I've had this book and the other two in the series sitting on my shelves for a little while now. I wasn't sure if I wanted to jump into the drama of high school anytime soon, but I am kinda glad I did.

Ally Ryan is the black sheep of the Crestie's, her father lost a lot of people in their old hometown a lot of money and then he moved the family away after he lost everything they owned. After her father runs off Ally and her mother end up moving back to their hometown, but into a totally different part. Ally is no longer part of the "Crestie" group, she's now a "Norm" and all of her old friends are no longer speaking to her. Ally meets Jake, the newish kid living in her old house and is instantly attracted to him. The attraction is mutual but Jake is afraid of what all of his friends will think of him if he let's it be known that he has a thing for Ally.

The story switches back and forth between Ally's pov and Jake's pov, but it isn't as confusing as you would think. The story flows easily and you end up loving and hating Jake all at the same time. Ally's former friends Shannen,Faith,Chloe,Hammond and the Idiot Twins, are all involved in one way or another throughout the story; though you see more of Shannen and her pranks on Ally. This isn't typical high school drama, so if that isn't your thing you won't have to put up with it. The ending is surprising and dramatic, and i can't wait to grab book 2 off the shelf! ( )

I’m rating this on scale for what it is— a Gossip Girl-esque book that could be pure fun for the right audience (8th graders most likely).

I’m reading this because it is one of the first books I put on my to-read list when I joined Goodreads over a decade ago. So, I can successfully cross that one off, and even though I love Kate Brian/Kieran Scott books, I now realize I wasn’t missing out all these years by not picking this up. She has obviously grown as a writer since this because it was not her best. ( )

Two years ago Ally Ryan and her parents left Orchard Hill in the dead of night because her dad lost all her friends’ parents’ money in a hedge fund gone bad. Now Ally and her mom have moved back for her junior year and she wonders if enough time has passed for her friends to have forgiven her. Very quickly Ally learns that they haven’t. There’s this hot guy, Jake Graydon, living in her old room and who has replaced her with her friends on the Crest, the wealthy part of town. Now that Ally and her mom live in the “normal” part of town and are no longer “Cresties,” Ally hangs out with the “norm.” Kieran Scott is the real name of Kate Brian, the author of the Private series and fans of those books will like this new series as well. This one ends on a gasp. ( )

I've had this book and the other two in the series sitting on my shelves for a little while now. I wasn't sure if I wanted to jump into the drama of high school anytime soon, but I am kinda glad I did.

Ally Ryan is the black sheep of the Crestie's, her father lost a lot of people in their old hometown a lot of money and then he moved the family away after he lost everything they owned. After her father runs off Ally and her mother end up moving back to their hometown, but into a totally different part. Ally is no longer part of the "Crestie" group, she's now a "Norm" and all of her old friends are no longer speaking to her. Ally meets Jake, the newish kid living in her old house and is instantly attracted to him. The attraction is mutual but Jake is afraid of what all of his friends will think of him if he let's it be known that he has a thing for Ally.

The story switches back and forth between Ally's pov and Jake's pov, but it isn't as confusing as you would think. The story flows easily and you end up loving and hating Jake all at the same time. Ally's former friends Shannen,Faith,Chloe,Hammond and the Idiot Twins, are all involved in one way or another throughout the story; though you see more of Shannen and her pranks on Ally. This isn't typical high school drama, so if that isn't your thing you won't have to put up with it. The ending is surprising and dramatic, and i can't wait to grab book 2 off the shelf! ( )

I don't really know what to say about this book. I didn't really like some of the main characters so the book was a bit of a hard read for me. The main boy is a total jerk and made me feel disgusted reading the book. I can understand why some people may like it but some characters rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't know it was part of a series and I may continue but I'm not entirely sure yet. ( )