Eh. I love a boarding school novel and was inclined to be generous to this one because of that, but it just underwhelmed. There was too much going on and none of it was given enough time to develop. So many possibly great supporting characters who crowded the page so that none of them could really be seen.

The relationship between Josie and Annette didn't feel like it had any depth, but was more based on convenience and familiarity than any deep feelings. I kept thinking that one or both of them would hook up with someone else--girl, boy, whatever--and realize that what J&A had wasn't love, but that it was what they needed at the time and they would always be friends but this new relationship was the real thing. You know, like happens in almost every other YA novel ever. And, honestly, neither of them ever really struck me as lesbians. There was no indication that either of them ever found another girl--or anyone, for that matter--attractive. This impression just reinforced to me that they became physically intimate because they were best friends who cared about each other very deeply and that was the only way they could become even closer.

The whole plot with the tunnels and the shrunken head seemed tossed in because the author thought the book needed some intrigue or something. It actually probably could have been interesting, but it needed more pages and more development. Honestly, I think the whole book could have benefited from at least fifty more pages to develop story and characters. Marina was noticed by Josie for being different from the other Soleets, but we never got to know much about her. Who was Mannerling, other than a sociology teacher, and why was he fired? When did Josie and Roxanne become besties and what was the fallout from the discovery of who Roxanne's dad was? So much was introduced and just left hanging and it made the whole book feel incomplete and, therefore, vaguely disappointing. ( )

This book was weird, seeming to head in two different directions that completely contradicted each other. It was part boarding school mystery (that reminded me a bit of The Secret History) and part relationship drama, and I feel like the boarding school mystery outshone Josie's struggle with Annette. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting from this book.

I think one of the biggest problems was that Annette wasn't a developed character and their relationship wasn't fleshed out either. I love girl/girl relationships, but this one wasn't well-written and mildly disappointing. I'm also kind of disappointing about how the subplot with Penn ties in to their relationship as well, because it's made clear that Josie is gay and Penn will never be a romantic interest, yet so much drama focused on their relationship. I think it would have been much better if Penn had never had romantic feelings for Josie, because it was entirely unnecessary. I also don't like how Penn was presented at the very end of the book as similar to a romantic interest, while making it clear that Annette and Josie were not together and were not going to be for a while, especially when the book keeps repeating that Josie is gay. It's Unfortunate Implications.

I did like Penn himself, and the boys. All of the girls except for Roxanne were presented as shallow, which was disappointing. And wish the book had been focused more on the mystery, because that was intriguing, and I didn't get what I wanted out of that. The mystery was definitely one of the strongest parts of the book and I feel like a lot of that was glossed over in favor of the Penn/Josie subplot. ( )

Josie Little brings best friend/girlfriend/partner Annette to an exclusive boarding school, Brookwood Academy in New Hampshire, miles away from their tiny Minnesota town and Annette's abusive mother. Josie hopes it will be a place where they can both grow and be freer, and especially wishes this for Annette. Things go awry as soon as they arrive - they're not roommates and Annette begins spending most of her time with the social elites of this prestigious and wealthy school, leaving Josie on the outside. Regular classes begin, and Josie struggles with the much higher academic expectations. She befriends Penn and a group of boys, who spend their nights playing poker and exploring the steam tunnels in the underbelly of the school. Josie watches her best friend fall into the same alcohol trap that controls Annette's mother, and has to deal with Penn's growing feelings for her.

Author Jane B. Mason does a great job describing the reality of boarding schools (actually, almost any school) and the emotional experience of being someone who really never quite fits in. This is a nice addition to the genre of LGBTQ books that does justice to showing that a lesbian relationship is basically the same as any close romantic relationship. I did find the whole steam tunnel exploration a bit far-fetched, but suppose the author did need a plot line that helped move the story along, and paralleled Josie's own personal exploration and dramatic realization. There is some sexuality in this book that puts it at the high school level - nothing too explicit, but definitely there. This would appeal mostly to girls, and I'd put it in the hands of any student who likes love stories or coming of age themed books.

summary: sixteen(?)-year-old Josie Little is set to embark on a great new adventure with her girlfriend, Annette. they're heading off to a fancy live-in high school in Connecticut, far away from their lives in rural Minnesota. Josie thinks Brookwood will be the perfect escape for Annette, safe from her abusive alcoholic mother. instead, Annette and Josie quickly drift apart, as Annette aligns herself with the "soleets" (social elites), hiding her relationship with Josie, and Josie finds herself in the middle of a 50-year-old mystery hidden in the tunnels under the school.

I tore through this book in a day, only putting it down to buy groceries. it's a rollicking adventure, hard to put down. everything happens at high speed at an intense boarding school where students study, drink and live together. it was good to read a lesbian ya novel not about coming out — Josie and Annette have been together since age 12(!) and their coming out is years behind them — but the ambiguous end [why does the last paragraph have to mention the boy who has an unrequited crush on Josie, especially in the context of her roommate warming up her to ex-boyfriend? Josie has just clarified that she's not interested, so why confuse things with the hint that she may not actually be as gay as she says? ughhh. the whole Penn storyline was completely unnecessary.] was disappointing, particularly in light of the author having a husband.

I still enjoyed the story thoroughly, and it was refreshing to read a different spin on the traditional high-school ya novel. we need more books about girls climbing trees, beating boys at poker, exploring underground tunnels without permission. maybe I'm sheltered for never coming across such a thing, but the "calorie-free" pizza party scene was incredibly disturbing.I also have mixed feelings about Josie abandoning Annette when she was obviously majorly out of control and self-destructing: saddened but not surprised. ( )