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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-line 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. (Bookflap summary © Diana Peterfreund, Delacorte Press)
Title: Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Copyright: 2006
Why did I pick this book? A lot of buzz was going around the romance novel blogosphere about it a few months ago, so I put it on my reserve list at the library. It was getting a lot of attention, despite the fact that it really isn’t a romance novel, because it is popular fiction, written by a Yale grad who makes no bones about writing for the mass market.
Did I like the cover? I liked the cover art a great deal – the ornate, Gothic (I think, architecture is not a strong suit of mine) arched doorway. Was not so impressed by the hot pink Post-It ™ obscuring the photo. I guess that is supposed to be a signal that this is chick lit of a sort, keep the heavy door from scaring off too many readers?
New to me author or repeat? Will I read again? This is a debut novel, so yes, new to me. I might read again, to see if I like her next book better.
How did the book work (or not) for me? The book wasn't awful, but it didn't live up to the hype for me for a couple of reasons.
First: what is it? The cover quotes are from Luanne Rice (women’s fiction); Cara Lockwood (straight romance and chick lit); and Lauren Baratz-Logsted (chick lit). The bookflap summary seems to be a combination of YA, suspense/adventure and chick lit. I read all of those genres, so placing the book in any of them would’ve been fine – I just need to know through which lenses I should be examining SSG. When I read suspense, I look for different things than when reading women’s fiction. Am I convention-bound? Maybe, but a reader’s expectations play a huge role in the ultimate reception of a book.
Second: who is Amy Haskel? Amy narrates the book first person, so you’d think that the reader would get to know her fairly well, but that is not the case. She remains a cipher*** for the most part. Her only friends seem to be her roommate and her friend with benefits. Her family? Don’t know. Her goal? To be a writer. (How very cliché.) This goal is demonstrated by the mention of two classes and her work on a literary magazine. But all of this is immediately dropped for the Rose & Grave. Clearly not that important. Despite the fact that Amy is supposed to be very smart, her behavior and analysis of what’s going on around her never reflects that.
Beyond not knowing Amy, I didn’t really like the little I got to know. Rose & Grave wasn’t the society she was interested it, but she joined just to try it out. I’m cool with that: there’s nothing wrong with expanding your horizons (even if I think the secret society is dumb – nothing wrong with clubs but the "secret" part seems pretentious to me, since it isn't actually a secret). But the immediate bonding and chumminess and sisterhood and brotherhood with people she didn't know seemed shallow and fake to me. The fact that they were tapped made them worthy of her trust and devotion? Uh, okay, my opinion lowered a notch. Her friend with benefits, Brandon, wanted more from her and was open about it; instead of sucking it up and saying she wasn’t ready for that, she agreed to be his girlfriend to make him happy and because it felt easy and safe. Shades of Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy here. You could see what was coming a mile away. Another increment of respect lost for this character.
The major conflict – whether girls should be admitted to the society – was pretty predictable. I was surprised that Amy (and the other members of the society) didn’t clue into it sooner or anticipate the problems that arose. A male-only society exists for 200 years, and suddenly women are admitted, but no dissent is anticipated among the membership? Naïve.
The other members of the society filled in all of the usual stereotypes. Athlete, princess, ex-child actress retired to go to school, black lesbian activity, preppy gay guy in the closet due to parental pressure, already successful computer geek, etc. They all sounded remarkably the same, despite their diversity.
For the most part, I liked Peterfreund’s writing style, even if I wasn’t impressed by the content. The pacing was good, except for a couple of clunky spots. The list making was a little irritating, but matched with the narrator’s voice.
In the end, Secret Society Girl didn’t really work for me. Grade: C. Maybe the next book will be better. I may check it out . . . at the library.
Keep or pass along? Library book, so it has to be returned.
Anything else to say? Why this book was first published in hardback? This is a debut book. Peterfreund has no established base of fans who’ll shell out $23.00, no history of publishing, etc. Why not go for the trade paperback first?
This is petty of me, but I wonder if it has to do with an Ivy League grad writing popular fiction. Reminds me of Lauren Willig (Harvard) debuting in hardback. And Eloisa James' (Fordham prof) initial publication in hardback. They are legitimizing popular fiction by lending their degrees, and thus are rewarded with hardback status? That's speculation on my part, though.
*** My original word was mystery, not cipher, but I changed it because mystery implies that something has been deliberately withheld. The lack of information and background in Amy’s case didn’t seem to betoken a mystery to be revealed later, but a lack of character development; I got the feeling that those details and/or backstory would be created as needed, rather than existing already off the page. It’s an unfair comparison, I know, but this is unlike characters in Harry Potter, where Rowling has created an entire backstory for even the most trivial of characters.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 02:45 am (UTC)Jane
Me neither.
Date: 2006-08-06 01:19 pm (UTC)I haven't read other reviews yet -- must go check to see what others thought, and if it was better received elsewhere.
Agree
Date: 2006-08-10 01:35 pm (UTC)Re: Agree
Date: 2006-08-10 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 06:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-12 06:37 am (UTC)~Jay
no subject
Date: 2006-08-13 02:17 pm (UTC)No book could possibly live up to the hype that's surrounded this one. It's probably an ok book, but expectations were raised so high that, there was no way it could be that good.
Karen Scott
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 12:02 pm (UTC)