Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Hilderbrand collaborates with her daughter, Cunningham, a recent high school graduate, for a dishy tale of New England boarding school life. It opens on fall move-in day, when Audre Robinson, head of school at Tiffin Academy, is blindsided by news that the school has jumped from 19th to second place in an influential magazine's rankings, eliciting suspicion from rival schools that board president and top donor Jesse Easton has committed bribery. Jesse's popular but wayward 19-year-old son, a student who goes by East, has carte blanche to do whatever he wants at Tiffin. Still, East pushes the envelope, forging a partnership with new girl Charley Hicks to build a speakeasy on campus, and flirting with beautiful 24-year-old history teacher Simone Bergeron. Meanwhile, the students--who include popular influencer Davi Banerjee--are captivated by an app where anonymous users share dirt on students and faculty. As pressure mounts on the school from an investigation into the ranking, explosive secrets come to light about Simone's past and her encounters with East, while Charley and Davi forge an affecting friendship. The authors employ catchy narrative devices, such as the gossipy collective voice of a clique of Tiffin girls and SAT-word-riddled posts from Davi, and they give the main characters plenty of depth. Readers are in for a treat. Agents: Michael Carlisle and David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In her newest novel, bestselling Hilderbrand (Swan Song) teams up with her teenage daughter, Cunningham, to explore a drama-filled year at an elite New England boarding school. It opens with a surprising boost in the school rankings for Tiffin Academy, a seemingly average institution now shining under the national spotlight. But as the school year unfolds, secrets spill and reputations crumble thanks to a mysterious gossip app called ZipZap. The characters are wide-ranging, from a glamorous influencer to a guarded transfer student to a young, unsure teacher, as the novel navigates shifting alliances and personal revelations, all set against the school's deceptively idyllic setting. While the plot is packed with potential, the overly descriptive writing tends to slow the narrative's pace. This style may appeal to fans of immersive detail but could be challenging for those looking for a brisk, engaging read. VERDICT A juicy mix of scandal and coming-of-age moments. Fans of Hilderbrand's signature ensemble dramas and readers who enjoy stories about secrets in privileged worlds will likely appreciate this buzzy take on boarding-school life.--Jenna LaBollita
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A year in the life of the No. 2 boarding school in America--up from No. 19 last year! Rumors of Hilderbrand's retirement were greatly exaggerated, it turns out, since not only has shenot gone out to pasture, she's started over in high school, with her daughter Shelby Cunningham as co-author. As their delicious new book opens, it's Move-In Day at Tiffin Academy, and Head of School Audre Robinson is warmly welcoming the returning and new students to the New England campus, the latter group including a rare midstream addition to the junior class. Brainiac Charley Hicks is transferring from public school in Maryland to a spot that opened up when one of the school's most beloved students died by suicide the preceding year. She will be joining a large, diverse cast of adult and teenage characters--queen bees, jealous second-stringers, boozehounds young and old, secret lesbians, people chasing the wrong people chasing other wrong people--all of them royally screwed when an app called Zip Zap appears and starts blasting everyone's secrets all over campus. How the heck…? Meanwhile, it seems so unlikely that Tiffin has jumped up to the No. 2 spot in the boarding-school rankings that a high-profile magazine launches an investigation, and even the head is worried that there may have been payola involved. The school has a reputation for being more social than academic, and this quality gets an exciting new exclamation point when the resident millionaire bad boy opens a high-style secret speakeasy for select juniors in a forgotten basement. It's called Priorities. Exactly. One problem: Cinnamon Peters' mysterious suicide hangs over the book in an odd way, especially since the note she left for her closest male friend is not to be opened for another year--and isn't. This is surely a setup for a sequel, but it's a bit frustrating here, and bobs sort of shallowly along amid the general high spirits. A boarding-school fantasia, with Hilderbrand's signature upgrades to the cuisine and decor. Sign us up for next term. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
