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.

This honest coming of age story is full of captivating, descriptive language. This story is set in the middle of nowhere Connecticut at an elite, all-girls boarding school called Atwater. The book starts on the opening day and continues throughout the year, all the way up until graduation through all of the school's important traditions. From the first day, a rape allegation of a former student from the 80s starts to get media traction, and it seems like the school is covering things up to save the reputation of a beloved and accomplished teacher by discrediting the alum. The book follows a group of girls starting the school year, from freshman to seniors, and each of their different perspectives and backgrounds as they try to find out the truth that their school's been hiding for years. We follow various girls from different classes, cliques, who all have different coming of age journeys. It's a captivating mystery trying to deduce what happened and how each girl can relate the alum's story to their own life and how big of an issue assault and rape is as young women.

i really enjoyed reading this book, you could tell that the characters felt like real people and I enjoyed going through the story.

Compulsively readable and of the moment, All Girls is an examination of the fallout of sexual misconduct at Atwater, an elite all girls boarding school. The novel opens with an unsettling mystery: someone has placed signs along the route leading to the school accusing a renowned professor of rape. All Girls unfolds in multiple viewpoints in a structure that follows traditional mileposts of a school year as more pranks occur blaming the institution and leadership of Atwater for turning their backs on their students. .

This novel would be perfect for book clubs with its commentary on predatory sexual behavior swept under the rug in the 80's and 90's that is now forced into the light in the lens of these #metoo times.

It was difficult to keep track of the multiple characters (many with similar names), but I wonder if that was the point: to generalize and personify the way a portion of our culture treats girls not as fully formed humans but as objects to be admired, pursued and consumed.

As a bookseller, I would recommend All Girls to fans of Celeste Ng. Would be a good pick for older YA/New Adult readers as well.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.*

The first book I've read by Emily Layden, All Girls is the story of the fictional Atwater School, a boarding school in Connecticut that caters to the privileged, rich and legacy daughters of the Important People. Initially I thought it might be a thriller. But it's not that. Then I thought it was going to be sexually deviant or scandalous. But it's not that. It seems to be confused as to what it is. In fact, I couldn't tell you who the main characters were. The story seemed to move from character to character without a real reason. There wasn't a specific character you cheered for or hated. And I felt like just when I started to get invested in the characters, the story ended and I was left going "huh"?

It was entertaining because I like a story about rich snooty girls as much as the next person. And often the writing is fantastic. But it seemed like the organization was not well mapped out and I still don't understand the actual plot.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Who doesn't want a glimpse into life at a private girl's school in New England? The setting is fine and the issues are important ones, but to me, the characters were a little too quirky and sometimes lacked believability. But it is a thought provoking read and should appeal to both teens and adults.

This book was well written with many interesting characters. At times, I did feel there was a little too much going on with the many characters. The dither, Emily Layden, did a good job offering different viewpoints about various issues such as sexual assault, sweeping things under the rug, and the elite boarding school life. This novel will capture the minds of many young adult readers.

* A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy

The cover of this book implies that this will be sort of a gossipy book about snobby private school girls. Instead, it is a serious, accurate and timely exploration of the real pressures of “coming of age,” with an emphasis on confusion and fumbling experiences of sexuality among young women. I thought it was very well done, and that the personal individual stories of each of the girls rang very true to life. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC for review.

The premise of this book is very intriguing, a private all girls boarding school and scandal. Unfortunately the story has too many points of view and too many characters for it to be all encompassing and compelling. Takes too much attention to try to keep track of who everyone is. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I was disappointed in this book and I had such high hopes because I love stories that take place at schools. I kept waiting for something to happen or to land on a character who drew me in but neither occurred. Will not mention online as I don’t like to leave a negative review.

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. I was pretty confused, by halfway my head was really spinning.

3 for neutral, unfortunately this was not a book for me, or at least not at this time. I did try to read a few times, but it just was oddly written and very slow. I’m a very moody reader, so if I am able to finish at later date, I’ll update.

It is not lost on me that although I often gravitate towards books about boarding school, I rarely enjoy them. Of course, it must be said that I also work at a boarding school, so I understand all of the nuances, strange traditions, and overall bizarreness of the bubble-world these schools inhabit. Debut author Emily Layden received a six-figure deal for All Girls, and if nothing else, she also understands these institutions and hits the details right on the nose. All Girls is being touted as an “ensemble” novel, and I love a book that jumps from character to character, but Layden doesn’t do enough to distinguish the voices. All of the girls blur together, and maybe that symbolizes the homogeneity of these schools, but it doesn’t make for great reading. The basic plot revolves around a decades-old sexual assault and how the school, Atwater, deals with the past and current ramifications. None of the characters stand out enough to mention, and many of them play frustratingly token roles. Layden’s writing is sharp and easy--she should have used that skill to focus more on a few of the young women to create some empathy and attachment. All Girls is an odd mix of strong writing and an interesting subject with a fizzling-out plot and poorly developed characters. The writing and subject make it worth a look by readers who enjoy an ensemble-style book and are intrigued by boarding schools.

A strong start, however this book ended up being a collection of POV's by narrators living at the same all girls boarding school in the throes of a sex scandal. While this book fell short as adult fiction, I do think it has an audience of mature teens, and will recommend accordingly.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I love stories set in boarding schools/acadamies usually, but this one honestly just bored me out of my mind.

First, I want to express my appreciation to both St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book pre-publication in February, 2021.

It opens with Lauren and her parents driving to Atwater, an all-girls boarding school in Connecticut where she plans to spend at least the next year. Along the road they see signs alluding to the fact that there’s a crisis brewing at the school. It turns out an ex-student of Atwater has claimed she was raped by one of the teachers and that person is still teaching there.

This book begins with a bang with Lauren meeting her roommate and a few of the other students. The descriptions of these personalities drew me in and I wanted to follow their year-long journey. Instead the author introduces more girls with names and backgrounds I can’t remember after a few pages. It was like a few vignettes of different girls at the school – never getting to know any one of them well.

The author also touched on topics I wanted to read more about like hazing and the requirement of wearing white dresses at graduation. But there was no thread tying all this information together. As they often say on Chopped, “it wasn’t a cohesive dish.”

So I slogged through to the end, but I can’t recommend this book.

I think I have a thing for books that take place in a boarding school, but this one was a little off for me. For starters there were a lot of characters and a lot of stories to follow concerning the allegations of sexual by a teacher and most of them seem to be newer students. Its an interesting look at an elite girls's boarding school that is rocked by a scandal.
Thank you #Netgalley and St Martins press for the Arc.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Even though this book is written in the way that it could come across as a women's fiction novel, the level of language and the characters' personalities comes across as very YA feel. This novel is set at an all-girls boarding school in the year 2015 called Atwater. It is Lauren and her new friends a first year, driving up to the school - they are bombarded with what looks like election signs proclaiming that the school has a teacher who is a rapist. The novel then follows several of the students' experiences in the school from hazing to initiations to the life of being part of the campus in general. All with the undertones of trying to work out which teacher was accused of rape and the consequences that the student had coming forward in 1995 and the school just sweeping it under the rug as of course this is considered bad publicity for the school. All Girls felt very realistic as you can imagine what schools would have been like back in 1995 which was years before this #MeToo Movement and also boarding schools/ private schools have more often than not a reputation to uphold and don't need this staining their perfect records and image. All Girls by Emily Layden was also a slow-paced read and at times the characters did feel a bit immature but overall was a thought-provoking novel as we think about how far we have come in terms of the #MeToo movement and what it is has meant for the development of rape accusations in today's world as things like this are taken more seriously now and a lot of women are now being listened too, whereas in 1995 - it was mainly he said/she said and without any evidence, it was seen as simple hearsay and if the person was in a position of power, the odds were in their corner to come out on top rather than the victims.

This was a fantastic debut novel. The novel begins as Lauren Triplett is on her way to her new boarding school, an elite institution where serious allegations against a faculty member have recently been made. From there, the novel shifts perspectives rapidly, showing how various members of the school community process and react to the situation. At first I thought it would be hard to keep track of so many narrators, but ended up liking this structure, as it gave the novel a sense of intensity and claustrophobia that mirrored the experience of the characters in this isolated environment.