I want kind of a deep thought here… but … I don’t have one ~Sheila

It is the start of a new school year at Tiffin Boarding School in New England, and amidst the chaos of cars being unpacked, rooms being found, friends reconnecting, and new faces in the crowd, something else is happening too. Tiffin has just been ranked the number 2 boarding school in the country. A seventeen-spot jump from last year’s rankings to everyone’s surprise. While the school does lay claim to smaller classrooms, a brilliant New York Chef preparing the meals, and a lovely campus, there is also much to be done with run-down dorm rooms, mediocre sports teams, and let’s just say the students are known more for their social skills than academic skills, but here we are.

With the spotlight on Tiffin and other schools, wondering how they ranked so high, it’s almost inevitable that things will go a little (or a lot) south.
A new app appears out of nowhere called Zipzap and is a tell-all of the students as well as teachers, most private moments. No one is safe as friends turn against one another, accusations fly, and things hidden in the dark are revealed.

Was the ranking a mistake, because this does not feel like a #2 in the country ranked school.

Sigh.
This review is a bit of a harder one. I met Elin Hilberbrand in New York during the Annual Book Expos. In fact, she was there every year and gave away cold Corona Beer bottles at her signings. While I don’t have a photo with her (poo!) I did ask her once about the beer, as there is no connection to the Corona in the book. She just said that it was something that she liked to do – a personal touch. Not book-related.

That said, I have a long-standing relationship with this author – a lover of her books, in fact, I just checked her on Book Journey and there are sooooo many of her books I have read. Definitely a go-to author for me, and always excited when I see something new coming from her.

Known for her fun stories centered around Nantucket, it was a sad day when she announced over a year ago that she was stepping away from her writing, followed quickly by a sense of excitement when she announced she would be switching gears and writing a book with her daughter.

So, here we go.
At Tiffin Academy, A LOT is going on. In fact, this book felt like it had so much lead-in of the beginning of the school year, who was who, who was new, etc, etc… that I actually stopped reading to review the synopsis again as I wasn’t getting a feel for where we were going with all this. Don’t get me wrong, the characters ( while MANY) are fairly developed enough where I felt I could picture the scene, but I have never been a big fan of a lot of characters to keep track of. It’s not that what was happening was dull – it’s just that it was a lot of things going on and nothing really going anywhere. That’s not meant to sound harsh.

So I check out the synopsis, and it appears to be centered around this app, ZipZap… ok! Back into the book I go. It is a long lead-in (again, not boring.. things are happening!) before we get the app. I wish I could recall exactly when it shows up, but it’s a good way in to the read.

While I listened to part of this on audio – in both audio and book, I felt Elin’s style come through enough to enjoy the book, but not love the book. Great storyline – maybe just a little too many directions, it all wraps up pretty quickly and left me with a few questions and ONE BIG ONE when something is introduced early on that is supposed to be revealed in the end … is not. Like a forgotten thread. I Googled this morning to see if this is planned to be a series, and it looks like it is a two-book contract; however, I honestly have to ask myself if I am engaged enough to go back in for another round.

Overall peeves –

A little too much F bomb. Not a prude but not a fan. I understand if it fits the scene, for instance, there is one point in the book where someone is called an F’er, and I laughed out loud because it was fitting. Other times throughout the book, every time it was said, it felt like filler… or maybe it was trying to give that school vibe. Either way, it pulled me out of the story.

A lot of things are happening that have nothing to do with anything and are going nowhere

A few story lines started, and no other information #storylineghosted

Likes –

There is the Hilderbrand vibe, and while definitely different, I felt her snarky vibe in the voices of some of the characters, and enjoyed that

I feel there is potential, and obviously, this is the first mother-daughter duel book, and I can only imagine what that would be like to share the writing when you are an established author with a big following, but at the same time not overshadowing your daughter’s vision and giving her room to take some ownership.

I can’t tell you to read this one or not. I can tell you that after finishing this one and seeing what people are saying, there are very mixed reviews going both ways.

Rated: 2.75 out of 5
Read Author Before: many times
Read Author Again: in this new style? maybe
Book Club Worthy: It could be; there are some things to unpack here for sure, but from my book club experience, I think they would be found wanting more, and with so many details left unsorted, I feel this could result in a dissatisfied group.

Hiderbrand Books I have read and reviewed: (I have read more, sadly did not review them all)

Swan Song

Troubles In Paradise

28 Summers

The Identicals

Here’s To Us

The Rumor

Winter Street

The Matchmaker

The Island

The Castaways