Review: The Ivies, Alexa Donne

The Ivies: five girls with one mission, getting into the college of their dreams… no matter the price. Check out my full review for this exciting ya thriller!

The Ivies by Alexa Donne
Published by Crown on May 25, 2021
Genres: thriller, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Penguin Random House INTL
Buy on Book Depository, Wordery, Barnes & Noble, Publisher, Bookshop
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Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly.
Alexa Donne delivers a nail-biting and timely thriller about teens who will stop at nothing to get into the college of their dreams. Too bad no one told them murder isn’t an extracurricular.

I received this book for free from Penguin Random House INTL in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

underage drinking, murder (off-page), bullying, blackmail, cheating, mentions of drugging, threatening to out someone as queer, gun violence, attempted murder, toxic relationships, toxic friendships, eating disorders.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• I’ve been looking for some great mystery reads lately and with The Ivies, well, I got exactly what I wanted. Suspenseful and entertaining, it was the kind of page-turner I wanted it to be and I’m so glad!
• There’s this group of girls called The Ivies. Each of them are assigned one Ivy League college they’re applying to and… well, anyone else in their class better not step on their path… until one of the ivies turn up dead. What happened?
• Right from the start, I was hooked onto the story, my eyes glued to the page (well, virtual page), wanting to know exactly what happened and what would happen next.
• Our main character, Olivia, was really interesting to follow. Right from the beginning, she never really fit in with the Ivies and sometimes felt a little bit excluded, as well. I loved following her as she starts her investigation and tries to figure out what happened to her friend… only to discover a whole lot of dark secrets about her.
• On the relationships: I found so many good dynamics in this book! Let’s get this started with Avery:
  • Avery’s the Queen Bee of the Ivies. She seems superficial and determined to do anything to get into the college of her choice, as well. I really liked seeing how the relationship between the girls grew as the story went on and loved the ending! I also loved discovering a little more about Avery as the story went on.
  • Ethan shares part of the editor spot at the school’s journal. He’s curious and kind and I really appreciated seeing their relationship grow, just as well. It wasn’t perfect and the feelings are a bit messed-up, but I found that it added a nice layer to the story!

• Another thing I loved about The Ivies: how it shows that people can be so much more different than they appear to be, at first. Emma seems like the perfect girl, yet as the story goes on, Olivia discovers a whole bunch of secrets lying under the surface.
• The best thing about this book is, in my opinion, the atmosphere. Alexa Donne manages to build suspense right from the very first pages and the fancy boarding school is exactly the kind that I love.

I HARD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I kind of ended up guessing the ending. I kind of wish I had that “gasping out loud” kind of moment when I discovered the killer, but well…. I didn’t.
• Some of the Ivies were, in my sense, a little under-developed. I wish I could have known the characters from this little group more. I got to see Sierra and Margot as well, but not as much as I wish I had.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a great boarding school thriller, I definitely recommend The Ivies. I liked the atmosphere, the characters and had a lot of fun reading this!

FINAL RATING : 4 drops!

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Did you read The Ivies or do you want to? Do you have any recommendations of great young adult thrillers? Let me know in comments!

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