First and foremost a murder mystery, Prep School Confidential was also a quick, enjoyable read. Set in a prestigious Boston prep school, the sharp and compelling main character, Anne Dowling, stumbles into trouble within her first week. Her roommate is murdered and the suspicious inaction of the school and police lead Anne into an investigation.

Anne is a likeable lead character, her perspective moves the story along quickly and her tenacity keeps her interesting. Anne's got a moral compass that won't be cowed or intimidated and I love that in a lead character. It also means I'm eagerly anticipating reading the next book in the series. ( )

3.5 Rating

Prep School Confidential has all the elements to make me want to pick it up. Murder Mystery, popular girls, an exclusive prep school, and BOYS!!

You have Anne, who is this no-nonsense girl that just keeps getting herself into sticky situations. First she's forced to leave New York City after an accidental arson incident at her previous school... then she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when her roommate of a week turns up dead in the woods. When the school starts going into cover-up mode and all the teens that go there start acting shady in their own ways, Anne goes into detective mode, vowing to find out what happened to Isabella on her own. The mystery takes on many twists and turns where this book could never be called boring. Since there are so many predictable mysteries out there, I love when I seriously can't figure out who "did it". Luckily this one was not one of those, I was guessing til the end!

The only thing I didn't love love was Anne herself. At times she annoyed me and did things that seemed inappropriate. For example, she was having improper thoughts about Isabella's twin brother at the funeral. Ummm gross much?? You can't be attracted to a guy at a funeral. It's icky. And also she was judgmental about clothes... like headbands and black skirts. Even so I grew to like her... it was just small moments where I thought she was being insensitive. Also I was a little sad that one of the most interesting characters (Isabella) was killed off so soon... I was just getting to know and like her!!

OVERALL: An intense prep school mystery that is somehow full of life! It has a witty main character who can hold her own and also make you laugh. The mystery is fast-paced and will keep you guessing!

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3.5 stars. The storyline itself was great, but I could have done with a lot less swearing. It just didn't fit the characters for me. ( )

This has a premise that says that it is like Gossip Girl meets Twin Peaks, both are programs that I have watched and really like. So, I was all in, and pleasantly surprised just how good it really was. It starts with a bang. Anne has accidentally set her school on fire, and has now been sent off to a new boarding school. But this is a school for the sons and daughters of some pretty powerful people. Anne roommate is found dead, and the rumors start to fly and accusations begin of who did it.

Anne is one snarky girl, she’s rebellious, and makes some awful choices and gets herself into some iffy situations. Anne is so indecisive when it comes to guys, I just wanted to pinch her, but she is one of those characters that I just couldn’t help to not like. Maybe it is the rebelliousness in me too. There are some secondary characters that were pretty good. Very cliche, but this is boarding school, and you have the “in cliques” and the not “not in cliques”. Of course there is a love interest for Anne, or shall I say two love interests. Both were the hot, bad boy type, but they good guys underneath it all, so either way she went, it was okay with me.

The story revolves around the murder mystery of Isabella, Anne’s roommate. It seemed that everyone had their own ideas of who committed the murder, and with Isabella not being all that popular, it was like no one really cared who really did do it, they just wanted to gossip about, but not Anne. She tried to find the truth, and did some growing up along the way too. I can honestly say that I didn’t figure out who did do it till it was revealed, I was just having fun reading, following the clues. There was cover ups exposed, and secrets revealed. I enjoyed reading this one for sure.

Prep School Confidential is a fun mix of self discovery, a murder mystery, interesting characters, and romance too. It was definitely one of those that once I started it, I just didn’t want to put it down. Fans of boarding school, and contemporaries will enjoy this, I know I did. ( )

If there's one thing I like every now and then, its a good mystery. And this one definitely served its purpose. I like to challenge myself and see if I can come up with "whodunit" and if I can't it means that its the best of the best. I figured out who the culprit was in this one, but I still really liked it.
The writing in this was one of my favorite parts. I had a bit of a heavy read last time where I was crying and upset and everything, but this one pulled me out of it. The humor in it made me laugh from the beginning to the end. Because I needed this comic relief, I enjoyed it that much more.
I also liked the mystery in it. It was a little hard to decide who I thought did it because as normal, there were so many different things saying someone else did it, but I used my "CSI" and "Criminal Minds" investigative skills and I decided from there. And they all worked.
The only thing I didn't like was the juvenile feel of it. It grated on my nerves the entire time. For her to be 16 she seemed as if she were 12. It kind of felt more like MG vs YA. Honestly, I would've liked it more if it was. Then I wouldn't have had to write this part of the review. :(
But, overall, I liked this. It was a really great start to a new mystery series. I can't wait to continue on and see the next things that gets in Anne in trouble. ( )