Readathon Book Review: The Ivy by Lauren Kunze

It is Callie from California's first year at Harvard.  But instead of concentrating on her studies, like you might expect, Callie gets on the party circuit and is well on her way to flunking out ...

If my summary sounds like this novel is a cautionary tale, well ... that's just my takeaway.  Because in reality, THE IVY revels in scandal, parties, hooking up, and making fun of the few people who actually take their studies seriously.

It all starts out engaging enough - flip-flop wearing Callie is a fish out of water in a social scene filled with privileged teens from elite families - and at first, I rooted for her to carve out her own niche.  But then ... I started to wonder how someone as apparently brainless as Callie ever got into Harvard.

I can understand the appeal of a fun, frothy expose type read about "what really goes on" in the Ivy League.  And I am sure the type of stuff presented in this book - backstabbing, casual sex, partying, getting drunk, etc - can happen at Harvard just as much as it can happen anywhere.  Unfortunately, Callie's adventures in higher education - a blur of boys and parties - are mostly mind-numbingly boring.