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.