Review: Ambition by Kate Brian

CONTEMPORARY TEEN FICTION

The higher you climb, the farther you have to go to fall...

Reed Brennan knew being elected president of exclusive Billings Hall would change her life. What she didn't count on was being dumped by her boyfriend, Josh Hollis, or being held responsible for a fire that destroyed Easton Academy's oldest building.

And now the administration wants to shut Billings down. Forever.

As president, it's up to Reed to save Billings Hall. What better way to win over the headmaster than to host a glam fundraising event in New York City? Everyone needs a date, and the newly single Reed is the most eligible girl on campus. All of Easton's hottest boys are angling to take her out, and for once, Reed's biggest problem is which one choose.

Reed has never felt so popular or powerful until the police start asking questions about Cheyenne Martin's death. Excited party buzz quickly turns to whispered rumors and dark moods, and one thing becomes clear: There is someone who wants to see Billings, and Reed, go down. And they will do anything to make it happen.

Whoa! For a minute there, I thought the Private series had gone on slight landslide. The past two books haev been rated four stars, after all--something I'd never even considered associating with the Private series. However, Ambition raises the bar yet once again for this incredibly dramatic, glamorous, and bitchy series.

Now, the above summary doesn't tell y'all anything about this, but the night of the Legacy, the exclusive party for which Reed risked everything to get her school into, she hooked up with one of the most popular girls on campus's, Noelle's, boyfriend, Dash McCafferty. Josh, her adorable boyfriend, had just had a fight with her, and she was looking for some consolation. So she turned to Noelle's boyfriend, who at that time she thought was her friend's ex. But when Josh saw them and the evil, creepy girl at Easton, Ivy Slade, caught a video and sent it to everybody the night of the big fundraiser Reed was having to save Billings, it turns out that probably wasn't the smartest idea.

Wow. The drama here is totally major, so full of suspense and so originally creative in only the way the masterful Kate Brian could write it. I swear, if I didn't belong to a religion already, I'd get on my knees and start worshipping this author. I mean, her stories are so kickass--I wonder what she's like! She's got flesh-and-blood characters, complex plotlines, unpredictable twists, and bitchy catfights...all in one stupendous series that I can never put down. Can't get better than that.

Anyway, I've been meaning to get one word in here, the whole time I've been ranting about Kate Brian's awesomeness, which is: if you've been following my reviews, you know that I was totally pissed off that the last book creepily included Ivy Slade, and yet Reed didn't even lift a finger to find out who the hell this girl was. However, I was totally wrong! My apologies, you guys. The thing is, in Ambition, Ivy Slade's true colors are revealed. Her character is developed, she adds to the plotline, and she's part of the major twist in Ambition that Reed even saw coming...

Now, I've finally got the rest of the Private series ready to read and review, except for one book, Suspicion! Yay for the fact that I've collected most of the series. Now, the only thing I  do is get my hands on Suspicion, and we'll be all set. Remember, guys, you might want to check out my reviews of the rest of the series, 'cause Ambition gets five stars!