I think overall I enjoyed this book. It took me a while to figure out what direction the story was going in, but I liked the way the boarding school setting was described and I liked the characters. There were some plot points that were a little difficult to follow. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this title, which disappeared in the depths of my Kindle until recently. I would call this literary fiction with a dash of magical realism. I appreciated the multiple, interconnected storylines, but I think the book could have been stronger without the Disney subplot. The characters and their stories were what made it interesting and the bit of paranormal activity was nice and creepy.

I picked it up thinking it would be sort of like a thriller set in a school. I don’t know where I got that idea from but that was what I was expecting and maybe that’s why I ended up not enjoying this book as much as I thought it would. This is like a nostalgic take on boarding schools and girls studying there. I might have enjoyed this if I had a better idea about what to expect but unfortunately I didn’t. There was too much happening all at once, some of them which didn’t contribute anything to the overall plot and there were too many PoVs and too many characters that I couldn’t get invested in anything

*thank you to Netgalley, Michael Knight and Grove Atlantic for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


2 stars

I made it to the end!!!! Phew because I didn't think I could manage it. I should have loved this! It sounded exactly like what I'd enjoy but from the very beginning I couldn't settle into the story. I didn't really like the characters and the way they spoke so that threw the whole flow overboard to me. This clearly wasn't for me unfortunately so I was rather disappointed.

Set in the 1990's in an all girl boarding school in the US and told from multiple points of view. Lenore is a boarder at the school, depressed and trying to hide her pregnancy from her school friends and teachers.

Some of the supporting cast are brilliant and I actually liked the majority of the characters - and that never happens.

This was a nice easy read which I enjoyed.

Boarding school novels always grab my attention, but this one didn't quite hold on to it. I enjoyed the atmospheric, slightly eerie feeling, but I wanted more from the plot—teen pregnancy and depression are such rich subjects, and I hoped the early-mid 1990s setting would make an interesting contrast to books on these subjects set in the 2010s. Unfortunately, it felt a bit bogged down by high school tropes and stereotypes, and the fell a little flat.

I was drawn to this story as I love any book with a boarding school aspect, Though the story was not about a haunted boarding school, rather it was about a pregnant teenager and her depression, I was lured into At Briarwood School for Girls by this new-to-me author, Michael Knight.

Set in 1994, it was told from multiple points of view - Lenore, the pregnant teenager and her history teacher, Mr. Bishop.

I loved the literary and historical aspects of this book and the well drawn characters, especially the dialogue between them. The author's portrayal of Lenore was excellent and I could feel some of Lenore's suffering.

A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about makes this a must-buy!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Grove Atlantic via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This novel is set at an all girls boarding school in Virginia in the 1990s, told mostly from the perspectives of one student and two faculty members. It's a rather quiet book, but it created a really good atmosphere, kind of melancholy and wistful.

I love books about elite boarding schools, or school settings in general really so this drew me in and then a drama production on top of this seemed great. This was a good read but to me felt like it could have done a lot more. It could have stepped things up with using more complex characters and less reliance on typical "boarding school" or "high school" tropes. That lessened the impact of what the author was trying to do in my opinion. Overall, I enjoyed it but it really could have been even better.

#AtBriarwoodSchoolForGirls #NetGalley

The story was written as third person omniscient descriptive. Characters are described indirectly. The main conflict is internal as the main character battles themselves. Some major themes that are shown throughout this story are love, death, survival, prejudice and individual versus society.

Lenore Littlefield is our antagonist who is freshmen at Briarwood in the early 1990s. She plays basketball and due to breaking curfew is now starring in the school play. She is keeping a large secret from her friends and teachers. Eugenia Marsh was a similar student to Lenore expects she enjoyed writing and would a playwright. Elizabeth Archer is the ghost of the school who acted as confidant for both girls and the problem. Her character’s death was suicide after her fiancée was killed. Lenore Littlefield is introduced as she has broken curfew along with her friends and because of the difficult relationship with her roommate; they end up getting written up. This is followed by school field trip to a new Disney site, with Coach Fink and history teacher Mr. Bishop. Coach Fink is deemed the faculty in charge of the play after the original faculty gets sick; they are putting on Eugenia’s play. Lenore ends up here as punishment for breaking curfew, but also has to juggle playing on the basketball team as the season finishes up. Coach Fink enlists the help of Mr. Bishop in finding Eugenia Marsh to get her help with the play; it is then that Eugenia and Lenore discover they have a lot in common including help from Elizabeth Archer.

The ideas are interesting and important as the story flows logically and organized. The voice is unique and individualized to the story. The word choice was a bit simple and normal while the sentences were to the point and sometimes short and lacking details. Yes, I would recommend this book. It would be good for any freshmen, ghost lovers and those who enjoy old society tales. This book would not be good for those against teen pregnancy, abortions, suicide, ghosts, or any use of the occult.

Thoroughly mediocre. Boarding school novels are like catnip to me, but there was nothing unique about the plot. There wasn't enough paranormal activity to earn that killer first line about all boarding schools being haunted and the characters weren't dynamic enough to make the story come to life. It was all very flat.

I did enjoy the fake questions about Disney's proposed theme park -- which apparently was a thing! But not enough to really recommend this book.

I found this book really hard to get into... didn’t hold my interest, I’m afraid. There was nothing really holding me to it and if felt like I was forcing myself through it.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

I am a sucker for books about boarding schools (maybe too much Enid Blyton as a kid) and AT BRIARWOOD SCHOOL FOR GIRLS does not disappoint. Knight does a good job of letting us feel like we are getting an inside peek at a very intimate society. Student Lenore finds herself pregnant just as she is cast in the school play, written by a famous alumn, about a pregnant boarding school girl. Lenore springs the news on Mr. Bishop, her history teacher (but not the father), shocking him and sending his life into turmoil. Should he tell? And if so, who should he tell? Coach Fink, Lenore's hockey coach and the director of the play? And was he the cause of student Poppy's outburst in a public forum where Disney hoped to gain support for its American history theme park? Beautifully writing, rich characters, a good plot and some delightful magical realism rounds out this thoroughly engaging read.

The premise of this book will draw in certain readers. A boarding school, a ghost...it's things that so many books have covered and done quite well. Michael Knight has taken those two elements - and added in teachers, a reclusive writer, a planned theme park, a play and a few months of a school terms.

This isn't a YA book. This isn't a horror novel. This is a fantastic slice of time at one school, in one city, during a few months in the early 90s. I loved everything about this.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Michael Knight for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you so much to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was immediately drawn to this story as I love any book with a boarding school as its location and add in the creepy ghost aspect, I was sold. Even though the story is really not about a haunted boarding school, it's about a pregnant teenager and her depression, I will got drawn in. I have never read anything by Michael Knight before but I've heard great things and I honestly really enjoyed this book.

Set in 1994, this story revolves around an all girls boarding school in Virginia. This story is told from multiple points of view and one main character is Lenore, a pregnant and depressed teen that is trying to hide it from her fellow classmates and her teachers. Her history teacher Mr. Bishop is the first to find out about the pregnancy and is also another main speaking voice in this novel. While all of this is going on a Disney theme park is being constructed that would use history attractions to hopefully bring more people into the rural area.

I loved the literary and historical aspect of this book which surprised me as I'm not known for reading those types of genres. As I said going into it, I first assumed it was about a haunted boarding school and ghosts but it was so much more than that. I loved all of the characters (especially Coach Fink, she cracked me up) and I loved all of the dialogue between the characters. The way the author portrayed them you could just imagine an angry Mr. Bishop in your head and feel the true depression from Lenore.

Very great book and honestly one I could probably read again!

Michael Knight writes a very good story. In several voices, ranging from a teen-aged boarding school girl, to her middle-aged history teacher and coach, Knight tells a (lightly haunted) tale of individuals striving to find themselves, and then to be true to that self. The young women of Briarwood are carefully drawn individuals, and Knight steers clear of mean girl clichés. Their teachers are likable characters, with endearing vulnerabilities.

“At Briarwood” is set in Virginia in the early 90’s, and the Disney Corporation is making plans to build an oddly conceived “American History” theme park in a part of the country rich in actual history. I was fascinated by this bit of documentary woven into the background of the novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lenore Littlefield is a student at the Briarwood School for Girls. She plays basketball, dislikes her roommate, and she’s pregnant. As a punishment for one-too-many curfew violations, she is forced to join the drama club whose new director is her basketball coach. As a subplot, Knight includes the controversial plan by Disney to build a theme park near one of the Civil War battlefields.

While the possibilities for this novel were legion, the author failed to do them justice. The students, for the most part, are stereotypical high school students, i.e., mean girl, pregnant girl, snarky girl, etc. The faculty members are also stereotypes, teachers who can’t find a “real” job elsewhere so settle for a private girls’ school. The inclusion of the Disney park seems forced and the reader may wonder why it’s there at all. Then there’s the ghost who can communicate via telephone as well as the age-old trope of the Ouija board.

From the early reviews, I expected so much more from this novel than the author actually gave his readers.