I’ve been getting a little more into thrillers lately, so I was delighted to receive an ARC of The Ivies from Turn the Page Tours in exchange for review.

There is so much to love about the concept. The Ivies are a group of prep school friends notorious for their sabotage of classmates in the name of college admissions. Enter Olivia, a scholarship student that the Ivies have adopted. When Olivia’s roommate and prominent Ivy member Emma is murdered, Olivia sets out to prove she and her fellow Ivies aren’t as guilty as they seem. It feels very much like Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars, and I am a big fan of both of those shows, so I knew from a few chapters in that I would love this.

I enjoyed the idea that someone might start a friend group purely for academic sabotage. A little larger than life, I liked how it offered a fantastical vehicle by which to explore the very real pressure of college admissions. Olivia is a very voicey character, and for that reason, it was a pleasure to be inside her head. I laughed out loud at several points of her snarky commentary.

The main strength of this novel is its plot. It sucked me in from beginning to end in a labyrinth of secrets and clues unearthed at a rapid pace. I intended to chip away at this one slowly, but ended up finishing the book in a number of days. All of the plot twists made perfect sense in the context of the story, so nothing felt like it came out of nowhere. (That said, perhaps their were a few too many clues dropped, since I am terrible at guessing twists and did manage to call a few ahead of time. Do with that what you will.) Additionally, when the killer was finally revealed, I liked what his/her/their monologue offered as a commentary on society in its current state.

The main reason why I gave this 4 and not 5 stars was that I felt the character development was lacking. Olivia begins the story as an outsider longing to fit in, but feeling like the world of the wealthy will never open its doors to her no matter how hard she tries. She joins the Ivies because she recognizes in some sense that she has to be willing to scrap her way to the top, since people will not hand her things. This results in some bitterness on her part. However, after following a novel’s worth of secrets and realizing just how insidious the schemes of the rich can be, she ends the story in much the same place. I didn’t feel like the events of the story particularly affected her in any way. She didn’t conclude that excessive wealth leads to excessive selfishness and corruption, but on the other hand, she also didn’t conclude that there was more to the people inhabiting the world of the wealthy than the label of selfishness with which she views them all. She sees herself as more justifiable than the Ivies in her actions, even though she shares their motivations and takes part in her own schemes. This could have provided an opportunity for Olivia to realize that, despite their class distinctions, she is, in many ways, the same as the people she paints as immoral, or on the other hand, to decide what truly sets her apart from them and what kind of person she will be as a result. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded which direction Donne took with it, so long as Olivia learned something from the events. But instead Olivia remains unaffected. She ends the novel still feeling like an outsider with luxury as her ultimate aspiration. (In a similar vein, another thing I struggled with was that Olivia complains frequently about being poor, when in reality she is solidly middle class and just lacks the excess luxury of the 1%. In that sense, she is guilty of the same navel-gazing as her wealthy friends, and yet she is never self-aware enough to see it.)

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely. As I said, the plot was absolutely riveting. This is a book that demands to be devoured, and I would highly recommend it to lovers of YA thriller!

P.S. For those of you who’ve read it, “I’m a feminist, you know” had me cackling. 😂

2.5 Stars. A girl who goes to an elite, hyper-competitive, East-coast boarding school investigates the murder of her classmate.

If you like ABC Family and the CW, then this may be a good fit for you.

I'll start with what worked for me. The story was fast-paced and gripping, which I liked. The subject matter was unique and compelling; I, personally, haven't seen any teen thrillers written about competitive college applications (and I've read quite a few thrillers), so it was refreshing to see a new face in a familiar genre. I liked that it revolved around spilling the deep, dark secrets of the "top clique" at the high school.

As a side note, I mentioned this above, but it is still important to be aware that this book clearly draws a lot of inspiration from television teen dramas. It even explicitly references the CW a couple times. This means that the teens are very dramatic and very "adult" (often to the point that it's an unrealistic portrayal of actual teenagers... but that's more a fault of the genre, rather than the author). So if that's not your cup of tea, maybe bring your plate to a different barbecue.

And now for the reasons why this book barely breaks 2 stars for me. First, it's predictable. There wasn't a single twist or reveal that surprised me. Most of the "big reveals" were easily observable from the very beginning. Although I will concede that I may have set the bar too high in that department (since I do read thrillers so often), it was still disappointing that there wasn't a single thing that caught me off-guard or made me second-guess myself.

Second, there was basically zero character development with the main character. Some of the side characters changed over time, which I appreciated, but the main character stayed the exact same. She started out the story as the "poor girl" outsider who is desperate to shed who she was and become like the glamorous Ivies, no matter the cost; she ended the story as.... the "poor girl" outsider who is still desperate to shed who she was and become like the glamorous Ivies, no matter the cost. She spends the whole book playing into the popular girls' twisted mind games and then, in the end, instead of learning from her experiences, she just keeps trying to play the game, even after the Ivies have taken their ball and gone home for the night.

The main character is so desperate and always tries to believe that the popular girls really are her friends and they really will accept her, even when it is abundantly clear to everyone else that they never will. It was so dissatisfying. She never gains any real friends, she never becomes anything more than a tag-along, wanna-be afterthought, but worst of all, she never just walks away. She couldn't just let go of the petty, high school drama and become something more than a ruthless, prep school mean girl. When given the chance to reflect and choose a different path, she actively decides not to. Instead, she becomes fake and spoiled and mean. It was so disappointing because it could have been so much better.

Interesting thriller about what lengths prep school teens will go to in order to make it in to their Ivy League. I wasn’t super surprised by several of the twists, but it kept me reading.

As an adult, I’m a little unsettled at how focused they were on the age of consent being 17 to make the career counselor not a pedophile. I would have liked to see that considered a little more seriously.

As a lesbian, I did like that Avery ended coming out as not straight because at first I was a bit confused when she dressed as Lexa otherwise for the party. That said, be prepared for another not straight character being homophobic to hide being outed. Overplayed.

Something to hand to fans of Pretty Little Liars.

This book was a ton of fun! I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it as I did with Alexa Donne's other two novels. I've been reading a lot of thrillers lately so I got my hands on this book at the perfect time! There was a bunch of twists and turns throughout this book that kept me guessing all the way through. It is a murder mystery at a boarding school with a group of mean girls involved. These girls will do anything to get into an Ivy League school and their vibes reminded me a lot of the girls from Pretty Little Liars. These mean girls are obviously super unlikeable at first, but what was surprising was how I grew to respect one of them by the end of the novel. I never thought that would happen to be honest and it was quite satisfying. At first, I had no idea who the murderer was, but towards the end of the book I had a solid theory that ended up being right. Alexa added a few twists that made me question my theory a few times though so it still was a satisfying conclusion. I definitely recommend giving this book a try!

I've been looking forward to reading this since it was announced, and I was not disappointed!

The Ivies are a group of girls at an elite private school that will do anything to get into their dream colleges. They've been sabotaging their classmates with schemes that vary from petty to psychotic. The Ivies work together to help each other get into their dream colleges, but they will screw over anyone else to get what they want. When one of them ends up dead, everyone in the school becomes a suspect because of all the people they hurt over the years.

This is a whodunit mystery with several twists, some related to the murder and some being your garden variety friends-backstabbing-friends kind. The twists prevent this story from succumbing to sagging middle syndrome. And despite the dark subject matter, there is a lot of humor. The narrator, Olivia, is quite funny, and this book has as much drama and cattiness as you would expect from a book about high school students participating in the ultra competitive college admissions game.

Olivia has a little bit of a blind spot when it comes to her own heinous actions, which all conveniently take place before the book starts, and we don't actually see the horrible effects of her actions, we just hear about it. Maybe that's for the best, because I really liked Olivia, and I'm not sure I would have liked her if we'd been introduced to her earlier when she was still sabotaging people. The writer hits the sweet spot of giving us a very flawed protagonist who has done terrible things, but who is very likable and easy to root for.

This story feels like Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars. I loved it and didn't want it to end. While reading it, I thought to myself that I could definitely see this getting picked up by Netflix and becoming a series. Had it ended a little differently, I think there would be room for future stories with this cast. The ending/epilogue showcases the downside of too much ambition, which is essentially the heart of the story, and was also a reflection of the classism that exists throughout the whole novel. A part of me wanted to see more justice for all of the shady people in this book, but the author chose to go with a more realistic ending which still felt very satisfying to me.

Definitely check this out if you love a good murder mystery. And if you are a fan of Pretty Little Liars, this is a must read!

* thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Crown Publishing for the eARC for review.

Alexa Donne has plotted an excellent thriller. The Ivies explores how far teens will go to get into their dream school. The book follows a very well-thought out structure, and centers on a murder investigation of a girl recently accepted into Harvard. The concept is catchy, and the mystery has enough red herrings to keep you guessing. I was never totally sure who was the killer which makes for a fun read! The prose and voice of the story is very “teen” with references to pop culture, fashion. While at times, this took me out of the mystery, I think teen readers will love it!

**I received an arc of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Like a lot of people I watch Alexa religiously on Youtube. I'm no stranger to her or her books. I've read Brightly Burning in the past and really enjoyed my experience reading it.

The Ivies was a first for me in a lot of ways. I've never read a mystery/thriller before. And I've only ever watched a couple such as Murder on the Orient Express ( the new one with Kenneth Branagh) and Scooby Doo (I think that counts)

So I don't really have a lot to compare this to, and I wouldn't even begin to understand what genre tropes were or were not at play here. I also don't want to give anything away. So I'll try to revisit my feelings on the twists and red herrings after the book has been out for a while.

Now onto the review...

Ya'll. You are not ready.

Something that kept coming up in reviews for Brightly Burning, was 'like her channel, didn't like the book'. It's hard to say what it was about that novel that kept it from working as well as it could have. For me, I'm not a sci-fi person, so I had chalked it up to that. Having just been thrown for a loop with her junior novel I can say IT WAS THE VOICE.

When you watch her channel, Alexa has a very specific voice. She's fun and likeable and it seems clear that she was born to write, but that voice is completely removed in Brightly Burning. Everything sounds forced and clipped and....essayish. The Ivies, is VOICEY. The voice is so strong that you forget that the piece isn't a memoir. It's all so crazy, and timely, that it all feels real. It's that Taylor Jenkins Reid effect where you feel like at any moment you could put the book down and google this school and these people and have millions of results.

She had me dangling from the first page and even after I've finished the book I'm not sure she ever let go. I kept trying to pick out the culprit. I can't say I guessed it, even though I definitely accused every named character at least once. If you like juicy drama, strap in. Get ready to gasp and clutch your pearls. Everyone has skeletons it seemed. Everyone offended at least once.

Last year I had the privilege of reading Admission by Julie Buxbaum before much of the real life sentences were handed out. You know which one I'm talking about, and that book did a good job of making me feel sorry for the kids involved. Sorry for the parents even. It gave me compassion for a situation that was already pretty cringey. This book is not that lol. The characters aren't awful, but their motives are insane. Admissions scandals and fake scores was literally an afterthought compared with all of the other things they were guilty of.

There was a part at the end of the book. When I read what the theme was I audibly gasped and screamed "OH MY GOD."

For those who have followed the videos, I feel like Alexa herself makes a cameo.

The Ivies and their scandalous world appear so fully formed that I don't feel like you can make "too big" of a deal of this book. We all knew that Alexa was meant to write, and think a lot of people were confused when Brightly Burning didn't live up to expectations. So the jury is in. Alexa was meant to write thrillers. The Ivies is her masterpiece.


I would recommend this book to literally anyone (but maybe especially recent grads haha). 5 well deserved stars!

This twisty ride of a book will give you an adrenaline rush that goes beyond usual school drama. Filled with intrigue and explosive secrets, this Mean-Girls-turned-thriller will leave you guessing until the very end.
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First of all, I want to thank the author Alexa Donne and her team for choosing me to be an ARC reader and of course, for bringing this book to life. If you want a sassy, YA mystery that is both about scheming girls and murderous intent over school competition, then this book is for you.

I love my thrillers to surprise me and make me suspect almost everyone. This one did it well. The concept of knife-to-throat hostility in picking top schools is a fresh concept that I have not heard in a thriller book before, so this is a refreshing read. The characters are fleshed out and you would really understand their motives— so much so that you would question if they could really be the killer or just the author's decoy. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because I feel there was a lot of "telling" at the beginning. It is indeed relevant information to ground the reader into the story, what with all the Ivy Leagues and their admission practices, but I think it could have been done more seamlessly. Otherwise, it was a great fast-paced book that you can't put down once you pick it up. I highly recommend it for YA thriller readers that have a taste for girl drama and competitive, cutthroat teenagers. Alexa Donne doesn't disappoint.

This is exactly the kind of thing that would make a great mini series. Mostly because it felt not unlike a <i>Gossip Girl</i> and <i>Pretty Little Liars</i> mashup (I say this without ever having watched or read PLL, so I could be off base, but from random ads I've seen it has the thriller vibes needed). Except throw in the <i>Gilmore Girls</i> education focus that Rory and Paris had in their final year at Chilton.

<i>There were ruthless students before us -- they just weren't as well organized.</i>

All that to say, this was a hot twisty priviledged backstabby underhanded mess and boy was I enthralled. I think what worked against it, though, and why I'm not rating higher, is I felt our protagonist was just a little too inconsistent in both her feelings and her reactions. I don't know if maybe that was on purpose, particularly with how this ended, but.. it made for strange reading sometimes. But the cliquey Ivies, the school itself, it was all so messed up but so fascinating.

Equally, I think, had this been done (or when it's done? who knows!) in a television format I think we could've had some extra nuance or layers that maybe would've rounded this out a bit. The mystery itself wasn't too straight forward, despite the red herrings or supposed red herrings, but there were a few other twists I found rather easy to see coming. But, again, maybe that was on purpose so we didn't guess the other? Hard to say.

"<i>Do you know how hard it is to be a rich, above-average white guy in college admissions?</i>"
"<b>Oh, wait, you're being serious? Sorry.</b>"

I also found it interesting how much this actually said about the whole college admissions mania. Not being American I've only ever really seen this portrayed in fiction and this definitely took it up a notch or twelve but I think there's a lot of reality buried into this fictional narrative, too.

I probably could've done without the two or three throwaway references to the pandemic but as this is an ARC who knows if that feedback will make it up the chain or not.

I had a fun time with this, though, and it was the perfect twisty ride to pass a gloomy afternoon.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

This book was something. A GOOD AND ENTERTAINING something.

So in terms of the plot, after I read the little blurb I was sold. Yet, when you read it, it goes so much farther. It is definitely more mystery than horror, so make sure to keep that in mind when you are picking it up or looking at it. I also think how it went to describe school, getting into college and the whole admissions process was scary but true. Like I have seen people have full mental breakdowns over getting into or trying to get into an Ivy league and this really just shows it.

The pacing was perfect for the story and it could have even gone a little faster. I was able to read the whole book in one sitting; however, I am a fast reader so make sure to take that into consideration.

The characters relationships were perfect between one another. If anything I would have liked to see a second book that went over the relationships through the ending (spoiler free - not mentioning). Seeing how the main character could or rather couldn't relate to everyone else really shows the class struggle in terms of college admissions and schooling. This book really goes to show the class privileges and even touches upon race within the admission process.

I didn't expect any of the twists and turns that happened within this book which I would think goes to show how well written it was. All-in-All any college student of upper class student in high school would do well to read this. As well as any adult who isn't as in touch with the admissions process anymore.

Boarding school? Check. How the 1% lives? Check. Murder? Check. This book ticks lots of boxes for indulgent reads. Olivia, the token athletic scholarship student, finds herself in the middle of a complicated web of lies and deceit. But she’s not squeaky clean. As the story unravels, it seems that almost everyone is tainted by hubris. Y’know, Macbeth’s fatal flaw. Everyone at the school wants to come out on top & very few can—even when they try to pull all of the strings behind the curtain. Parts felt ploddingly slow & others seemed to pass by too quickly for them to sink in. It should appeal to the Maureen Johnson Truly Devious fans.

#TheIvies #NetGalley

THE IVIES is such a fun and twisty YA elite boarding school mystery/thriller! The story is about a group of high-achieving friends known as “the Ivies” who will do whatever it takes to be accepted into the university of their dreams. When a murder occurs and the Ivies become the prime suspects, Olivia decides to get to the bottom of it. With a cast full of perfectly “unlikeable” characters, I couldn’t put this book down until the reveal. The dynamic between Olivia and the other Ivies was complex and addicting to follow, and I loved the way everything was tied up in the end. I can’t wait for Alexa’s next thriller!

Thank you Netgalley for a YA mystery thriller in exchange for a review!

I was iffy on the beginning. A lot of stereotypes and high school clique stuff which doesn't sit well with me and isn't realistic. The language was especially cringey for me, like this is what someone who hasn't been in high school for a long time thinks high schoolers now talk.

BUT there was so much good going on in this too. I liked the love interest. I like the main character's grit and determination, even if she was hypocritical and mean sometimes (but I guess flaws are common with mystery-thrillers). I like the very end especially.

This is marketed as similar to <i>A Good Girl's Guide to Murder</i>. Don't go into this thinking it'll be that.

#TheIvies
#MustReadYA2021
The Ivies starts off slow, but after the first several chapters it builds into a fun, smart mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House publishing for the opportunity to read and review The Ivies.

The Ivies, Olivia, Emma, Avery, Sierra, and Margot, are the queens of Claflin Academy. They have done everything they could to ensure that they would each get into the Ivy League school of their choice. Olivia, though, is an outsider. While rest of the Ivies are rich and come from powerful families, Olivia is a scholarship student who will do whatever it takes to get into her dream school. On the day Early Decision college acceptances come out, secrets are revealed and trusts are broken. At the end of the night, one of the Ivies ends up dead. Olivia, along with her her newspaper co-editor Ethan, starting digging into the murder to find out what really happened. The more she digs though, the more danger she finds herself in.

This was a phenomenal YA thriller. Although the main character starts out unlikable, as the book progresses, it reveals more layers to her character and really made you root for her. This book has a lot of twists, turns, red herrings, missed clues, and a lot of suspense that really kept me invested in the book. I have read a lot of YA thrillers, and this one really did keep me guessing until the very end. There were so many betrayals, secrets, and deceptions that it added so many layers to each of the characters. The boarding school setting also made it more interested it kept all the characters and suspects together. There were a few things that made me a little uncomfortable, but overall, this was a fantastic read and I highly recommend.

To be honest, I wasn't very impressed by the first twenty pages or so. Olivia, the protagonist, is like every white girl in a book like this one: the poor scholarship girl who doesn't quite fit in with her group of friends. But there's something about this book that just kind of... sucks you in and keeps you hooked long after you thought you would have walked away.

Don't get me wrong: this is a fairly predictable book with some easy to spot plot twists (called the murderer right after the body was discovered). But there's plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing, and some delightful twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

Olivia has a pretty interesting journey, and I was happy to see realistic consequences for her and her friends given what happens in this book. Overall, this was a well-written book with great structure, likable (if slightly predictable) characters, and a solid mystery to keep readers engaged.

Fans of Truly Devious and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder will really enjoy this one when it comes out later this year.

This book is awesomely twisted! The Ivies tells the story of a group of five classmates-can they really call themselves friends?- who will lie, cheat, steal, backstab, and do just about anything else the need to in order to better their standing among their competitors when it comes to applying to the most prestigious colleges. Each has been designated an Ivy League College to apply to and each has bent and broken more than her fair share of rules in order to get accepted. When one ends up dead after getting accepted, seemingly everyone on campus is a suspect, but none more-so than the Ivies themselves!

Olivia, Avery, Emma, Sierra, and Margot seem to have it all. They are the queen bees of Claflin Academy. They know what they want and they will step on anyone to get it. Can they withstand a murder investigation of one of their own?

The twists and turns and the shocking truth will keep the reader not only guessing, but second and triple guessing until the very end. This book is a sure-fire hit! Thank you to Random House Children's Publishing for granting me an ARC. Decision Day is May 25, 2021 for everyone to pick up a copy of The Ivies!

Olivia Winters is a member of The Ivies, 5 girls who each claim their “spot” at an Ivy League school before Early Decision Day. They promise to never get in each other’s way, and they do whatever it takes to make sure nobody else gets in their way. But when Olivia secretly applies to Harvard and gets in, she’s worried what Avery, the triple legacy and sole owner of the Harvard spot, will say. But on the night of the big ED party, Emma also reveals she got into Harvard, and Averys Harvard rejection sends her into a tirade. When Emma’s body is found floating in the crew pool the next morning, Olivia can’t help but wonder if she will be next. And she will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of Emma’s death. But is what she uncovers along the way worth knowing? Or she is better off in the dark?

Do you remember the movie Mean Girls? This is a mean girls story with an academic mission. The story was smart, addictive, and definitely shocking! 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, the twist and the shocks keep coming. Olivia is at a boarding school where she and her friends are all trying to get into one of their Ivy League colleges but when things turn deadly for the group of friends Olivia is trying to figure out who killed one of their own as well as what other secrets they are hiding from one another.
If you love YA thrillers or even thrillers in general this one's for you I would definitely recommend it!

Getting into Ivy League schools is tough, but these girls make it cut throat. Olivia is part of an elite group at her school known as The Ivies. Each member has been selected to apply to one of the Ivy League schools and they will stop at nothing to make sure they get in. When one of The Ivies turns up dead after admitting she got in to the school she wasn't meant to apply to, Olivia will launch her own investigation to clear, or maybe convict, the other members of the group. A classic murder mystery, this book is thrilling, fast-paced, and has the perfect amount of twist in the storyline to keep even the best guesser on their toes.