This book took some twists that I was expecting, but some that were out of left field! I suspected several different characters as the culprit, but was wrong about nearly everything. This book feels like if A Good Girls Guide to Murder and A Study in Charlotte had a baby (murder on an elite boarding school campus) with added complications of college apps, acceptances and rejections.

I think that older teens will love this book, but I also think adults who enjoy YA will love this book as well. It kept me hooked the whole time and I'll definitely be recommending it to many.

While I was left wanting a bit more, I really ended up loving this book.

First, the characters are not likeable. At all. Everyone at this private school is pretty ruthless to the point of hurting people. Claflin Academy is a top private high school. Parents pay a lot of money to get their kids in there. Ivy league colleges take a lot of the kids from there. Tuition was something like $60K per year, so the kids are super rich. Olivia is there on scholarship and she feels different. Luckily she was taken in by a group of popular girls. They call themselves The Ivies. Avery is the leader and she made sure that each girl applied to one college for early admission. She gave them schools so that none of them would compete. The schools usually only take 2-3 kids from the school. Avery is a Harvard legacy, so that's her school. Emma is Brown, Sierra is Yale, Margot is Princeton, and Olivia is Penn. However, Olivia went behind their backs and applied to Harvard. It was her dream school and she got in. And Avery didn't. Things go really bad from there. When one of the girls ends up dead, Olivia is worried that it might have been Avery that killed her. Olivia starts her own murder investigation and is determined to keep Harvard a secret. While Olivia was involved in the sabotage to other students applying to Ivy Leagues, she finds out that her friends were keeping secrets from her.

The pacing was great and the author did a good job with suspects. I had a couple ideas that were correct, but not everything. I would definitely read another book by Alexa Donne.

I gave this book 5 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings for death, inappropriate relationships, issues with wealth vs average money, racism, talk of sex, underage drinking, and some really bad things that the Ivies did to other students (would be spoilers).

Quite the suspenseful mystery and timely in the wake of the college scandal involving side doors for parents willing to pay...

After recently watching Operation Varsity Blues, this book fictionalized the dark underbelly of private and preparatory schools and the college admissions process.

Told from Olivia's perspective, as one of 'the Ivies' hoping to get into a pre-determined Ivy League school, it is clear that the process is cutthroat...and potentially deadly.

I will definitely recommend this to my high school students as it is a suspenseful thriller and mysterious right to the end.

Overall, I enjoyed the read, even though I didn't really like any of the characters (nor could I really relate to any of them).

Plot: 4.5 stars -- the plot just kept on moving, changing, twisting. It was never boring, and the writing style complemented that, as well. I liked the pacing and the revelation of details. Definitely the plot (for me) was the strongest aspect of the book.

Main Character: 3 stars -- the voice was solid here, but I just didn't really like Olivia. She was certainly ambitious, but I didn't get the feeling that she was overly happy or fulfilled, and she came across as pretty cold-blooded, overall. For that matter, all the 'Ivies' were ambitious to a fault, doing whatever they needed to get what they wanted.

Writing Style: 4 stars -- even though the reveal was slow, I didn't find the book boring. The style was engaging enough to keep me interested. The only reason I lost interest here and there was because I got tired of the characters themselves.

World/Setting: 4 stars -- this was interesting and very outside my personal experience (both for my own teenage experience and for watching my kids'). It's actually a little depressing to think there might be kids out there who live like this ... but maybe it's all just fiction. ;)

Overall: 4 stars (rounded up)

This book was intriguing and entertaining. Kept you on the edge of your seat until the very end. The main character was relatable and likable. Thought provoking and makes one think about one’s choices.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title. While a little slow to start, once this story got going it was a twisty, fun ride! A group of “friends” at a prep school will do anything to get into the Ivy League schools of their dreams. What The Ivies don’t realize is that this will lead to betrayal and murder. I started to figure out the mysteries of the story at about the 60% mark, but was still along for the ride. Highly recommend if you’re looking for an easy, entertaining read.

What if the Mean Girls turned to murder to get ahead? The students at Claflin Academy are destined and determined to go to only the very best colleges, and the Ivies (Avery, Emma, Olivia, Sierra, and Margot) are more determined than the rest. This YA novel is a great combination of powerplays and a mystery. Great for fans of "Mean Girls" or paired with "I, Claudia" by Mary McCoy.

Rich kid, mean girl drama at its finest. Vicious and dark, an overall slow burn mystery that's gripping and difficult to pull away from. This twisted tale takes on the lengths a girl will go to get into the ivies.

Wow I got totally sucked in to this, started it on my lunch break at 2 and finished it just shy of midnight on the same day. Even though I figured out a couple of the plot points ahead of time this was still a massively fun read. In line with A Good Girls Guide to Murder.

An immerseful novel full of plot twists that will keep you on your toes. One of the best reads of the year.

Trigger and Content Warning: sexual innuendo, lots of swearing, references to alcohol, also some violence, brief mention of laxatives, brief mention of bomb threats

This review contains spoilers, do not read unless you want to be spoiled.

I read Alexa Donne's two sci-fi books in the past year and loved her writing, so when I heard she was going to be writing a murder mystery, set in a prep school, and full of lies and deceit, I knew I needed a copy.

So what's this book about:
A girl named Olivia Winters and her friends Avery, Sierra, Margot, and Emma, are known as the Ivies. They will do anything and everything to get into their dream schools. And that means anything.

Avery Montfort: Harvard
Sierra Watson: Yale
Margot Kim:Princeton
Emma Russo:Brown
Olivia Winters: UPenn

Each girl is assigned a school and can't apply anywhere else. Those are the rules. But rules are made to be broken. . .

Olivia applies to Harvard and gets in. But that's Avery's school and when Avery gets a rejection Olivia knows she can't tell Avery or face her wrath. But then Emma comes to her with a secret: she got into Harvard too. And she has every intention to tell Avery that night. But things don't go to plan and Avery and Emma get into a fight where Avery says she'll kill Emma. The next morning Emma is found dead in the rowing house the next morning.

My thoughts on the characters:
Olivia Winters: she's smart and resourceful but not the perfect MC. She is flawed, unable to hold friends besides the Ivies, and not entirely innocent when it comes to the Ivies antics. I liked how she wasn't dependent on anyone when the author very much could have made her.

Avery Montfort: Easily my favorite character. The development from preppy and narcissistic to actually caring and totally herself is one of my favorite things about her. She even had a moment where it seemed she had reverted to her old, self-centered ways, and the flip where she revealed she hadn't was the thing that made me believe her character was different. Also she was a secret lesbian and developed into someone out and proud from a closeted, and scared which was an amazing contrast.

Sierra Watson: She went from caring and concerned about Olivia to someone who would do anything to keep her reputation, which I liked because it revealed her true priorities.

Margot Kim: Nothing really notable, she was really self-centered from the beginning and stayed that way for the rest of the book.

Emma Russo: She seemed really innocent but by the end of it, it was revealed she was actually a pretty bad person when compared to the rest of the Ivies. The lengths she went to for her own benefit were quite a stretch and section by section she became less and less innocent.

Ethan Kendall: He was actually a pretty good guy, seemed perfect, Canadian, and really innocent in general. As the story progressed it became obvious he had another agenda, a secret motive. For a while I actually suspected him as the murderer, because he just seemed to be hiding something. In the end, he protected himself when he had the chance to do the right thing, and I think I prefer it to the stereotypical the guy and the girl get together because of their trauma and everything is fine.

Conclusion: This book was amazing. Tyler being the murderer was unexpected, and the reason even more so. Avery's development was something I really loved to see. Ethan's self-centered attitude was not expected, but made the story even better. Olivia not going to Harvard and getting kicked out of Claflin in the end was something I actually liked because it didn't follow stereotypes and proved things really don't turn out perfect every time.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Alexa Donne for providing an ARC!!

I love a boarding school mystery- something about rich kids and murder makes me keep turning pages every time. The Ivies focuses on a group of girls who are all Ivy League bound, until one of them is murdered, which leads to secrets spilling out. Overall, it was a fun and quick read. The pace of the book was perfect to keep me interested without throwing too much action and plot points to confuse the reader. The twist at the end was satisfying. I recommend the book to anyone else who has a love for boarding school thrillers!

I have to admit that boarding school any type of story usually get me. So I had to request this arc when I saw it. Boarding school murder mystery? Crossed with some college admission scandal relevancy. Count me in.
Plot
I thought the plot/story was really well done. It wasn’t a thriller, but it wasn’t slow or fast paced either. The pace was just right with the mystery unraveling slowly, with misdirects here and there that while the villain was on my list of suspect, it wasn’t that high on it. So well, done there, Alexa Donne.

Characters
Olivia, was the main character, one of the ivies that we follow throughout the book. She was actually ok, she wasn’t overly annoying or whiny, but she was very naïve which isn’t cumbersome while the story plays out, but when you pan back and think back to the book after reading it you definitely stop to think, wait. This girl was supposed to be super clever? She came a long way, but she was still naively guilty throughout a lot of it, regardless of what she actually committed with her two hands. The other ivies weren’t fleshed out that well other than Harvard. Even the murdered girl we didn’t get much into, it would’ve been nice to explore them a little bit more than we did, although perhaps that was intentional given that Olivia didn’t know them as well as she though she did? Still, would’ve been nice to see more on them though. The love interest was fairly boring, but the book again wasn’t really about that, so even the conclusion to that arc was satisfying.

Twist/Reveal
I appreciated the reveal for what it was – a bonkers revelation in an already over the top bonkers book. But it was fitting, and it made a semblance of sense in a book that was already striving to pull off ridiculousness. I didn’t hate it like I would’ve in other books, because Donne doesn’t ask us to suspend disbelief just for an unpredictable twist. She asks us to heighten our imaginations and reach for the unreachable (I hope, it’s unreachable, anyway!) from the very beginning.

Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful Arc!

Olivia is in her senior year at Claflin Academy. She may be there on scholarship but she found her way into an elite group of girls called the Ivies. Their mission is to get into certain Ivy league Universities no matter what it takes. However, after one of the girls possibly took the Ivies leader's, Avery, spot at Harvard things get scary.

This book is a perfect murder/mystery based on drama at a boarding school. I loved everything about this story, particularly how it kept me absolutely thrilled until the very end.

I definitely recommend this for all fans of murder/mystery stories that keep you guessing throughout the whole book!

Murder mystery meets college admissions at an elite private boarding school? Yes please! In full disclosure I do consider Alexa to be an online friend so take that as you will, but I've enjoyed her books since before actually meeting her and in my opinion, this is her best one yet.

The Ivies is a twisty mystery filled with soapy drama and bad behavior, coming from someone who clearly understands the world of hyper-competitive elite college admissions today. Here we follow an outsider among the wealthy: a scholarship student who has been admitted to a small group of girls committed to gaining admission to ivy league schools, no matter what it takes....

This is one where I don't want to spoil anything, but I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. I saw some things coming, but there were plenty of gasp-worthy moments as well and Alexa doesn't skimp on juicy twists and shocking revelations. And while a lot of this is soapy fun, it also has some important things to say about problems with the system, about privilege, and about how it's racist to assume someone got into an elite school just because they aren't white. (nobody is crying for privileged white boys who think they have it hard because of movement in the direction of equality)

I also appreciated that this book didn't have an abrupt ending as some mystery/thrillers tend to do. We get get a lengthier denoument which I'm a fan of, though I imagine some readers might think it draws things out too much. It's going to be a personal preference thing. In general I think there's a lot to like here and I think it's going to be a real crowdpleaser. Check content warnings below if you need them, but note that they may be slightly spoilery! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings include: [ teen drinking, murder (off page), finding a dead body (not graphic), bullying, mentions of drugging people, cheating, talk of blackmail by threatening to out someone as queer, other forms of blackmail, gun violence, attempted murder, toxic relationships, student/adult in position of power affair (not-explicit). (hide spoiler)]

Olivia, a scholarship student at an elitist prep school called Claflin Academy falls prey to the social hierarchy. She finds herself part of a group of girls called “The Ivies”, all of whom are assigned one Ivy League they’re allowed to apply to. That is until Olivia’s friend and roommate- a former member of the Ivies- is found murdered. The plausible conclusion is that it's because she got into Harvard, and Olivia must watch her back as she uncovers the murderer all while making sure that the Ivies don’t find out that she too was accepted to Harvard.


In the beginning, I was very excited about this book, and I overall enjoyed it. While it wasn’t as thrilling as was promised, the plot was great and had an amazing twist at the end. As for the characters, I liked Olivia and the rest of the Ivies. I questioned Olivia’s approach to the situation, but I acknowledged her reasons for not sharing anything. At times, I felt Olivia was extremely gullible. I really wish that I could've seen more development amongst all the girls. Avery’s character felt relatable, granted that she wasn’t the main character. She gave off “Mean Girls” energy, however, her character developed the most throughout the story. I liked Ethan’s character, and then I didn’t. Like most of the characters, we find out little to no information about their personality. It’s more centered around their backstory. However, it worked for this book because of the plot.


I loved the setting and the plot building of the book. The author made every single person look suspicious and it made the book exciting. While it’s slightly overdone, there’s always room for more thriller stories that take place in rich elite private schools. Halfway through the book, I needed a minute to step away from it. While it was fast-paced, it was lacking in the plot a little. It was hard to get through for a time. The ending, though, was enjoyable and satisfying.

This book was “Mean Girls” on homicidal steroids. It was a gripping page turner that I couldn’t put down. “The Ivies” are a group of girls that you love to hate.

This book was intense in a really good way. Drama, sabotage, and betrayal run rampant at this elite private school which is the main setting of our story. This story certainly shows an extreme take on the lengths people are willing to go to get into a "good school".

I will admit it took me a little time to get into it because, in the beginning, I wasn't a fan of our main cast, MC Olivia included. While I know they were supposed to be the mean people of the story I was having trouble finding any likable qualities. But after a killer surprise, we find there is much more to quite a few of them than meets the eye. That is when I really started getting into it. This is one of those stories where even the secrets have secrets and EVERYONE is hiding something. It was fun trying to solve the mystery along with Olivia while learning everything that has been going down at this school in the hopes of getting into fancy colleges.

One thing I do want to point out though is that I thought the killer's motivations were a little strange. But that's just a personal take. I also want to mention that ending. I'm hurt!! I swiped at least 15 times hoping that some more pages would magically appear because I knew that couldn't be it.

Overall this was a very compelling and intriguing story. It was well written and most of the characters' personalities and actions were quite something to experience. I do hope there will be more to come.

Thank you, Random House, Alexa Donne, and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to review this book!

The Ivies are the country's most elite school, The Ivies are also a group of five ruthless teenage girls, hell bent on getting into the Ivy League school of their dreams. Olivia, our MC, stands out in her group as the only one without money, and maybe not as ruthless as the rest. Everything is going fine until Early Decision Day when one of the girls ends up dead. Now everyone on campus wants to know: Who killed her?

There were plenty of twists and turns in this book, some of which I saw coming, some I didn't. I want to say that I guessed what would happen, but really it's that I had several theories so of course one was going to stick. I liked how layered the story was. The moment you thought you had an answer something changed and you were back to square one right alongside Olivia. I found Olivia a little naive at times, and a little reckless, but that's probably the adult in me. I can't explain why sometimes when I read a YA thriller I'm all on board for them solving the mystery themselves and sometimes I'm like, "please tell the police, please just turn this information over." On the whole, I enjoyed this book and liked its examination of the desperation and deviousness that laces the university competition. Honestly though, I learned something at the beginning of this novel which I wish I had known back when I was applying for colleges, but oh well.

The story was fast-paced and yet I was able to disconnect myself and stop reading. I think that's more on me though, I don't know if I was entirely in the mood for a thriller. The last 30-25% though was really gripping. I knew more pennies had to drop, but I just didn't know how and I was eager to find out. Also, completely randomly, this book reminded me of the It Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar (author of Gossip Girl)??? I think it's the boarding school setting but honestly, I've read a lot of those and haven't gotten the same vibes so I really don't know what it is. There is one plot point that is similar beyond the setting so maybe that's it? Jury's out. Regardless, this is a fun YA thriller and I think anyone who is excited by the premise will get enjoyment from it. So please, check it out and let me know what you think!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

I was hooked on this book from the first page. The Ivies was the cause of much sleep deprivation for me as I huddled in bed flipping ebook pages late into the night, my eyes glued to the screen like some sort of creepy possessed vampire. When I picked this book up, I knew it was a mystery, but a boarding school mystery​? I had no clue, and I was delighted when I found out, because boarding school mysteries are most certainly my cup of tea. It was also interesting to read a book that touched heavily on college admissions and Ivy League schools; I hadn't read anything like that before, but it was perfect for a mystery novel. I really enjoyed the narrator, Olivia's, voice; it felt very authentic and realistic. It was interesting to read about her thought processes during the book, especially when discovering hidden secrets and lies.

I have mixed feelings about the mystery itself. I suspected one part of it from the beginning, but I felt like another part came out of nowhere--and not necessarily in a good way, if you get what I mean? I don't want to say too much and give anything away, but the ending just felt unsatisfactory to me for some reason. I thought it was a bit unrealistic, plus the motive was super lacking.

Olivia's friend group was interesting to read about. I honestly can't say I was a fan of any of them aside from Olivia and maybe Avery closer to the end. They were all very cutthroat and ruthless, and Avery was the only one of them who had even the slightest hint of a redemption arc. However, they were made for a mystery novel (literally): they were shady, twisted, and definitely the type of people who just might murder someone to get what they want. I do wish we had gotten to know some of them more; I feel like character development was mainly focused on Avery. However, the book still worked well having them just as side characters.

That's a wrap on my review of The Ivies! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a boarding school mystery with twisted characters, especially if you're a fan of One of Us is Lying or Truly Devious! I gave this book Four Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Trigger Warnings: death, alcohol, bullying and blackmail, toxic relationships, some mentions of disordered eating.

(*note: the disordered eating was not explicit or truly acknowledged, but I know people recovering from/struggling with EDs can be triggered by a lot of seemingly minor or random things (ie. digital numbers might remind them of the numbers on a scale) so I put that there just in case.)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!

Why the hell am I so obsessed with elite-private-school murder mysteries?

One of my friends is going to a prestigious residential private school next year and now I’m lowkey scared.

When I was deciding which book I wanted to download for my road trip, I kind of...didn’t feel like reading The Ivies. I spent about ten minutes debating whether or not I wanted to download this ARC. But then I did anyway and -

I spent the whole six hours reading.

And then I finished the book.

“I have to watch my back. Play the part.
I’ll have to test my acting chops tonight, pretend to play the part. Pretend I might not be ringing in the New Year with a killer.”

The premise of this book sounded pretty standard for a bitchy murder mystery - elite private school, scholarship-student main character, a popular clique of the most elite and the most gorgeous students - but the beginning still swept me away.

The Ivies are the five-member friend group of popular girls all assigned to get into individual Ivy League schools. They tear other students down so that they have all the top spots to secure their entries to top-tier universities. They’re ruthless, beautiful and cruel.

“I guess I’m a bitch, too. It’s an unfortunate side effect of being an Ivy.”

Their leader, Avery Montfort, has claimed her spot at Harvard. Unbeknownst to her, the main character Olivia Winters has also applied to Harvard...even though she’s supposed to be applying to Penn.

On the day application decisions are sent out, Olivia is accepted to Harvard. And Avery is rejected.

Emma, their friend and another member of the Ivies, has also secretly gotten into Harvard. Avery finds out.

And the next morning, Emma is found dead.

“I stare agog at my friend and her Machiavellian musings. Is this really only about competitive advantage for college?”

This plot had me suspecting so many people and seriously questioning basically everyone except Olivia and Detective Cataldo (because...you know, she’s the detective). The storyline was so engaging and I became invested in the story almost immediately.

There were so many red herrings and missed clues and hidden secrets and I was just shook at literally every twist. Because I’m gullible like that.

I did actually guess the murderer though, which was surprising.

These characters seriously had me screaming. It’s hard to develop the sides and layers of a character over just one standalone book, but somehow Alexa Donne pulled it off. There was diversity, there were contrasting sides, and there was development.

“Having a weakness is dangerous where Avery Montfort is concerned.”

Avery Montfort - the ringleader of the Ivies. She’s beautiful, skinny, and set straight for Harvard by instruction of her rich, toxic, triple-Harvard-legacy mother. Her family also owns one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. She’s the most prominent out of all the other characters, save for Olivia.

I loved Avery. She was a bitch, but her characterization had me shook. Her secrets and lies and just overall badassery made me love her so much. She’s the classic mean girl, but something about how Avery’s character was delivered just made me attached.

“In a school of elites, Avery has a way of attracting the very best to stand by her side. President of the Girls Who Code club, Claflin chapter, Sierra had figured out how to hack into the school’s administrative system before spring semester freshman year, and it remains her most useful asset as in Ivy.”

Sierra - she was a strong, steady character, and yet I wasn’t sure how I felt about her. I liked her for a bit and then I didn’t, but she wasn’t the one who changed. It was the circumstances and the plot and my own opinion, and I thought that it was interesting that she could stay the same and give me so many conflicting opinions.

“Margot is the school’s premiere actress, surely Broadway bound; she can charm (ie., deceive) teachers and students alike.”

Margot - she was the most bland out of the Ivies, but I liked that she still had her own personality and dangers to her. We didn’t really get a lot of her on the page. She was smart, scheming, and an amazing actress, and that’s really all we need to know.

“Emma’s the social Renaissance woman, in with every conceivable group. As captain of FIRST Robotics, first-chair flute in band, butterfly champion on the swim team, and tech director for the drama club, Emma’s got a finger in every pie.”

Emma - the victim of the murder. She was...interesting.

Emma appeared to be the “good-girl” character at first. Nice, unassuming, and talented, with a rebellious boyfriend. She wasn’t actually that nice, since we know that all of the Ivies were bitches, and she wasn’t that unassuming, since we know that the Ivies were conniving, but compared to everyone else she was the “good girl”.

As Sierra described her:

“That girl lives in her own universe, where she’s the smartest and nicest person, tee-hee, and how could anyone ever think otherwise? Always pushing shit too far and then acting innocent when things blow up.”

Finally, Olivia Winters - our main character, scholarship student, and the only lower-middle-class member of the Ivies...or really Claflin Academy. She’s smart and hardworking, but is considered the “extra” friend - as in, the Ivies don’t include her in half their shit. Her narrative was intense. I liked her and she was definitely a strong, relatable character.

“I’ll never stop marveling at rich kids getting upset about other people calling them rich. They’re so sensitive.”

After Emma’s death, Olivia starts investigating. Part of it is because Emma was her roommate, but it’s also because Avery and Emma got into a fight over Harvard. The last thing that Avery said to Emma was “I could kill you for this.”

“The lead weight of doubt settles in my stomach. The question 'Did Avery kill Emma because of Harvard?' is feeling less and less ridiculous. Avery is hiding something. And Sierra and Margot may be in on it.”

Unfortunately, this investigation that Olivia launches uncovers a little bit too much. Emma, apparently, was not the perfect girl that everyone thought she was.

Of course, this prompts Olivia to start digging deeper.

The setting was so good. Claflin Academy felt like a real school, albeit similar to a lot of other private schools in the other murder mysteries I’ve read. I felt like I could imagine everything and I understood the whole hierarchy. Let’s be honest, we’ve all dreamed of being those gorgeous clique-y billionaire kids.

“That’s Claflin Academy in a nutshell; private, elite, and bleeding bullshit from every red-bricked building.”

The atmosphere was perfect. It was just the right amount of creepy, tense and bitchy. It really contributed to the mystery and the unsolved questions, and it made the different suspects just seem...more suspicious. It was that mysterious “never-trust-anyone” vibe that I’m obsessed with in these kinds of books.

“Something is wrong. I feel it in my bones, like when you enter a room and know people were just talking about you. Or like a ghost walking over your grave. My mom always says that, though it doesn’t really make sense. And yet...that feeling.”

In my opinion, there didn’t need to be romance. It was a good aspect, but it wasn’t really needed (although that might just be me being tired of having so many romances in every single book I read). Their dynamic was great, and it provided a lot to the plot, but I feel like Olivia’s and Ethan’s relationship would have given us the same through a platonic dynamic.

“Are you trying to shunt all the investigation work onto me?” Ethan teases. I like this, us being playful with each other. It’s distracting me from being terrified.
“No.” I grin at him. “I have the hardest job of all.”
“And what’s that?”
“Going to war with the Ivies.”

I loved the Ivies, though. I loved the whole bitchy aesthetic that they gave. They were cruel, ambitious bitches, and they were completely fine with it. I know I would hate them with all my soul if they existed, but reading about soulless monsters of teenage girls is such an experience.

“Tears prick at my eyes, finally. I am not a sociopathic monster. With friends like Avery, I worry sometimes.”

I’m honestly a little bit tired of the whole girl-who-doesn’t-fit-in trope. Because naturally every protagonist of a rich boarding school mystery will be the scholarship student who’s a charity case for the popular kids. She’s always left out, even though everyone else thinks she’s part of them. She doesn’t have fancy clothes and rich lawyers. She’s just average and they’re elite. Etc.

“Why does it matter who knew? Or is our plan to rat us all out? You’re not one of us, Liv, and we know it. Why do you think we left you off the group text? You can’t be trusted. Always playing the victim.”

It’s just getting tired. Give me an elite billionaire-class bitch who is actually nice. You don’t have to be “poor” (AKA average) to be nice.

“I never did think you fit in with them. You didn’t make sense.” Ethan narrows his eyes, thoughtful.”

Speaking of rich bitches, Avery. I know I already gushed talked about her earlier in the character section, but she was basically the embodiment of another tired, overused trope - the Blonde Queen Bee™. Why is every single top bitch blonde, skinny, tanned, and gorgeous, with sparkling blue eyes? I’m a bitch and I’m tan-skinned Asian, and I’m not even pretty. Seriously, I feel cheated.

“This is what Avery and I have the most in common. Self-soothing through food. She has to be in a very bad place to carb load on junk food, though. Usually her version of stress eating is swapping out her light balsamic salad dressing for creamy ranch.”

I did like the writing of this book. It wasn’t extraordinary or really that different, but I think it perfectly suited the vibe of the book and delivered pretty much everything that you need a writing style to deliver. The tone, voice and atmosphere matched everything else perfectly. There were a few typos and grammar errors, but that’s honestly kind of normal for ARCs? So it wasn’t a big deal. I could overlook them pretty easily.

“I get close enough to see, really see, the body. Because it has to be a body. It’s not moving.
It. When do you cease to be a person and start to be a body?”

I think the best thing about this book was the drama. There were so many secrets being revealed, so much tension and suspicion, and the plot twists and red herrings were just so intense. I was swept into this book from the first three chapters and from there it was just one thing after another. The pacing was fast and the plot twists were everywhere and it felt like I couldn’t keep up.

That might just be because I sat down and read this book in one sitting, but still.

“Tyler launches into a fine speech about all the things he loved about his girlfriend, and I can’t help but feel jaded. The Emma he describes is perfect, but I now know my friend was far from it. If I’d come to know all of Emma’s secrets before she died, would I still have liked her? Will she now forever be crystallized as a saint because she died young and tragically?”

Overall, this was definitely the best ARC I’ve read yet (LMAO this is my third one, that’s not a solid judgement). This was intense, harsh, and dramatic, and yet none of it was even that unrealistic. I loved the drama and the secrets and the mystery, and how twisted some of the characters were, and I loved the ending. It seriously shook me. The Ivies carries messages about being popular, being ambitious, and being cruel, and I was invested.