a Friday Night Lights comp it's very loose beyond the obsession with football. Where Friday Night Lights was as much as a family drama as it was a teen drama the parents in this story were noticeably absent with the teens having to navigate this difficult world by themselves.

That being said once I we actually started getting to the sex scandals is when I became invested and I had to keep reading until I was finished. While what happened was predictable, Charlene took an interesting approach by telling this story from the viewpoint of an outsider. Aly doesn't realize at first how this affects her, she believes she's just being a good friend to Britt who really needs one at the moment. But then she soon realizes how so much of her life centers around her boyfriend and the football. At times it feels like Britt's story told through the eyes of Aly, though Aly started taking control towards the end.

There were things that didn't always work for me in this story and points where the commentary could've gone a little deeper but Charlene Thomas is a promising writer and one to look out for in the future.

This is an well written debut that reveals the insidious ongoings of an elite prep school and those who are always tossed aside for in favor of those in power.

This book reminded me of the #MeToo movement meets John Tucker Must Die.

I loved the fierce female friendships and the need to set fire to the system that continues to abuse the girls in this book for the sake of protecting a football legacy.

The Seton Girls know what’s up….and they’re gonna do something about it.

For years, Seton Prep’s football team has lead an amazing win streak. People praise the QB, but all he has is praise for the girls that cheer them on.

Initially going into this book, I thought there’d be a witchcraft subplot…maybe the girls make a sacrifice every year to ensure the boys win, but the truth is much more sinister and much much much worse.


THANK YOU to PenguinTeen for my ARC!
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Please see http://sltrbooks.home.blog/2022/08/05/seton-girls-arc-review/ for my full review

**Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my opinion of the book*

Seton Girls is about Aly, but also about more than just her. Aly is a junior at Seton Academic High and the editor of the school newspaper. However, the real draw at Seton is their Varsity football team, who have gone undefeated for 12 seasons and are like rockstars in their community. At the start of the year, Aly becomes friends with Britt MacDougal, who has been a very popular "It" girl at Seton for a while but has newly become a bit of a pariah. The book takes place over two months while they figure out what really is the cause of Seton football's success (if I say any more, it will give the entire thing away).

I really enjoyed this one. It reminds me a bit of The Rules for Being a Girl, which I also really loved. It kind of has a similar dark academia vibe to recent "it" books like Ace of Spades or How We Fall Apart. I am really quite pleased to see that this is Thomas' DEBUT book and she was so thoughtful and purposeful with her writing. I really liked Aly, although I think she's a little bit of a passive main character. The actions of the story don't really happen to her so much as they happen AROUND her and she's kind of caught up in them. The real star is Britt, who is very charismatic and a really good friend. I liked her infectious personality and the way she is constantly holding up the women around her. We need more characters like this!

There were a few minor things that stood out to me as weird. One of which (super minor) is the Varsity team seems to be made up of ONLY seniors, which isn't the case for most high schools. JV is like middle school and maybe a few lowerclassman, but rarely is the varsity team SOLELY seniors. It was just kind of a weird thing to me. Another, as I mentioned, was that Aly was a little passive. I understand why she's part of the story, as she is kind of the reader insert. She's learning things as we learn them and is in a good position to see all sides of the conflict. However, I felt like the story might have been more interesting if we had had the dichotomy of Britt & Parker, as they're really the two main people of focus. We get a little bit from each of them, but I wanted a bit more.

I loved the diversity in this book. Being set at a private school, I would've expected most of the characters to be white. Aly & her boyfriend, J, are bussed in from an hour away, but Britt and her friends, Michelle and Bianca, are also Black. I believe it's mentioned either Michelle or Bianca (I think Michelle) might be Afro-latinx. It's nice to see a book portray the children of successful people of color. There is also a good discussion about class and the privilege that comes with it. The difficult topic that surrounds the plot was well handled and not glorified or written off in any way. I thought it was exceptionally well done, especially for a debut.

Overall, I'm really excited to see what else Thomas does. I would recommend picking this up.
4/5 stars.

This book started off super slow for me. I kept pushing myself to finish it because I was super hyped to read it. What pulled me in was the blurb. It took me a pretty good while to get into the book, and then once I got into it, I wanted to finish it. I needed to finish it. The town loves football. They are obsessed with it all; everyone seems to wear the team's colors, like they eat, live, and breathe the team. These boys could do no wrong, right? Well, we are just about to find out. When someone happens, the girls are not going to be quiet anymore. Things will get out, and when they do, will anything be done? Whose side will be taken? Sometimes things in a small town get buried because it is always easier to bury them than stop them. Seven hundred ninety-nine girls let that just sink in. You will read about that number. Friendships will be tested, and the team will be tested. We see how the Seton Girls can get their power back. I will have to say I love the relationship that J.J. and Aly have; it was cute, and in the end, we saw how much they were made for each other.
The friendships that seem to form and stay together throughout it all are great! In bad times, we see who is there and who is not. Brit slowly learns this.
If you start this book and you are like me going, when will it be better? Why so many details? Then I highly suggest you just keep reading; it does get better, I promise you.