Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children for an arc of The Ivies in exchange for an honest review!

College admissions have always been something to look forward to, something that is a source of pride and accomplishment. But the path to acceptance....that’s a whole other story. We see that clearly with a group of girls who call themselves the Ivies at a famous boarding school who are known for their ruthlessness in doing anything that could edge themselves ahead of their peers to ensure their spots at their dream universities. Everyone knew them for their cunning eat all nature, but could one them really result to murder in order to land one of the few spots at an Ivy league school?

This book never ceased to catch me off guard. It’s reminiscent of mean girls with a huge academic and murderous twist. Every single member on the Ivies has a complex story to be told, but we find ourself following Olivia, who, unlike the rest of her friends (if you can even call them that) isn’t wealthy in any sense of the word but is adopted into the group. With them she finds that maybe her income status and lack of being a legacy child doesn’t matter when applying for colleges when you have friends willing to do ANYTHING to help you land your dream spot.

I found my heart racing at multiple scenes and I could not stop every single question that popped into my head as Olivia tries to get to the bottom of the murder investigation that seemingly has academic motive. I loved seeing her internal conflict of doing what’s right versus trying to get ahead by any means when her own life circumstances seem to not make her the ideal candidate in getting into Ivy leagues. All of the plot twists were so well concocted and everything I thought I knew was chipped away slowly, making me rethink what I pieced together. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the satisfying conclusion it presented! I do have to say that at times I wanted to shake Olivia for how naive she was being. That being said, I loved how Alexa Donne touched on the very interesting and twisted world of college admissions and how, at times, the competitive nature of it all could be scary, and in this case, deadly. YA thrillers have suddenly moved to the top of my list after reading this well written murder mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy to read and review!

This was a very enjoyable book for me. It definitely had that Mean Girls/Pretty Little Liars vibe happening. Backstabbing, deception, and - eventually - murder in an elite boarding school? Sign me up!

The story was fast-paced and exciting. As each new bit of information was uncovered, I had to keep reading to figure out what was going to happen next. There were definitely some clichés in the book with regards to the characters, but I think they fit the story well.

By the time we get all of the answers, I realized that I was able to correctly guess only a few. I wasn't blown away by the big reveal, but the motive was absolutely unexpected. Part of me wants to say I didn't like it and thought it was too unbelievable, but the author actually wrote that character so perfectly to fit what they did that I absolutely believed it.

All-in-all, this was a super fun read. I would have probably given it five stars except for one thing that distracted me throughout the entire novel. When it starts, it mentions how they are all waiting for emails that say, "Welcome to Harvard, class of 2025!" It is also said in various ways throughout the book that it specifically means they would be graduating from college in 2025. Since these are typically four-year degrees, it stands to reason that this is the class of 2021 (also reasonable, since this is when the book will be published). The events of the book take place in December of their senior year, so that would place them at December 2020. The book mentions COVID-19 and how it happened earlier that year (particularly mentioning an SAT or ACT test that took place that February before things shut down).

So <i>why</i> are their so many descriptions of scowls and lips and lipstick??? If they hadn't specifically mentioned the corornavirus and put the book in December 2020, it wouldn't have bothered me at all, but it kept sticking out like a sore thumb to me. I know various areas of the US handled the coronavirus different, but nearly every school I knew of in most states were still virtual at that time, and the ones that weren't had strict social distancing and mask mandates in place. Olivia shouldn't have been able to see everyone's lips.

(I know that is probably a weird thing to get stuck on, but I do think we are at a point in history right now where authors need to account for things like that if they are going to acknowledge COVID-19 and place their stories in this current timeline.)

Other than that, though, I thought it was great!

I found this book to be a pleasant surprise!
This was a good YA thriller about how far the wealthy will go when it comes to college admissions. It had some Pretty Little Liars (the early seasons) vibes that made it read super quickly, I liked our protagonist Olivia, and there were actually a couple of turns that got me when I had assumed things were going to be predictable.

One of the best books I’ve read this year,
The Ivies is so much more than a YA thriller. First of all, the multiple narrator format was done so well that I became truly invested in each of the girls and their families. I will be recommending that my high school junior/senior students read this.

*Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for an ARC copy*

What would you do to attend the college of your dreams? Some people bluff when they say anything, the Ivies on the other hand do not.

Drescription:
Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly.

I enjoyed so much about this book. YA Thriller about college admissions with a Mean Girls vibe sprinkled with a murder. Yes please! The Ivies kept me page turning to find out what was going to happen next. Even when the ball drops, you know these kids are more cutthroat than just murder to where you can’t quit reading.

There’s characters to love and hate but they’re all thrown at you right away. I found it a bit confusing keeping track of who was who right away, even the main character’s name I couldn’t remember at first. After about 100 pages you have them down to a T as to who’s “that girl” and it flows well.

I recommend to pick this up when it’s released!

This book was completely addicting and wildly entertaining. A dark academia murder mystery set at a boarding school? Count me in.

Even though there was a large cast of side characters, it didn’t feel overwhelming. The characters were complex, unreliable, and ruthlessly ambitious, if a bit exaggerated at times. Though perhaps a bit too pop culture-heavy, the dialogue and Olivia’s internal monologue was sharp and witty while still feeling realistic and relatable.

The whole setup was completely wild with lots of great twists and turns that left me shocked (but were well set up, not out of nowhere). I was so invested that I was able to suspend my disbelief whenever it got to be a bit over the top, or when the main character did things that were completely dumb to do while a murder investigation is taking place—though I will admit I did find myself wishing she’d stop blabbing to everyone and their mother, but not the police.

Despite the minor flaws mentioned above, this book was compulsively readable and incredibly hard to put down, perfect for when you’re looking for a dark academia book to devour.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I absolutely LOVED The Ivies. I saw comparisons to one of my favorite thriller/mystery authors, Karen M. McManus. The novel was so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

The story was smart, addictive! The characters get under your skin, they are ruthless and twisted. The girls are twisted and will do anything and I mean anything to get into thier dream college, even murder. This is a great whodunit type of book this is the most realistic take on college admissions I've ever read in a fiction novel--we all know quotas are a thing

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

There has been something pulling me towards a good mystery book lately and was really excited to have gotten an early copy of The Ivies. I don't tend to read mysteries very often but I do enjoy reading them periodically. This one had the promise of a dark academia setting with a murder mystery laced through it.

The overall story was pretty intriguing and I enjoyed uncovering the different pieces pointing to the potential killer/killers. I wasn't completely taken in by the story which just may be from a disconnect to the actual characters. I never felt fully invested in our main character even as this mystery was unraveling and stakes were getting slightly higher. The rush of adrenaline never really overtook me which I kind of expected it to with our main character trying to do her own investigation. Overall the story kept me mostly interested and it was a pretty fun read. I do wish that things ended slightly different but don't want to go into any details to refrain from any possible spoilers.

One of my favorite genres is y a mystery / thriller, so I figured this would be right up my alley and I was right. The book is about the cutthroat competition to get into good colleges, and while the book might be a little extreme, it is a very real thing and just keeps getting harder for kids every year. But there are a lot of twists and turns in this book, the character development is decent, I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dark academia may be my favorite YA trope, so when I saw that I was approved to get this ARC, I was so excited! I felt like jumping up and down. Thank you again to the publisher! First off, the description for this book is amazing. I remember when I was in high school, I experienced the cutthroat competition of applying to Ivy League colleges, and I remember holding my breath on decision day to see if I got accepted. A lot of the culture around elite college admissions mentioned in the book is familiar to me. Although I did a lot of things to get into my dream college, I would never have murdered anyone. And... that is the premise of The Ivies.

The Ivies by Alexa Donne is a fun, exciting YA thriller with the humor of the canceled Heathers reboot (which was seriously underrated) and the drama of Pretty Little Liars (which changed the landscape of YA thrillers, so I'm not surprised that I saw its influence here). The Ivies revolves around a clique of five girls, each of whom is designated their own Ivy League college, since everyone knows Harvard never accepts more than 3 students from one high school. They are the most popular, smart, beautiful, and talented girls at their private high school, Claflin Academy. Also, they are ruthless in getting what they want - admission to the college of their choice. They will do whatever it takes... but does what it takes include murder?

Here is an excerpt from Chapter One, when they discuss the pressure around early decision day:

"Today, half of the seniors at Claflin Academy will die.
On the inside, that is.
A hundred kids will obsessively refresh their emails and portals so a dancing bulldog, or a tiger, or whatever mascot represents all their hopes and dreams for the future can tell them:
Welcome to Harvard, class of 2025!
Or:
We regret to inform you that we must crush all your hopes and dreams...
Or at least that's what we interpreter. It's early decision day, and hearts are going to break. Then, heads will roll."

The narrator of this story is Olivia, a member of the clique who is also a scholarship student, letting us see the private school world from the outside. She wants to get into Harvard, but the queen bee of their five-member clique, Avery, has already chosen Harvard for herself and has assigned Olivia to Penn (the University of Pennsylvania). Knowing that Harvard will not accept more than 3 students from the same high school, what will these girls do to ensure they get into their dream school? When a fellow student is discovered dead, the mystery afoot, and Olivia has to find out what happened, or she may be the next to be killed.

The Ivies is written with the insider humor that only someone who has gone through the nerve-wracking college admission process could have written. It makes sense that Alexa Donne is a college admissions counselor. I recognized references to College Confidential and ways to boost your application, and it added a touch of reality to this book. I also greatly enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of this book. I don't think I've read such an enjoyable YA thriller since I was reading the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard, the queen of YA thrillers. Once the murder happened, I had to keep reading to find out what happened next.

Overall, the Ivies is a smart, unputdownable YA thriller that will appeal to anyone who has ever been through the elite college admissions process. If you've ever experienced trying to change yourself, be more, and do more to get into your dream college, you will be able to relate to this book. In addition, I highly recommend this book for fans of the Pretty Little Liars series. If anything in the description sounds interesting to you, you should check out The Ivies when it comes out at the end of June! I guarantee you won't regret it!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley and Turn the Page Book Tours for sending this to me! **Video review to come, May 23rd**

The Ivies is a dark, twisted and deeply compelling look into the cut-throat world of elite college admissions. It’s a little bit Heathers, a little bit The Secret History, maybe even a little Mean Girls, and every corner hides a sinister twist.

Our main character, Olivia Winters, is one of five members of the Ivies, a group of girls hell bent on getting into their chosen universities – no matter the cost. Only a certain number of students from each school will make it, and they intend to make the cut, even if it means blackmailing, catfishing, sabotaging the competition. Except when one of the Ivies winds up dead, Olivia starts to wonder exactly how far her friends might be willing to go to get into the school of their dreams.

I went into this book not knowing quite what to expect. As a Brit this was a whole new world to me. My university application experience was entirely different – I had no extra-curriculars, applied to uni after two years out of education, since I had assumed it wouldn’t be for me, and I certainly never would’ve dreamed of applying to a Russell Group university (our equivalent of the Ivy League.) I was fascinated by this insight into what it’s like for Americans applying to go to college, especially in an elite boarding school where who’s going where seems like life or death. I loved the backdrop of the school, stuffed to the brim with rich kids who throw money at all their problems, and this experience of watching Olivia – who’s from a far less affluent background – struggle to stay afloat amidst it all.

The book is brilliantly paced, a total page turner. It’s fast and twisty and it keeps throwing things at you, never giving you a chance to catch your breath. Alongside the main mystery, you have a few extra bits and pieces, like the examination of the complicated female friendships and a budding romance that kept me guessing and absolutely threw me for a loop. It was definitely a nice twist from Alexa’s other books – she seems to specialise in sweet, gentlemanly love interests, so I enjoyed that this book’s romantic interest had an unexpected edge. The whole time I was reading this book, I felt caught off-guard in the best way. All the twists were well-planted and foreshadowed enough that I was able to figure them out ahead of time, but only just, so that something would click and I’d be left reeling from the realisation just enough to catch my breath before the characters were hit by the same shock. It was a really nice feeling; I’m one of those people that gets a great sense of smug satisfaction out of being ‘smart enough’ to suss out twists ahead of time, so that made it all extra fun for me.

The plot was bolstered by a complex cast of characters, and while few were likeable (even the ones who were later turned out to have devious hidden depths) they were all extremely interesting. I’m not someone who needs characters to be sympathetic, though if you are then this book might not be for you, because I can’t honestly say I liked any of them by the end. All I need is for them to catch my attention, and these characters definitely did. I was with them from beginning to bitter end, personal feelings be damned.
The build-up of the book was absolutely brilliant, and kept me totally hooked. Unfortunately, I did feel a tiny bit let down by the climax. The real enemy here turns out to be rich white entitlement, a message that felt maybe a little bit ham-fisted; the book absolutely whacked me over the head with this point, so hard that my eyes watered. And although it made sense, I was also a little bit frustrated with the identity of the killer. I also must confess to feeling more than a little bit frustrated with the ending. My sense of fairness left me feeling almightily cheesed off with how things turned out – that’s not a critique of the book itself in any way; I absolutely think it made sense and was the only ending that could’ve really occurred without being cheesy and taking away from the message that the book had perpetuated throughout. My beef is more with the justice system and the way rich white people can get away with basically anything with no consequences. Grr!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Ivies. It was a great, pacy thriller, very different from Alexa’s previous books. Where her sci-fi Austen romance retellings are soft and kind, this one has teeth, and I thought it was an awesome read. 4/5 stars.

Academic intrigues will always hook me to read them and this book was no exception. And let me describe this book in one word: Insane! My mind was reeling with how things were happening within the book. Nothing felt off and things progressed the way I liked them. Alexa Donne did such a wonderful job writing these unlikeable heroes. They each had their motives as to why they did what they did. The portrayal of how cutthroat college admissions are is nothing short of alarming. There is clearly extensive research done into writing this book.

There were a lot of twists and turns that, at times, I was not able to catch up. I kept trying to guess what happens but for the majority I was wrong. This book is unpredictable--something most YA thrillers failed to do.

I am just completely in awe of this book. Thank you Alexa Donne for putting it into life. A solid 5 stars for this one!

Contemporary young adult fiction is very hit or miss with me these days. But let's be real... I'm a twenty nine year old lady! I'm not exactly the target audience for these kinds of reads. I guess the reason why I keep checking them out are because they're the kinds of books that I loved to read when I was younger and I want to stay fresh and relevant in the book world.

So in my opinion, The Ivies is a hit! I was very impressed by this story.

I think the reason why I enjoyed this story so much are because there are a lot of fun elements in this story.
It takes place at a boarding school, there are female friendships and lots of secrets (that's why people adored Pretty Little Liars, right?), and there also happens to be a murder mystery that needs to be solved before all of the students go home for winter break.

Plus, everyone in the story is finding out if they got into college Early Admission, so to say these students are busy is a bit of an understatement.

I liked the main character (and narrator) Olivia right off the bat. She's the most relatable because she's a hard worker and her mother struggles to give her what she needs. In other words, everything isn't handed to her on a silver platter like the rest of her group.

The main issue in this story is pressure. At Claflin Academy, the students are under an intense amount of pressure to do well and get into the colleges of their dreams. In the case of Avery, the leader of Olivia's friend group aka The Ivies, she's pressured to get into Harvard because that's where other people in her family went, so she's a legacy.

It's a lot for a teenager to handle.

The mystery in this story is one that keeps you guessing. It's a sad situation, and people's true colors begin to show as Olivia plays detective to try to figure out what really happened on the night of party, where everything changed.

I'll be honest. I mentioned before that I am a twenty nine year old lady so I figured I would be able to solve this mystery. But I did not. Lol. I thought I knew who the culprit was, but I was so very wrong.

Sigh. Once of these days I will read enough thrillers to be able to figure out a mystery on my own. Mark my words.

Anyway, this is my first time reading a book by Alexa Donne. I watch her youtube channel and so I know she's published other books, but this one really grabbed my attention because of the topic.

I would recommend this book if you like young adult fiction filled with drama, secrets, and lots of twists and turns. In a way, it kind of reminded me of the college admission scandal that happened. I guess because of the fact that everyone was fighting to get into colleges.

The difference is that the character Olivia in this book DID ACTUALLY row crew, while Olivia Jade did not.

(on my blog, there is a gif here)

I'm hilarious. I know. No need to tell me!

That's all for today. Thank you to Netgalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. I really enjoyed it and I hope Alexa writes more thrillers in the future. She has a writing style that I really enjoyed and seems very knowledgable about the college admissions process.

xo Marian

I really enjoyed this book and I think my students will as well! Lots of twists and turns alongside a very realistic portrayal of the pressure high school students feel today as they look toward college.

This was a super enjoyable YA mystery! I can be pretty harsh on books in this genre if I feel like it’s way too unbelievable that a teen is the person who solves the mystery instead of seasoned professionals. In The Ivies it felt like the ways that Olivia was investigating weren’t so out of the realm of possibility for a determined high school journalist.

The world of elite boarding schools and high pressure Ivy League admissions provided an interesting setting for this story. A ruthless group of friends who sabotage others so they can come out on top, secrets upon secrets, and a murder made this a fun and quick read. In addition to the engaging mystery plot there was some nice commentary about the college admissions process and how messed up it can be.

While I didn’t guess the final outcome of the story, there were a few reveals along the way that were super predictable. But that didn’t really hinder my enjoyment much. Sometimes the way Olivia was written didn’t quite feel authentic to being a modern teenager. This is kinda called out in the text by having another character call her a grandma, but sometimes the weird word choices took me out of the story for a bit.

I think people who enjoy books with similar vibes to Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl or the Private series by Kate Brian would like The Ivies.

This book was so good! I was never one if the Ivy type of people in school but Mean Girls with college pressure really hooked me. The characters were easy to hate and love at the same time and I found myself using and spare moment to read.

The Ivies at Claflin Academy have one common goal: get into the Ivy of their choosing at all costs. They will do whatever they have to do to ensure their spot, knowing each Ivy will only take one or two students from each school. But will they even kill for their spot?

"Because hyperelite, competitive college admissions is some serious f*cking shit."

Well, this was fun! Being a high-school teacher, I see how much pressure some of the kids place on themselves to get the grades to put them in the top rank and get them, hopefully, into the school of their choosing. While I wish them the best, I also wish they didn't put so much pressure on themselves and actually allowed themselves to enjoy their four years. But, alas, the cycle continues. This book will definitely be a hit among that particular group of high-school students, who will recognize the ambition the Ivies had. I guessed one part of the story line and didn't guess the other, and I read the book in one day. Overall, this was a fresh but relatable topic and a fun murder mystery.

A book about a group of prep school elites who would literally kill to get into the college of their dreams? Nothing attracts me more than murderous students obsessed with academia. I love some mean girls that are more than mean girls. I ate this up. I could FEEL the ambition and sheer desire of these characters. Man, I loved this so much.