Secret Society Girl
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend 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… Product details and pricing info |
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29 Customer Reviews Posted
- Angieville: SECRET SOCIETY GIRL
- After browsing Diana Peterfreund's blog, I found myself charmed and went and snagged a copy of SECRET SOCIETY GIRL. And though I didn't almost get hit by a car, I did stay up too late two nights in a row finishing this one. I found myself alternately morbidly fascinated by and completely frustrated with a world that (though "real") was so utterly alien to the one I experienced at college. More to come on that further down.
Amy Haskel is your average overachieving junior at Eli University. Editor of the school's lit magazine, she's up to her elbows reading War and Peace, sorting writing submissions, and negotiating a very tenuous friends-with-benefits relationship with her assistant editor. Amid all this, Amy is shocked when Rose and Grave, the most prestigious secret society on campus, taps her for their annual initiation. BTW, it's clear from the get-go that Eli is not-so-loosely based on Yale, while Rose and Grave is patterned on the infamous Skull and Bones secret society.
The notion of a secret society is so outside my realm of experience, that that alone made the book interesting. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that these groups actually exist and have persisted into the present day, albeit in altered and, one would hope, slightly more enlightened forms. In fact, the admission of women forms the backbone of this story as Amy's initiation class is the first to include a female contingent. Rather unsurprisingly, I spent a good portion of reading time railing away in my head at the archaic, misogynist, preposterous ways the men of Rose and Grave viewed the world. Don't even get me started on the so-called "patriarchs" who threaten (and come through on said threats) to make Amy's and the other girls' lives a living hell if they insist on remaining members, aka Diggers. Suffice it to say, I was ready to lose it long before Amy did. And I'm not at all sure I would have made the choice she did in the end.
That said, I sank into Peterfreund's clean, light prose. Just when the whole thing seemed too much to take, she'd include a quiet scene where Amy reminded me why I liked her so much. I like this girl. I just do. I finished the book still conflicted over Amy's choice and that of her fellow Diggirls. Still unsure which (if any) of her male friends can be trusted, particularly the intriguing GHP. Still supremely relieved I'm not living her life. And still satisfied in an I'll have another dish of pie, please, kind of way. I've got the sequel on my nightstand and I'm thinking I'll "dig" right in. - 2008-11-01, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Great book, except...
- I really enjoyed this book. I just recently reread it in preparation for RITES of SPRING BREAK.
I enjoyed it immensely. My only issue with the book was keeping track of the real names and society names of the characters. More than once I had to flip to the list of the society members to see who was talking. There were a lot of characters, and some got lost in the shuffle. Diana Peterfruend somewhat remedies this in the future books. She focuses more on a small set of characters.
Overall, I thought that this was a fun book, and if you enjoyed it too, you'll really like the UNDER THE ROSE and RITES OF SPRING BREAK!! - 2008-08-13, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Could not put it down
- This book was great! I read it in two days. It kept me wondering what was going to happen next. It was a cute fun read.
- 2008-07-30, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Loved it with one exception
- As a teenage girl, I really liked this book. It was fast paced and interesting and I felt like I could relate to the main character, "Neophyte" Amy Haskel. But one things got me - the language. It was very obviously trying to say "I'm smart AND sexy!"
To put it in more understandable terms, anyone who uses "proffer" three times in one book and thinks its okay should really consider a different profession. - 2008-03-24, 0 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- An excellent book about college societies, belonging, and gender
- I loved this book! The character starts out as a normal, unsure of herself girl with smarts and talent, and is invited into her college's most prestigious society, even though everyone knows they don't accept women, at least not until now.
As one of the first women invited, she faces hazing and discrimination from both "friends" and enemies.
This is a well-written and engaging chick-lit book that goes a bit deeper than usual and explores gender, intelligence, and historical tradition in a different way than most books of its ilk.
I've already read and enjoyed the sequel, and can't wait for the latest installment to come out! - 2008-02-23, 0 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
