Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel
by Diana Peterfreund
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Book Summary Information
Author: Diana PeterfreundEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-01
ISBN: 0440243890
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Dell
Book Reviews of Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel
Book Review: Angieville: SECRET SOCIETY GIRL
Summary: 3 Stars
After browsing Diana Peterfreund's blog, I found myself charmed and went and snagged a copy of SECRET SOCIETY GIRL. And though I didn't almost get hit by a car, I did stay up too late two nights in a row finishing this one. I found myself alternately morbidly fascinated by and completely frustrated with a world that (though "real") was so utterly alien to the one I experienced at college. More to come on that further down.
Amy Haskel is your average overachieving junior at Eli University. Editor of the school's lit magazine, she's up to her elbows reading War and Peace, sorting writing submissions, and negotiating a very tenuous friends-with-benefits relationship with her assistant editor. Amid all this, Amy is shocked when Rose and Grave, the most prestigious secret society on campus, taps her for their annual initiation. BTW, it's clear from the get-go that Eli is not-so-loosely based on Yale, while Rose and Grave is patterned on the infamous Skull and Bones secret society.
The notion of a secret society is so outside my realm of experience, that that alone made the book interesting. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that these groups actually exist and have persisted into the present day, albeit in altered and, one would hope, slightly more enlightened forms. In fact, the admission of women forms the backbone of this story as Amy's initiation class is the first to include a female contingent. Rather unsurprisingly, I spent a good portion of reading time railing away in my head at the archaic, misogynist, preposterous ways the men of Rose and Grave viewed the world. Don't even get me started on the so-called "patriarchs" who threaten (and come through on said threats) to make Amy's and the other girls' lives a living hell if they insist on remaining members, aka Diggers. Suffice it to say, I was ready to lose it long before Amy did. And I'm not at all sure I would have made the choice she did in the end.
That said, I sank into Peterfreund's clean, light prose. Just when the whole thing seemed too much to take, she'd include a quiet scene where Amy reminded me why I liked her so much. I like this girl. I just do. I finished the book still conflicted over Amy's choice and that of her fellow Diggirls. Still unsure which (if any) of her male friends can be trusted, particularly the intriguing GHP. Still supremely relieved I'm not living her life. And still satisfied in an I'll have another dish of pie, please, kind of way. I've got the sequel on my nightstand and I'm thinking I'll "dig" right in.
Summary of Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel
In a fabulous blend of the bestselling traditions of Prep and The Devil Wears Prada, Secret Society Girl takes us into the heart of the Ivy League?s ultraexclusive secret societies when a young woman is invited to join as one of their first female members.Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country?s most powerful?and notorious?secret society. She isn?t rich, politically connected, or?well, male.
So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she?s blown away. Could they really mean her?
Whisked off into an initiation rite that?s a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of ?friends??from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that?s when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that?s before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life.
A smart, sexy introduction to the life and times of a young woman in way over her head, Secret Society Girl is a charming and witty debut from a writer who knows her turf?and isn?t afraid to tell all....
From the Hardcover edition.
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