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ranforingus's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book even though it presents a rather large collection of stereotypes:
The smart Asian kid who's pressured by his parents, the cynical genius, the spineless super-nerd, the brainless bully, the cutthroat girl and the Big Bad(s) that are slightly inferior to the heroes in their skills and many, many more.
Max Kim, eternally in the shadow of Harvard tries to break free of his family's 'legacy' because he is supposed to follow in their footsteps and become a Harvard graduate himself. His own interests lie elsewhere however, so he and his father don't get along at all.
At times, his rants and gripes felt rather childish and as the story commenced, I stopped trusting him completely.
Eric was extremely smart... Sometimes he seemed too smart to have normal interactions with other people. And then he turns around and breaks the pattern by wallowing in his past with Clay Porter (the bully they plan to hack into Harvard)
Schwartz, you lovable goof. He was so innocent and cute but a complete doormat with his friends and everyone else. He has the brain but not the spine so I was practically cheering for him at the end when he finally grows one.
Alexandra (Lex) was quite relatable in her quest for the perfect school life and her desperation was quite tangible at times.
She's someone who's willing to do everything to get what she wants, as we later discover in the book.
The story was very dynamic, but it sometimes strung out a little too much which caused an uneven pacing. It didn't stop me from reading the book in a few hours though. The author's writing style is very enjoyable to read.
The entire idea and concept made the book so interesting that I couldn't put it down even if I wanted to. And the geeky references only made it that much better!
It could have done without the epilogue though. I didn't really like to read about where the gang ended up after their greatest hack. While informative, it didn't feel necessary but of course it is at the author's discretion.
I'm grateful to the author that she wrote this book and hope to see more of her works.
The smart Asian kid who's pressured by his parents, the cynical genius, the spineless super-nerd, the brainless bully, the cutthroat girl and the Big Bad(s) that are slightly inferior to the heroes in their skills and many, many more.
Max Kim, eternally in the shadow of Harvard tries to break free of his family's 'legacy' because he is supposed to follow in their footsteps and become a Harvard graduate himself. His own interests lie elsewhere however, so he and his father don't get along at all.
At times, his rants and gripes felt rather childish and as the story commenced, I stopped trusting him completely.
Eric was extremely smart... Sometimes he seemed too smart to have normal interactions with other people. And then he turns around and breaks the pattern by wallowing in his past with Clay Porter (the bully they plan to hack into Harvard)
Schwartz, you lovable goof. He was so innocent and cute but a complete doormat with his friends and everyone else. He has the brain but not the spine so I was practically cheering for him at the end when he finally grows one.
Alexandra (Lex) was quite relatable in her quest for the perfect school life and her desperation was quite tangible at times.
She's someone who's willing to do everything to get what she wants, as we later discover in the book.
The story was very dynamic, but it sometimes strung out a little too much which caused an uneven pacing. It didn't stop me from reading the book in a few hours though. The author's writing style is very enjoyable to read.
The entire idea and concept made the book so interesting that I couldn't put it down even if I wanted to. And the geeky references only made it that much better!
It could have done without the epilogue though. I didn't really like to read about where the gang ended up after their greatest hack. While informative, it didn't feel necessary but of course it is at the author's discretion.
I'm grateful to the author that she wrote this book and hope to see more of her works.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
2.0
This is a YA book about some geeks who hack into Harvard's admissions process - mostly because of a bet. I read it because the author was supposed to speak at the Youth Literature Seminar put on by KPL but she had a family emergency and couldn't make it. The story was mildly entertaining but the character development was pretty minimal and the whole thing felt a bit cynical. Maybe I'm just getting old.
flowersofquiethappiness's review against another edition
3.0
This was pretty good. Not a bad way to spend a couple hours. But I do have two quibbles. First, all the different POV were hard to keep track of and made it confusing in places. And second, I could never figure out why Eric was friends with Max. We were told that they'd been friends for years, but Max never did seem to do anything that inspired the loyalty that Eric gave him. But overall it was a cute story.
ewvvie's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED THIS BOOOK!
omg i just love prank books so anything w/ a good prank is awesome!
omg i just love prank books so anything w/ a good prank is awesome!
sylw's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
livogilvie's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even finish this book. . . The writing style is just not my type. It is not very flowing and it didn't make much sense to me. I do NOT recommend this book to people who like more mature writing style.
huddletree's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really appreciated the characters in this book. I honestly thought the cast was amazing!
kwurtzel3's review against another edition
3.0
It's was what I wound call a "comfy" read: something that didn't try to go out of its comfort zone too much. A safe play. I liked it, but I have to say that I expected more from Robin Wasserman. I was lucky enough to meet her last summer at LeakyCn and she was simply lovely. I can't necessarily say the same about Hacking Harvard, unfortunately.
A lot of cliches. Cliches exist for a reason, and I know that, but the entire time while I was reading this I kept hearing my old writing teacher's voice n my head screaming, "DON'T YOU DARE USE A CLICHE!" It went overboard and it showed, big-time.
The only redeeming parts of this book were Lex and e occasional mentions of any Boston and Cambridge - especially mentions if BU as a 'safety' or 'underachiever' school. The former made me finish the book, and the latter made me laugh.
Overall: 4.5/10.
A lot of cliches. Cliches exist for a reason, and I know that, but the entire time while I was reading this I kept hearing my old writing teacher's voice n my head screaming, "DON'T YOU DARE USE A CLICHE!" It went overboard and it showed, big-time.
The only redeeming parts of this book were Lex
Spoiler
- I found I liked her conniving and scheming more than I thought I would, although the romantic storyline and inner dramas were totally ridiculous-Overall: 4.5/10.
bookss_and_more_bookss's review against another edition
4.0
it was really amazing, but the one thing I didn't like was that all through out the book we read from a lot of diverse POV and I got lost sometimes cause it wasn't indicated which POV we were reading the story from. but yeah beside this, I really enjoy this book and I can't wait to read more books by Robin such an amazing writer