I LOVED this book. I have a weak spot for books about the aughts of adolescence set at boarding schools, and All Girls did not disappoint. The story is told through a series of poignant vignettes that chronicle a year in the life of students at The Atwater School, a prestigious girls school tucked away in the woods of Connecticut. What I liked best was how fully developed each character was, and how honest each story was. This is a must read!!!

It is 2015 at Atwater an elite prep school in Connecticut where we follow nine girls throughout a school year from Orientation to the Commencement. From freshman Lauren, Bryce and Macy just getting the hang of the lingo for everything at the school to seniors Mia, Anjali and Olivia who are getting ready to graduate and head to an ivy league school. Amidst this the school and the girls are dealing with the fallout of an incident that was buried in 1995 of an 18 yr old student who accused a faculty member that she was involved with of rape and nothing was done by the administration and she was caught for an minor infraction and expelled afterword. Now at 33 she is suing the school for damages and we get to see how the new administration is dealing with this accusation and how it colors the experiences the girls are having there and even years later.

It was interesting to have some many varied pov to see this school through. Even though at times I had a hard time keeping track of which student it was that we were reading about. It was a really good ensemble and a very well thought out coming of age story amidst the scandal of a rape accusation and how the school dealt or really didn’t deal with it. Every student we got an insight into was super interesting even though I would have like there not be so many and maybe to have focused on 4 instead of 9 pov since there were stories and characters that we just got a glimpse of and then we never revisited the character again. But I really enjoyed reading this and getting a glimpse into the world of elite perp schools.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

I'm a sucker for a boarding school book, and this one set in the Me Too era is fascinating, A school of girls at an elite boarding school learn of a case from many years ago when a current staff member allegedly assaulted a student. The dynamics of how each girl and the faculty handle the impact this has is really interesting; however, the book focuses on so many characters that it is hard to keep track of all the students, and some of the stories get lost and are not used to their maximum impact. I would have preferred a few central characters and seen a more full version of their stories. This caused me to lose interest towards the end; but I loved the premise and the inner look at board school life.

All Girls by Emily Layden is listed on Google as a mystery, though I struggle to call it even that. There's little to no mystery to be found in this novel. To be one, most expect build-up, suspense, discovery. In this novel, there's none. Instead, it's a book shrouded in bureaucracy, almost but not meta-fictive: syntactically tedious, safe, evasive. While an alumnae's alleged rape is placed at the center of an all-girls boarding school in 2015 New England, there is never any real sense of danger and so the stakes remain minimal throughout the course of the narrative, even as faculty is swept up in sexual misconduct accusations and the ensuing public scrutiny.

By nature, the 1995 rape disrupts the contemporary culture of Atwater in a very secondhand way, allowing current teenage girls to reevaluate their own sexual language, ideas, and even experiences. As such, the novel spends most of its time contemplating girls growing up too fast, or else girls clambering to keep up with the thrashing tide. The premise is promising without any knowledge of the novel's execution—though never at any point a mystery, unless readers are interested in the fate of the physical setting itself, rather than its inhabitants.

The question of who's behind several acts intended to pressure the school into addressing the rape is answered at the very end of the novel, with no lead-in or time to collect clues, culminating in an ultimately unsatisfying and arguably head-scratching conclusion. This is largely the fault of the novel's set-up.

All Girls opens with Lauren Triplett, a wide-eyed freshman fascinated by signs accusing Atwater of employing a rapist during her drive to campus on move-in day. This is a notably strong entry point into what I assumed would be a harrowing journey, though most of the novel's strengths end here. Each chapter follows a new girl navigating Atwater, volleying between grades, campus familiarity—or lack thereof—and varying degrees of involvement in the central "mystery" plot. The novel never settles and so readers are left scrambling to understand an ever-shifting narrative trying to capture too many angles at too slow a pace.

Right when I felt like I was getting comfortable in a student's head, the novel pivoted and tossed a new character (and, by consequence, a new web of relationships) at my feet. In other words, it's impossible to ever feel comfortable reading All Girls. Less so when the central thread—a former student's rape—weakens with every chapter. Attempts at capturing stories and lives are cut short by the choppy choice in third-person head-switching, so that very few characters ever have a chance to feel anything more than vapid or allegorical.

It's true that readers sign up for this when the synopsis calls the novel one "told through the shifting perspectives of an unforgettable cast of female students"—"unforgettable" being the ironic operative word. Still, selecting a few essential students to rotate between as the plot thickens would seem smarter than splitting time between throw-away characters who do little to advance the so-called mystery. The head-shifting becomes particularly egregious in the final chapter, which is divided into fragmented vignettes from six separate seniors, most of whom, for the last 300 or so pages, were so uninvolved in the narrative as to be meaningless to readers after a nonexistent climax.

The effect is less novelistic and more like a short story collection. In fact, I can't help but think All Girls would have been stronger in this format. As it is, the most interesting and plot-central characters receive the very least—Olivia Anderson, for example, Head Proctor and liaison to the administration on campus, introduced in chapter one and present throughout the novel, receives only one small perspective-specific vignette at the end.

Which leads me to another issue I took with the novel. I was more often bewildered with the language used in and around students of color than not. Olivia, for example, is one in several victims—and a repeated one, at that—of the novel's preoccupation with the idea of the token non-white girl or diversity scapegoat. Instead of serving as a commentary on racist education practices, which I'm sure was the purpose of these references, Olivia becomes just that, existing only through the ways she's consumed by others. She's never allowed to escape this racial perception. Until the absolute end, this is her fate from even those closest to her, with no narrative remorse. Attempts to—briefly, fleetingly—humanize herself are met with disregard. Olivia is not humanizing herself, but pulling out "a trump card."

Even as I type this review, I'm struggling to understand whether lines like, "...she can see that a few of the Chinese students are home, the girls whose English never really caught up, despite three years of immersive-language study," are supposed to reflect the insular perspectives of white boarding school campuses or whether they're simply unintentionally absurd.

Finally, there is the prose, which is often gratuitously descriptive, particularly where similes are concerned: "The buildings grow like runway models, now: tall and skinny and twisting in the wind," and, two pages later, "...his red windbreaker billowing behind him like a smallish parachute." This works to slow down the narrative, while alternately heightening All Girls strong sense for aesthetic. You would be hard pressed to find a passage that more needlessly captures the teenage, the obsessive, the grotesque:

"She counts a smattering of blackheads at her chin. She begins by flicking a nail across a small whitehead near her eyebrow, listening to the tiny pop as it bursts. She examines the damage—minimal, none really, just a little red mark where there used to be a mountaintop of pus. Leaning closer to the mirror, she places her forefingers on either side of the tip of her nose and then drags them in opposite directions, stretching the skin, before moving her fingers toward one another again. She watches as strings of discharge sprout from her pores, long and thin and solid enough to stand on end, like tiny bacterial beanstalks."

While not the biggest fan of the prose, I have to commend the novel for its ability to really ground itself in its setting. It is superbly fleshed out and the strongest foundation throughout the narrative. Atwater—all its beauty, its twists and turns, its layers of history—are practically movie-rendered. The prose is bolstered in this regard. Moving through the campus feels more than believable; it feels like Layden is transferring a real place to the page. Standout chapters like "Fall Fest" and "Retrospectives" soar as the characters alternately connect and/or disagree with this setting.

The other strong point in the novel is undeniably the digital. The interludes, specifically, that separate each character's chapter/section, always serve to enhance the narrative and add something new/surprising to our glimpses of life on campus. Likewise, All Girls' understanding of teenage relationships with technology is impressive—certainly some of the strongest I've seen explored. The presence of Tumblr and its ties to LGBT identity, in particular, are extremely well-done.

It's hard to truly summarize how I feel about this book, since the reading experience was so disjointed, but I have to say, mystery excluded, All Girls is a slow, thoughtful rumination about power within the walls of western institutions—and to what ends that power is used—with several glaring problems. Its nature writing is memorable and Atwater leaps off of the page. More than that, though, its work to capture the realities of sex and sexual assault through adolescent eyes—the horrors, the embarrassments, the confusions and retrospective realizations—are impressive. For those with the patience and willpower, this is worth the read, if only for the social commentary it provides on sex.

I love a good novel in a school setting and this one checked all the boxes! Layden follows nine girls at a prestigious all-girls boarding school as they face the challenges of school, friendships, and boy problems--all amidst a scandal of an alleged rape of a previous student by a male faculty member. It's an honest and straight-forward look at contemporary society and the issues our kids face as they navigate high school, social media, and the often-blurred lines of right and wrong. It's just a lovely, heartfelt coming-of-age story that will resonate long after the final page.

3.5 out of 5 ✨s — first of all, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of All Girls! I loved the description of the plot from the get-go. A story revolving around a scandal in a boarding school? Count me in.

I have mixed feelings about this book, though. I want so badly to have been invested in more of these characters. I liked that we got to see the impact of the news of the assault accusations on a variety of different experiences at the school. I just wasn’t satisfied with the ending nor that the characters didn’t feel like they converged at any point for some big sort of impact by the end. For me, this didn’t work so much.

I did, however, really like how Layden explored how a sexual assault case from 1995 impacted students at the same school in 2020. As a teacher, I think this spoke to some conversations happening within younger generations at this very moment. There were some powerful moments about assault and consent.

Although this was not my favorite book of 2020, the plot was still intriguing and there were many moments that felt powerful throughout. Would still recommend to others that feel the plot sounds intriguing!

I am often drawn towards YA novels, and have read quite a few based on an all girls boarding school set in New England, with a heavy dollop of something controversial to pique the interest. All Girls is exactly that. As the novel opened and flowed through the beginning, I could see where it was going, but it was written in a tone that still tempted me to continue reading. I welcomed the settings and the characters the most, and definitely picked up on the accurate insights and perspectives of the college girls. I am thrilled that the author is drawing attention to the multitude of controversial topics addressed in this novel - it is so important for them to be addressed and talked about - and am impressed with the way she was able to address them in such real life situations.

I struggled with my rating. I loved the writing style and tone, (and clearly the topic), and would love to read more by this author, but I feel everything shifted after the beginning of the book and became scattered and never really circled back.

One year at a prestigious all girls boarding school in New England unfolds from multiple POVs. The backdrop is a scandal - a teacher accused of raping a student back in the 90s and the current lawsuit, but this book is more a coming of age novel. I enjoyed the multiple POVs (which are written in third person), but I notice many reviews do not. I did not find it difficult to follow the story. Each POV gave a different perspective, not just on life at the boarding school, but on different insecurities that many girls feel as they navigate adolescence - sexual awakening/experience/identity; sexual assault; imposter syndrome; just generally thinking everyone is coping much better than you are, etc.

"ALL GIRLS captures one year at a prestigious New England prep school, as nine young women navigate their ambitions, friendships, and fears against the backdrop of a scandal the administration wants silenced.

But as the months unfold, and the school's efforts to control the ensuing crisis fall short, these extraordinary girls are forced to discover their voices, and their power. A tender and unflinching portrait of modern adolescence told through the shifting perspectives of an unforgettable cast of female students, ALL GIRLS explores what it means to grow up in a place that promises you the world––when the world still isn't yours for the taking."

From the book: "the portion of a culture that takes and takes and takes from girls, all the while refusing to recognize them as whole people. . . .[T}hey didn't only want to be seen. They wanted to feel like they mattered."

There's a WHOLE lotta truth in those few sentences. I found all the girls to be relatable in one way or another, regardless of how much of their POV related to my experiences as a teenage girl. Fantastic debut novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This could have been such a good book. The premise was good, it kind of reminded me of “Prep”, which I really loved. But the story being told by so many voices made it seem disjointed and confusing. I couldn’t form an attachment to a character because as soon as I started to get invested, another chapter would begin. Kind of disappointed in this one.

On the way to her first day at the Atwater boarding school in Connecticut, Lauren and her family are faced with hundreds of flyers en route to school that say “A Rapist Works Here.” Thus begins All Girls by Emily Layden, a look at how a school handles or fails to handle the accusation of sexual assault on an alum by a faculty member. Soon, the members of the school community are buzzing about the incident, trying to fit the pieces together. In each subsequent chapter we are introduced to new characters, so many, in fact, that it becomes quite a puzzle to keep track of and differentiate them all. There are definitely some interesting and important discussions about consent and school responsibility. And the book begs the question what is more important to an institution, protecting their students or protecting the good name of the school? But ultimately, it was a story that felt a bit disjointed and was difficult to get fully invested in. Thank you to St. Matin’s Press and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book because the premise sounded like it was going to be good. Unfortunately the pace of the writing was a little slow for me. I didn't really feel connexted to any of the characters and I didn't really get to apoint where I feel like the socially commentary I expected popped up. I am sure it was there, but 38% into the book with nothing but a bunch of character introductions and build up but no actual pay out and I couldn't stay with it. I love the idea of the boom, I just prefer a faster paced story line for this type of drama.

The epigraph reads, “Young women deserve to have their experiences seen more fully. This book is dedicated to them.” The book opens with parents and students winding their way through the Connecticut countryside en route to The Atwater School. They encounter an unwelcome surprise en route: signs that read “a rapist teaches here” line the roads. The students are scared. The parents are concerned. Against this foreboding backdrop, Layden employs an unusual structure to great effect: the lives of nine students take center stage, and in rotating points of view, these nine different narrators take us through the school year, each story centering on a major event like orientation, fall fest, or prom, as experienced by that girl. Through it all, the campus investigation continues, and the students grapple with their position at an institution that exists to empower girls—until it comes at a cost. Readers, take note: triggers abound, including sexual assault.

I liked this book quite a bit, but I’m a sucker for a boarding school book, especially adult novels about teen characters, especially set in New England. And with a feminist theme, absolutely. But while the author is making a point about “all girls’” experiences with sex and shame and anxiety at an “all girls’” school, there are way too many POV to care strongly about any of them. There are certainly memorable moments: the drive on to campus with the signs, the date rape in the corn maze, the runner with severe anxiety, but the girls mostly blend together and the scandal gets watered down to nothing by the middle of the book. The scandal was the hook for this book, and then it seemed to get completely lost after the teacher leaves and the “pranks” get smaller and smaller.

Atwater is a prestigious all-girls school in Connecticut. At the start of the novel, we’re introduced to freshman Lauren, as she and her family are navigating to the school for the first time. As they approach the small town, they see a number of yard signs announcing “A RAPIST WORKS HERE”.

The novel continues, each chapter focusing on a new student, as well as the ongoing rape allegations of an unknown faculty member and an alumna from 20 years ago.

I felt this novel had some really good portions, focusing on a lot of different aspects adolescents face (sexuality, rape, trauma, classism and racism) but I also found it hard to get through, mainly because every single chapter focuses on a new student.

Overall, I found myself giving this one 2 stars, mainly because I wish the author would have focused more on just a few main characters. I also felt like the main focus of the rape allegations and how the school dealt with them (as well as the mystery student) could have been formatted better.

All Girls rings with authenticity. Having worked at an all girls boarding school, this book rang true in terms of girl culture and boarding school culture and traditions. This book also echoes the #MeToo movement. I often wondered if the author was a student or teacher at the school where I worked at a different time! Well done!

This was a relevant, interesting read with a fantastic setting but felt really disjointed to me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters because there were so many glimpses into them but not enough for me to dig in and identify with them all. I feel if there was one character in a few core groups that I could see through this might have worked better for me.... but that aside I enjoyed the story and liked quite a lot about this book. The triggering aspects were very well written and the writing moves along well with the events. I would absolutely read more from this Author and I'm thankful for the opportunity to read it through this forum.

I requested this title because of the comparisons to Curtis Sittenfield’s *Prep." "Prep" is one of my favorite books and I do agree that readers who enjoyed *Prep* will likely also enjoy *All Girls.* The book's setting takes place at an all-girls boarding school called Atwater. This is set in 2015. The novel starts with our main character, Lauren, and her new friends driving up to the school - they begin to notice an abundance of billboards that look almost like an election campaign proclaiming that the school has a teacher who is a rapist. We come to learn that a student (from 1995) is suing the school because she was assaulted by a teacher and never received true justice. The story continued on to be told from many different points of view-all involving the same subject, I really thought the character development was well done and that the author had the balls to face this very common problem of prestigious schools covering up issues to save their reputations and tuition. "All Girls" is a story that could take place at any school in this country today, Sometimes the different perspectives got a little tiresome, but the point was made and I appreciated that.

All Girls by Emily Layden sucked me in from the very first page. The writing, the different & distinct POVs, the lush atmosphere of the school- I loved it all. It was a challenge not to rush through the book to get to the end, but I just couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!!!!

Boarding school is one of my favorite settings for a book - the isolation of a small group of students who are coming of age gives a writer and a reader a lot to unpack! All Girls was no exception - we follow a diverse group of nine girls through a year at Atwater, a prestigious school with an image problem. As the school reckons with a sexual abuse lawsuit, the girls reckon with their own romantic/sexual experiences and their time at Atwater.

I enjoyed having a window into the lives of these girls - Layden dedicates a chapter to each girl's point of view, and we see figures from other chapters pop up in the context of friendships and classes. Each girl's circumstances are different but their struggles with identity fit together well. My only critique of the structure is that I wanted more from each girl - having each story at only one point in the year didn't let me know how they processed those experiences and grew from them. Other than that, I really enjoyed the novel - the writing felt real, and I could see my teenage self at Atwater being friends with these girls. The discussions of consent, power, and feminism sprinkled within the pages add depth to the book, making it more "literary fiction" than just a "boarding school drama".

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.