I was excited to read a new author i Scott Johnston. Unfortunately this one was hard for me to get into. Maybe had to do more with me than the story line itself. I just would have preferred more character development to be pulled in.

This was a very good book. Zoey and Ginny are very privileged teenagers; belong to a wealthy family and go to a private school. Scott, the father, is a very "important" man and full of himself. He constantly works and doesn't spend time with his family. He went to Yale and he wants his daughters to attend Yale also. It turns out that private schools have an "in" with college admissions staff. Children of prior attendees are considered to be legacy students and in the past, this has enabled them to have an easier time being admitted to the Ivy League schools. And then.....white, rich individuals were pushed to the side to make room for the less privileged--it used to be referred to as filling a quota--so that a requisite amount of diversity existed. Lots of twists as Zoey and Ginny navigate high school, a very entertaining book that is relevant to past politics and the changing of the guard. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complementary digital ARC and the opportunity to be an early reader. This review is my own honest opinion and not coerced in any way..

DNF @ 20%. The descriptions and scenes felt so tedious to read and there were so many characters being introduced at once. The situations and scenes didn’t seem to connect to one another which maybe they would’ve if I kept reading but I was just disinterested by this point. I could not tell you what the plot of this book is by 20% other than just describing wealthy people’s lives and the admissions process of Yale.

This book is well written with a good plot that keeps the reader turning the pages and have important conversations.
The Sandersons Fail Manhattan pulls you right into the families story and hooks you.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

The Sandersons are very rich. William Sanderson is on the verge of a huge promotion at Bedrock Capital, an investment giant. On the verge...assuming he's able to avoid the HR department.

His wife, Ellie, just wants to fit in with New York society. Ginny, a typical teen, is indifferent about her future, despite Williiam's attempts to get her into Yale. Zoey is a shy daughter and is overjoyed to have made a friend with the strange new girl, who calls herself a 'goblin.' When the private schools the girls attend admits it's first openly trans student, the Sanderson's world is flipped upside down.

Despite the current political climate of America, this is still an excellent exploration of inclusion and acceptance. There are parts that are uncomfortable to read, but that's what makes books great, isn't it?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this timely, thought-provoking novel very much. I think it will provoke many discussions about “wokeness” and whether it can lead to effective changes. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you SMP for this review copy! While this book is well done, a blend of satire and socio-cutlural commentary on privilege, wokeness, and the challenges of living in a polarizing, and at times confusing cultural landscape... this book just didn't land right for me at this specific moment in time. It felt kind of using themes on transgender lives, running with themes on inclusion and diversity at the wrong moment in time for readers like me who are just feeling lost, isolated, and not sure how to move in this world with a woke spirit, a job that explores and embraces inclusion and for someone who teachers about gender and intersectional identity. The book is good, don't get me wrong, but it just pushed for me the envelope more into I am uncomfortable in a way that doesn't make me feel challenged but more uncomfortable, at odds with the themes I teach and how I want to be challenged to understand other lives when I read. This is a not for me read, at least not right now.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Someone once said, people go mad quickly, and in herds, and recover slowly, one by one. We're in the going mad part. I fear you guys haven't even begun to see what will happen. These people are vicious, and now you're in their sights."

4.5 stars
Warning: This is not a book for everyone, and at multiple points, I wondered if this was a book for me. Turns out it was. This is a work of satire, which I usually do not enjoy. The schtick gets old and I get bored; that happened here as well, but rebounded and I read the last 25% obsessively. There is so much going on in this plot, so I'll make this brief. Here we follow The Sandersons, an Upper East Side family of extreme privilege, as they navigate the cut throat world of "acceptance": to the right clubs, right schools, right everything. As you can tell from the title, things go a bit off course.
Johnston takes a deep dive into the arms race of elite private NYC schools trying to stay relevant and get their students even more of a leg up into the Ivy League. What's the latest these schools are looking for, and how do you remain competitive when "rich white legacy" is becoming passe? And to satisfy the mega rich who endow these private schools, how do they up the ante to keep their graduates interesting and in the mix?
This book stings. It is biting, and you will be uncomfortable. Johnston takes a hard look at performative virtue, as businesses and organizations seek to outdo one another to be the biggest ally of an underrepresented or oppressed group of people, and how more often that not, this is simply exploitation that just comes down to the bottom line. He also hits the media and politicians, and the ugliness of greed, ambition, and the thoughtless cruelty of social media. This book is both incredibly timely -as we see corporations pull out of Pride events that were once of the utmost importance to their value- and a bit late -as the push for DEI has come to an abrupt end.
If you are easily offended, you may want to skip this, as absolutely NO ONE comes out unscathed. You will absolutely loathe the majority of the characters, and there are no kid gloves here. Sometimes I almost felt guilty for reading it. But the best books often make you squirm a little, and you must remind yourself that this is satire. I highly recommend this for the right reader.

I love a "rich people behaving badly" story and especially one set in NYC, but this one fell flat. I was expecting more dark humor.

It's smart, some might find it funny, I DNF. I really enjoyed Campusland and had high hopes for this but then 2025 happened. Where I might have laughed at this in the past, the destruction of DEI over the last six months took the laughs out of it for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

“A laugh-out-loud mash-up of Bonfire of the Vanities and Mean Girls.” Wonderful and a lot of laugh true indeed.

“The Sandersons Fail Manhattan” by Scott Johnston is a clever satire about New York City’s powerful elite and what happens when things don’t go their way. The story revolves around a blue blood family who continually step on social land mines when a transgender student is admitted to their daughter’s private school.
It is a compelling examination of the cultural changes in the US post 2020. This book will have you questioning your own thoughts on hot button issues and Mr. Johnston spares no one on either side of the political fence with his very sharp pen. This book will cause a lot of important conversations because it serves as a mirror and a microscope. It’s tough, funny, and honest with a fresh perspective on modern America.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

Rich kids, rich families, NYC, and a bit of chaos. I enjoyed this book, but felt that some of the character development was lacking.

I am not a huge fan of this book. The story was fine, but I found the writing a bit choppy and unclear. There were so many characters vying for the top spot that it almost seemed that the Sandersons played a smaller role than the title would suggest.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: July 8, 2025
Scott Johnston, author of “Campusland”, has entered the world of fiction writing in a big way. His debut novel, “The Sandersons Fail Manhattan” is subversive, thought-provoking, relevant and powerful, touching on major themes like capitalism, racism and transphobia, all in three hundred pages.
Will Sanderson is mega rich and the one thing he strives for is to get richer, so he is thrilled when word gets around that he may be up for a promotion with his company, Bedrock Capital. He serves on the board of his daughter’s elite private school and his beautiful wife, Ellie, is trying to make a life for herself among the super rich wives of New York City. The private school the Sanderson girls attend makes news when it admits its first trans student but it isn’t long until the student disappears- leaving everyone scrambling and putting the Sandersons in the spotlight, for the wrong reasons.
“Manhattan” is a novel that will stick with you, regardless of what side of the political fence you’re on. Whatever your background or beliefs, Johnston’s novel will run you through the emotional gamut, and it is one heck of a provoking page-turner. “Manhattan” alternates protagonists, not just the Sandersons but other players in their world, such as the school’s new head, a journalist trying to make a name for herself and another new student Clover, who is also selected as part of the school’s “diversity” practice. All of the characters have very different stories to tell, so readers will be able to connect with at least one amongst the pile.
“Manhattan” has politicking, nepotism, back-biting, scheming and plotting- all of the central aspects of life among the rich and infamous. Ellie and her daughters are pawns in a larger scheme and it was easy to sympathize with them, making William and his super rich colleagues the obvious villains. But there is more at play in “Manhattan”, and it brings to light a lot of modern issues.
This novel is complex, so it was difficult to summarize and review, but it is a novel that I guarantee will leave a mark on every reader. It will definitely anger some and inspire others but it will get everyone thinking and, hopefully, talking. “Manhattan” is a powerful examination of the rich and influential, and what happens when things don’t go their way. This novel will offend some readers, that is a given, but that was Johnston’s intention, as “Manhattan” had me re-examining my own views and opinions on a variety of important topics. Johnston’s “Manhattan” stands out for its creativity and up front, in-your-face subject matter and I’m interested in what Johnston does next.

A very enlightening, sometimes sad and sometimes funny, satirical view of life in modern day Manhattan. The situation surrounding the Sandersons seems unbelievable but likely is rooted in real-life situations. An interesting read!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I am afraid I just could not get into The Sandersons Fail Manhattan. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and the story didn’t seem to be progressing, it felt like a lecture on where and how the wealthy send their children to school.
This is just my opinion and I am sure many patrons will enjoy reading the book.

This book follows the Sanderson's, who are an extremely wealthy family in NYC. This book has a lot of dark humor, but I did think the author did a good job tackling difficult topics related to social justice. Will Sanderson's kids go to a private school that thinks they need to have more gender inclusivity to get more Ivy League acceptances. The book feels veery honest, and I thought the plot was well developed.

A satirical commentary on the New York elite and the cultural changes in the United States post-2020. "The Sandersons Fail Manhattan" has its funny moments and does a decent job of making you question your own thoughts on hot button topics, however, I could not get past how much I hated every single character. I think that was the point, but it made it hard to get through the first half of the book. For me, the storyline seemed to pick up in the last 25% of the book and the ending was enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a brilliant and hilarious satire about privilege and social orthodoxy. Don't worry, whatever side you take, no one is spared from the author's sharp sword.

The plot followed Will and Ellie Sanderson and their two teenage daughters, Ginny and Zoey. After bringing up the kids in Chicago, they have finally moved back to NYC, where Will grew up in a privileged Upper East Side home. Ginny is a senior and Zoey is a freshman at a posh private girls school, and Will has his dream job in a financial firm.

The trouble starts when the fairly new principal, Padma, decides to embrace an anti-racist ideology for the school. She recruits a student who identifies as Goblincore and wears nature-inspired clothing including a twig in her hair, and then goes for the bigger prize, a student that is transitioning.

It's hard to explain what happens next, because the plot is so intricate, with many moving parts. Suffice to say, even though Will is on the board of the school, the Sandersons get tied up in a web of social activism and become the targets of many people using social justice for their own gain. Different bad actors target the girls, the school, Will's company, anything they can. It goes from bad to worse to a stunning culmination, and an ending that feels just right, although I wish some people who had it coming to them would have gotten what they deserved.

Although the plot has so many pieces, it's told over smoothly and is easy to follow. The satire seems to be aimed at both sides of the conversation, both the privileged few and the progressive activists. Ellie and her 2 girls are the only people here who present the sane middle.

This has a light feel that borders on the absurd, yet it feels almost entirely real. There were some laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of cringe. Even though the themes are obvious, most of it is "shown" and not "told," so the message still has some subtlety. I was eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next. It's lots of fun, so long as you can tolerate all the jabs.

Thank you to NetGalley, Scott Johnston, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.