I’ve always been a sucker for a book set in a boarding school. From Malory Towers to Hogwarts, something about these far removed fantasy worlds always resonated. When I ended up briefly attending boarding school myself it definitely did not live up to my expectations. But I still keep coming back to boarding school stories (see also: books set in Ivy League universities though alas I don’t think Harvard would want me). Atwater from the outset isn’t perfect, as the new students driving into campus find out from the posters plastered everywhere proclaiming that one of the staff is a rapist. But school goes on and life goes on and we watch the students deal with the repercussions of these accusations while also getting on with life at an elite boarding school. The story jumps between different students and I really enjoyed getting to know them and hearing things from a different girls perspective every chapter. I can see why some people might not like this though, as you don’t have much time to get to know each individual.

(Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review)

I enjoyed this book a lot - it reads as a series of short stories in chronological order, each from the point of view of a different girl at Atwater Prep School. It covers a wide variety of topics - from Lauren who wanted to go to boarding school because her old best friend did, to Macy who suffers from crippling anxiety, to Sloane the former ballerina and Emma and her girlfriend Olivia who are navigating their relationship. There are nine perspectives in total, each with their own short story set against the same backdrop.

The backdrop is a rape accusation from 1995, a former student coming forward about a male teacher from when she was in school. The girls process it in different ways, but unite together at their school publication the Heron. Throughout the year, the investigation progresses, and one of the girls creates a series of 'pranks' to force the school into acting.

Overall, this is a solid debut that somehow manages to bring together nine points of view. I appreciated the diversity in perspectives, and was furious at how useless the adults seemed to be, more focussed on protecting the school's image than the safety of their students. I will be interested to see what Emily Layden writes next.

The good: I love a boarding school book. I like the different perspective changes in the chapters. The ending of each chapter with an email was really interesting. The bad: The chapters were sooo long.

Each chapter is from a different perspective, which normally I’m not the biggest fan of because it can get confusing and convoluted. However, in this instance I was pleasantly surprised. I wonder however, if the reason it was not so complicated was because when it came to the conclusion nothing seemed to fit.

Date reviewed (Canada) - August 12, 2020
Date reviewed (UK) - November 3, 2020
... I am bi-country at the moment

When life for the entire universe and planet turns on its end and like everyone else you "have nothing to do" while your place of work is closed and you are continuing to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation, superspeed readers like me can read 250+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today. And it is way too hot to go outside, so why not sit in from of the blasting a/c and read and review books?? BTW - stay home and save lives!!!!!!!! No tan is worth dying for.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

A keenly perceptive coming-of-age novel for fans of Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, and J. Courtney Sullivan, All Girls captures one year at a prestigious New England prep school, as nine young women navigate their ambitions, friendships, and fears against the backdrop of a scandal the administration wants to be silenced.

But as the months unfold, and the school's efforts to control the ensuing crisis fall short, these extraordinary girls are forced to discover their voices and their power. A tender and unflinching portrait of modern adolescence told through the shifting perspectives of an unforgettable cast of female students, All Girls explores what it means to grow up in a place that promises you the world––when the world still isn't yours for the taking.

This is an incredible debut novel that takes women of privilege (or "attained privilege" by attending the school) and how sex and consent have affected or destroyed their lives. The book follows the school year and the girl's journey through this school year and its scandal but it bothered me was that the girls never really had to atone for their gossip and bullying as it was just part of the culture of the school. (Having been the subject of school bullies from kindergarten on this really annoyed me!) The book is not entirely cohesive, though, as the stories don't really come to fruition together and they just seemed to flop in the wind to me.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading it as I went to a boarding/prep school and lived to tell my stories which included quitting due to the bullying 2 months into the year I was supposed to send there. (I went there to leave the bullying at my public school: in hindsight who was I kidding?????)

As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I love emojis (outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/etc. " on Instagram and Twitter... Get a real job, people!) so let's give it 2.5 rounded up to 📚 📚 📚

I enjoyed this from the start, an engaging story of a group of teenage girls in a single sex boarding school in America, coming to grips with who they are as young women and their place in the world. Full of teenage angst and overthinking, that is all too familiar and realistic - the storyline starts with allegations of a historic rape within the school community, and follows the repercussions of that. But it has more to it, lots of well developed characters and a good understanding of the microscopic world of teenage school life. It had hints of Donna Tartt's Secret History for me.

I love YA's based at a boarding schools & I was really intrigued about All Girls.

The book follows an academic year at prestigious school Atwater after a faculty member is accused of sexual misconduct against a student 20 years ago. The book begins with a new student's journey to school as she sees signs on the way about the allegations. The beginning is very atmospheric and mysterious which does continue through the book as the allegations impact the students & staff. 

The book is sectioned up by events such as orientation and initiation and with each new section there is a different student who is the focus. I thought this narrative style was interesting, I liked how this allowed you to see the different experiences students had depending on their background/year of study/event. 

I particularly enjoyed seeing how previous students were weaved into later chapters but I did find it to be confusing at times. I thought there a couple loose ends where I wanted a particular student to have a resolution and sometimes I was frustrated we were moving on but Layden does mostly deal with any  major plot points.

I thought the overarching themes of consent and sexual assault were dealt with really well and it was interesting read that I really enjoyed.

I'd give it a 3.5 because I although enjoyed it I thought the narrative style could be confusing at times. I would definitely read something by Layden again.

All Girls is a novel about a girls' boarding school in Connecticut and what happens in the year after sexual assault allegations come out in the school community. Each chapter gives the point of view of a different student that year, separated by emails sent out during that time. From the perspective of a brand new student who just wants to work out how to fit in to seniors taking part in leaving traditions, the interconnected stories show what happened to the wider student body whilst also focusing on a range of teenage issues and the battle to have your voice heard.

One of the most notable things about the book is the fact each chapter is from a different perspective, something likely to divide readers as to whether it works or leaves you disconnected. I personally found it less of an issue that I have with other books that only give each character's perspective once, though it did vary by character as some (those naturally more popular or prevalent) you see outside their own perspectives, and others you hardly do. The individual stories, however, never feel like they quite all come together into anything, and it didn't really feel like the sexual assault narrative, looking at how institutions deal with not only allegations, but with the general conversation and atmosphere around consent, sex, and assault, really came to much either.

I found All Girls a pretty enjoyable reading experience, but lacking in an overall narrative that made the ending satisfying. There were also a number of small things—descriptive phrases, narrative choices—that seemed a bit lazy, and by the end I had forgotten some of the characters' names so did get slightly confused. As someone who likes adult fiction set in closed off academic environments, it wasn't a bad take on the subgenre, but needed something more.

I'm not sure why I keep doing this to myself. If you are a die-hard fan of the 'boarding school' subgenre you will probably enjoy this. Maybe it's my fault, maybe I'm just not in a 'YA' mindset but I have 0 interest in reading about this kind of tired dynamics. The writing did not help: the billboards idea seems a bit of a rip-off from a certain film, then we have descriptions such as "Her skin is smooth and poreless and racially ambiguous" (which begs the question, is 'racially ambiguous' a skin colour? Couldn't the author have described her skin tone ?), "Bryce is naturally thin, grown-up thin", and my 'favourite', "Their skin gleams like Gwyneth Paltrow's" (what kind of teenager would use Paltrow as a descriptor for 'gleaming' skin ? Wouldn't Beyoncé, who, like her or not, is an actual icon, have been a better fit here?).
Anyway, I'm too old or too jaded with this genre. I'm sure other readers will enjoy this much more than I was.