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libwinnie's review
3.0
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this title, which disappeared in the depths of my Kindle until recently. I would call this literary fiction with a dash of magical realism. I appreciated the multiple, interconnected storylines, but I think the book could have been stronger without the Disney subplot. The characters and their stories were what made it interesting and the bit of paranormal activity was nice and creepy.
zarco_j's review
2.0
Expectations didn't meet up with reality in regards to this book.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting but it was something more than this bland offering.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting but it was something more than this bland offering.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
megancrusante's review
4.0
Loved this, also fascinated by the proposed Disney’s America which I had never in my life heard of before (the novel takes place in that town in Virginia during the time this was occurring).
mhoffrob's review
3.0
At Briarwood School for Girls is an enjoyable work of historical fiction, although set in the very recent past of 1993. At that time, Disney had announced a planned American history theme park in Virginia, near the Manassas battleground. The fictional Briarwood School for Girls is the setting for the novel, a high school boarding school, and it's students, faculty and alumna make up fhe cast of characters. Central to the story is its famous alumna, a reclusive, Pulitzer Prize winning play write, a la JD Sallinger. After decades, the Drama Club has been given permission to perform that play. Stories of haunted dorms and teenage pregnancies swirl through the script and the novel, with a little paranormal activity and prophetic dreaming stirred in.
Well written and a quick read, the voices ring true and the story line seems authentic, if a little stretched at times. The character development could be improved, but overall I enjoyed this novel, although the descriptions promised a more gothic take.
Well written and a quick read, the voices ring true and the story line seems authentic, if a little stretched at times. The character development could be improved, but overall I enjoyed this novel, although the descriptions promised a more gothic take.
jayfr's review
2.0
Expectations didn't meet up with reality in regards to this book.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting but it was something more than this bland offering.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting but it was something more than this bland offering.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
summyrenea's review against another edition
3.0
I genuinely had no idea where this book was going, which I liked. But ultimately this was just an okay read for me. I liked the characters, but I needed more from the plot.
gummifrog's review
5.0
Those who read this book and didn't like it must have been going in with very odd expectations - because you need to understand that this is NOT a coming-of-age, YA ghost story. This is a literary fiction about a pregnant teenager, her depression, and how the adults in her life both affect her for the better and worse - how their own experiences shape their reactions to her situation, whether that means protectiveness, or lending a gentle ear. This is a story about history rippling outward in every aspect, about the impact one person can have on the world around them. And it is a damn good story, if that's what you go in expecting.
My review, which I submitted to IndieNext:
"At Briarwood School for Girls" elicits the feeling of an early-spring chilly wind, of the disturbing liminal sensation of sitting in a hospital waiting room, of the incredible burning cruelty teenage girls carry with them always. Lenore Littlefield, a pregnant girl at a small-town boarding school, is starring in a play where she portrays a pregnant girl at a small-town boarding school, and she's just trying to keep herself together. What ensues is a story that shows how the past informs the future, how history can be both so foreign and so familiar to us. Michael Knight does not shy away from the difficult topics and feelings in this novel that will be a favorite of those who like quiet, effective stories they can clutch to their chest.
My review, which I submitted to IndieNext:
"At Briarwood School for Girls" elicits the feeling of an early-spring chilly wind, of the disturbing liminal sensation of sitting in a hospital waiting room, of the incredible burning cruelty teenage girls carry with them always. Lenore Littlefield, a pregnant girl at a small-town boarding school, is starring in a play where she portrays a pregnant girl at a small-town boarding school, and she's just trying to keep herself together. What ensues is a story that shows how the past informs the future, how history can be both so foreign and so familiar to us. Michael Knight does not shy away from the difficult topics and feelings in this novel that will be a favorite of those who like quiet, effective stories they can clutch to their chest.