The Ivy

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY SEP 6, 2010

Just because a novel is set at Harvard doesn't mean it has to be smart. Freshman Callie Andrews, a California transplant, feels out of place alongside her three archetypal roommates: religious Dana, worldly Mimi, and edgy Vanessa. After her high school boyfriend, Evan, breaks up with her via e-mail, he reveals a past indiscretion, which Callie is certain would ruin her should anyone find out. The roommates rally around Callie, bringing her to parties and offering shoulders to lean on, but misplaced crushes lead to further betrayals. Interspersed are dispatches from Alexis Thorndike, a snarky columnist for a university magazine Callie desperately wants to write for. First-time novelists Kunze and Onur, who themselves met at Harvard, ratchet up the tension when Callie begins dating Alexis's ex, making her a target for Alexis; a cliffhanger ending sets up the next installment of a planned four-book series. Entertaining but predictable, the authors' portrait of Crimson life is full of benders, hookups, and scandals, making this a guilty pleasure, but also an empty one. Ages 14 up.