Review: Scandal by Kate Brian

CONTEMPORARY TEEN FICTION

Brave new world...

After her terrifying Caribbean vacation, Reed can't wait to get back to campus and resume her normal life of classes, shopping trips with the Billings Girls, and late-night gossip sessions. But when she arrives at Easton, she gets the shock of a lifetime.

Billings House is gone.

The administration has razed the scandal-rocked dorm and separated the Billings Girls. Outraged, Reed takes immediate action, turning Billings into a secret literary society--with a whole new set of rules. Eleven spots are open to any girl strong enough to endure initiation. Every girl on campus wants in, and it's up to Reed to pick the best and the brightest. And only the strongest will survive...

Oh, wow. Oh my God--this was so unbelievably AMAZING! I love the Private novels so, so much. And this one was definitely no exception to my absolute and undivided, unadulterated, sheer admiration for this wonderful series.

My heart ached for Reed in this book, but for so many different reasons. First of all, her house has been taken away from her. The haven where she worked so hard to get into is gone, destroyed, wrecked, all because of a new headmaster, Mr. Hathaway, who's son, Sawyer, is definitely hitting on Reed. The emptiness she felt in her heart at the sight of Billings being bulldozed down definitely reverberated in my mind. I felt her pain, understood her reaction. And that's the best part, when you can have a pity party with the main character because you understand her so well. Kate Brian has once again gone and created a fabulously relatable perspective of Reed Brennan, our awesome girl here.

But, wait. I haven't finished. I also felt super-sad for her when she thought about Josh all the time. I know I said before that she was better off without him, but I was so wrong. Now that he's dating Ivy Slade, Reed's friend next door, it's even more awkward, and Reed wants him back so badly it's breaking my own heart. And I'll give you a little spoiler here, so if you don't want me to spoil Reed's love life, don't look at this next sentence: Josh--gasp!--actually breaks up with Ivy and kisses Reed so tenderly, so reverently, so lovingly, that I actually had a tear or two in my eye.

God, I love the idea of Reed falling in love. She's such a strong protagonist that she deserves an adorable, sturdy, amazing boy like Josh. She's needed him, she's wanted him, and he's come to her rescue. In fact, Josh is so cute that I don't even care about Upton anymore. And if y'all don't know who Upton is, check out my previous review. Or better yet--read the previous book in the Private series.

But then I'm rooting for her all the way when she gets this book on her bed and decides to found the Billings Literary Society. She has to break the hearts of her friends, severe connections, and go against every rule of the new headmaster's to do it, but she does. She truly reunites the Billings Girls at the heart of what belongs in every exclusive socialite--the concept of sisterhood, of friendship, of togetherness. And that's what's got me cheering for Reed Brennan all the way. Because she knows what's right, she knows what's wrong, and even though she makes mistakes, she does something so spectacular, so in-character, so true to herself and yet helpful to others that I wish she was my best friend all over again.

However, that's not the best part of this fantastically dramatic book. In the end, they're having a little Billings Literary Society meeting in the chapel, with food and casualties and banter, until...everything goes awry. And what exactly goes awry, I will not tell you, my faithful blog followers. You must read Scandal to find out! And make sure you do check out this fab book, because Scandal gets five stars.