Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Private, by Kate Brian

In Private, by Kate Brian, Reed Brennan is a high school sophomore who has won a scholarship to the prestigious Easton Academy in Connecticut. When she arrives at school, she is expecting hoards of glam, flawless girls and cute, preppy boys, but even those notions aren't enough to prepare her for the Billings Girls. The Billings Girls reside in the most exclusive dorm on campus, where all members must be voted in, and are the most affluent, beautiful, and powerful girls on campus. Once she sees them, she is willing to do anything to become a part of the esteemed dorm, including complete fake initiations and tedious tasks, and clean every Billings Girl's room. Once she's in, however, she realizes that the facade of beauty, wealth, and prestige hides something much less glamorous, and very sinister. Although I've read a million fish-out-of-water novels about girls in boarding school, I believe that the Private series is in a class of its own. Although it still has very teen elements, the plot goes far beyond the typical boyfriend-stealing, rumor-spreading nonsense of other books in this genre. I would recommend Private, as well as the rest of the books in the series, to everyone.

- Reviewed by MarinaDW, grade 10.

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1 comment:

Teen Speak said...

Reed Brennan has just started her first year at Easton Academy, a private school for the richest kids, on a scholarship.Reed has no designer clothes or purses like the other girls and boys at Easton so she feels like an outcast. Reed makes a friend named Constance and gets the attention of a boy named Thomas. She soon realizes that the Billings Girls run everything at Easton and she tries getting in their group. She starts getting closer to the Billings Girls until an incident happens.

I loved this series because of how interesting and detailed it was. I never got tired of reading it and I read this book in 2 hours because it was so entertaining. I loved the idea of boarding school and the "Billings Girls". I can't find anything I didn't enjoy about this book. I would recommend this book mostly to teenage girls because they would understand what Reed is going through more, however I think anyone would enjoy it.

Reviewed by Elen S., grade 9
Glendale Central Library