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thephdivabooks's review against another edition
5.0
Heart-warming, emotional, and thought-provoking…Rush is not what I expected—it is better! I’ve always been fascinated by the Greek system. My own undergraduate didn’t have a Greek system, so who knows if I would have Rushed a sorority myself, but I am intellectually and socially intrigued by the whole process. I started this book knowing I’d like it—who wouldn’t? Sorority rushing, an old southern legacy campus, teenage girls putting their hearts on the line for a welcome into a social system they’ll have their whole lives. Who wouldn’t love that? But Rush is very much more than a book about sororities. It is a book about race, class, family, sisterhood, and the search for respect and belonging. I encourage everyone to go out and read this book! You won’t regret it!
About the Book
A new rush season has settled in upon the Alpha Delta Beta house on the historic Ole Miss campus in Oxford, Mississippi. House Corp President Lilith Whitmore finds herself unable to be a rush advisor due to her position, and with a daughter set to begin sorority rush this fall. When Lilith appoints her old sorority sister Wilda Wilcox to the Rush Advisory Board, Wilda can’t say no. Her own daughter Ellie will be rushing at Ole Miss this fall as well, and Wilda finds herself on the precipice of an empty nest. She’ll do anything to stay involved with her only daughter’s life.
Ellie Wilcox and Lilith’s daughter Annie Laurie are both legacies at Alpha Delta Beta, meaning their mothers were members. Lilith coordinates for them to room together, and Wilda thinks this may be the final push Ellie needs to get a bid from Alpha Delta Beta. But Ellie rooming with Annie Laurie has it’s own problems—Wilda begins to understand the true implications of wealth and status in the south, and she and Ellie may not be able to keep up.
Cali Watkins lives in the dorm room next door to Ellie and Annie Laurie. Cali is smart, hard-working, and has a big heart—spending her time caring for those around her. She’s everything a sorority should want in a member. But she doesn’t have a pedigree. Cali’s family is full of secrets and scandal—the one thing that could prevent her from getting into a sorority. But all Cali wants is to find sisters of her own and belong, and she enters rush hoping no one finds out about her mother.
Miss Pearl has been the housekeeper for Alpha Delta Beta for over twenty years, ever since she had to drop out of Ole Miss Herself at nineteen. Miss Pearl is black in a nearly all-white sorority. But Miss Pearl loves her job and her babies in the house. When an opportunity becomes available to be even more involved with Alpha Delta Beta, Miss Pearl knows that the color of her skin may prevent her one again from the life she’s earned.
Can these powerful women change a social system that prioritizes status and skin color over substance of character??
Reflection
At the core of this book is a conversation about what it means to have respect and trust from others, and what it means to belong. I recently was reading a book about a person’s reputation being a form of social currency, and that reputation can give someone advantages that someone without that reputation may not be able to get. Some people, like the wealthy and high-society members of this book have a built in reputation from their status in life. But others that came in with nothing—Cali and Miss Pearl—were able to build that reputation by strength of character, kindness, and trustworthiness. I felt inspired seeing that reputation in this book looked superficial at the outside, but the book really ended up being about people caring more about who you are than where you come from.
The book is told from three narrators, and what I loved about that was we had three different social subgroups of the larger Alpha Delta Beta social system. Wilda connects us to the legacy of ADB, and the previous generation of sisters. Wilda, though decades out of her time at the sorority, still feels insecure and desires to fit in with the perceived status members of the group. Though Wilda doesn’t really even like Lilith, she is desperate for Lilith to accept her. She wants to feel like she beautiful enough, wealthy enough, and classy enough to deserve Lilith’s friendship. But Wilda herself has something Lilith doesn’t—kindness and morals, and people who love her despite what she may or may not have.
Then we have Miss Pearl. Oh, how I loved Miss Pearl! Miss Pearl is our portal into the primarily-black support staff of the house. The people who feel happy just to be a part of the system, even as the lowest ranking members. There was such a pureness to Miss Pearl. She didn’t begrudge others for having more than her, but she had the self-respect and confidence to stand up for what she wants as well. Through Miss Pearl, we see that despite all of the progress we think we have made for racial equality, there are still so many opportunities that aren’t equal or fair. I can’t imagine a reader on this planet who won’t love Miss Pearl, and cheer her on throughout this book.
And finally we have Cali leading the charge as our window into the new generation of sorority rushees. It would be so easy for this book to be critical of sororities—portraying the girls as vapid or shallow. But what we see is that all of the shallowness of sororities exists only to outsiders. Every girl in this book struggled to belong to a sisterhood for the purpose of support and friendship, not for status. The generation of girls in Alpha Delta Beta were such wonderful characters. Cali herself has a strength and a vulnerability that is charming. As Cali befriends Ellie, we see that Ellie herself is more impressed by someone’s character than their status. Ellie, in fact, is the one that shows her mother Wilda how much Wilda’s own values were in the right place. How Wilda passed to Ellie a sense of kindness, not elitism, despite Wilda’s own insecurities.
I read this with my friend Berit and one thing Berit said that resonated with me was that these were characters she would miss as soon as she stopped reading this book. I whole-heartedly agree with her! I feel completely in love with these women and I won’t soon forget them or the message of this book. I hope others enjoy it as much as I did!
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway :) See my blog post here!
About the Book
A new rush season has settled in upon the Alpha Delta Beta house on the historic Ole Miss campus in Oxford, Mississippi. House Corp President Lilith Whitmore finds herself unable to be a rush advisor due to her position, and with a daughter set to begin sorority rush this fall. When Lilith appoints her old sorority sister Wilda Wilcox to the Rush Advisory Board, Wilda can’t say no. Her own daughter Ellie will be rushing at Ole Miss this fall as well, and Wilda finds herself on the precipice of an empty nest. She’ll do anything to stay involved with her only daughter’s life.
Ellie Wilcox and Lilith’s daughter Annie Laurie are both legacies at Alpha Delta Beta, meaning their mothers were members. Lilith coordinates for them to room together, and Wilda thinks this may be the final push Ellie needs to get a bid from Alpha Delta Beta. But Ellie rooming with Annie Laurie has it’s own problems—Wilda begins to understand the true implications of wealth and status in the south, and she and Ellie may not be able to keep up.
Cali Watkins lives in the dorm room next door to Ellie and Annie Laurie. Cali is smart, hard-working, and has a big heart—spending her time caring for those around her. She’s everything a sorority should want in a member. But she doesn’t have a pedigree. Cali’s family is full of secrets and scandal—the one thing that could prevent her from getting into a sorority. But all Cali wants is to find sisters of her own and belong, and she enters rush hoping no one finds out about her mother.
Miss Pearl has been the housekeeper for Alpha Delta Beta for over twenty years, ever since she had to drop out of Ole Miss Herself at nineteen. Miss Pearl is black in a nearly all-white sorority. But Miss Pearl loves her job and her babies in the house. When an opportunity becomes available to be even more involved with Alpha Delta Beta, Miss Pearl knows that the color of her skin may prevent her one again from the life she’s earned.
Can these powerful women change a social system that prioritizes status and skin color over substance of character??
Reflection
At the core of this book is a conversation about what it means to have respect and trust from others, and what it means to belong. I recently was reading a book about a person’s reputation being a form of social currency, and that reputation can give someone advantages that someone without that reputation may not be able to get. Some people, like the wealthy and high-society members of this book have a built in reputation from their status in life. But others that came in with nothing—Cali and Miss Pearl—were able to build that reputation by strength of character, kindness, and trustworthiness. I felt inspired seeing that reputation in this book looked superficial at the outside, but the book really ended up being about people caring more about who you are than where you come from.
The book is told from three narrators, and what I loved about that was we had three different social subgroups of the larger Alpha Delta Beta social system. Wilda connects us to the legacy of ADB, and the previous generation of sisters. Wilda, though decades out of her time at the sorority, still feels insecure and desires to fit in with the perceived status members of the group. Though Wilda doesn’t really even like Lilith, she is desperate for Lilith to accept her. She wants to feel like she beautiful enough, wealthy enough, and classy enough to deserve Lilith’s friendship. But Wilda herself has something Lilith doesn’t—kindness and morals, and people who love her despite what she may or may not have.
Then we have Miss Pearl. Oh, how I loved Miss Pearl! Miss Pearl is our portal into the primarily-black support staff of the house. The people who feel happy just to be a part of the system, even as the lowest ranking members. There was such a pureness to Miss Pearl. She didn’t begrudge others for having more than her, but she had the self-respect and confidence to stand up for what she wants as well. Through Miss Pearl, we see that despite all of the progress we think we have made for racial equality, there are still so many opportunities that aren’t equal or fair. I can’t imagine a reader on this planet who won’t love Miss Pearl, and cheer her on throughout this book.
And finally we have Cali leading the charge as our window into the new generation of sorority rushees. It would be so easy for this book to be critical of sororities—portraying the girls as vapid or shallow. But what we see is that all of the shallowness of sororities exists only to outsiders. Every girl in this book struggled to belong to a sisterhood for the purpose of support and friendship, not for status. The generation of girls in Alpha Delta Beta were such wonderful characters. Cali herself has a strength and a vulnerability that is charming. As Cali befriends Ellie, we see that Ellie herself is more impressed by someone’s character than their status. Ellie, in fact, is the one that shows her mother Wilda how much Wilda’s own values were in the right place. How Wilda passed to Ellie a sense of kindness, not elitism, despite Wilda’s own insecurities.
I read this with my friend Berit and one thing Berit said that resonated with me was that these were characters she would miss as soon as she stopped reading this book. I whole-heartedly agree with her! I feel completely in love with these women and I won’t soon forget them or the message of this book. I hope others enjoy it as much as I did!
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway :) See my blog post here!
shhchar's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, however, that still doesn't make me think it warranted more than a 2-star rating.
The beginning was promising: I like Patton's straightforward but playful writing style, the Ole Miss setting, and unique alternating POVs. Then it became more and more contrived, especially the narration of Miss Pearl and everything (shockingly) being tied in a pretty little unbelievable bow by the end. I wanted more grit out of it but instead felt like I was cringing 75% of the way in.
As noted in other reviews, when social issues came up there was often a contrast of first-person opinions represented between father Haynes and mother Wilda (both to the side character, Ellie) to which the former was more liberal/working for the underdog (he was described as a successful pro bono lawyer who somehow had a direct line to Eli Manning and his wife, who ironically, I was behind at a gluten-free bakery in NJ once) and Wilda would continually dismiss his as simply being a cute part of his personality to fight against inequality. Wilda often fell back on being an empty nester who didn't know what to do with herself, was simply a classic southern girl, and absolutely needed to get a job (spoiler: she doesn't.) I'm not even going to touch the character of Lilith because she's ridiculous.
For a book that seemed to solve racism in one chapter by having a white girl hang out with a black girl and get dinner once, it was very hard to get a pulse on what the book was trying to say overall. Our country's history is simply not one you can look at through rose-colored glasses: and that is the big issue I took with Rush. The ensuing author's note seems to shed a little bit of light onto Patton's inspiration to write this book, but it didn't do it for me. I would've appreciated more research and intersectional understanding and way less stereotyping.
The beginning was promising: I like Patton's straightforward but playful writing style, the Ole Miss setting, and unique alternating POVs. Then it became more and more contrived, especially the narration of Miss Pearl and everything (shockingly) being tied in a pretty little unbelievable bow by the end. I wanted more grit out of it but instead felt like I was cringing 75% of the way in.
As noted in other reviews, when social issues came up there was often a contrast of first-person opinions represented between father Haynes and mother Wilda (both to the side character, Ellie) to which the former was more liberal/working for the underdog (he was described as a successful pro bono lawyer who somehow had a direct line to Eli Manning and his wife, who ironically, I was behind at a gluten-free bakery in NJ once) and Wilda would continually dismiss his as simply being a cute part of his personality to fight against inequality. Wilda often fell back on being an empty nester who didn't know what to do with herself, was simply a classic southern girl, and absolutely needed to get a job (spoiler: she doesn't.) I'm not even going to touch the character of Lilith because she's ridiculous.
For a book that seemed to solve racism in one chapter by having a white girl hang out with a black girl and get dinner once, it was very hard to get a pulse on what the book was trying to say overall. Our country's history is simply not one you can look at through rose-colored glasses: and that is the big issue I took with Rush. The ensuing author's note seems to shed a little bit of light onto Patton's inspiration to write this book, but it didn't do it for me. I would've appreciated more research and intersectional understanding and way less stereotyping.
annemarie246's review against another edition
3.0
Great characters
Good story. Still glad I never got involved with the sororities at college, just wasn't for me. Spent my time camping & caving instead!
Good story. Still glad I never got involved with the sororities at college, just wasn't for me. Spent my time camping & caving instead!
reillsreads's review against another edition
3.0
I started off absolutely LOVING this but about halfway through I was repeatedly asking... where is this going?
While the pacing was a bit slow and segued a bit, the themes were obvious. I'm not familiar at all with SEC or Greek life culture in general so this was an eye opener. Patton takes you through lessons on alllll the various forms of racism (generational, workplace discrimination, etc), sisterhood, family, poverty, and more through the lens of Alpha Delta. The protagonists and antagonists are super evident here, almost too evident to the point where the dialogue was a bit too cheesy for me. I was strongly empathetic towards characters like Pearl, Cali and Ophelia though.
Overall I thought it was another great examination of how even in the setting of 2016, racism and other injustices are prevalent in many ways in the collegiate atmosphere. I just wish the writing was a bit sharper and more entertaining
While the pacing was a bit slow and segued a bit, the themes were obvious. I'm not familiar at all with SEC or Greek life culture in general so this was an eye opener. Patton takes you through lessons on alllll the various forms of racism (generational, workplace discrimination, etc), sisterhood, family, poverty, and more through the lens of Alpha Delta. The protagonists and antagonists are super evident here, almost too evident to the point where the dialogue was a bit too cheesy for me. I was strongly empathetic towards characters like Pearl, Cali and Ophelia though.
Overall I thought it was another great examination of how even in the setting of 2016, racism and other injustices are prevalent in many ways in the collegiate atmosphere. I just wish the writing was a bit sharper and more entertaining
shohra's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sydreadstoomuch's review against another edition
4.0
Rounded up from 3.5 nothing groundbreaking but enjoyable
sunshine608's review against another edition
3.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Having worked in a Greek Life Office at a Large SEC school, the main theme of this book was/is very interesting to me. Although I no longer work with the population, it is very interesting to me especially in contrast with Black sororities that I amore familiar with. I learned enough of the lingo that I understood most of what was going on, but the author gives great description and backstory to help those unfamiliar with Panhellenic Recruitment.
Overall the 90% of the story was hard to put down. I found myself trying to read snippets anytime I had downtime because I was so drawn into the story. I did not care for the ending- it reeked of white saviorism and that was almost enough to turn me off the book until I read the authors notes/story.
My biggest complaint with the book was the Ms. Pearl character. At times she seemed like a trope- a modern day version of someone from the Help. I felt that her character just didn’t really ring true. At first she “read” much older than 44 and she just really seemed like a caricature. At times I think the story could have been told from the Wilda/Callie POV and been just as good an effective.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I liked the Wilda/Callie POV and the overall pace of the book. I almost stopped and put it down after reading the first chapter ( Ms. Pearl) but I’m glad I kept on- until the last chapter with everything wrapped up in a neat and tidy bow
Having worked in a Greek Life Office at a Large SEC school, the main theme of this book was/is very interesting to me. Although I no longer work with the population, it is very interesting to me especially in contrast with Black sororities that I amore familiar with. I learned enough of the lingo that I understood most of what was going on, but the author gives great description and backstory to help those unfamiliar with Panhellenic Recruitment.
Overall the 90% of the story was hard to put down. I found myself trying to read snippets anytime I had downtime because I was so drawn into the story. I did not care for the ending- it reeked of white saviorism and that was almost enough to turn me off the book until I read the authors notes/story.
My biggest complaint with the book was the Ms. Pearl character. At times she seemed like a trope- a modern day version of someone from the Help. I felt that her character just didn’t really ring true. At first she “read” much older than 44 and she just really seemed like a caricature. At times I think the story could have been told from the Wilda/Callie POV and been just as good an effective.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I liked the Wilda/Callie POV and the overall pace of the book. I almost stopped and put it down after reading the first chapter ( Ms. Pearl) but I’m glad I kept on- until the last chapter with everything wrapped up in a neat and tidy bow
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Ever since high school, all I wanted was to be in sorority. I would research schools based on what their Greek life was like, and I was determined to be in a sorority. I would spend HOURS on Pinterest finding all the fun greek life projects I could do once my time came, I was preparing myself to be the best Little and eventually the best Big too. And in the end I chose a school that has no Greek life, my school has been the best choice for me but boy oh boy do I wish I could be in a sorority.
This story touched upon so many different topics that are so important: racism, classism, privilege, and so much more. It shows how complex female relationships are and also how complex female-female relationships are. It also shows how hard it is to see the person you have become when your actions are being challenged.
I loved these characters so much and as I was reading I was WISHING I could be an Alpha Delta Beta sister. SO BADLY. I loved how this book was able to give us inside to sorority life but showed it to us in the best light and showed just how important these relationships are. I went to sleep away camp for ten years and camp reminds me big time of Greek Life, the relationships and the way that no matter what happens you have each others back.
The relationships between the women of all generations, backgrounds, classes and more were beautifully shown through the story of Rush. I loved being able to see all the sides of the relationships.
Miss Pearl is by far my favorite character. She is one of the nicest, sweetest and hard working characters we meet. She cares about every girl in the house as if they are her own children, and these girls treat her like their mother. I was rooting for her the whole book, because without her that whole house would have burnt to the ground.
At the beginning I really hated Annie Laurie Whitmore, she had zero personality and she was just a stuck up brat but I think her development in the story was one of the best even though it was one of the most subtle.
This book was so different than so many of the books I have read before, I love how it focuses on different relationships throughout the book. I didn’t think I really liked multiple POV books before but this one showed me that really do. Not only that, but it challenged my thinking of the way we treat others and the way we treat those who are different from us. It shows that while we think we have a come a long way, we still have a very long way to go.
I love the fact that there were characters who challenged each other, making each character have to think. Even though this was a library book I think I might purchase myself a copy.
This is a book of sisterhood, friendship, learning, loving and growing.
I loved this book more than anything, I can’t even put into words the amount of love I have for this book.
This story touched upon so many different topics that are so important: racism, classism, privilege, and so much more. It shows how complex female relationships are and also how complex female-female relationships are. It also shows how hard it is to see the person you have become when your actions are being challenged.
I loved these characters so much and as I was reading I was WISHING I could be an Alpha Delta Beta sister. SO BADLY. I loved how this book was able to give us inside to sorority life but showed it to us in the best light and showed just how important these relationships are. I went to sleep away camp for ten years and camp reminds me big time of Greek Life, the relationships and the way that no matter what happens you have each others back.
The relationships between the women of all generations, backgrounds, classes and more were beautifully shown through the story of Rush. I loved being able to see all the sides of the relationships.
Miss Pearl is by far my favorite character. She is one of the nicest, sweetest and hard working characters we meet. She cares about every girl in the house as if they are her own children, and these girls treat her like their mother. I was rooting for her the whole book, because without her that whole house would have burnt to the ground.
At the beginning I really hated Annie Laurie Whitmore, she had zero personality and she was just a stuck up brat but I think her development in the story was one of the best even though it was one of the most subtle.
This book was so different than so many of the books I have read before, I love how it focuses on different relationships throughout the book. I didn’t think I really liked multiple POV books before but this one showed me that really do. Not only that, but it challenged my thinking of the way we treat others and the way we treat those who are different from us. It shows that while we think we have a come a long way, we still have a very long way to go.
I love the fact that there were characters who challenged each other, making each character have to think. Even though this was a library book I think I might purchase myself a copy.
This is a book of sisterhood, friendship, learning, loving and growing.
I loved this book more than anything, I can’t even put into words the amount of love I have for this book.
laurazdavidson's review against another edition
2.0
Cliched, shallow characters... And don't even get me started on the ending. Really???