"Dexter College är ett litet college i en liten stad. Tryggt kanske, för föräldrarna, men för fyra nyinflyttade 18-åringar är friheten skrämmande. Med beröm godkänd är en mörk satir om att bli vuxen.

Dexter College är ett litet college i den lugna lilla staden Home i Maine. Men, när terminen startar anländer ett antal nya studenter och vänder upp och ned på den fridfulla idyllen. Några av de nya är Shipley: blond, vacker och fram till nu, oerhört skötsam; Eliza: som valt ett litet college bara för att synas mer; Tom: den sportiga killen som inte blir sig riktigt lik då han upptäcker droger; Nick: haschrökande, omtänksam och missförstådd; Adam: den blyge som bor hemma hos sina föräldrar och sin inte alltför blyga lillasyster. Och, i skuggorna finns ännu en person som till att börja med bara väljer att observera. En student som mystiskt försvann för flera år sedan men som aldrig verkar ha lämnat skolan helt."

Cecily von Ziegesar’s Cum Laude is an interesting read full of sex, drugs, and at some points darkness. Written differently as that at some points it is difficult to distinguish between what character is talking, and whose point of view the storyline switches to. Getting past this, it is an interesting account of five different people’s experiences with the first year of college. ( )

This book was terrible. It has to be one of the worst books I've read in awhile. ( )

If you're a fan of Gossip Girl or It Girl, I wouldn't recommend this. I wouldn't even recommend to those who have never read her work before. This is Cecily von Ziegesar's attempt at creating a more adult story, and I suppose a serious look at growing up and college life. Unfortunately, she loses the fun and sparkle her other books had (even though they were light reads and very soap operatic). I personally found this book boring with lame characters you could care less about rooting for. ( )

This is my first von Ziegesar novel. I've never read any of her Gossip Girl series and I thought it would be fun to start with something adult and then make my way to some of her YA books. I thought wrong. I personally did not like this book and therefore now really have no want to read anything else by her.
By reading the synopsis of the book you can only describe it as promising. I mean, yea, I like reading books about kids in college. The drinking, the parties, the sex, the "finding yourself" moments, all sorts of new friendships and in's and out's of relationships. I definitely like reading about all these things and finding a book that encompasses all these topics is really a plus for me. I truly found the depictions of these events to be realistic. There were also some funny moments scattered throughout - although they were rare.

What I did find odd was that the book was set in the 90's. The mentioning of the walkman's and CD players, President Clinton, etc. were all accurate. But there was the mention of a Starbucks on campus that I think might be off in time frame - especially since the school is out in the sticks somewhere in Maine. And like this there were other minor discrepancies that I also caught. Nothing overly horrendous, but definitely enough to peeve my analness when it comes to accurate facts.
In the end, I just felt like I couldn't connect with the characters. They were too cliche. Everything was too expected. From what I've read, this will be part of a three book series - although it reads perfectly as a stand alone. Sadly I think I will refrain from reading the rest.

This might work for fans of Ms. von Ziegesar - especially those who have grown up reading her Gossip Girl series and are now in college. It just didn't work for me. ( )