I am a sucker for boarding school novels, so I couldn't wait to read this glimpse into life at an elite Historically Black Boarding School (HBBS) in Atlanta.

Briarcliff Prep is the story of Avi, a first-year student at an all-girls HBBS that her sister also attends. Her brothers are at the brother school, Preston Academy, across the street. Avi is quickly inducted into the traditions of the school as well as the social politics of her new peers. She is surrounded by women who look like her and encourage her to read literature by Black authors. She is thrown into a very competitive academic enviroment with very high expectations, and at times she is challenged in meeting those expectations. Avi struggles in her math class, but finds herself falling for her math tutor, Quincy. And she struggles with finding her spot on the school newspaper.

While all of that is going on, Avi can also see a strange dynamic developing between her sister, Belle, and Belle's boyfriend, Logan. Logan is one of the most popular students at Preston, and Belle and Logan as set to be the king and queen bee of the social scene. But something isn't quite right there. Avi doesn't trust her gut at first, but soon the signs become too clear to be ignored. Can she help her sister realize this before it's too late?

Briarcliff Prep is a novel about Black identity and Black joy, but it is also novel about the dangers of dating violence. I loved that Peppins was inspired by her time at Spelman college. My favorite parts of the novel were the "world building" bits at the beginning where Avi gets to experience her new school for the first time as a student. Briarcliff is challenging but it also provides Avi with a strong sense of community that can be found at boarding schools and small liberal arts colleges (I was always so jealous of my friends who went to women's colleges!).

The dating violence plot is very slow to develop. The first half really focuses on the school, the academics, and Avi's budding romance with Quincy. In that sense, the plotting here was a little uneven and I struggled to get into the story. I knew what was coming, based on the blurb, and couldn't focus as much on the joy because I was waiting for the sinister elements to appear. I think that affected my early reading experience and my overall perceptions of the book upon completion. I think this is symptom of the book trying to do two key things at the same time, but also just indicative of a debut novel. Peppin shows immense promise as a writer who can appeal to actual teens and tell stories we haven't read it, but I did struggle a bit with wanting to continue reading early in the book -- I almost DNFed this at several points.

HOWEVER, this book is not FOR me. It was not written for me. It was written for the young people I see in my library every day who will eat this premise up! I can think of so many students who I know I can hook into reading this because of the aspirational setting at Briarcliff, the fun politics of boarding school, and the dark drama of dating violence. Briarcliff Prep will certainly be a book I will be purchasing for my library and recommending to students.

Wow. 5 stars. Was not expecting any of that but I love these “Black girl” canon books. Books written for Black girls. This is beautiful and sad but a must-have conversation amongst teen girls.

This book!! I loved the African American experience at an Historically Black Boarding School. This book gave a much needed perspective of how a nurturing environment can allow young people to reach their full potential, specifically young black girls!! Domestic violence in teenage relationships is at the forefront of the story and having the characters navigate the lines of loyalty between siblings and doing what you believe is right, even if may cause pain to someone you love, was done beautifully. Despite the heavy topics the reader was able to experience new beginnings, first loves and rivalries with the main character. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my students!

The books that deal with heartbreaking topics in such interesting ways thing better be here to stay. I found myself rooting for and feeling the pain of these characters even if it was written in third person. Definitely a book I'll be thinking about for awhile.

This was a VERY highly anticipated read for me. I’m a sucker for a prep school setting. Briarcliff Prep was different than I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. I loved Avi so much. Her journey of navigating new friendships, relationships, school politics and family issues was done so well. I loved seeing her gain confidence as the year went on, especially with the school paper. Zazie and Rhyon, I loved as well. I liked seeing Quincy and Avi start their relationship and how it grew. Of course, the big conflict with the book deals with domestic violence and honestly, I thought it was done incredibly well. It really showed how hard it can be to leave a relationship, even when you’re being hurt, physically and emotionally. Pacing wise, there were a few times the book moved a bit slowly, but never slow enough that I lost interest or was bored. I loved the look into Historically Black Boarding Schools and thought it was so cool to see books like Legendborn and Clap When You Land mentioned. Overall, I was very impressed with this one and will definitely be on the lookout for Peppins’ next book.
TW: domestic violence

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

In a recent batch of bad to only mediocre books this was a great book to pull me out of that. It is well-written, I was invested in the story and what was going on, I cared, I wanted good things for the characters, I enjoyed the setting and most everything about this.

Thank you to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

From the second I started this book, to the minute I read the last word- my eyes were glued to the page. Brianna creates a world that is so realistic it’s hard not to get caught up in it. Avielle is such a brilliant, strong character. Her determination and ability to try and be objective, even when she doesn’t want to be, is admirable. I loved her so much.

Briarcliff Prep gives you found family, close knit family dynamics, academic rivals, brothers best friend and a realistic portrayal of what domestic violence can look like. While I highly recommend looking up triggers before reading, this book is absolutely fantastic. It’s sensitive when it needs to be. Hard hitting in all the right places. Peppins shines through with a voice uniquely her own, with the ability to cast a spell on you to be more open minded, thoughtful and to never give up. Briarcliff Prep is a can’t miss YA contemporary!

TW: Domestic abuse

Avi is a freshman at Briarcliff Prep a historically black boarding school. The book is kind of split into two parts, the first part is more character-driven and focuses on Avi adjusting to boarding school life, coursework, and finding where she fits in. The second part focuses on Avi's relationship with her older sister when she discovers that her sister is in an abusive relationship.

I found Peppin's writing to be engaging and her characters represent the different faces of blackness.


Thank you Netgalley

Briarcliff Prep is the book that BIPOC teens should experience, as it is filled with the camaraderie of friends and family, school traditions based on historical black colleges, and yet opportunities to come into the awareness of oneself. Truth, emotions, and heart are at the foundation of this story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this title!

A powerful book that deals with an important topic - teen dating violence.

The character development in this book is wonderful - you really get to know Avi, Belle, Quincy, Rhyon, Zazie, and the rest of Avi's family. While it ultimately deals with a serious topic, it highlights many parts of teenage life in a boarding school - navigating classes and heavy coursework, finding friends, doubting yourself, dealing with people you don't get along with, and more. I really recommend this book!

4.5 stars, rounded to 5.

This book focused on important topics such as DV. It’s so important to talk about these issues and problems students face. I thought this book was excellently done.

Following family tradition, 14-year-old Avi LeBeau enrolls in Briarcliff Prep, a Historically Black Boarding School that her older sister older sister Belle also attends. (Briarcliff Prep isn't just the setting of the novel, it's also a character in it's own right. It's just as important to this story as Hogwarts is to any of the Harry Potter books.)
Avi arrives with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, having waited for this moment for a long time. She looks forward to making new friends, settling into campus life, and hopefully earning a spot on the school's prestigious newspaper.

Author Brianna Peppins has written a compelling "school story" that centers on many of the typical struggles high school students face. For instance, while Avi finds a strong friend group comprised of girls who support each other, she also encounters mean-girl politics on campus. An excellent student overall, Avi excels in English but struggles in math. She finds herself attracted to a sophomore, a math whiz who offers to tutor her. While each of these plot points could be mundane in the hands of a less-skilled author, Peppins' emphasis on Avi's emotions combined with strong depictions of all the characters draws readers in and allows them to experience (or in some cases re-live) the struggles right along with Avi.

The subplot that eventually supersedes the others involves Belle and her boyfriend, Logan. From the moment she meeting Logan, Avi feels something isn't quite right about him. Over time, she notices how possessive he is of her sister and can't understand why Belle puts up such behavior. When Avi accidentally learns the truth about Belle and Logan's relationship, she has to decide whether to speak up and risk her relationship with her sister or keep quiet and hope nothing tragic happens as a result.

This book is sure to find a wide readership among teens who enjoy realistic fiction.

Heartbreaking but extremely important. A great read for teenagers that handles some heavy topics.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

dnf at 45%. the writing style just was not for me, however, I will say that the main character was very cool. a diverse read, but would maybe be better for middle grade instead of YA.

Thanks to Netgalley for lending me this ARC
This book was a love letter to black girls, and their relationships. It was a must read for any young girl to learn what it’s like to start high school and to take up space in the world. Also, the discussions of dating violence, and the impact it has on family units as a whole was so well done, as well as the ways in which violence is downplayed and normalized. 4 stars!!!

This book follows Avielle and her siblings and friends during their time at Briarcliff Prep. This is Avi's first year and she is excited to get involved and to write for the school newspaper. Avi has her sister and her new roommate and friends there to help her as she navigates starting a new school. She also explores a new romantic interest at the adjoining boys prep school. Avi learns a lot about herself and the different relationships she has with other people during her time at Briarcliff Prep. It's not always a good experience, but she comes out a more well-rounded person at the end.

This book was a super realistic portrayal of a Historically Black Boarding School (HBBS) and it was interesting to see this way of life at the high school versus college level. I loved the comraderie between the characters and I really felt their connections to each other and to the action of the story. I think it would have been so cool to go to a school like this where you get all of the freedom of being away from home to learn about yourself before making big decisions about where you want to go to college and what you want to do in your life.

This story hits on some real issues that teens are facing, and the author portrayed the big feelings associated with this trauma in a way that I think many readers will be able to connect with. I think the way that the main character dealt with these problems lends itself to conversations with readers of all ages about healthy boundaries and relationships and what to do when those are not healthy anymore.

“It’s a promise ring. He was so sorry, but it was a huge misunderstanding. We both said things we shouldn’t have. But I think he really loves me”

For a high school age audience dealing with the life at a boarding school, from academics to relationships.

This book hit home in so many places for me, even though the setting was in a boarding school I think teenagers can find themselves in these characters, the school is an all black school and it was beautiful seeing the representation and the subtle notes throughout the book.

There is a focus on abuse which I really found a plot point that is so important to talk about work teenagers.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

tw: domestic abuse

fourteen year old avielle (avi) lebeau leaves to follow in her family’s footsteps and attend a historically black boarding school called briarcliff prep. there she meets new friends, settles into her classes, meets a cute TA (that might just find her cute as well), and tries to win her spot in the school newspaper (making an enemy along the way). her older sister belle, youtube star and popular as always, also attends the school with her well loved boyfriend logan. however, when avi meets logan she can feel something’s off about him while belle assures her he’s nothing but sweet. when avi’s gut feeling is proved right, her and belle’s relationship becomes strained as avi tries to protect her older sister before it’s too late.

‘briarcliff prep’ starts off as more of a boarding school romance and slowly transitions into a hard hitting story about sisterhood and domestic abuse. i found it incredibly impactful and really loved the bond between avi and her siblings, especially belle. i think the messages in this story were so important and im very happy i got a chance to read this book!!

all the different class assignments in avi’s school that were focused on Black empowerment or analyzing racism made me really yearn to go to a school that prioritizes POC voices like this one. im so tired of writing essays on another random (probably racist) white man that made a minor accomplishment in history, why can’t we write about actually important stuff like this?!

also, one of my personal favorite things about this book was how multiple books by black authors were mentioned inside the story! the way i knew this book was gonna be good the minute they mentioned legendborn by tracy deonn (aka one of my most favorite books ever) 🫶🏻

A beautiful representation and homage to historically Black colleges and universities. The essence of BriarCliff Prep is deeply rooted in Black history and the story written as a YA novel makes this history digestible to a wider and impressionable audience who will hopefully that the lessons they learn in this story and apply them to their every day life. The friendships and family dynamics were authentic and I rooted for Avi and her growth as a young woman, math student, writer, and sister for the entirety of the book!

Finished Biarcliff Prep over the 4th of July weekend. There is a lot to be learned from reading this book. For example, the idea of Historically Black Boarding Schools is not part of my (rural-ish) upper-Midwest living experience. I appreciated the characters coming financially stable and established families, a celebration of success.

The story is excellent and many middle- high-school students will related to what is happening. There are a lot of characters introduced and much of the story is dialog, with narrative being minimal. So taking in a story like that was a little exhausting to process.