Books4Tomorrow: REVIEW: GEORGETOWN ACADEMY (Georgetown Academy, #1) by Jessica Koosed Etting & Alyssa Embree Schwartz

Title: Georgetown Academy

Series: Georgetown Academy, #1

Authors: Jessica Koosed Etting & Alyssa Embree Schwartz

Publisher: Coliloquy

Publication Date: October 24, 2012

Genres: YA, Contemporary Fiction

Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley

My star rating: 5/5

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.

REVIEW

I don’t think I’ll be able to adequately express how stupendously impressed I am with this book. Once I received my copy of Georgetown Academy, I couldn’t wait to start reading it. It was everything I was hoping it would be and so much more. The story flowed so smoothly, I couldn’t even tell it was written by two – might I say uber talented – authors. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Georgetown Academy is made into the next hit tv series. It is that good! It has more drama and intrigue than Gossip Girl could ever wish to have.

The different stories of Evan, Ellie, Brinley and Taryn were so powerful and emotional at times it had me glued to my seat from the first page to the last. I’m not ashamed to admit I devoured this book in less than a day. This is pretty much four stories in one, and each character brings something different to the story. The reader also has the option to follow only one or two or all four stories at once. The first five chapters are dedicated to getting the reader to know the set-up at GA and the four main characters. From chapter six you can choose which character’s story you want to follow, or, like me, you can follow all four story lines. I didn’t want to miss out on a single thing.

Each main character was neatly rounded out and I even took a liking to some of the secondary characters. I felt one hundred percent at home at Georgetown Academy and it was incredibly easy to place myself in these characters’ shoes. The ending is of course a spectacular cliffhanger. I don’t mind cliffhanger endings, as long as it doesn’t end in the middle of nowhere – which this one doesn’t. I was shocked at Ellie’s discovery, and now I can’t wait to read the second book in this addictive new series. This first book is a terrific start to the Georgetown Academy series which I highly recommend to all who love reading about characters with exciting, and sometimes somewhat scandalous, lives!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.