Random Reads

Bullyville by Francine Prose

  Bart's family gains national attention when he accidentally saves his mother's life on 9/11.  He is sick and his mother must stay at home instead of going to work at the Twin Towers.  Unfortunately, his two timing dad is killed in the wreckage.  Bart is awarded a scholarship to the Bailywell School which is an expensive, ultra elite academy.  Bailywell, called Bullyville by everyone in town, has a reputation as being a school where you are bullied or the bullyer.  Francine Prose paints a predictable picture of bullying without clearly showing the emotional aspect in a convincing way. 

Now You See Her by Jacquelyn Mitchard

  Hope Shay is 15 years old and attends the Starwood Academy for Performing Arts. She is an outstanding actress whose mother pushes her to perfection.  Hope meets Logan Rose and they immediately fall in love.  He lands the role of Romeo and Hope will be Juliet in the upcoming school play.  Since Logan is older than Hope and graduating soon, he hatches a plan to fake kidnap Hope so they can obtain ransom money from her parents so they can run away together.  The plan doesn't go accordingly and Hope gets caught.  Everyone suspects that Hope faked her kidnapping and she is sent away to receive medical (mental) treatment.  This psychological thriller will leave readers guessing until the very end.  Highly recommend.

I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

    Cammie Morgan is 15 years old and attends a private boarding school named the Gallagher Academy where her mother is headmistress.  Outsiders think the school is an elite school for the very rich.  In actuality, it is a school training the all girl academy to be spies.  The students take classes on encryption, covert operations, they are trained to kill enemies in about seven different ways, and they can speak 14 different languages.  Many of the students are children of spies and possess an extremely high IQ.  Cammie's crisis begins when she is on a mission in the local town and meets a boy named Josh who becomes her boyfriend.  Josh has absolutely no idea about Cammie's secret identity and he believes she is a homeschooled girl.  Cammie and her friends deal with Josh in amazing and funny ways.  I thought this book was truly awesome and can't wait for the next novel which is sure to be a series. 

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

  In the sequel to I'd Tell You I Love but Then I'd Have To Kill You, Ally Carter returns to the spy world as Cammie and her posse are up to their old antics.  The girls discover that a spy school exists for boys and they are coming to stay at the Gallagher Academy.  The Gallagher girls are excited and Cammie finds herself falling for one of the students.  But everything isn't as it appears and soon the girls are on a top secret mission to find out what the boys are really up to and protect their school from outside infiltration.  Fans of Carter's first novel won't be disappointed with her follow-up tale of espionage and antics.

     I love reading debut novels by promising new authors and John Green's book will not disappoint.  Miles Halter is tired of his ordinary life in Florida and leaves for boarding school in Alabama.  Each chapter in the novel is a countdown to some important event.  For example, chapter one begins, "One hundred thirty-six days before."  Miles is intrigued with famous last words and is on his way to seek "The Great Perhaps," what a famous poet once said.  Once Miles arrives at Culver Creek, he meets his roommate Chip Martin and his best friend Alaska.  Once Miles meets Alaska, his world is turned upside down.  She is beautiful but troubled beyond words.  The threesome try to avoid trouble as they smoke, drink, and cause mayhem.  The friendships are strong and admirable which makes the ending tragedy all the more sad.  I thought the author did a fantastic job of making the reader immersed in the lives of the three main characters.  

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

  Miri lives with her older sister and father on Mount Eskel where the villagers make their living working in the quarry.  Exciting news is delivered that the Prince will choose a bride from Mount Eskel.  The village girls are sent three hours away where they will attend the Princess Academy in order to become refined and better educated.  At first, Miri desperately wants to be chosen as the princess.  As she learns to read she discovers a whole new world that she wants to desperately share with her village.  A harsh winter and a visit from some bandits adds to the overall exciting storyline.  Readers and fans of Shannon Hale's other novels will not be disappointed!

     Lee Fiora is a middle class teen living in the midwest when she wins a scholarship to the Ault School, one of the most elite boarding schools on the east coast.  Having been raised in a middle class setting, she is unprepared for the money and prestige that the school caters to.  Lee, now 24, reflects on her years at the school and concludes that she was not very happy there. Upon arriving at the school, she was worried that people would immediately notice her but becomes upset when they don't.  Sittenfeld does an excellent job of portraying a teen living away from her parents and how outside influences will help shape the person she becomes.  The plot is nicely developed and the secondary characters in the novel simply add to the overall stereotypical boarding school culture of money and wealth.  This novel can be considered young adult or adult fiction.  You may find it in either section of the library depending on the catalogers.

      This novel explores the pressures that students face trying to get into the most prestigious universities.  Amanda Bahringer has already graduated from high school but has failed acceptance to Dartmouth.  Her parents send her to an elite prep school as a post graduate student in order to raise her grades and SAT scores with renewed hope of attending Dartmouth.  Amanda has decent grades, average SAT scores, is active in cross-country and plays piano.  She has five months to improve her chances.  During this time, Amanda struggles with an eating disorder, takes pills to sleep, immerses herself in studying, and overexercises.  Amanda puts all her energy  into trying to please her parents by studying and following their strict advice.  The ending is filled with tragedy and sadness.  The author uses his former experience as a headmaster to tell this deeply troubling tale of Amanda Bahringer. This is easily one of the best novels I have read about boarding school culture and the intense pressure that many students face by trying to get into the most elite universities and colleges.