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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas in October!, October 8, 2008
The Private series centers on Reed Brennan, a scholarship student, and the chains of events that unfold when she enters the Easton Academy and moves to the Billing House -- the most exclusive and sought-after girls dormitory in campus. Those who have read the series knows that she falls victim to Ariana Osgood after she starts dating seventeen-year-old resident hottie and rogue Thomas Pearson. Now we finally get Ariana's side of the story -- the things that occur before Reed sets foot at Easton. Ariana Osgood has always been a good girl. A constant overachiever, she gets the best grades in school, is a Billings girl, has a boyfriend who is a big Easton legacy, and has her eyes set on Princeton. But no one -- not even her best friend Noelle -- knows that she does it all to make her mother, who suffers from a mental illness, happy. She's never done what she wants. In fact, she doesn't know what she wants. That is until Thomas Pearson, the school's drug dealer, begins to seduce her. They end up stuck at Easton during a big blizzard on Christmas vacation. They are not supposed to be there, and they have to hide from the staff as well as from people who might rat their flirtation out to her boyfriend. Falling for Thomas changes Ariana in ways she had never imagined. But she doesn't want to upset her mother, which means she has to continue to live a lie. She is torn between living a lie and living her dream of being Thomas's girlfriend. Not to worry, because they will be together soon, won't have to hide any longer. Thomas loves her, after all -- doesn't he?
I like what Brian has done with this prequel. It is consistent to the things that go on in the Private series and manages to put on a few surprises as well. As usual in this unpredictable series, there are some twists and turns that will leave you gaping and wanting more. Ariana is humanized in this book, so much so that I felt sorry for her. The characterization is excellent. She has psychotic and obsessive tendencies long before everything unfolds. They are subtle, and Brian shows this rather than tell it, which makes it all the more brilliant. Speaking of great characters, Thomas is wonderful. He has his flaws, of course, but he is a far more interesting male character than Gage, Dash, and even Josh. If only Brian hadn't killed him so soon in the series. The disappointing thing in this book is that Noelle seldom appears in this book. However, it is nice to see her in a position where she isn't as powerful or as influential as she becomes later on. Also, Taylor and Kiran are MIA in this book, which kind of confused me. When did they join Billings? Other than that, I loved Last Christmas. It was like getting an early Christmas present. I so look forward to reading Privilege and Paradise Lost.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome look into how it all began, with Ariana at Easton, October 23, 2008
Length:: 1:06 Mins
Loved this book - it sets the stage perfectly for the new Privilege series starring Ariana Osgood, and gives us some answers to go with Revelation.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting, October 17, 2008
I was extremely excited when I finally saw "last christmas" when I was at the bookstore, because I knew that Kate Brian would eventually write a prequel to the "Private" series, and while I was definitely satisifed with how it turned out (no matter how dramatic and somewhat ridiculous some of the plotlines can get, the author always manages to keep you on the edge of your seat!) I was a bit disappointed to realize that the book was basically all about Ariana, and her downward spiral. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but I was looking forward to reading about the rest of the all-powerful Billings Girls, especially Noelle, who is only briefly in the book. And like someone else mentioned, taylor and Kiran weren't mentioned at all in the book. What's up with that?
But dont get me wrong, like I said, I was satisfied with the book and read it in a few hours because I couldn't put it down (all the books in this series tend to have that affect on me)
"Last Christmas" is based on Ariana and tells of her downward spiral and explains how she came to be a bit...well psychotic as I'm sure you may know if you've read the other books in the private series. The story takes place Christmas time during Arianas junior year, before Reed Brennan ever stepped foot at Easton Academy. Ariana is a seemingly good girl, with the "perfect" boyfriend and a member of Billings, the most exclusive house on the campus of her boarding school. So it may seem that Ariana is the perfect girl, with the perfect life, but she's really hiding a dark past, and when she falls for campus bad boy Thomas Pearson, her life begins to unravel, thus leading to her downward spiral.
And ill also mention that even though I was upset that Noelle wasn't really in the book, the parts that she was in were interesting to read because its kind of a relief to know that she wasn't always so powerful and seemingly perfect as she is in the rest of the series!
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