Customer Reviews

The School For Dangerous Girls

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What happens when you're a girl who is so bad that your parents decide that the last resort is to send you to a school designed for dangerous girls?

This is exactly what this book entails. Right from the beginning, the author captures you and lures you into this world that is captivating. I started to read the book without seeing who the author was and was certain that it was a woman who wrote the book. Imagine to my surprise when I see in the back cover that it's a man who wrote this. What Schrefer is able to capture is the voice of a girl who is often misunderstood and rebellious only because to her, it's the only way.

Angela's psychological torture and development as a character drives the story more than anything else. The adventures are fun, yes, but the psychology concepts that were thrown in the book was very intriguing to me. Sure, this is a teen book. However, there's also something deeper to it. There is a sense of maturity to the topics at hand.

All in all, I couldn't help but read as fast as I can because I want to know what happens to the girls and if the school would ever turn Angela submissive.

Angela Cardenas knows she's probably not the best or most well-behaved daughter out there. But then again, she's 15, her grandfather just died, and her parents are being completely mean and forcing her never to see her boyfriend, Trevor, again. It's tough being a girl.

Still, Angela's parents decide she has had enough chances, and they forcibly enroll her at Hidden Oak, a school for dangerous girls. When Angela arrives, she and the other new girls listen to one of the school's teachers explain the rules and mission statement behind Hidden Oak. The particularly haunting motto is, "You are your own worst enemy. And together we will defeat that enemy."

While the treatment of the girls during their "orientation" is horrible, Angela has little trouble finding her niche with a few girls: her roommate, Carmen, who is timid and shy; Riley, who seems to hate Angela but puts up with her anyway; and Juin, their half-French ringleader. Together, they form a "coven" and try to determine what is going on at Hidden Oak. But just as they're starting to figure some things out, girls from their orientation group start to disappear, and it isn't until Angela herself disappears that she realizes what's happening: the teachers are dividing them into dangerous girls who can be corrected and dangerous girls who cannot.

Of course, Angela must do a little detective work. Desperate to learn the history of the school and find out the fate of her cousin, Pilar, who has also attended, she just can't help getting on the bad side of some of the teachers, especially Mrs. Vienna, who seems to have a special vendetta reserved for Angela.

THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS is excellently crafted. One part HOLES, one part PREP and one part THE SHINING (the school is even situated in Colorado and becomes nearly invisible and non-existent during the heavy winter snows), its beginning is strong, with plenty of suspense, mean characters, and even subtle commentary on what defines promiscuity and how girls should use their sexuality. As the book draws to a close, however, it loses its uniqueness and tries too quickly to tie up loose ends. It is there that I fell a bit out of love with the novel, as its extremely clever premise ended predictably.

Despite this shortcoming, though, THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS is one of the best new works of fiction I've read lately. Its snappiness and meanness will appeal to fans of Gossip Girl and the like, and its clever premise and plot will appeal to fans of mystery and suspense. Best of all, Eliot Schrefer does not shy away from realism, which is both refreshing and jarring. It made me respect him all the more, but it made the book that much creepier because it seemed like Hidden Oak could actually exist.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Hannah Gómez

As you might expect from the presentation of this book, this is a dark story. Hidden Oaks is a "last chance" school for dangerous girls. It's the only hope for rehabilitation, and the last chance for these girls to be "fixed." Everybody has given up on these girls; their families, friends and even his boyfriends. Hidden oaks presents them with an opportunity for rehabilitation, seems almost too good to be true. Angela is sent to Hidden Oaks in Colorado, she finds herself in what seems like a prison. The girls are cut off from the rest of the world. They are divided into two groups; those who can be rehabilitated and those who can not. Those who can not are locked away underground, ensuring that the bad girls can not contaminate the others. Angela is expected to face some of her own issues, but is mainly concerned with the harsh tactics the school uses to reform. Angela meets many other girls: some quite, disturbed and dangerous, and some like her, who don't really deserve to be there. One thing is clear it's not a nice place to be regardless of why you are there. Angela is determined to escape. This task turns out to be more difficult that she thought.

Angela Cardenas is one of the worst. She's been kicked out of school after school and gotten into more trouble than she's worth. At least that's how her parents think of her. So with nothing else they can think to do, they decide to send Angela to Hidden Oak -- a school tucked away in the snowy Colorado mountains. The staff is ready to be tough and make Angela into a model citizen. No matter what it takes. Only as Angela goes from her classes to strange group therapy to breeding, she's beginning to wonder if it's not the students who are dangerous, but the staff. Something is going on at Hidden Oak, and now, with the few friends she can find, Angela vows to find out just what is going on behind all the closed doors. The only thing is, how long will she be able to survive? Because the closer she noses to the truth, the closer she is to being hidden away. Forever.

Eliot Schrefer has put together a highly intriguing novel in THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS. All the students at the school have either been in trouble with the law, or just never rose to their parents expectations, or has some inner demons chasing them down. And so they have been sent to Hidden Oak in a last ditch effort to rehabilitate them. The mystery begins from the first pages, as Angela arrives in Colorado. Things don't seem to go well for her as she tries to rebel against the set-up authorities in her new life. It's apparent that something very dangerous is happening throughout the school: like what happened to all the abandoned buildings? Where are people disappearing to? What is this school really all about? And who is the mysterious headmistress no one ever sees?

Questions swirl around through the book, and just as some things are solved, others are introduced, creating new levels of paranoia for the main characters. Angela leads off the cast as the questioning rebel, who just wants to figure out what is really going on. She really drives the novel, and everything centers around her. She's brazen, but funny, and definitely fits the mold of dangerous. A lot of her actions near the beginning of the book go beyond simple angry rebellion. But as she grows, she doesn't even realize as she begins to turn her life around and use her bravery for something other than sticking it to the authorities. Some typical characters bleed into the novel, with wallflower Carmen and leader-punk Juin, but they revolve around Angela so well it ends up working.

There isn't necessarily a lot of action in the plot. The story weaves in and out and sets up more scenes where the reader is wondering if the girls will get caught or escape. There is some gang-type violence near the end of the book, and some of the violent moments are somewhat gory. But it fits the tone and the atmosphere as Schrefer approaches some very dark subject matter. This is definitely a YA book with some language littered throughout.

Fans of mystery novels with an edgy twist will definitely enjoy THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS. It kept me up, wondering exactly what would happen next, and even delivered a couple of pretty frightening revelation moments. Near the end, things go a little sideways, but Schrefer manages to bring it back around. Almost a grittier TOWER PREP, this book is definitely one you'll want to finish for that book report. Because you never know what your teacher might do if you don't...

This book held my attention for the first half. (I'm not the inteneded audience, but instead, a parent.) The further into the book one reads, the further unrealistic the story becomes. While unrealistic can still be enjoyable, it became hard to finish. The author, Eliot Schrefer touches on the psychological issues here and there, but there was no clear turn of events or psychological growth or self-discovery in any of the characters. Perhaps the reason behind the loss of momentum in holding a reader's interest lies behind character development and jumping too quickly into new revelations. I would have preferred a greater lead in to some of the facts suddenly thrown into the ending. (I can't say much more without spoiling the read.) I've rated it a three because I think it would hold a teens interest, but I doubt a teen would finish it and say, "Hey I will save this to read again" or "I have to tell my friend about this book."

I have a number of nieces in their teens that I try to buy books for in order to get them to read more and not watch the TV/play video games 24/7/365. During the past year, I have read/listened to several teenage books with sort of a "spy" edge, notably the ones by Ally Carter, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy and I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls), trying to find something different to give them other than a gift card. THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS by Eliot Schrefer is not to be confused with either of these two books. While the others are fluff and a fun way for a girl to kill a couple of hours reading, their sentence structure and plot is, to put it kindly, simplistic.

Mr. Schrefer does an admirable job of writing an excellent book. There are some plot holes that one would have thought that he'd had filled between the hardback and softback printings, and hopefully those will be addressed before the final softback is printed, but overall this is an excellent book for a teenage girl that I would not hesitate giving to my nieces who are 13-15 years old.

I must state at the beginning that I try to avoid reading other reviews of a book before I am able to give them a proper reading myself. However, with THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS, I glanced at some reviews posted on Amazon. Having read the mixed reviews, I went into this book with a bit of hesitancy. However, I am pleased to say that I totally disagree with the majority of the reviews that I found. From early on in the book, I was drawn into the intrigue that Angela Cardenas encounters upon her arrival at Hidden Oak.

Angela is sent packing to Hidden Oak after her parents blame her for the unfortunate death of her grandfather. All her life, Angela has been considered unruly and headstrong. Her parents had sent her to live with her grandfather in Texas when he fell ill because they didn't want to deal with her any longer. But when her grandfather dies, she is sent to Hidden Oak. Hidden Oak is a last resort for many girls that are classified as "dangerous."

Upon arrival, Angela, along with the other new students, is sent to the mansion. They are to spend a month there under watchful eyes and locked doors. As the month winds down, some girls are removed and sent elsewhere. Angela and those that remain question the methods of the school and where the other girls have gone.

Finally, Angela is sent off as well. It turns out that to be sent off is a good thing as those girls are the "gold thread," able to be rehabilitated. The girls that remain are considered the "purple thread" girls and are not to be mentioned ever again.

It doesn't take long for Angela to create waves in the main school. She searches for her cousin, Pilar, who had been sent to the school previously. She disagrees with the horrible punishments that the staff dishes out. And she questions what has become of her friends that remained at the mansion.

With the aid of a roommate that should not have been sent to Hidden Oak in the first place, and the son of one of the professors, Angela sets out to discover the truth of the purple thread girls and to let the outside world know what happens behind the doors of Hidden Oak.

Mr. Schrefer writes a compelling and page-turning novel. The story is dark and mysterious, and had me up late one night trying to finish it. The world Angela is thrust into makes the reader question if the methods of the school are encouraging rehabilitation in any of the students, or creating worse girls for society.

For any fan of Gothic, dark, gripping action, THE SCHOOL FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS should not be missed.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

The School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer had me hooked almost immediately. It begins by describing the difficult circumstance into which Angela--the main character--has gotten without explaining how or why she is in such a position. Aside from a few vague references to recent experiences and some excellent use of flashback, the reader basically knows that Angela has done--or everyone thinks she has done--something extremely bad, in every sense of the word. This has resulted in her parents' decision to send her to Hidden Oak, a school which claims to reform dangerous girls such as Angela. Of course, it becomes immediately apparent that all at Hidden Oak is not as it seems.

The characters were extremely realistic. I myself am a teenage girl, and the ways in which the female characters react to the tricky situations in this book seem reasonable. The rest of the characters in the book also seemed natural--as if this were based on a true story instead of complete fiction. The people in the book seemed real enough, if a little misguided sometimes.

The plot seemed slightly far-fetched at times, but it was so fascinating that it hardly seems worth worrying about such minor details. Schrefer did such an excellent job keeping interest levels high that the plot issues that might otherwise have been points of contention were unremarkable. The pacing is good and the plot twists were exceptional.

The setting itself presents an interesting plot twist. The history of Hidden Oak is so interesting that it alone could have provided enough material for the entire story. Add to this the very practical parts of a very old school--a noisy old heating system, crumbling old buildings, and the like--and the place seems very realistic.

The writing style was also of a high quality. The first-person point of view puts readers right into the innermost thoughts of the main character and makes the action personal. The descriptions were subtle enough that it didn't seem to waste space and time, but gave a good idea of the general setting.

Overall, this book is great and I highly recommend that, if you like books that accurately portray the emotional turmoil of troubled teens, this book is definitely worth your time. I can't wait until its full release (in January 2009) so that I can make sure all my friends get copies.

(Review from the "daughter" half of our mother-daughter book review team)

It's weird that all the people reviewing this book for Amazon Vine are adults. It's not a book meant for adults. I found a reviewer's copy in a local bookstore, and took it home to read. It's really good. The characters were really believable, and the action was fast paced. Suspenseful, probably not meant to be totally realistic, more over the top than that. A really good book to read.

I want to say that "The School for Dangerous Girls" is phenomenal, but I cannot. It IS exciting--so exciting I could hardly read fast enough. I am a very easy reader: I suspend disbelief with a slight of hand, but I cannot overlook gaping holes in the plot. I found myself thinking, Yes, but..., or No, that's not possible. But I digress.

Eliot Schrefer has written a winner for sure, if he does a little rewriting before his book goes to the House. Particulars he needs to address are several: the ease with which the girls escape their rooms and the campus; the liasons with the local live-in boy (a perfect set-up if there ever was one); the serious lack of knowledge the headmistress indicates; and those purple thread girls who apparently disappear so mysteriously.

Those are the flaws, but the story itself is just gorgeous! The best is having a Latina girl as the main character. Except for strictly Latina novels, I cannot recall a young adult novel in which a Latina was the narrative voice. Except for a few ethnic references, she could have been Any Culture. That was a winner for me.

The premise of the story is another plus. Sending difficult girls to a place of strict discipline to teach them how to move in the Mainstream is not an original idea, but it has possibilities. Fit here, you can fit "there," but still be yourself, is the modus operandi.

During the first month each girl is tested repeatedly in different ways to ascertain if she is gold thread quality (those who can attain successful behavior in the outer world) or purple thread (those continuously defiant ones). It's what happens with purple thread girls that creates the most problems for the novel. Why this treatment? How could the Headmistress possibly not know? What happens to them eventually?

No matter what I have written in this review, "The School for Dangerous Girls" is exciting reading from page one. When we close the last page and say, Wow, isn't that what's it all about?