This novel plunges us right into the thick of things, starting off with—a MURDER. Actually, it’s the aftermath of the deed, as related by one individual, a girl who is focusing on herself rather than the corpse. She’s cold, she’s wishing she had her friends by her side to help her through this and she’s got blood and dirt on her hands.
It’s thrilling stuff, the deft writing of a clever author, one who knows how to hook the reader right from the start. After that sordid beginning, we are gently ushered into a world of scholastic opulence. The first is the lunchroom of a college campus, the kind that bring to mind images of ivy-covered halls, trust-fund babies and marble floors—all the accoutrements of white privilege. It’s the sort of place that gives rise to senators, award-winning actors, Pulitzer prize winners and Supreme Court judges.
But the students are people, some of them nervous, some of them confident and all of them eager to win a coveted seat in the Legacy Club, an exclusive club that’s supposed to propel them into elite status. The novel alternates between points of view and that gives us a variety of personalities, each limned with a subtle convincing tone.
There are people hiding secrets (Sexual liaisons? Lower-class origins? Falsified test scores?), others battling emotions of inadequacy and some with a fierce determination to win. For many, the cash prize of $25,000 is nothing. But, for others, it means scores of bills can be paid, needful equipment could be purchased and keeping a roof over your head.
There is the obvious class division at play here, with all the resultant indifference and resentment that can arise between the haves and the have-nots. But the clash of personalities also provides its share of strain.
The author builds on that tension. That’s not to state that she’s subtle. We can tell that Skyler and Isobel got up to “something” behind Bernie’s back and can guess exactly what that “something” was. We can see that Skyler and Bernie’s coupledom is based more on who their parents are than on any real love. Puberty hit and he grew tall, she got the biggest breasts among the girls in her class—is there really anything deeper between them other than they’re being the two hottest kids in school? Tori needs the money in a way that these rich kids do not and her steely determination is a bright fire, either warming or threatening to burn down everything.
These adolescents are supposed to be making bonds that will serve them well in their careers, cleaving to influential people they will know for the rest of their lives. But the very nature of wealth and privilege makes some of them wonder if they’d really care for these other people if it weren’t for their parents or their money.
These early pages indicate this is a YA novel with bite, with the desperation of fleeting youth and the worry that life is no longer going to be wine and roses. It’s potent writing and leaves you eager to know what happens even as you dread the outcome.
It’s thrilling stuff, the deft writing of a clever author, one who knows how to hook the reader right from the start. After that sordid beginning, we are gently ushered into a world of scholastic opulence. The first is the lunchroom of a college campus, the kind that bring to mind images of ivy-covered halls, trust-fund babies and marble floors—all the accoutrements of white privilege. It’s the sort of place that gives rise to senators, award-winning actors, Pulitzer prize winners and Supreme Court judges.
But the students are people, some of them nervous, some of them confident and all of them eager to win a coveted seat in the Legacy Club, an exclusive club that’s supposed to propel them into elite status. The novel alternates between points of view and that gives us a variety of personalities, each limned with a subtle convincing tone.
There are people hiding secrets (Sexual liaisons? Lower-class origins? Falsified test scores?), others battling emotions of inadequacy and some with a fierce determination to win. For many, the cash prize of $25,000 is nothing. But, for others, it means scores of bills can be paid, needful equipment could be purchased and keeping a roof over your head.
There is the obvious class division at play here, with all the resultant indifference and resentment that can arise between the haves and the have-nots. But the clash of personalities also provides its share of strain.
The author builds on that tension. That’s not to state that she’s subtle. We can tell that Skyler and Isobel got up to “something” behind Bernie’s back and can guess exactly what that “something” was. We can see that Skyler and Bernie’s coupledom is based more on who their parents are than on any real love. Puberty hit and he grew tall, she got the biggest breasts among the girls in her class—is there really anything deeper between them other than they’re being the two hottest kids in school? Tori needs the money in a way that these rich kids do not and her steely determination is a bright fire, either warming or threatening to burn down everything.
These adolescents are supposed to be making bonds that will serve them well in their careers, cleaving to influential people they will know for the rest of their lives. But the very nature of wealth and privilege makes some of them wonder if they’d really care for these other people if it weren’t for their parents or their money.
These early pages indicate this is a YA novel with bite, with the desperation of fleeting youth and the worry that life is no longer going to be wine and roses. It’s potent writing and leaves you eager to know what happens even as you dread the outcome.