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Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel Pub. Date: 7/18/2006 Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

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Overview

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....

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Yale grad Peterfreund sets her debut novel at the fictional Ivy League school of Eli University. Literary magazine editor Amy Haskel, a junior at Eli, expects to get tapped for a middle-of-the-road campus society, which would fill out her resume nicely. Instead, abducted by mysterious men in black-hooded cloaks, she joins the most elite society, Rose & Grave, a.k.a. Diggers. Conflict arises because not everyone wants women to join the once men-only society. The opening pages suggest intrigue, but the book is more of a coming-of-age story as Amy learns to appreciate herself and find sisterhood with her fellow Diggers. Perhaps because it is the first installment in the "Secret Society Girl" series (the second is due in summer 2007), the novel feels more like an introduction to the characters than a finished narrative. With much of the book devoted to college hijinks such as drinking and hooking up, it is likely to have more appeal for twentysomething readers. Appropriate for large popular fiction collections, especially those serving college populations. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/06.]-Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

An intimate glimpse at an elite college's secret clubs. Amy Haskel, a harried literature student at Eli University (a thinly veiled Yale, the author's alma mater) is concerned about her future. An Ivy League diploma no longer guarantees career success, and Amy can't rely on influential parents to secure her prosperity. For Amy, landing a coveted editorial position upon graduation can only be achieved through Herculean efforts. She studies maniacally and uses her scant spare time to pad her resume. Her latest achievement, nabbing the editor-in-chief spot at Eli's literary magazine, leaves Amy feeling optimistic. She's a shoo-in for Eli's literary society, Quill & Ink. Soon Amy is whisked away to a clandestine location for a ritualistic initiation. To her surprise, she learns she hasn't been tapped by the writer's guild after all, but instead by Rose & Grave. For the first time in the group's storied history, Rose & Grave has decided to tap, or initiate, women. Rose & Grave is Eli's most exclusive club, whose members include U.S. presidents and captains of industry. The club's trust fund hovers in the tens of millions. Amy is smitten with her fellow Rose & Grave initiates and the splendid perks of membership. But the party doesn't last long. Infighting breaks out in the society and Amy has to prove herself worthy of her powerful new friendships. While the plot is a winner, Peterfreund's writing is thin and the novel feels best suited for teens. The heroine comes off as insecure and out of her league-which would be charming if Amy would ever reveal some prowess as a leader and unleash her intellect. This is the first in a series; let us hope Peterfreund polishes her prose and educates herheroine before the next installment. The impressive plot earns this project a B, but the banal dialogue and wimpy heroine downgrade it to a C.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780440243892
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication date: 5/1/2007
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 699,215
Series: Ivy League Series
Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.65 (d)

Meet the Author

Diana Peterfreund

Diana Peterfreund graduated from Yale University in 2001 with degrees in Geology and Literature. A former food critic, she now resides in Washington D.C.; this is her first novel. Bantam Dell will publish the second book in the Secret Society Girl series in summer 2007.

Read an Excerpt

Secret Society Girl

By Diana Peterfreund

Random House

Diana Peterfreund
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0385340028

Chapter One

Chapter 1

It all began on a day in late April of my junior year. I was in my dorm room, for once, trying to squeeze in a load of laundry between a tuna salad sandwich in the dining hall and my afternoon lecture on War and Peace, or as I like to think of it, WAP. (That's not an acronym, by the way, but onomatopoeia. It's the sound the hefty volume makes when I drop it on my desk.) Professor Muravcek's* lectures tended toward the impenetrable side and I wanted to spend some time brushing up on my notes. I was tilting toward a B in that class, which was unacceptable if I wanted to graduate with honors in the major. However, it was either laundry or rushing out that night to buy a new package of underwear. You know you're desperate when trekking downtown to GAP Body is easier than waiting for a free dryer.

But neither Tide nor Tolstoy was in the cards for me that afternoon. I'd just finished disentangling my disentangling my fuchsia lace thong (Friday night date panties) from the legs of my "going out jeans" and was on my way out the door with a load of darks when the phone rang.

Crap. It was probably my mom. She seemed to have a divine sense of when I'd be in my room.

I balanced the basket on my hip and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Amy Maureen Haskel?"

"You got her," I said,shaking one of my balled-up gym socks free.

"Your presence is required at 750 College Street, room 400, at two o'clock this afternoon."

Two o'clock was in fifteen minutes. "Who is this?"

"750 College Street, room 400. Two p.m." And then the line went dead.

I plopped back onto the faded couch, strewing tank tops and pj bottoms across the floor. Talk about rotten timing. There was no question in my mind who it was on the other end of the phone. Quill & Ink was the "literary" senior society on campus, the usual refuge for scribblers of all varieties. It boasted several well-known writers amongst its alumni, and as the current editor-in-chief of the campus literary magazine, I knew I was a shoo-in, just like my predecessor Glenda Foster had been before me. That is, I would be if I made it to the afternoon's impromptu interview.

I was going to have to have a long talk with Glenda. She was in the Russian Novel class, too, and knew I was struggling, yet still scheduled my society interview during lecture time!

Society interviews were always arranged on super-short notice. Part of the test was to see if you could get there. I hadn't yet figured out what they did if the prospective tap didn't answer her phone-if she was busy, for example, enduring both the crime and the punishment of Professor Muravcek's soporific speaking voice.

Laundry all but forgotten, I hurried back into my room. Though the interview would be merely a formality, I fully intended to follow along with society pomp and circumstance and dress up. (Societies are all about the spectacle.) My suit was crammed in the back of my closet behind my ski jacket and the flared velvet getup I'd worn to February's seventies-themed Boogie Night. I hadn't worn my suit since January's spate of internship interviews, during which I'd landed a posh (insert eye roll here) summer job xeroxing form rejections at
Horton. It needed a good lint brushing, but otherwise, it was okay. I paired it with a fresh cotton shell, and went spelunking for a pair of panty hose sans runs. On the third dip into my underwear drawer, I found one. When, oh, when will I learn to throw away unusable nylons? (Not today, apparently.) I stuffed the other two pairs back in the drawer and wrestled the third onto my legs. I needed to shave, but the nylons would cover that.

In January, I'd gotten my light brown hair cut into one of those shoulder-length, multilayered bobs I was positive was the height of fashion for the Manhattan literati. (It wasn't.) The downside of the cut was that, even with three months' growth, it took twenty minutes with a blow dryer and a big round brush to make it look halfway decent. I didn't have that kind of time right now, so I was relegated to ponytail-ville.

I slipped into my black pumps and clopped through my suite's early Gothic-complete with lead-veined windows-common room. We have one of the sweetest setups in the whole residential college-two sizeable singles connected by a wood-lined common room that featured a non-working, but darn pretty, fireplace. Only downside is the slightly pockmarked hardwood floor. Have I mentioned how much I hate heels? The door to the suite opened before I could turn the knob. My suitemate and best friend, Lydia Travinecek, entered, balancing an armload of dusty library books, a travel mug of coffee, and her dry cleaning. Lydia is always more organized than I am. She has time for lunch, homework, and trouser pleats. It's like she's a lawyer already.

She looked me up and down. "Quill?"

I shrugged. "Who else?" Quill & Ink wasn't a secret society in the traditional sense. Heck, they didn't even have one of those giant stone tombs like the big societies used to hold their meetings-just a one-bedroom apartment above Starbucks. She nodded curtly, and flopped the dry-cleaning bags over the back of our couch. Two days ago, Lydia had hurried out of here in her own carefully pressed suit. "Good luck, not that you'll need it. Hasn't every Lit Mag editor gotten into Quill & Ink since, like, the Stone Age?"

Pretty much. I pushed back the tiny thread of annoyance that Lydia hadn't yet told me what society had been courting her. It was silly; I knew that when Tap Night came around and she was picked by her society (whatever one it was), Lydia would drop the secrecy routine.

She took a paper sack out of her messenger bag and held up a bottle of Finlandia Mango in triumph. "Check it out. I thought we'd go tropical with our Gumdrop Drops tomorrow." Gumdrop Drops had become a weekly ritual in our suite since Lydia turned twenty-one last August (I didn't go legal until December). A bottle of vodka, two shot glasses, and a bag of Brach's Spice Drops to use as chasers were all we needed for a party. I wondered briefly what would happen to the tradition once we were both in our respective societies and had other obligations on Thursday nights (all the secret societies meet on Thursdays and Sundays).

"Awesome! Can't wait. Gotta run." I waved good-bye and clopped out of the suite, down the stairs, and into the sunny April afternoon. Connecticut had finally decided to get with the program and realize it was spring.

I just knew Lydia would be tapped. She'd been vying for election into one of the more prestigious societies since the moment she'd stepped on campus as a freshman. She honestly felt that it was the only way to get anywhere at this school. I thought the attitude was a bit out-of-date, myself. This wasn't the twenties, when you were tapped into a society straight out of graduating from Andover or one of the other elite prep schools, and every student on campus was white, male, and rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

In those days, failure to receive election into one of the big secret societies was tantamount to permanent social ostracizing. Forget the leather-furnished office on Wall Street, forget the vacation home in Newport. Your kids probably wouldn't even get into Exeter!

But the world didn't work like that anymore. Now most of the societies had diverse membership rosters that reflected a modern student body composed of kids from every walk of life. There was no doubt in my mind that come Tap Night, even without the benefit of blue blood, Lydia would be elected into one of the best societies on campus-Dragon's Head, perhaps, or Book & Key. In fact, the only secret society I knew she would not get into was Rose & Grave, the oldest and most notorious society in the country. But that was because all the members-known as "Diggers"-were men.

As for me, I was joining Quill & Ink for the same reason that I did everything else-it would look good on my resume. I was already well acquainted with the other literary types on campus. They were all my nearest and dearest. We didn't need the formality of a society like Quill & Ink to cement our bond. What we did need was the networking and resume puffing it would provide us. You know how it goes. If there's an organization to head, an award to win, a connection to pursue-you've got to do it. Otherwise everyone would wonder why you didn't,
and your whole carefully constructed C.V. of success would topple like a ninety-eight pound freshman at a kegger. This was it, 750 College Street. And, according to my watch, I had a little over ninety seconds to make it into the room. And yet, when at last I arrived, slightly puffing, at the darkened classroom on the fourth floor, the first words out of the mouth of the person who laser-pointed me to my seat were: "You're late."

I looked at my watch again, though I couldn't see the hands in the dark. "I-"

The shadowed man sitting at the nearest table pointed something at me that glowed with a green 2:01 in digital numbers.

"This is an atomic clock. You were forty-eight seconds late."

"Are you joking?" I squinted, trying in vain to see his face through the gloom. Since all of our classrooms are equipped with motion-detecting lights, I was surprised that they managed to pull this off. They'd draped the windows with black hangings, and though each of the dozen people seated about the room appeared to have a book light in front of their place, the most I could make out was a jawline here, the curve of a nose there. Wow, they'd gone all out. Must be the writers' creative juices at work.

"Are we joking, Ms. Haskel?" Shadow Guy #2 said with what I swear was a sneer. I didn't even need to see it. "Do you believe there is anything about this process that is a joke?"

Not until now. But come on, what was this, Eyes Wide Shut? "No, sir."

I strained my neck to see if I could recognize Glenda's features amongst the group, but I couldn't make her out. Where was she? Oh, let me guess. War and Peace. I was so going to swipe her lecture notes!

"Let me assure you, Ms. Haskel," Shadow Guy #2 went on, "that we take our election procedure very seriously. Punctuality is of utmost importance to us. So is electing a person who can be trusted to obey the mandates of the society, no
matter how minor they might seem."

Whoa. So forty-eight seconds and I'd screwed the pooch? I sat up in my seat. "I understand that, sir, and can assure you that I will take my position in the society very seriously." I paused, weighing the advisability of my next words. "I didn't know I was supposed to invest in an atomic watch. Do I get one of those when I join?"

No answer.

I giggled nervously. "What about a grandfather clock? I heard every member of Rose & Grave gets one at graduation." Quill, however, didn't quite have the endowment for such lavish presents. Maybe they could swing a Timex.

Still nothing. Um, was this thing on? "Though I suppose that a grandfather clock would be hard to lug around." Lame, lame, lame. "And probably not atomic." Shut up, Amy. Man, I was crashing and burning here.

We sat in silence for a full ten seconds. And then someone three rows back spoke up. "Ms. Haskel, if you could answer a few questions for us." I saw a shuffling of papers. "I have here your transcript. It states that sophomore year you received a B-- in Dust Pages: Ethiopian Immigrant Narrative of the Mid-20th Century West."

"Yes."

"Do you have an explanation for that performance?"

Yeah, beware of classes bearing colons. In this case, the prof was a prick who thought that everything in the text that was even remotely cylindrical was some sort of phallic representation, and unless our term papers explored the ongoing problem of feminine penis envy, we'd completely missed the
mark.

I think he had bedroom issues.

The B-- was my single black mark in my English major, or would be as long as I kicked all 1,472 pages of WAP ass in my Russian Novel final.

"I'm more of a New Critic than a Freudian analyst," I began, choosing the time-honored liberal arts tradition of obfuscation. If you can't beat 'em, confuse 'em. "The signifiers of the primary texts in the class"-man, even I didn't know what I was saying by this point-"lent themselves to readings more in keeping with the works of Said, Levi-Strauss, and . . ." Crap. I ran out of steam. Okay, pick an old standby. ". . . Aristotle's theories as laid out in Poetics."

Ha, question that! I was an English major. I could bullshit with the best of them.

The third-row shadow smiled, and I could see that someone had a very talented orthodontist. His choppers were as bright and even as a movie star's. "Good answer." Then he cleared his throat.

All the lights blinked on and off. Twice.

Shadow-Who-Smiles shuffled a few more papers. "Do you remember Beverly Campbell?"

"My third-grade teacher?" I'd had to think about that one for a minute. Glenda had not warned me of any of this. No doubt she was sitting pretty right now, taking notes about the bleak Siberian winter in her usual purple gel pen. And here I was, getting grilled by Quill & Ink for heaven knew what reason. Wasn't I supposed to be a sure thing?

Furthermore, it was official: I didn't recognize any of these people's voices. Had they brought in alumni to conduct the interviews? "If we asked Beverly Campbell about you, what would she say?"

"That I was good with phonics." Enough of this. "Come on, it was third grade."

"What about Janine Harper?" Fourth grade. "Marilyn Mahan." Fifth. "James Field, Tracy Cole, Debra Blumenthal." Shadow-Who-Smiles proceeded to name every homeroom teacher I'd ever had. It was more than a little freaky.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said, interrupting his recitation in tenth grade.

"Go ahead."

"Congressional confirmation hearings wouldn't care this much about my early childhood.

Continues...

Excerpted from Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Anonymous

Posted March 16, 2009

Laughing to tears

I randomly stumbled across Secret Society Girl at my local library and decided to check it out after reading the back cover. This book's style and wit reminded me very much of Bridget Jone's though the characters are more relatable since I am a twentysomething as opposed to Fielding's 30somethings. Many times I found myself laughing to near tears. If you like ridiculous scenarios that are so far out they can only be believable then this is your sort of book. The main characters personalities are well developed, I feel like I myself am a member and friends with those in R&G. I recommend this book and its sequels. I passed my copies onto my girlfriends and now we are eagerly anticipating the next installment.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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hobbitsies

Posted October 16, 2011

more from this reviewer

Hobbitsies Reviews: Lots and lots of twists

Last year I read Diana Peterfreund's Rampant, which, as some of you might know, is about killer unicorns and the girls that, you know, hunt them. And it was freaking awesome. But Secret Society Girl is so different in genre and story that.I guess I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to it.

But either way, it doesn't matter, because Secret Society Girl rocked. I never saw any of it coming. Each page presented a new question with added WTFery. I didn't know which friends of Amy's I liked or trusted. Hell, I didn't even know which guy I was supposed to root with her to be with.

Even though Secret Society Girl is not YA, I loved it. I don't recommend it to anyone who's uncomfortable with mentions of sex (not graphic), because let me just say - Amy is not afraid of her sexuality. Which was sort of refreshing in way - I love reading about first loves, but it's nice to read about someone who isn't all that intimidated by guys.

I loved reading about college life at "Eli University" and secret societies and all that sort of stuff because I LOVE all sorts of secret hidden things, and secret societies definitely fit the bill.

Have I mentioned Amy's awesomeness yet? She's strong, aware of her flaws, and not afraid to tell people off. I LOVE HER.

But really - check out Secret Society Girl, if you haven't already. I've only read the first book in the series, but I've been assured by Carla of The Crooked Shelf that it actually gets even better.
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SeeMichelleRead

Posted June 6, 2009

more from this reviewer

Secret society girl

Amy Haskel is just finishing up her successful junior year at Ivy League Eli University. She's editor of the Literary Magazine, has an awesome internship lined up, and is currently enjoying a nice friends with benefits relationship. Now if only she could finish War and Peace before finals... Amy figures she is a shoo-in for the literary secret society on campus, Quill & Ink, but when she is finally tapped, she finds out it's not the safe literary group she thought, but The Most Prestigious secret society on campus - the Rose & Grave.

And they only tap men.

Amy is more than confused and the societies' strict no-talking-about-anything-secret-society ensures that she continues to be in the dark. It's only when Rose & Grave alumns who are decidedly against any female admittance to their 'boys club' does Amy get a broader scope of the R&G's power and control.

I left this novel torn between feeling like I missed out on something during college by not being at a university with such traditions and being so grateful I wasn't mixed up with all these sorts of shenanigans. But then again, how can a girl resist the tell-all nature of Amy's 'confession' as she faithfully outlines the inner workings of the R&G? Let's just say I didn't. Amy happens to be my kind of girl - she over thinks everything, makes hilarious lists (did I mention how much I like lists?), she's always up for a good conspiracy theory (LOVE). Most of all, Amy always stands up for her friends - especially her fellow Diggirls. She is my idea of a model woman.
seemichelleread.blogspot.com

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Kilea_Raven23

Posted February 17, 2009

The Truth Behind the Tomb

All Amy Haskel wanted was to be admited into a small society so she could add that to her resume for when she graduated from Eli University. Things go awray, however when the secret socity called Rose and Grave decides to tap her insyead. The oddest part about her tap? She's not male. For as long as the society has been around it has always been all male...until now. The problem with this new tap, and all the fringe binefits that come with it, is that there are some members who greatly oppose the admission of females. Now, it is up to Amy and her new fellow taps to deal with this issue or say goodbye to their futures.

The witty writting of this novel keeps the readers engaged with the story. The clear spoken inner thoughts of the main character allows readers to experience the process of her newly tapped life right with her. This book is an excellent read for when you feel in the mood for a little mystery blended in with light hearted, and also heart touching, fun.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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thalya_roxx

Posted January 24, 2009

????

which book is frist it looks realyy good and all of the costermer review say soo

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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TeensReadToo

Posted November 15, 2008

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Reviewed by Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius" for TeensReadToo.com

Meet Amy Maureen Haskel, a junior at prestigious Eli University. As editor-in-chief of the campus literary newspaper, Amy's a shoe-in to be tapped for Quill & Ink, the literary senior society, home to writers and scribblers of any and all degree. After all, it's a part of her master plan: get tapped into Quill & Ink, do her summer internship at Horton, make it through the Russian Novel class, decide what to do with her "friend with benefits," Brandon, and, basically, enjoy a fulfilling life as a literary genius.

Except things don't quite work out that way. Amy is tapped to join a society all right, but she learns pretty quickly (all the guys in black robes hidden in shadow give her a clue) that it isn't Quill & Ink who is interested in her. No, she's been tapped by Rose & Grave, the mother of all secret societies on Eli's campus. Except that doesn't make sense either, as Rose & Grave is a society of men only.

The fact that Rose & Grave has decided to allow women into their society is just the beginning of Amy's junior year. She's heard so many rumors about the "Diggers" over the years that she doesn't know what is fact and what is fiction. Does Rose & Grave really run the country? Is every presidential candidate a member? Do they control the media? Is Rose & Grave funded with unlimited money from the world's biggest CEO's and business founders? Are you really supposed to leave the room if someone so much as utters the words Rose & Grave, and yet wear a Rose & Grave pin on your person at all times? It's all very confusing for Amy, and it only gets more so after her initiation.

Given the ultra-cool (not) name of Bugaboo, Amy is now in a secret society, which is great. Except she can't tell anyone that she's a member of Rose & Grave, never mind what she does during their meetings. There are some members of the Diggers who aren't thrilled to have women in their ranks, and that spells major trouble for not only Amy and the other members of class D177, but possibly for the entire Rose & Grace society.

SECRET SOCIETY GIRL is a blast! Fun and witty, with an engaging theme, heartfelt situations, intriguing dialogue, and a cast of characters that you'll be cheering for, it's a story you won't want to put down. Thankfully, there's another book coming in this series, so I have something to look forward to. As it is, though, I can't wait for another look into the lives of not only Bugaboo, but some of my other favorite characters--Angel, Little Demon, and Puck. Not to mention being able to catch up on the lives of the graduating class members such as Poe and Lancelot. You won't go wrong picking up a copy of this clever, imaginative story.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted July 31, 2008

Fun, Easy Read

This book was a fun, easy read. I actually came across it after reading Peterfreund's latest book Rites of Spring 'Break'. I had to read her first book so I could be filled in on how the main character, Amy, got started. I'm 26, but I still appreciated the young drama of the book.

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Anonymous

Posted May 12, 2008

Sleep Deprevation

That's what this book led me to. This book took me in and I had to finish it the same day I started. The book has a good plot line, even if it is slow sometimes. It made me laugh and think. For me, being a college student just finishing finals, it was a good book just to sit, read, and relax. Buy it, you won't regret it at all!

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Anonymous

Posted June 23, 2007

What to say...

I never attended an Ivy League school, but even I could see through the veiled references to Yale. That being said, one has to wonder if the author sees herself as the main character Amy (who by the way, is a hypocrite). The premise was interesting, but she would have done better creating more intrigue and concentrating less on the juvenile witt and drama.

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Anonymous

Posted June 12, 2007

Unoriginal.

The setting for the story is a very thinly-veiled Yale 'Peterfreund's alma mater'. In fact, she keeps so much of the aspects of Yale that I found the book lacking in creativity and feeling unoriginal. All aspects of a Yale experience are kept, including layout of the dormitories, the club exclusively for Yalie's at which Amy drinks from the silver cups 'called Tory's in the book, but in real life, Mory's', the 12 residential colleges at Yale, the thinly- veiled Skull & Bones, Scoll & Key, Wolf's Head, and other secret societies at Yale, the Yale Club in Manhattan, the college deans and masters, Old Campus, the 'tomb's' for the societies, and even the actual name where Skull & Bones is located 'High Street' is exactly where Rose & Graves is. Quite uncreative if you ask me. Not to mention, the story isn't the most original. The antics of Amy are cliche 'one-night stands, complicated sexual relationships, mountains of work' all part of the college experience. 'And I don't think Peterfreund was doing a favor by writing this novel about Yale. Amy's insecurity and lack of judgement seem to portray Yale in a negative light. So does the elitism of some of the characters. My sister, a Yale alum, even called this book trash'. Even the plot of R&G being angered by the females taps-- not new. A huge controversy ensued when Skull & Bones decided to tap women in 1991 and it was actually resolved by mail-in votes from the S&B alums. If you were looking for some insight on the real Skull & Bones in this book, unlikely that you found any. Peterfreund is simply telling a fun story 'and possibly looking to make a quick buck by extoling some of her experiences at Yale'. Would I recommend it? Only if you're looking for a quick fun escape from reality.

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Anonymous

Posted August 25, 2006

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Meet Amy Maureen Haskel, a junior at prestigious Eli University. As editor-in-chief of the campus literary newspaper, Amy's a shoe-in to be tapped for Quill & Ink, the literary senior society, home to writers and scribblers of any and all degree. After all, it's a part of her master plan: get tapped into Quill & Ink, do her summer internship at Horton, make it through the Russian Novel class, decide what to do with her 'friend with benefits,' Brandon, and, basically, enjoy a fulfilling life as a literary genius. Except things don't quite work out that way. Amy is tapped to join a society all right, but she learns pretty quickly (all the guys in black robes hidden in shadow give her a clue) that it isn't Quill & Ink who is interested in her. No, she's been tapped by Rose & Grave, the mother of all secret societies on Eli's campus. Except that doesn't make sense either, as Rose & Grave is a society of men only. The fact that Rose & Grave has decided to allow women into their society is just the beginning of Amy's junior year. She's heard so many rumors about the 'Diggers' over the years that she doesn't know what is fact and what is fiction. Does Rose & Grave really run the country? Is every presidential candidate a member? Do they control the media? Is Rose & Grave funded with unlimited money from the world's biggest CEO's and business founders? Are you really supposed to leave the room if someone so much as utters the words Rose & Grave, and yet wear a Rose & Grave pin on your person at all times? It's all very confusing for Amy, and it only gets more so after her initiation. Given the ultra-cool (not) name of Bugaboo, Amy is now in a secret society, which is great. Except she can't tell anyone that she's a member of Rose & Grave, never mind what she does during their meetings. There are some members of the Diggers who aren't thrilled to have women in their ranks, and that spells major trouble for not only Amy and the other members of class D177, but possibly for the entire Rose & Grave society. SECRET SOCIETY GIRL is a blast! Fun and witty, with an engaging theme, heartfelt situations, intriguing dialogue, and a cast of characters that you'll be cheering for, it's a story you won't want to put down. Thankfully, there's another book coming in this series, so I have something to look forward to. As it is, though, I can't wait for another look into the lives of not only Bugaboo, but some of my other favorite characters--Angel, Little Demon, and Puck. Not to mention being able to catch up on the lives of the graduating class members such as Poe and Lancelot. You won't go wrong picking up a copy of this clever, imaginative story.

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Anonymous

Posted August 21, 2006

I LOVED IT!

You will not be disappointed if you buy this book. Amy Haskel's journey into the depths of R & G is so entertaining you'll be jealous that you can't be a member!
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Anonymous

Posted July 23, 2006

Nothing new, ok not great

Amy Haskel is a junior at Eli University. She's an editor of the campus literary magazine. Eli University has secret societies and Amy thinks she is going to be picked for Quill & Ink but she is really picked by Rose & Grave. Rose & Grave is supposedly a very powerful society that runs politics and business in America. They also only take males, so Amy doesn't know if she really was picked by them, or if someone is playing a joke. This book is okay. Some of the writing is humorous. But the story is boring. Rose & Grave gets into trouble with its alumni because the current members decide to bring in women. So the alumni cause trouble for the members. The members fight back. So if you like books that are about boardroom arguments and privileged people fighting to stay even more privileged, then you might like this. Amy spends most of the book not sure if she wants to be in Rose & Grave. They play a practical joke on her during initiation and they lie to her, so why does she want to stay so much? It seems just because the club is prestigious, which doesn't say very good things about Amy, who also accepts help from the society to cheat on her final. There isn't a lot about secret societies in the book. If you are looking to learn more about what goes on behind closed doors at Skull & Bones or other real life secret clubs, you will be disappointed. Rose & Grave is pretty much your everyday college fraternity. And you don't learn anything about life at an Ivy League school either. There is nothing new in this book about university life and secret fraternities, it's just drinking and hooking up like a hundred books before it. It's hard to get worked up about whether some college kids get to keep their clubhouse. The club is depicted as pretty much white male elitist which makes you wonder why any self-respecting modern female or even male would want to be a member in 2006. This book is pretty much just for those who think social status is everything. Those who know there is more to life than where you went to college will want to pass.

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Anonymous

Posted June 16, 2006

A fun lighthearted look at college

Literary magazine editor Amy Haskel is a junior attending the prestigious Ivy League school Eli University. Eli's literary society, Quill & Ink ask her to join, which the ambitious student knows is the perfect addition to her résumé. However, instead of the Quill & Ink members showing up to escort Amy to an inductee ceremony cloaked men ¿kidnap¿ her. She does not panic and soon is given the opportunity to join the most exclusive ¿club¿ on campus, the Rose & Grave better known by its memberships as Diggers. She accepts though Quill & Ink would be better for her résumé and future.----------- However, some alumni and current Diggers object to females in their once exclusive male ranks. They will do anything to drive the new females out, but had not counted on the seemingly timid and shy Amy obstinately remaining a member.----------------------- Though more of a teen coming of age tale rather than a thriller involving secret societies whose alumni run the country and much of the world, Diana Peterfreund¿s opening Ivy League tale is a fun lighthearted look at college. Amy initially seems to have her roadmap to success set up perfect until the abduction displays her anxiety and timidity, which seems real, but also takes away from the strength of the plot: being inducted into the secret society as she just does not appear ready for that step. Still this is a fine look at the goings on at school and hopefully by the next tale, the heroine wears rubber underwear and acts with poise and strength as she takes readers inside the secret society.------------------ Harriet Klausner

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I LOVED IT!

Nothing new, ok not great

A fun lighthearted look at college