Georgetown Academy Book 1: A Book Review

Ok, so here’s a little disclaimer.  I LOVED this book so much that my thoughts right now are all over the place, and I apologize if this review makes little to no sense.  You have been warned.  :)  Anyways, I have had my eye on this book for a while.  However, it is only available in e-book form.  Now, I recently bought myself a kindle (which I love) and quickly added this book to my wish list.  Then, a few days ago I realized that this first book in the series was on sale for FREE!  Obviously, I immediately got it, and I am so glad that I did! :)  (Love this cover, by the way!)

Title: Georgetown Academy

Author: Jessica Koosed Etting & Alyssa Embree Schwartz

Series: Book 1

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Publisher: Coliloquy, LLC

Publication Date: October 24, 2012

Pages: 126

Out in Paperback?: No

Goodreads

Amazon

My Rating: 5/5

Review:

Goodreads Summary:

It’s the beginning of a new political administration. That might not mean much at most high schools, but at Georgetown Academy, Washington D.C.’s most elite prep school, January 20th means new alliances, new flings, and new places to party.

While freshmen—nicknamed “interns” for their willingness to jump into bed with anyone higher on the D.C. totem pole—navigate the not-so-friendly halls of GA searching for Algebra and Bio classes, the school’s lifers have other things on their minds.

For self-proclaimed D.C. royalty Brinley Madison (of those Madisons), the first day of school is all about establishing the social hierarchy and playing the part of perfect political wife to her boyfriend, the outgoing Vice President’s son. Too bad he has a wandering eye that puts Bill Clinton’s to shame. Can she keep him, and her own secret vice, in check?

Ellie Walker, Brinley’s best friend, floats through the halls on the arm of golden boy Hunter McKnight (the JFK of GA). But when her ex-boyfriend, Gabe, returns to town and her Senator mother’s political nemesis is reelected, Ellie’s life starts to snowball out of control.

Shy, quiet Evan Hartnett is more into books than beer, and her closet is full of t-shirts and jeans instead of Jason Wu and Jimmy Choo. No one’s ever really noticed her—but she’s been noticing them. When her star rises as an intern at D.C.’s most-watched political news show, she soon finds the two worlds colliding in ways that make her question what’s secret and what’s fair game.

New girl Taryn Reyes is all laid-back, California cool; with a father who’s in line to be the first Hispanic president, she’s ready to dive into the D.C. scene with an open mind. But when her fellow students turn out to be more interested in spreading rumors than making friends, she realizes that forging a drama-free path might be a lot harder than she thinks.

With so many new friends and former flames in the mix, things are bound to get a little heated. And while diplomatic immunity might keep the cops away, there’s not much it can do about the press.

In a town where one teenage misstep can turn into a national scandal, the students at Georgetown Academy will have to be on their best behavior—or, at least, they’ll have to make the world believe that they are.

Because there’s only one rule: whatever you do, don’t get caught.

What’s Cool from Coliloquy:

As the party scene at Georgetown Academy gets under way, authors Alyssa and Jessica let readers decide which of the main girls to follow. You’ll see scandalous behavior, unexpected liaisons, and secret betrayals…all giving you a different perspective as events unfold.

Characters:

This book begins by following 4 girls that attend Georgetown Academy, a private high school filled with drama from the children of politicians.  Ellie, Brinley’s best friend and Hunter’s girlfriend, is the typical sweetheart.  Her character is so nice and sweet that I feel like she is instantly likeable.  However, Ellie’s ex-boyfriend enters the picture as Georgetown Academy begins a new school year.  Brinley, who comes from the Madison family line dating back to the founding of the country, is very concerned with the social hierarchy at the academy.  (I have heard this book compared to Gossip Girl, and Brinley would be like Blair. :) )  Brinley is one of those characters that will shock you with her scandalous actions and careless motives against others at the school; I found that despite all the drama she created, I still loved reading about her storyline!  Taryn is the new girl from California, who is concerned with making friends and fitting in rather than political alliances.  Taryn is another sweet, nice girl with good intentions; however, she soon realizes that this school operates on drama as she gets pulled into certain rumors.  Lastly, we follow Evan; she is the only girl whose parents are not in a political office.  Evan is interning at a popular political news show and must decide between outing her friends at school on the news program and advancing in her journalism career.  Overall, I found each girl’s story fun to read about because they all seemed to be realistic characters and had interesting characteristics!

Plot:

The story centers at Georgetown Academy, a private school for those who are children of politicians.  Often times, secret service is described following certain students around because of their parent’s position.  The story follows the 4 girls as they deal with drama from other classmates as well as drama from the real world due to their parents.  I read this book in less than 48 hours.  I was actually planning on saving this book for a plane ride; however, once I started it, I could not put it down!  I loved learning about all the different political positions (of course - I am obsessed with the show Veep and Scandal).  The drama was also interesting because I don’t think I have read a book that focuses on politics, rather than the typical drama of a high school (which can get boring at times).  I found this book interesting, suspenseful, and fun to read!

Writing Style:

I also really enjoyed the writing style of the authors!  I thought that the whole novel, starting on the first page, was really descriptive and realistic.  I love reading novels that have a bit more of an older feel to them (sometimes young adult books come across too young for me), but this one I thought have a really nice tone to it!  I also LOVED that at one point in the novel, since you are reading an e-book form, you can chose which character you want to follow!  For example, all the girls attend a party, however, you can click on the name of the girl you want to follow first, and it will jump you to the page her story begins on; as you finish her section, you can then pick the next girl you want to follow through the party!  So cool!

Have you started this series?  I highly recommend it if you like contemporary books filled with drama!  (I actually took a fun quiz that is linked on the Goodreads page.  I got 100%!  Can you tell how much I loved it?!)  I have already purchased the next book in the series!  Hopefully that one makes it to the plane ride!

FTC Disclaimer:

All items mentioned were purchased by me.  This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  No affiliate links were used.