I really got into this book. It hits on so many relevant themes and topics that occur daily.
One house party changes everything. A stressed out couple’s dream home is destroyed by a group of inebriated strung out brats. At first they close ranks, but then the always present one rat in the bunch leaks information. The trashed house of lies begins to fold.
I was indignant and mad for most of this book. The real victims got screwed and the elite got away with everything. Same ploy that replays over and over.
The author demonstrated the cracks and fissures in a community, but in the end, the rich still buy their way out of any scrape.

The House Party is a good story about the excess and unchecked behaviors of privileged rich teenage kids. In this book, a big group of kids decide to throw an end of year party in a lake house under construction where they continue to trash the expensive house. Local authorities try to find the culpable kids but find it hard when parents, teachers and even some of their own in authority make it hard by protecting them from any consequences. This was a solid 3 star read.

When a teenage house party goes terribly wrong, all involved try to protect themselves at all costs. The House Party by Rita Cameron examines how far a small town will go to protect their kids—at least the most privileged ones. The book hooked me in right away. I liked how the story went back and forth between the kids and the people that were harmed by their party. It did start to drag a little bit in the middle and I was like ok let’s wrap this up but overall, I was intrigued enough by the story and their characters to keep going.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was somewhat predictable, but I couldn’t wait to see how it turned out and finished it in one day. Thank you for the ARC!

3.5 Stars

I was looking forward to reading this, the cover led me to believe it would be a thriller. This more of a domestic drama. Although it kept my attention, it was a slow burn.

Set in a suburban town between Philly and NYC, it shows a typical mix high school students who end up attending a party. Typical Friday night? Until a new home, under construction and close to being finished, is the stage. Things get out of hand quickly. Kids run and bumbling officers are quick to slap underage charges on those caught but don’t investigate further. The story then is told in different points of view from party attendees, their parents, investigators, and the homeowners. So much comes to light about the party, how much is on the line for the seniors and how far the parents will go thru to save their kids. Many underlying issues are brought to light also.

While an easy, enjoyable read, it lacked the intensity and heat pounding moments of a real drama. But, I enjoyed the different points of view and all the underlying issues of all the families. I will say, the teenage dynamics are spot on. Ending was predictable. I would definitely give this author another!

Thanks to William Marrow and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

A house party thrown by teenagers fixing to graduate and move on to college, living life to the fullest, and losing control for just one night, forgetting that all actions have a consequence. Turns out the house wasn’t theirs, things got out of control, and the resulting damage was devastating with an ongoing domino effect. The town is split between the rich and the hardworking. There are the rich kids who’s parents want to sweep things under the rug, and the hard working blue collar parents torn between making sure their kids take responsibility for their actions but also afraid they will lose everything they worked hard to obtain. It’s a story about the dumb choices adolescents make because they feel indestructible only to wake up the next day and realize each stupid decision leads to a hard and real consequence, and the difference between the privileged and the not so privileged. The story is told from different point of views and was brilliantly written and thoroughly entertaining. It really makes you think back on your own adolescence and how lucky you are to have survived it!

The overall story is good, however there’s way too much with Maja and Ted that seems mostly irrelevant to the main story. The story of the town and its inhabitants was far more interesting, particularly the O’Connor family. However, it did all tie together in the end and was enjoyable.

The House Party by Rita Cameron is a serious domestic drama about families, affluence, small town dynamics and the impacts on all when a situation gets out of control.
A group of teenagers decide to party in an almost completed luxury home on the outskirts of their town. An amazing amount of destruction is done, and the owners of the home, as well as the entire community, experience the fallout.
This book is about the ramifications of misdeeds and who becomes culpable—the affluent “good kids” or the kids from the other side of the tracks. Judgments are made, betrayals occur, and relationships fracture as the investigation by the authorities ensues.
I enjoyed the intelligent writing in this book but did not feel that I learned much new about social mores and the privilege that affluence provides. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy well written literary fiction that takes a thoughtful look at relationship issues and societal inequities.

Thank you to BookClubGirl, William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

The House Party
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 9/13/22
Author: Rita Cameron
Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Pages: 320
Goodreads Rating: 3.56

TW ⚠️: Sexual Assault and Violence

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and William Morrow and Company and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: An uninvited house party in the suburbs causes a grenade in this small town. When a group of reckless teenagers trash the newly built home just weeks before the family moves in, the family’s plans are shattered. Those teenagers are the "good kids"-- privileged kids who face no real consequences. This book explores how these actions affect known families and newcomers and how money, power, and privilege can affect different outcomes.

My Thoughts: The story is narrated in alternating POVs. It is a slow burn novel that builds up into suspense. This was the perfect club pick for Book Club Girl! I took most of the synopsis out of my review because I felt it gave too much away, and it is better to experience the book without reading the synopsis. Immediately, I wanted to blame the kids, but it was hard, as Cameron’s spins the characters in such a way, that you felt empathy for everyone. The characters were well developed with depth, empathy, and even with the voluminous characters, I never felt confused, it flowed well. The author’s writing style was complex, thought provoking, detailed, and kept me engaged throughout the story. This book releases in about a week and half and I would recommend picking up. Know that this is not really a thriller, more a work of contemporary fiction.

I liked this book. I would have liked to see more growth from the characters, especially Will. It’s for anyone who likes a coming of age story. Changing between many characters perspectives really added to the story and was well done.

This book was middle of the road for me. I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. This is the story of some high school kids throwing a party in a newly constructed house that was unoccupied. The party gets out of hand and major property destruction occurs. Part of the problem for me is that I never really liked any of the characters. The end of the book also left me with a bad taste. I felt like none of the characters truly were happy at the end of the book.

This book is a lot. The plot itself is pretty simplistic in the sense that not much happens. It's about a teenage party that goes horribly wrong and has dire consequences for a group of high school seniors. But, it touches upon lots of different topics, from wealth gaps, to underage drinking, to drugs, to infertility, to vandalism, to sexual assault, etc. It honestly felt a bit like a soap opera, or like a book that Liane Moriarty or Jodi Picoult might write.

The writing itself was not as skillfully done as that of Moriarty or Picoult, however. The author has a tendency to want to spell everything out to the reader, such as through unrealistic dialogue or simplistic sayings that are out of place in the narrative, rather than letting the reader see on their own. It's a classic case of too much telling and not enough showing.

The pacing in the book also felt off. Characters do a complete 180 within the course of just a few sentences. As just one example, Maddie experiences what should be a very serious emotionally traumatic event toward the end of the book. Yet hours later she apparently is completely fine mentally, having worked through the trauma that literally had her on the brink of her life earlier that day. On the other hand, other issues take much, much too long to resolve. The last 20% or so of the book really dragged as the author tried to wrap up the story as it pertained to multiple characters.

I think there are readers who will really like this because it involves a lot of drama and is a light read in the sense that there isn't heavy prose. However, it wasn't for me. I would have appreciated a story that was much simplified and much more subtle.

Thank you William Morrow & Company & NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Damn, Rita Cameron I had some FEELINGS reading this book. I think my high school years were spent in an area that was flooded with wealth and privilege, but was located so close to places that were not so much. A lot of what this book touches on, I experienced in real life. I think Cameron did a ridiculously good job showing how influence and money and power can often be a detriment to teenagers coming of age. What happens when they are thrown into the real world? What life skills do they really know? What have they really earned?

You almost go through two journeys here. Maja Jensen is fighting for her marriage and baby and then her perfect dream home she is building is DESTROYED in a 'nice neighborhood'. Then you follow the teenagers and their story. Cameron makes you struggle because ultimately Maja is the victim... but these are kids who made a... mistake? There were a lot of characters and POVs in this book, but I never felt confused. I felt it added greatly to the character development and helped create empathy for almost ALL OF THEM.

My only downside here was I felt like some characters just disappeared for large chunks of the book & then would reappear. The blending of the two storylines happening often felt like two different worlds. I think I would have liked a little more blend.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Rita Cameron really does a great job the negatives that can come with the power and influence during a child's high school years. I think this book was a perfect balance of coming of age with a bit of mystery that has you turning the pages out of curiosity and yes even sometimes anger. The book was wrapped up perfectly.

I went into this book expecting a more salacious thriller so it took me a bit to settle into the narrative and also place the timeframe as 2008 which was important to the story. An alternative title could have been "How the Entitled Live."

It's essentially the kind of story where one event has a cascading effect and damages many. lives with unintended consequences. A house party is thrown in an unfinished home and things take a turn and there is considerable damage. The story follows the home owners who have to wade through the mess and come to some big truths about their marriage. I get very frustrated with wive character who are oblivious to their family finances but it's an effective trope, for sure.

Then there are the kids at the party. 'Nice kids' who were 'blowing off steam' according to their parents who have spent their lives enabling their wealthy and entitled children. And then there's the investigating which is stymied by politics and not wanting to rock the boat. It all ready very true to life which is sad but not unexpected.

This may not have been the book I thought it was, but I enjoyed it and sucked into the story and anxious for the best outcome for many of the characters,

Pub date: 9/13/22
In one sentence: A quiet suburb full of "good kids" gets a lot more complicated after a party gone wrong destroys a house under construction.

I love books about town dynamics - friends can turn to enemies at the drop of a hat, and a town setting enables dissection of race, class, and power dynamics. I enjoyed the complexities of this story and all the different viewpoints of the town members. The writing flowed well and made for a quick read. However, the book never really progressed into the sharp commentary or suspense novel I think it could have been. There wasn't much of a payoff at the end, and I wanted something more that would differentiate this "book about a town" from the others I've read in the genre.

If you enjoy literary fiction, you may enjoy this one!

Thank you to William Morrow and Book Club Girl for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

New Falls is a small town outside of Philadelphia, with a mix of haves and have-nots, affluent new-comers, and lower-middle class generational families. For the most part, these 2 separate segments of the population live and work along side each other without conflict. That all changes when the local high schoolers illegally stage a party in a house under construction, leading to massive damages and destruction of the house.

This book is told using multiple characters, including teenagers who attend the infamous house party, the homeowner, the Assistant District Attorney, and a Detective investigating the party. Through those narrators, we get a relatively fully view of what happened at the party, and the aftermath. At it's heart, this book an exploration of what it means to have wealth and privilege and how we use or abuse that privilege. Personally I think the book just skims the surface of these themes, and there was strong potential but it kinda fizzled out and lost it's momentum.

The writing itself was very good, and the characters each had their own distinct voice, and I enjoyed this book overall, but I was left feeling unsatisfied with the ending and the lack of resolution of the various themes the author was developing. With that said, I'm rating this one 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, William Morrow & Company, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

The Jensens are building their dream house in a suburban town new to them. When the town’s teenagers throw a party at their home while it’s under construction, the home is ruined.

After reading the synopsis I thought there had to be more to it than that; just a party and the aftermath? But that’s exactly what it is. I kept waiting for something to happen. I was still able to appreciate it for what it was and I did enjoy it; it’s just not a thriller.. really. It’s more a commentary about privilege in small towns. There’s investigation, police procedural, and small town politics, but don’t expect heavy suspense. If you go in knowing that, I think you’ll enjoy it more.

“This case - these kids - they’re like a tornado, picking up everything in their path, smashing it up and spitting it back out.”

The House Party comes out 9/13.

The House Party is a take on entitlement and privilege in a suburban town.
When a group of students decide to have some fun as the school year ends, things get out of hand.
Was thought provoking and made me think about blame versus empathy. Community versus individuals and possible consequences.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Insurance companies should love this book. It makes one want to pay the big bucks to protect your home; your prized investment.

The story starts with a big party at a beautiful unoccupied glass house by the river that is almost finished. The word is out to a group of High School kids right before graduation that this is the place to be. And after a night of drugs, alcohol and a complete destruction of the house, everyone’s lips were zipped. This part made me think I made a big mistake with this book as it seemed to be about a bunch of kids having a good time and then getting caught. However, the next chapter made it more interesting.

The owners of the house, Maja and Ted, lived in a small place in NYC. They wanted to raise a family and found a vacant lot to build within driving distance that had an artsy feeling in an area of high-income families. What they didn’t count on was having a vacant house without the protection of the local officers and kids that would do a lot of destruction. A restaurant owner said, “It’s a game to them. When you’re given everything, nothing has value. All you have are these little thrills.” He said it starts when they take salt shakers and silverware and then later it’s the bigger prize. It made me think about other things…entitled adults with the law on their side.

The book was well written and a quick read. There’s a lot going on with Maja’s deep desire to get pregnant, the diversity of rich and poor people, law enforcers that protect their friends, the secrets and trust issues and the drama of relationships. It’s easy to keep track of a handful of characters. And the chapters are relatively short. But it’s the thought of living in a society of privileged kids that makes the reader want to get inside the story – our world -- and change some things around.

My thanks to Rita Cameron, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of September 13, 2022.

I really enjoyed reading The House Party, I read it in one day. It was well written and kept my interest, couldn’t stop reading till I found out how it ended. Thanks Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.