The Ivies by Alexa Donne

The Ivies is a YA boarding school murder mystery firmly set in well-to-do America. The plot hinges on the importance of excelling in entrance essays, exams and extra-curricular activities, if a student wants to gain entry into an Ivy League college.

A group of five girls at exclusive $65,000/year Clafin Academy have been plotting to ensure their admission to the colleges of their choice, mainly by sabotaging their peers’ efforts with cut-throat competitiveness. This backfires spectacularly when one of the ‘Ivies’, as they are known, is found dead after receiving notice of her acceptance into Harvard.

Feeling that the police are incompetent and school administration corrupt, Olivia the narrator teams up with her co-editor of the school magazine in an attempt to discover her friend’s killer. In the process they unearth illegal scams, IT hacks and underhand sabotages that the Ivies have perpetuated on classmates and even on members of their own group.

A number of the aspects of how the school is run border on the unbelievable if not illegal and the ultra-rich lifestyles of the students is over-the-top, but if you can overlook or revel in this, you have an easy-read thriller with so many red herrings that one-by-one most of the main characters fall under suspicion.

There are potentially interesting subplots concerning racism and class differences but these are not explored in any depth. However, having worked informally in college admissions consulting, Donne understands how high-stakes and involved this is. She has used this knowledge and experience to write a fast-paced YA novel, based on the antics of a gang of entitled girls.

Warnings: Drug use, language, death, bullying.

Themes: Boarding school, Thriller, Mean girls, Murder mystery.

Margaret Crohn