Review: Private by Kate Brian

Private by Kate Brian


My rating: 4.5/5.0

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: June 27, 2006
Pages: 227
Format: Paperback

I seem to be on a young adult reading kick at the moment and trying to catch up on some series I have missed. I checked Private out from my local library.

This is a really interesting book. It has the usual rich in-crowd in it but there is something sinister about them. I really liked that the main character was just your average girl trying to fit in at school. I can really identify with Reed. She's a nice girl, but doesn't quite fit in. She has a home life she is trying to get away from and she just wants to fit in and do her best at her new private school.

The Billings-girls are also interesting. One moment friendly, the next, not so much. The contrast between them and Reed made the story interesting. Much of this first book sets the stage for the series, I get the feeling that something more is going on at this school below the surface, but we never quite find out what. Which makes me dying to read the next book and I am now anxiously awaiting it. Private is a great read if you want something a little more dark than your average YA private school novel. I'm glad I found out about this series and look forward to reading more by Kate Brian.

About the Book:

Tradition, Honor, Excellence...and secrets so dark they're almost invisible

Fifteen-year-old Reed Brennan wins a scholarship to Easton Academy -- the golden ticket away from her pill-popping mother and run-of-the-mill suburban life. But when she arrives on the beautiful, tradition-steeped campus of Easton, everyone is just a bit more sophisticated, a bit more gorgeous, and a lot wealthier than she ever thought possible. Reed realizes that even though she has been accepted to Easton, Easton has not accepted her. She feels like she's on the outside, looking in.

Until she meets the Billings Girls.

They are the most beautiful, intelligent, and intensely confident girls on campus. And they know it. They hold all the power in a world where power is fleeting but means everything. Reed vows to do whatever it takes to be accepted into their inner circle.

Reed uses every part of herself -- the good, the bad, the beautiful -- to get closer to the Billings Girls. She quickly discovers that inside their secret parties and mountains of attitude, hanging in their designer clothing-packed closets the Billings Girls have skeletons. And they'll do anything to keep their secrets private.