Rites of Spring (Break)

Overly-dramatic in the best of ways

In the third installment of the Ivy League series, heroine Amy Haskel becomes victim to pranks inflicted from those she suspected, and those she did not. There is romance and heart-break weaved around the main plot which is slightly predictable. However, Peterfreund is able to produce an outstanding novel through her witty writing style and well-developed characters. This novel will have readers begging for more.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

secret society girl vacation

What Amy Haskel thought would be her best (and last) year at prestigious Eli University has been crazier than she could have ever imagined. After being tapped into the uber-secret Rose & Grave secret society she's dealt with:

1. disgruntled patriarchs who think adding girls to the society will be it's downfall

2. fellow society brothers who have no qualms about publishing society secrets; breaking several oaths in the process

So Amy hasn't exactly had much breathing room or time to work on her thesis for that matter. By the time Spring Break rolls around, Amy is more than ready for some R&R at the private Rose & Grave island, Cavador Key. Only she's not about to escape the ever-present R&G intrigue including threats of exposure even as she's eyeballing a particular patriarch who is looking less annoying and suddenly ever more appealing. *rubs hands together*

I don't know why it took me so long to return to the Secret Society Girl series. Sure, I enjoyed reading about Amy's escapades with her Rose & Grave brothers in Secret Society Girl and Under the Rose, but the previous two books just didn't grab me in an unforgettable way. I could also attribute my reticence for continuing on the fact that the cover of Rites of Spring (Break) looks suspiciously like a fluffy gossip girl read and I was less than inclined to pick it up on that base alone. Shame on me for judging by the cover and all that nonsense.

And now? Well, after reading about 20 pages of Amy's story, my backside was so sore from kicking myself that I don't think I can sit down for a week. Natch. I had forgotten just how intelligent, how layered, and ultimately just how much fun Amy and the crew are. Not to mention the genius inclusion of numerous lists, charts, and footnotes (of all things) right in the middle of the book that, if anything, were enough to make my inner OCD organizer fall madly in love. Who else but Diana Peterfreund could break up one of the hottest scenes(!!) I've read in a long time with Amy's list on why she shouldn't be in said situation and not have me completely put out but actually loving every bit of it? No one else, that's who. So why has it taken me so long to return to Amy, the Diggers and the all-encompassing drama of Eli? I have no idea. But return I did and I couldn't have been more pleased. And, I hereby confess it will not take me half as long to pick up Tap & Gown.
http://seemichelleread.blogspot.com

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Over the top absolutely but pure fun

Eli University senior Amy Haskel belongs to the Rose and Grave secret society where her moniker is Bugaboo. The R&G diggers try to break into the building hosting their rival secret society the Dragon¿s Head. However, the Dragonheads identify one person in the break-in, Amy. They assault her with a vengeance using childish pranks while destroying her property without any regard to the harm they cause her.--------- Amy¿s former boyfriend Brandon asks her to help him with fellowship packages, which shocks her as he is the math whiz and she avoided numbers at all cost. Even more surprising he begins to hang out again with her when she knows his girlfriend belongs to DH. During spring break, Amy joins the diggers on an R& G owned island, but on the boat trip, she as a non-swimmer falls overboard and her life jacket fails her falling off instead. If she makes it to the island, more danger awaits her and the other Diggers.-------------- With a cast of quadrillion, young adult readers will need an access database to keep track of who is doing what and why to whom yet somehow author Diana Peterfreund insures her myriad of secondary players, including a family and another group not mentioned above, have differing traits. Still this is Amy¿s tale as she finds her senior year RITES OF SPRING (BREAK) initially prank-filled but soon dangerously deadly. Over the top absolutely, but fun as Amy and the teen audience will wonder what¿s going on.--------------- Harriet Klausner

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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