I am an alumnae of a private all girls Catholic high school and I could certainly relate my experience to those attending Atwater and the community it created. It is more than a school but rather a sisterhood. What fascinated me was the true variance of characters from a woman seized by anxiety and mental illness to a perfectionist that had difficulty forming friendships to those who wrote for the Heron where their words were not heard. Not until they published a newspaper about the rape that was concealed. In a school that prided itself on progression, they certainly had feminist views about keeping themselves in the past with respect to free speech. Great read and I appreciated the line that it is cool to be smart.

This is my first book from this author and I am very appreciative of the content. The author handles the subject of sexual
assault with defy consideration. Told from the vantage point of young women studying at an elite private school and through the eyes of youth interspersed with the handling of allegations by the school. The only negative is that a different student narrates each chapter.
I would have liked for some of the students voices to be revisited as the plot continued. Hearing from them again as further information and allegations come to light or in conclusion as we see the book culminate. Thank you again for the advanced copy!

This book seemed more teenagerish than I was wanting to read. Good plot line, but felt it should have been more for a younger set.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Well written involving a group of girls at boarding school.Charactersthat come alive teen angst a mystery a book to read.#netgalley#st.martins

I was very interested and drawn into this book in the beginning but...
Something happened when the author introduced soooo many different characters. My head was spinning, I didn’t know who was who. And to top that off the students stories were never wrapped up or concluded.
This book just didn’t really work for me at all.

Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

An excellent boarding school mystery that kept me engaged throughout the entire journey. The writer’s depiction of the characters was spot on. Highly recommended.

Have you ever been so excited to get your hands on a book only to feel completely let down? A book about a scandal at a bougie boarding school is normally my sweet spot, but this book was just all over the place. It started out strong and interesting, but then every incredibly long chapter was a different social event during the school year focusing on a different student. There’s a very fine thread that connects the entire story but I was ultimately let down and wanting it wrapped up sooner rather than later.

The book started off strong but then would jump to a new character for each segment. I wish it would have wrapped back around to them instead of these snippets of stories. I understood the need to tell it from different viewpoints but for each new segment I was searching for clues as to who this person was and what I already learned about them. I had a hard time remembering who was who for some of the characters, what grade they were in, who their friends were, etc.
2.5 stars
Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of ALL GIRLS by Emily Layden in exchange for my honest review.***

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to go to boarding school, possibly do to the Madeline books about little girls in two straight lines. Now I’ll still do anything to get my hands on a boarding school book, so I knew ALL GIRLS would be a must read.

I fell right into freshman Lauren Triplett’s ride to school, seeing signs at announced a rapist at her all girls’ academy, eager to read the fall out. Unfortunately, each chapter was told from a different student’s third person point of view, so readers aren’t able to see an individual’s perspective for the entire school year.

Emily Layden fleshed out each character so that she felt like a real person, rather than just a character in a book. The topical story about a rape allegation swept under the rug, the victim dismissed and even blame could have very well been nonfiction. Layden’s storytelling is less “ripped from thr headlines” and more “let me tell you what happened at my school”, because sexual abuse and coverup is so pervasive sensationalization does a disservice to victims and secondary victims.

Ultimately, ALL GIRLS left me wanting more, one girl’s whole story of that pivotal year.

All Girls drew me in as it began with its’ early description of an elite private school rocked by a past graduate accusing the school of dismissing rape allegations against a faculty member. So, I was quickly disappointed as the author chose to crowd (no, overcrowd) the book with many, many student names. I felt myself being confused by the huge cast of characters. Honestly, between new students, older students, team members, newspaper staff, faculty names, etc., my head was spinning.

I think the author is talented, but the book is too poorly focused for me. There are many descriptions of traditional school events, but I was so awash with names and connections that my head was really spinning.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this novel.

The author’s debut starts with assurance and an intriguing narrative set in an elite girls’ boarding school. (Think Curtis Sittenfeld’s cult classic PREP.) But I DNF, for the same reason I DNF PREP. The boarding school world interests me not at all. I could not relate to sniveling teens and their artificial lives. Just me. I’m sure PREP lovers will adore ALL GIRLS. To each her own!

Pub Date 16 Feb 2021

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#AllGirls #NetGalley

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

This book started off petty strong but wound up going too many places, never once circling back to one girl or idea. Very much a three star book.

I didn't finish this one. The premise sounded promising: a boarding school book with a #MeToo bent. But, the girls were unlikable, overblown and full of stereotypes and they all blended into each other.

I wanted very much to become engrossed in this book. It started out invitingly- introducing young women who are beginning their year at a prestigious, progressive liberal arts womens' boarding school in rural Connecticut. Upon their arrival, there are rumours of a teacher who had raped a former student 15 years ago; the student was dismissed and the teacher continued to teach at the school. The mystery of who this teacher might be, along with the anonymous tips to expose him, is a theme throughout the book.

The main characters are introduced with their own chapters, we learn of their early lives, personalities, and what brought them to the boarding school.. But after meeting 7 or 8 of these protagonists, it's hard to remember one woman from the next. No one or relationship is explored deeply and confrontations are mysteriously resolved. Incidents are suddenly earth-shattering, and after 5 pages we never hear of the incident again..

I became frustrated trying to follow these women and their evolution and their changes over the course of one year at the school, mainly because there were just so many of them and the story itself felt disjointed.

Emily Layden's All Girls gets it just right. All the angst covered up under different personas, the need to express - everything pitch perfect.